Kevin VanDam enters this afternoon’s three-hour session with by far the biggest lead over his first round opponent. VanDam has an 8-pound, 14-ounce margin over Drew Benton. And he knows exactly how important that can be.
“I’m going to watch the scoreboard real close,” VanDam said before leaving the marina this afternoon. “I’m hoping to be able to spend most of my time practicing. You’re going to have to have some new places for the next two days.”
VanDam credited a day of “practice” during the Elite Series event at Toledo Bend for his victory there.
“That’s your dream day in competition – the day you can go practicing,” he said. “That’s what I was able to do the first day at Toledo Bend. I had 25-plus pounds in the box in the first hour, and I was able to spend the rest of the day learning.
“I culled up to 29 pounds. That time I got to practice that day was the difference in winning the tournament.”