Blast From The Past: Hamburg, NY 1987 – “A Grimm Prospect”

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the “Blast from the Past’ blog where I, TMB Videographer Colby Marshall, review classic and especially not-so-classic shows from the glory days of monster truck competition. I’ll be doing this in a light-hearted, playfully sarcastic manner so don’t take offense, and let’s all sit back, have a few laughs and remember the way things used to be. Yes that’s right fans, I am back again…trucker hat, ringer shirt, cowboy boots, tight jeans and all…for another rousing romp of old school monster mayhem. This time out, it is TNT Motorsports in Hamburg, NY circa 1987 (YouTube would be a good place to look if you want to follow along). And boy-oh-boy do we have a treat for you all this time. There he is, microphone in hand, its DAVE GRIMM!!! I promise two things…incomprehensible yelling and ad nausea repetition. Don’t believe me? Let’s go to the first round to find out. The trucks will drag race over a large dirt roller, then two sets of four cars and finish at the top of another dirt roller.

Pulling to the line, its Allen “Dick Clark ain’t got nothing on me because I still look the same as I always have” Pezo taking on Steve “Not the gas stations” Hess in Nitemare. Senior official and expert flagman Ed Hart waves the green flag…no, wait, he waves the red flag…actually, he waves both of them for some odd reason. The drivers look at each other in a confused manner, shrug their shoulders, and mutually decide to start the race anyways. Rather than describing this race, I am going to turn to the transcript of Mr. Grimm’s expert analysis of this epic encounter:

“Here we go! Here we go! Here come the monster trucks! Here come the monster trucks! Here they come! Here they come! They’re on their way! Here comes the Chevrolet! Here…OH THERE THEY GO! OH WOAH! There they come. Here comes Nitemare! Here comes (checks flash card) the Lone Eagle. There they comes…OH! OHH! OHHHH! Hit em Hit em Hit em Hit em Hit em Hit em. There they go! There they go! There they go! Its gonna beeee the Looooooooone Eagle!”

Thanks, Dave! Allen Pezo moves on by a truck length.

For our second race, Gayle Mefford brings out Stomper 1 to the line. In the other lane, its (according to the on screen graphics) Barry Packaid in Little Bear Foot. And, in case you were wondering, you empty the packet of Packaid into a 2-quart pitcher, add a cup of sugar and water, then stir vigorously until dissolved for a tasty, refreshing beverage. Stomper leaves the line, while Barry Packaid stays put and tries to make sense of the directions I just gave. Stomper heads for the cars and Mefford absolutely airs out that uber-heavy truck, all but clearing the cars and sending the flags in the bed flying in all directions. From the sound of things, Dave Grimm had some combination of a heart attack, a stroke, his underwear on too tight, puberty and a velociraptor attack all at the same time, as he screeched into the microphone over this quite impressive jump. Oh, and apparently Barry finished off his glass of Packaid and decided to start the race. He makes it as far as the first car set before shutting down again. Dave Grimm tells us liquid is coming out of the truck. I failed to mention that adult supervision is required when making Packaid, and most of the rest spilled out of the truck and onto the track. My bad. Stomper moves on.

Jon Breen brings out Mad Dog, painted mostly yellow, for the third race of the first round, taking on Star Monster. It wears a very simple black and gray paint scheme that I think looks fantastic. Unfortunately, looking fantastic wasn’t enough to take down what was one of the few purpose-built race trucks trucks at the time. Mad Dog wins by a lot.

Sly Stallone and the Governator get to the chahppahs and line up for this race. It’s Rambo and Terminator in a battle of 1980’s action movies starring guys who talk funny. They are off and we go back to Dave Grimm for the call…

“Terminator and Rambo…Terminator and Rambo…Rambo on the inside, Terminator on the outside…Termbo and Raminator…” Wait, WHAT?!? Raminator?!? In 1987? I knew those Rams were fast, but so fast that they hit 88MPH, flipped on the flux capacitor, and traveled back in time to win an obscure race in New York? Apparently so. Mark Hall wins the race and moves…no. Upon further review, it was simply Dave Grimm getting ahead of himself and misspeaking the names of the trucks. What a let down! Tim Hall, if you are reading this, you guys would have made this race much more interesting. And safe. Rambo goes all bouncy like it has barely working, primitive suspension (which NEVER happened in the 1980’s) and almost runs over a cameraman. Terminator and Jerry Richmond win this one, and our intrepid videographer retreats to the third stall in the men’s room to change his shorts.

