TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #4

The first month of 2012 are is in the books and Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction is showing the way on TMB’s “Road to the World Finals”! Meents doubled down for the second week in a row with a huge night in New Orleans. Ryan Anderson isn’t letting Meents get away though as he maintains the 2nd position, less than 10 points back. Anderson nearly doubled down himself in Phoenix, winning freestyle in Son Uva Digger but coming up just short in the racing finals.

The rest of the top 5 is engaged in a great battle as a mere 2 points separates 3rd place from 6th. Digger drivers Charlie Pauken, Gary Porter and Dennis Anderson, along with Adam Anderson in Grave Digger The Legend are the ones fighting it out, with each having another great performance this past weekend to close out the month of January.

As good as the battle for a spot in the top 5 has been, the scramble to get into the top 24 is even wilder. Only 11 points separate 20th place Morgan Kane from 29th place Chad Fortune. Grave Digger driver Rod Schmidt currently holds the hot seat, with Dan Evans in Hot Wheels the first driver on the outside looking in.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #4 below:

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

1/28 – Anaheim, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 20
2nd – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 15
Semi-Finals – Candace Jolly – Monster Mutt Dalmation – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Bari Musawwir – Spiderman – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Grave Digger – Chad Tingler – 20
2nd – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 15
3rd – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 10
4th – Donald Epidendio – Titan – 5

1/28 – Orlando, Florida

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 15
Semi-Finals – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Chad Fortune – Captain America – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
3rd – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 10
Tie 4th – Lupe Soza – Grinder – 2.5
Tie 4th – Steve Sims – Stone Crusher – 2.5

1/28 – New Orleans, Louisiana

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Andy Slifko – Eradicator – 15
Semi-Finals – Chris Bergeron – Brutus – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 15
3rd – Jim Koehler – Avenger – 10
Tie 4th – Chris Bergeron – Brutus – 2.5
Tie 4th – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 2.5

1/28 – Phoenix, Arizona

1st – Allen Pezo – Predator – 20
2nd – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 15
Semi-Finals – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 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 – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 10
4th – Brian Deegan – Metal Mulisha – 5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker January 27th-29th 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