Madusa Wins 2005 Monster Jam World Finals Racing Championship;
First Woman in History Ever to Earn This Title
AURORA, Ill., April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2005 Monster Jam World Finals in
Las Vegas on March 19 will go down in history as having opened new doors for
women everywhere. In front of 37,000 fans at Sam Boyd Stadium, Debrah Miceli,
better known by her fans as Madusa, became the first woman ever to earn the
esteemed Monster Jam World Finals racing championship. A native of Tampa,
Miceli captured the title in her Ford F-150 monster truck Madusa. She joins
only a small number of females ever to win a major motorsport championship
against an almost all-male field of opponents.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050419/DATU056 ) Breaking down barriers is nothing new for this femme fatale. Madusa earned
worldwide notoriety while wrestling for WWE (formerly WWF) and WCW in the '80s
and '90s. In 1999, her career as a monster truck driver began. "It's like a
controlled accident," says Madusa of driving monster trucks. Excelling at a
rapid rate within the sport, she became a fan favorite around the globe. After
winning the Monster Jam World Finals freestyle championship in 2004, she put
all of her focus into racing for 2005.
"There's the old way of doing things, but there is also always a way to go
faster, and higher. And I found that niche. I sweetened it up if you want to
say. I tell people that I put the lipstick on Monster Jam," said Madusa about
her win.
Considered to be the ultimate monster truck event by the competitors and
spectators, a total of 100-plus challengers spent the entire year battling for
the opportunity to compete at the Monster Jam World Finals. Racing monster
trucks that exceed 10,000 pounds and travel at speeds of up to 75 mph, Madusa
aggressively piloted her way through the brackets beating Destroyer, El Toro
Loco, and King Krunch in the semi-finals. That led her into the final round
win against her mentor and monster truck legend, Dennis Anderson in Grave
Digger.
Besides gaining the adoration of fans, she has also earned the respect of
fellow competitors. "Madusa's championship at the finals is well deserved and
her results as a monster truck driver over the past 6 years have been
phenomenal," said Grave Digger's Dennis Anderson. "This Monster Jam World
Finals championship just shows that women can be as competitive as men in the
sport of monster truck racing." "Everything was there," said Madusa upon accepting her trophy. "I wanted it
more than anything. Being a woman in a man's world, being a woman in a man's
business, I'll tell you one thing ladies -- it isn't easy." Madusa has been featured on Politically Incorrect, and Regis & Kathy Lee. She's
also been featured in magazines such as Marie Claire, Maxim en Espanol, Woman's
Own, Femme Fatale, Rides magazine, and Italian publication, Amica, in addition
to numerous newspaper articles and other press both in the US and
internationally.
Madusa will defend her title on March 25, 2006 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas
at the 2006 Monster Jam World Finals.
For more information about Madusa and Monster Jam log on to
http://www.ushra.com/ .
About Clear Channel Entertainment/USHRA(R) Monster Jam(R) and Thunder Nationals
(R) The United States Hot Rod Association(R) (USHRA) is the official sanctioning
body of Monster Jam, the world's leading monster truck tour. With more than
250 live performances a year, Monster Jam features marquee trucks, including
Grave Digger(R), Maximum Destruction(R), Madusa(R), Blue Thunder(R), Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle and Monster Mutt(R). The Thunder National series is the
non-dirt monster truck tour that runs in conjunction with Monster Jam and is
sanctioned by the USHRA. For more information on Monster Jam and Thunder
Nationals, log on to http://www.ushra.com/ . Clear Channel Entertainment, a
leading producer and marketer of live entertainment events is a subsidiary of
Clear Channel Communications (NYSE:CCU), a global leader in the out-of-home
advertising industry. Clear Channel Entertainment currently owns, operates
and/or exclusively books approximately 130 live entertainment venues, including
nearly 100 in North America and more than 30 in Europe. Each year, 69 million
people attend approximately 32,000 events promoted and/or produced by the
company, including live music events; Broadway, West End and touring theatrical
shows; family entertainment shows; museum exhibitions, and specialized sports
and motor sports events. In addition, the company's independently operated
athlete representation business, SFX, provides management, marketing and
financial consulting services to many of the world's top professional athletes. Clear Channel Entertainment operates throughout North America, Europe, and
Australia. More information may be found by visiting http://www.cc.com/ and
http://www.clearchannel.com/ . http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050419/DATU056 http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Clear Channel Entertainment CONTACT: Linda Ardehali of Clear Channel Entertainment, +1-630-566-6513, or Web site: http://www.clearchannel.com/ http://www.cc.com/ http://www.ushra.com/
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