That brings us to the Semi-Fineals. I spelled it that way because that is the way it is spelled on screen. Remember our rule…1980’s television broadcasts are NEVER wrong. Ever. Allen Pezo in Lone Eagle takes on Gayle Mefford in Stomper. Interesting to note that Stomper appears to have about half the air pressure in its tires this round. I’m willing to bet that inversely correlates to the amount of pressure on Mr. Mefford’s kidneys after that air shot in round one. Stomper looks a bit gimpy in this one, with the left front leaning pretty bad. This opens things up, and like a “predator”, Allen Pezo takes advantage and moves on to the finals. Dave screams, “WE HAVE HAD AN UPSET!” That and a REALLY bad joke from the writer of this article, Dave.

“There we go ladies and gentlemen! Take off! Take off! Take off!” signals the beginning of an epic contest between Terminator and Mad Dog. Terminator uses about 450 feet to runs this 300 foot race as Jerry Richmond zig-zags across the track. Jon Breen keeps ‘er straight and narrow and races out ahead to an easy victory. As he crosses the line, yet another velociraptor attacks Dave Grimm as he screams at something happening to Terminator that we never see. “WOAHAHAHHHA! Mad Dog is gonna win it with ease. Terminator will finish…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………behind.”

Final round time it is, as Jon Breen and Jerry Richmond pull to the line. Wait, didn’t that JUST happen? Well, the on-screen graphics strike again. It’s actually Mad Dog and Jon Breen taking on Allen Pezo and Lone Eagle. Voice over guy tells us that they are both Chebbies. Thanks, voice over guy. He goes on to explain that Mad Dog is specially constructed for just this kind of competition. So, Mad Dog can only win if there is non-carbonated soft drink, TERRIBLE announcing, time travel, Mark Hall and vicious dinosaur attacks involved in the event. Well, it just so happens to be Jon Breen’s lucky day. In the annals of monster truck coverage, there are certain calls that transcend the sport and become a thing of legend. The late, great Jan Gabriel, Army Armstrong, Scott Douglas. All have made their mark on this industry with legendary race calls and became legends in their own right. They did so by NEVER spouting lines like the one that follows:

“Mad Dog on his way. Mad Dog on his way. Mad Dog on his way. MAD DOG ON HIS WAAAYY! Mad Dog on his way. And Mad Dog is gonna win it.”

Inspiring. Voice over guy is back and tells us that Mad Dog is built for running. And rabies shots. That’s not true. I made that last part up because I thought it was funny. For some odd reason, we go to an on-track announcer that didn’t appear at any other time during this competition. He interviews Jon Breen who tells us the truck is built for circuit racing. Circuit racing? For some odd reason I pictured Jenson Button quaking in his driving suit as he looks in the rear view of his McLaren and sees the engineering marvel that was Mad Dog. That wing could be intimidating.

This event is an interesting one to me. Here we have a long, straight line course at a time that TNT had not yet settled on this as their defacto track of choice. This was a strange mix of trucks, including what is one of the few TNT TV appearances of Lil’ Bearfoot. With the exception of Mad Dog, these were “stage one” trucks built for show and for exhibition crushing. I always found events like this way more interesting, as trucks that had no business racing bounced all over the place, performed terribly, but still looked amazing doing it. Well, my six month old has managed to find an l.e.d. flashlight and is beating on the computer chair with it. I had better get going. Until next time, OLD SCHOOL RULES!

The Insider: Beefcake Design Setting Standard for T-Shirt Design

Ever since we started working in the monster truck industry over six years ago, we have met many incredible people who use their talents to work in the industry they love. That’s really the story of many of the best people working in the industry – a love of monster trucks since childhood and the use of their own personal skill sets to provide useful services to others in the industry.

We at TMB are proud to work with such people and recommend such services, whether it be vinyl wraps and services from our friends at Steel Skinz Graphics, parts from the folks at AA Speed & Custom and even full on chassis and turn key monster trucks from Patrick Enterprises, Racesource Inc and Concussion Engineering. The people behind these organizations are monster truck fans first and they work to provide services that will improve the industry they love.

One area we had yet to run across someone who exceeded all our expectations was in the area of t-shirt design. This is one of the most in demand services in the monster truck industry. Merchandise sales are a huge part of a monster truck owner/operator or event promoter’s revenue streams and historically, there is no bigger seller than the t-shirt.

