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Michigan's Kevin VanDam Claims 2008 Toyota
Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Award, His Fourth Championship
 August
8, 2008 - SYRACUSE, N.Y. He didn't realize how difficult
a Bassmaster Elite Series season with two victories could be,
but Friday, Elite pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., put the
ups and downs behind him as he was named the 2008 Toyota Tundra
Bassmaster Angler of the Year. VanDam endured a seasonlong fight
with Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, but overtook Faircloth
on Day 2 of the Champion's Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide
on Oneida Lake to claim his fourth Bassmaster Angler of the Year
award.
(BASS Communications / Seigo Saito Photo)
To claim the title and the $250,000 top prize,
VanDam, 40, had to overcome several discouraging finishes in
the 11-event Bassmaster Elite Series season. Despite being the
only pro with two wins on the circuit this year, he came perilously
close to losing out on the AOY title.
Going into the season finale here on Oneida Lake,
VanDam had five top-10 finishes and made the top-50 cut in all
but one tournament, the Battle on the Border at Texas' Lake Amistad,
where he finished 56th.
VanDam started the year with a third-place showing
at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, which doesn't count toward the
Angler of the Year standings. He opened the regular season with
a decent 31st-place finish at the March 6-9 Sunshine Showdown
at the Harris Chain of Lakes out of Leesburg, Fla., but followed
that up with his first victory of 2008, in the Citrus Slam on
the Kissimmee Chain out of Lake Wales, Fla.
"I have to thank my family and my sponsors,"
VanDam said from the BASS weigh-in stage where he accepted his
trophy Friday from Tom Ricks, Vice President and General Manager,
BASS. "And BASS has done a really phenomenal job to give
us a platform like the Elite Series, to go out here and follow
our dreams.
"There are a lot of young, aspiring anglers
here, the Junior World Championship is going to go this weekend.
Those kids want to be up here, they want to do this, this is
the top level of professional bass fishing, and BASS has made
it this way, and ESPN. I am just so excited to be here."
The AOY points lead ping-ponged among VanDam, Faircloth
and Mike McClelland of Bella Vista, Ark., who won the season
opener. The chase eventually was narrowed to Faircloth and VanDam
as Faircloth remained consistent throughout the season and VanDam
claimed a second victory, this time at the Bluegrass Brawl on
Kentucky Lake out of Gilbertsville, Ky.
"It really hasn't sunk in yet, I can't believe
it," VanDam said Friday after raising his fourth Toyota
Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy. "I knew this
week would be critical and Todd has not had a bad tournament
all year. For both of us to stumble yesterday, I was really disappointed.
I thought I'd blown it, but I knew I had a second chance, I knew
I had to make it happen. It's a relief."
Faircloth fought VanDam to the end, winning the
Battle on the Border ironically the one event in which
VanDam stumbled out of the top 50 but VanDam's legendary
determination and competitiveness gave him the edge.
"I found some deep fish during practice, I
really wish I wouldn't have even found them. It really messed
with my head throughout this tournament," said Faircloth,
whose second-place finish in the AOY points was the best effort
of his career. "That's fishing. You can't bank on anything.
"This would've been a really big deal for
me in my career. The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year
title is a good deal to have on your resume. I was real close,
and wish the outcome would've been a little bit different. But
I had a really good year, I don't have anything to hang my head
about."
A full list of the finalized standings will be available after
the Champion's Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide ends Sunday.
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