The Allen Report: Stadium Super Trucks – Glendale, AZ 2013

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on “The Allen Report”, we cover NASCAR and off road favorite Robby Gordon’s effort to revive Mickey Thompson style stadium off road racing. The inaugural event of Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks featured eight of the best monster trucks in the west and it was just down the road from us at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. No less than five Bigfoot trucks were in the house. The rest of the competition was Darren Migues and Bounty Hunter along with the father and son team of Rick and Eric Swanson running special bodies on their Obsessed and Obsession chassis.

The first ever SST race featured a rare occurrence in that racing would be the only competition for the monster trucks. It was fascinating to watch the monsters battle each other side by side on an off road style track, with over-under jumps, hairpin turns and mid-race lane choice. Without a single true finish line, the winner would be first back to his starting line jump.

Once the quarter finals were complete, only Dan Runte and Larry Swim were still alive for Team Bigfoot with Bounty Hunter and Eric Swanson taking the other two spots in the semis. Darren was just too fast for Dan’s new Autism Speaks Bigfoot #18, but Larry Swim in the SPEED Energy Bigfoot machine downed Eric’s bright purple trophy truck to set up a classic Bounty Hunter/Bigfoot 2-lap finale.

In the main event, Bounty Hunter had the inside lane at his starting point and took full advantage of the route’s benefits. Despite Larry’s best efforts, the first ever Stadium Super Trucks Monster Truck Division Champion was Darren Migues and Bounty Hunter.

In front of a modest crowd, the first ever win of the Stadium Super Trucks main event, the “big show” of the series, went to Rob MacCachren. Rob is a former champion of SST’s predecessor, the Mickey Thompson Off Road Championship Gran Prix and was clearly thrilled to receive the first ever main event trophy. So, until you hear from us at “The Allen Report” again, thanks to University of Phoenix Stadium for their hospitality, thank you for reading, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

Photo Gallery

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2013.

Comments

  1. peter tuttle says

    Darren was using jimmy’s special silver body from world finals 14

  2. Without a freestyle portion this series will not survive. Monster truck racing only series have yet to last. Granted it is the first show, but if they want monster trucks to remain a part they need more of them. If this were professional football, this series would be the USFL and Monster Jam is the NFL. As much as I would love to see a real points series for monster trucks, I just doubt it can survive. Too, this is a bad showing for Bigfoot; five trucks and no championship. Nice to see BF updating the truck bodies though. Good luck, but I do not think luck will be enough.

  3. peter tuttle says

    it looks like Runte. Schnell. Koszalla, Doyle, and Swim were there. I don’t like the body’s on obsesses and obsession.

  4. I think the big difference between this series and the series that previously had come before it is that for once, the main attraction IS NOT the monsters. If it was, then you’d see freestyle. But, the main event is the Stadium Super Trucks, the off-road trucks that we’ve all seen Robby Gordon and current Iron Man driver Lee O’Donnell raced before, and had great success in. Sure, we can’t determine anything by just one show, but keep in mind, the monsters aren’t the headliner. It’s almost a reminder of the old USHRA events in the late 1980s, where they were the final part of the show, but followed the truck and tractor pulls.

    I see a future here, and as for Bigfoot not winning the first event, it just goes to show how good the Creten camp is with their pieces.

  5. I can’t wait to check out a live show. This racing format for Monster Trucks is awesome! There needs to be a true racing series. I am so tired of the Monster Jam circus and guys destroying big daddy corporate trucks. I mean, are we really to a point where Monsters are doing back flips?! Give me independent owner/operators and real racing over that crap any day.I hope this works out for Robbie. i will suport this any way I can!

  6. It was a joke to see the monster truck part of the tv show only highlights.After all the build up to see Bigfoot back on tv this felt like a ripp off.If the monster trucks are not half the tv show the sst events will not make it.Bob Chandler should be pissed off,and should demand more.

  7. I was really disappointed in the coverage. Alright, I gave the benefit of doubt due to it being just one hour, but they could have done say highlights of the heats and then shown ALL FOUR main events in their entirety. I mean, the Super Karts were an amazing race in itself, and the fact in the Buggies the winner raced practically the whole main event with a broken front spindle in itself was astonishing. The monsters deserved more…MUCH MORE. If Bob Chandler is putting his support behind this, I sure hope they do better than just showing minor highlights and not full races.

    Don’t get me wrong, I get that the monster truck class is not the highlight of the series, it’s truly the SST’s, but let’s face it, at shows like the jamborees there are fans that go for other reasons besides monster trucks. Same thing here, there are fans of the karts, buggies, monsters and SST’s. Give each of them their due and show ALL the features. Of course, just my opinion.

  8. Great comments guys. Chris used the phrase, ‘modest crowd’ in his report. The point I was attempting to make was that it has been shown by Monster Jam that monster trucks can pack the very stadium that this series managed only a ‘modest crowd.’ I am sure the problem is not enough folks care to see a real monster truck points series like old TNT had. Everybody just wants to see destruction for the sake of destruction. Which is why monster trucks will remain the equivalent of a freak show and never be a legitimate Motorsport.

  9. The odd thing ATL is that Monster Jam HASN’T gone back to this stadium since that one show a few years ago. It’s always been Chase Field. Unfortunately today’s fans, mainly the young generation, only see monster trucks for the destruction that can occur, both by mistake and by purpose. This isn’t about destruction, or team orders, or being a side-show act. Us old-school fans enjoy seeing which driver can handle a challenging course better, and who can actually race.

    It’s only been one show. The next event is next Saturday. Let’s see how they follow up this event.

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