Every big monster truck fan has the dual purpose collection/wardrobe of monster truck t-shirts they have collected over the years. And let’s face it, the selection of which shirts they end up purchasing is not solely based on who their favorite truck is – it’s very much about the design.

We at TMB have been through the first time client experience in having t-shirts done before and as we are beginning our second project, we thought we would share some of our experiences and make a pitch for a fellow monster truck enthusiast who is doing the work that so many in the industry need done.

Spend Money to Make Money – Don’t Skimp on the Design

One of the biggest mistakes monster truck owner/operator and promoters make is to try and save money by spending less on the design. The cost savings realized from having cheaper, lower quality illustrated artwork instead of using a slightly more expensive professional who understands the monster truck industry may be somewhere in the range of $300-$500 at the time of making the order; however it will end up being the difference between walking away at the end of any given weekend having sold a mere handful of shirts versus having up to several thousand dollars worth of extra income from t-shirt sales.

This one is a no-brainer – the fans may love your truck but if you have a simple or amateurish design, they’re not going to spend the money on one of your shirts. Trying to save a couple hundred dollars on production could cost you thousands in sales later on.

OWN Your Design – Use an Independent Designer Who Loves Monster Trucks

You need to find a designer who knows and loves monster trucks – they will be more passionate about the job and they will work harder to create a design that is unique to your brand. Now we’re not recommending using someone who doesn’t know t-shirt design – there are many ins and outs to designing a t-shirt because of they way they are printed that even a great graphic designer may not handle properly (using proper PMS colors, etc). This could end up costing you more money when you take the design to have it printed.

A general staff designer for the t-shirt printing company you’re using may be very talented and do great artwork, but you are just another job to them and in most cases – this is VERY important to note – they co-own your design with you, so that you will only be able to have that design printed if you use that company. This also allows them to duplicate elements of the artwork you paid to have created in another client’s project! Case in point comes from TMB’s own first time t-shirt design client experience.

Our first project was handled by the $2.95 Guys, who are a great t-shirt printer that we would recommend to anyone for the actual printing of the t-shirts. However, we used one of their staff designers and even chose the most expensive level of design, following the advice above. The designer did a great job on the shirt and we were happy with the experience at the time. But later on, we found out that our design that we paid full price for, which was created directly from a TMB taken photo, had been taken and minimally modified for another client, who was also charged full price!

The lesson is OWN your t-shirt design. Have it done by an independent professional and then take it to the t-shirt printing company of your choice. Go even further and use someone passionate about monster trucks so that you are sure to receive a unique, well thought out design by someone who understands your brand and what your target market wants.

TMB Recommendation – Beefcake Design

In our search for a designer for our second t-shirt project – new TMB TV shirts which will be coming out later this year – we were lucky enough to meet a fellow monster truck enthusiast who is setting the standard by which monster truck t-shirt artwork is measured.

Jason Becker is from Hutchinson, Kansas and has been a monster truck fan all his life. Always having had that “artistic touch”, he went to school for to pursue graphic design and became a school teacher instructing in that field.

As a monster truck fan, he always attended events in his area and as a hobby, would do illustrations of trucks and have them autographed by drivers at the events. While attending a ProMT event at Kansas Speedway, Jason met Team Scream drivers Jim Koehler and Chris Bergeron. They were so impressed with his illustrations that they enlisted his help in coming up with a 3D dog body concept they wanted to do for Chris’ Brutus truck.

Never having had experience with such a thing, Jason worked with them and came up with a concept drawing for the new body. They were so pleased with the concept, they then enlisted Jason’s help in building it. An S10 body was sent to Jason’s house and with the help and advice of the folks at GTS Fiberglass and lots of collaboration with Team Scream, Jason was able to create what is now one of the most recognizable 3D bodies in all of monster trucks.

Jason Becker works on transforming an S10 body into one of the most recognizable 3D body styles in all of monster trucks.

After creating several t-shirt designs for Team Scream, Steve Koehler recommended Jason to the folks at Feld Entertainment, as they were looking for an additional designer for some of their t-shirt projects. After creating a well received Blue Thunder design, Feld also used Jason’s talents to create t-shirts for trucks including Air Force Afterburner, TMNT, Captain’s Curse, Donkey Kong, El Toro Loco, Maximum Destruction, Taz and Superman.

