Kings of the hill: Chevy, Poulan-Weed Eater
Chevy, Poulan-Weed Eater undisputed sponsor-team champs in ‘06; BFGoodrich Tires, Banana Boat close out season with Champlain wins
The top two sponsor teams took decidedly different paths along the Wal-Mart FLW Tour in 2006, but their destination was the same: the House of Champions. For Division I’s Team Chevy, the road was straight and narrow; Chevy sped ahead of the competition at the very first event of the season and never relinquished its lead. Division II’s Team Poulan-Weed Eater, on the other hand, seesawed its way through the season, ultimately ending up on top.
Though unofficial team competition has ended for 2006, don’t forget that many of these fine sponsored pros qualified for the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship and will compete in the biggest event in bass fishing Aug. 2-5 on Alabama’s Logan Martin Lake. Keep up with their progress through full coverage at FLWOutdoors.com and join us again for sponsor-team action in 2007.
Division I
Though Team Chevy wasn’t necessarily a lock to win coming into the final qualifying event of the season, it certainly kept a firm grip on the top rung once it reached the top of the Division I ladder at the season’s onset. Chevy pros enjoyed considerable success at the Lake Okeechobee opener in January and used it as leverage throughout the course of the season.
However, Team Kellogg’s had positioned itself within striking distance of the win coming into the season finale on Lake Champlain in June. But a strong performance from Chevy anglers on that prolific bass fishery gave them ample points to finally seal the deal and relegate Kellogg’s to a runner-up finish. In the end, Chevy’s win boxed Team Kellogg’s out of a Division I three-peat after having earned the crown in 2004 and 2005.
Chevy fished well as a whole on Champlain to ensure overall victory, earning second place as a team at the event. But it was Chevy pro and tour veteran Dion Hibdon who galvanized the effort with his excellent third-place finish.
Finishing just ahead of seasonal champs Chevy at Champlain was Team BFGoodrich Tires, picking up its second event win of 2006 after also having led the Division I pack at Beaver Lake midway through the season. It was the one-two punch of BFGoodrich Tires superstars Scott Martin and Chad Grigsby, who notched fantastic finishes of fourth and 15th, respectively, that gave the team the momentum to end the season on a high note and finish third in the standings.
Division II
Like Chevy in Division I, Team Poulan-Weed Eater outfished all division rivals in the first tournament of the season, indicating a harbinger of things to come. Though Poulan-Weed Eater stumbled slightly during 2006’s second event, falling to fourth in the overall standings, consistent angling throughout the remainder of the season ultimately propelled the team to the Division II title.
The middle stretch of the 2006 season saw Team Wet Ones, Team Tylenol Rapid Release and Poulan-Weed Eater duking it out for the top slot in the standings event after event. In fact, until the final regular-season event of the year, one of the aforementioned teams was always occupying prime real estate on the leaderboard including the penthouse.
By the time all the fish had been weighed to close out the season at Lake Champlain, however, Poulan-Weed Eater pro Ray Scheide‘s strong 29th-place finish was enough to earn the keys to the House of Champions. Tylenol Rapid Release ended the season in the runner-up slot followed by – you guessed it – Wet Ones.
Team Banana Boat deserves kudos, however, for coming out of relative obscurity in Division II to capitalize on pro Kevin Vida‘s outstanding second-place finish at Champlain and turn it into an event win to finish off an exciting year of sponsor-team competition.
Explanation of team scoring
Sponsor teams were divided into two divisions: Division I, comprising teams of three or more professional anglers, and Division II, comprising teams of fewer than three pros. Competition among sponsor teams competing on the FLW Tour is unofficial, though scores are based on the actual, official finishes earned by pros on sponsored teams.
Points in the 2006 sponsor-team race were earned during the FLW Tour’s six qualifying events and monitored throughout the season. Standings are based on the average number of points earned by a team’s anglers as assigned in the FLW Tour’s Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year competition.
Sponsor teams competed in the most recent FLW Tour event at Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh, N.Y., and results from that event have been tallied.
Final 2006 standings
Final overall standings for sponsor teams competing on the 2006 FLW Tour have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Chevy – 807.60
2. Kellogg’s – 733.00
3. BFGoodrich Tires – 716.67
4. Folgers – 709.67
5. Berkley – 703.25
6. Castrol – 696.20
7. Bounty – 668.00; Tyson – 668.00 (tie)
9. National Guard – 637.00
10. A&W – 614.75
11. Fujifilm – 591.60
12. Snickers – 560.00
13. Gain – 517.00
14. Land O’Lakes – 457.00
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Poulan-Weed Eater – 972.00
2. Tylenol Rapid Release – 922.00
3. Wet Ones – 835.00
4. Pepcid Complete – 821.00
5. Sirius – 815.00
6. Wal-Mart – 787.00
7. Suave for Men – 784.00
8. Hamburger Helper – 769.00
9. Banana Boat – 727.00
10. Ozark Trail – 705.50
11. Pedigree – 685.00
12. Tylenol Severe Allergy – 673.00
13. Imodium Advanced – 567.00
14. Lawry’s – 485.00
Lake Champlain results
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. BFGoodrich Tires – 158.00
2. Chevy – 153.40
3. Kellogg’s – 133.30
4. Tyson – 129.67
5. Snickers – 119.75
6. A&W – 117.75
7. Folgers – 116.33
8. Berkley – 111.00
9. Gain – 100.00
10. Fujifilm – 99.80
11. Castrol – 94.20
12. Land O’Lakes – 89.00
13. Bounty – 81.67
14. National Guard – 79.25
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Banana Boat – 199.00
2. Sirius – 180.00
3. Poulan-Weed Eater – 172.00
4. Wal-Mart – 143.00
5. Suave for Men – 130.00
6. Ozark Trail – 127.00
7. Pedigree – 114.00
8. Hamburger Helper – 109.00
9. Imodium Advanced – 108.00
10. Pepcid Complete – 106.00
11. Tylenol Severe Allergy – 99.00
12. Tylenol Rapid Release – 94.00
13. Lawry’s – 92.00
14. Wet Ones – 56.00
Other notable finishes among pros on sponsor teams at Lake Champlain, who placed in the top 25 and have yet to be mentioned, include the following: Tyson pro Tracy Adams leveled the field with a perfect first-place finish; Land O’Lakes pro Keith Williams scored an impressive eighth-place finish; Castrol pro David Dudley earned a sweet 17th-place finish; Snickers pro Pat Fisher netted a nice 20th-place finish; and Sirius pro Chip Harrison grabbed a respectable 21st-place finish.