TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #2

The “Road to the World Finals” is through the second week of 2012 and Ryan Anderson and Son Uva Digger remain on top of the “Road to the World Finals” after another major stadium freestyle victory in Anaheim this weekend.

Alex Blackwell and Charlie Pauken have vaulted into a tie for the #2 position, a mere 2 points behind Anderson, after strong performances and big wins in San Antonio and Tacoma. Dennis Anderson has moved into fourth after a huge Double Down performance in Atlanta, while Tom Meents rounds out the top 5 coming off a big weekend in Detroit.

The battle to earn a spot in the top 24 is now starting to take shape with Lupe Soza and Jon Zimmer ranked 23rd and 24th, and Darren Migues a scant 2 points back in 25th overall. The race will only continue to heat up after another week of major stadium events this coming weeekend!

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #2 below:

Here is how points were scored in this weekend’s Elite Level events:

1/14 – Detroit, Michigan

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 20
2nd – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 15
Semi-Finals – John Seasock – Grinder – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Dan Patrick – Samson – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 15
3rd – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 10
4th – Jeremy Slifko – Backdraft – 5

1/14 – Atlanta, Georgia

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Chad Fortune – Captain America – 15
Semi-Finals – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Lupe Soza – Grinder – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Lupe Soza – Grinder – 15
3rd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 10
4th – Chad Fortune – Captain America – 5

1/14 – Anaheim, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 15
Semi-Finals – Kelvin Ramer – Time Flys – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Mark Schroeder – The Felon – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 20
2nd – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 15
3rd – Candace Jolly – Monster Mutt Dalmation – 10
4th – Dan Rodoni – The Patriot – 5

1/14 – Houston, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 20
2nd – Bari Musawwir – Spiderman – 15
Semi-Finals – Daron Basl – Rod Ryan Show – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Chuck Werner – El Toro Loco – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 15
Tie 3rd – Chris Bergeron – Brutus – 7.5
Tie 3rd – Daron Basl – Rod Ryan Show – 7.5

1/14 – San Antonio, Texas (Saturday)

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Alex Blackwell – Wolverine – 20
2nd – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 15
Semi-Finals – Sean Duhon – Superman – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 20
Tie 2nd – Alex Blackwell – Wolverine – 12.5
Tie 2nd – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 12.5
Tie 4th – Sean Duhon – Superman – 2.5
Tie 4th – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 2.5

1/15 – San Antonio, Texas (Sunday)

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 20
2nd – Alex Blackwell – Wolverine – 15
Semi-Finals – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 20
Tie 2nd – Alex Blackwell – Wolverine – 12.5
Tie 2nd – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 12.5
4th – Nicole Johnson – Grinder – 5

1/14 – Tacoma, Washington (Friday)

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 10
2nd – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Charles Benns – Monster Mutt Rottweiler – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 10
2nd – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 7.5
Tie 3rd – Charles Benns – Monster Mutt Rottweiler – 3.75
Tie 3rd – Scott Buetow – Iron Man – 3.75

1/15 – Tacoma, Washington (Saturday Afternoon)

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 10
2nd – Charles Benns – Monster Mutt Rottweiler – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Scott Buetow – Iron Man – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 10
2nd – Charles Benns – Monster Mutt Rottweiler – 7.5
Tie 3rd – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 3.75
Tie 3rd – Donald Epidendio – Titan – 3.75

1/15 – Tacoma, Washington (Saturday Night)

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 10
2nd – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Charles Benns – Monster Mutt Rottweiler – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Travis Groth – Captain USA – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 10
2nd – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 7.5
3rd – Charles Benns – Monster Mutt Rottweiler – 5
4th – Travis Groth – Captain USA – 2.5

1/15 – Tacoma, Washington (Sunday Afternoon)

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 10
2nd – Scott Buetow – Iron Man – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Scott Sweat – Ice Cream Man – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Travis Groth – Captain USA – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 10
Tie 2nd – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 6.25
Tie 2nd – Donald Epidendio – Titan – 6.25
4th – Charles Benns – Monster Mutt Rottweiler – 2.5

* The Tacoma, Washington event is unique in that it includes 4 stadium shows in a single weekend. Thus the event receives half the normal points for each individual event to keep it from being too heavily weighted in the overall season standings.

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker January 13th-15th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win, 2 points for a wheelie or donut win).

Keep following TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings each week. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun, and enjoy as we track the Monster Jam series all the way to the World Finals in March!

About TMB’s Road to the World Finals:

For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.

So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.

Elite Level Events

What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5

Normal Level Events

What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-10 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in racing/freestyle each weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4–a couple events being the exception with 5–and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)). Beginning in 2012, we are also awarding 2 points for wheelie/donut contest wins as that information has become more readily available than when the Road to the World Finals was first started.

Wheelie/Donut Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 2

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5