Jason has also worked with independent teams, doing t-shirt designs for Equalizer, Amsoil Shock Therapy, Excaliber and Bad News Travels Fast.

Examples of some of the great t-shirt designs done by Beefcake Design.

Now Becker has started his own design company and is looking to expand his work to more clients in the monster truck industry. The Beefcake Design philosophy is that each design is much more than just artwork, its a branding of what your team is all about and how you run. Jason strives to create artwork that is unique to each client and communicates the driver or team’s personality and attitude. Becker would also be open to working on another 3D body concept project and is even expanding his services to include designing full truck wraps.

We are very excited to unveil the new TMB TV t-shirt that Beefcake Design is currently working on for us and we are very happy to have found a monster truck t-shirt designer we can recommend to all our friends in the industry. Check out their portfolio at www.BeefcakeDesign.com and feel free to give Jason a call at (316) 648-8165 or shoot him an email at jason@beefcakedesign.com for more information how he can work with you on your next project.

Check out the full Beefcake Designs portfolio at www.BeefcakeDesign.com.

We hope you’ve found this edition of The Insider to be an informative look at the monster truck t-shirt design process and that some of the tips included will help you avoid a bad experience in your t-shirt projects. Whether you end up using our friends at Beefcake Design or not, remember not to skimp on the design and to use someone who will create a design unique to you and your team – it will pay off in the end!

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #5

The Road to the World Finals charged into February this weekend and Adam Anderson held onto the top spot for the third straight week after a dominant performance in Hampton, Virginia. Anderson took Grave Digger The Legend to wins in 5 of the 6 racing competitions and now leads second place Jimmy Creten by just over 20 points. Creten had a strong weekend himself in Bounty Hunter, with 2 racing and 2 freestyle wins at the Fargodome.

Trouble is lurking for the top 2 however as Tom Meents is making his move, flying up to 3rd overall after a huge Max D stadium freestyle win in Tampa. Chad Tingler’s strong performance in Houston keeps him 4th while Linsey Weenk remains in the top 5, slipping back from 3rd last week.

The battle for the 24th and final spot is heating up in a big way as Lee O’Donnell and George Balhan are just barely hanging inside while an ever growing group of drivers is trying to break their way in, including Lupe Soza, John Seasock, Scott Hartsock, Steve Sims and rookie driver Todd Leduc.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #5 below:

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

2/5 – Houston, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Alex Blackwell – Captain’s Curse – 20
2nd – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 15
Semi-Finals – Todd Leduc – Blue Thunder – 7.5
Semi-Finals – David Smith – King Krunch – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Alex Blackwell – Captain’s Curse – 20
Tie – 2nd – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 10
Tie – 2nd – Steve Sims – Stone Crusher – 10
Tie – 2nd – Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 10

2/5 – Tampa, Florida

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 15
Semi-Finals – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Chad Fortune – Superman – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 15
Tie – 3rd – Jeremy Slifko – Backdraft – 7.5
Tie – 3rd – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 7.5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2011 Results Tracker February 4th-6th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win).

If you haven’t followed along with TMB’s Road to the World Finals in the past, we’re sure that you have many questions about how we put this together: How does it work? Which events are we including? How are the points awarded? etc. At the bottom of each week’s update, you’ll see the detailed rationale and explanation that should answer most of these questions.

Stay tuned each week to 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 5-8 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 a weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4 (Tacoma being the exception with 5), and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)).

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

The Insider: TMB Leaderboard – January 2011

The first edition of the TMB Leaderboard for 2011 is out following the completion of the first month of the new year. Based on all of the information gathered through the Results Tracker, we are able to statistically see who some of the top performing drivers have been in 2011. A total of 174 drivers have competed in monster truck events in the month of January with an incredible 102 different drivers scoring a competition win. See below for the top 5 drivers in each category:

Total Wheelie/Donut/Long Jump Wins

1)  Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 14
2)  Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 11
3)  Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 9
—-Eric Tack – Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – 9
—-Mac Plecker – Ballistic – 9

Total Racing Wins

1)  Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 10
2)  Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 8
—-Rodney Tweedy – Bigfoot #10 – 8
4)  Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 7
—-Derrick Anson – Heavy Hitter – 7

Racing Win Percentage

1)  Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 91%
2)  Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 80%
3)  Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 78%
4)  Rodney Tweedy – Bigfoot #10 – 73%
5)  Donald Epidendio – Titan – 67%
—-Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 67%

Total Freestyle Wins

1)  Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 9
—-Mac Plecker – Ballistic – 9
3)  Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 8
—-Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 8
—-Bill Payne – Rock Star – 8
—-Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 8

Freestyle Win Percentage

1)  Rob French – Twisted Dragon – 100%
2)  Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 90%
3)  Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 83%
4)  Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 80%
—-Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 80%

Combined Racing/Freestyle Wins

1)  Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 18
2)  Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 17
3)  Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 13
4)  Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 12
—-Mac Plecker – Ballistic – 12
—-Rodney Tweedy – Bigfoot #10 – 12

Combined Racing/Freestyle Win Percentage

1)  Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 85%
2)  Rob French – Twisted Dragon – 83%
3)  Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 82%
4)  Eric Tack – Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – 69%
5)  Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 61%

Several driver names pop up continuously on the above list, including Gary Porter who is once again dominating the Freestyle Mania tour for Monster Jam. Carl Van Horn and Adam Anderson have been nearly unstoppable in their respective events so far this year as well. The only non-Feld driver running Monster Jam full time to appear on this list is none other than Jimmy Creten in his amazing new Bounty Hunter machine, as he has been dominating in freestyle so far in 2011.

Branching out to the rest of the industry, Bigfoot drivers Rodney Tweedy, Rick Long and Eric Tack also appear several times on the above list. Tweedy and Long have been on fire in racing as Tweedy has spent time on the Monster X Tour and the AMP Tour while Long is defending his Monster Nationals Racing Championship. Tack has simply decimated the competition on the CFP tour but will now step out of the seat as 2-time champion Larry Swim returns to begin February.

Mac Plecker with Ballistic has once again had an incredible start to the season on the TBO tour but rookie driver Derrick Anson in Heavy Hitter has given him a run for his money and made the list with an impressive 7 racing victories. Rob French is the only driver running a full schedule to be unbeaten in freestyle as he has won all 7 events in which he and the Twisted Dragon have competed, running primarily for Outlaw Monster Trucks and the Road 2 Destruction Tour.

Championship Updates

Monster Nation – The championship battle for 2011 is wide open as the tour only has Beaumont, Texas left in the middle of this month. Devin Jones in Barbarian and Doug Noelke in Tail Gator have the most wins but with Barbarian not attending the finale Beaumont, Noelke would seem to have a slightest of edges over Mike Hawkins, Isaiah Morales and JR McNeal. Essentially it will come down to whichever driver has the best overall performance in the three show Beaumont weekend as they enter neck and neck.

Monster Nationals -2011 is all Rick Long versus Bobby Holman for both Monster Nationals titles. Long has taken a nearly insurmountable lead in the racing category with 6 wins to Bobby’s 1 so far. Freestyle however will be a tight battle as Holman has taken 4 wins in the Lucas Oil Stabilizer to 3 wins for Long and Bigfoot.

Checkered Flag Productions – Have yet to see any point standings posted out of the CFP camp, but that doesn’t much matter as Eric Tack has won nearly every competition he has run in Bigfoot Bad Boy #14. With points going to the truck rather than the driver this year, it’s all but a certainty that Eric Tack/Larry Swim will combine to give Bigfoot Bad Boy the best point total by a massive margin going into the finals in Pocatello.

AMP Tour – In the past couple years, AMP has awarded championships for both racing and freestyle. We have yet to hear their plans for this year, but if they do so once again, there will be quite the battle for those titles as the Monster Truck Thunder Drags has been very competitive this year. In racing, Rodney Tweedy in Bigfoot #10, Travis Sturges in Unnamed & Untamed and rookie driver Travis Petri in Toxic each have 2 wins a piece to lead that category. In freestyle, Larry Quick and Ghost Ryder and rookie driver Darron Schnell in Bigfoot #10 are tied with 3 wins each.

Rookie of the Year Update

After no surprise that Ryan Anderson ran away with Rookie of the Year honors in 2010, this season is different in that it is completely wide open. Monster Jam has many candidates for Rookie of the Year including:  off-road champion Todd Leduc, former rockcrawler Nicole Johnson, and long time crew chief Becky McDonough, along with Bari Mussawir, Joey Parnell and Scott Buetow. In addition to the new Monster Jam drivers, established teams are bringing new blood into the spot including: Darron Schnell with Bigfoot, Jaff Hatten with Team Beast, Morgan Kane for Steve Sims and Jimmy Tracey for Mike Vaters. Several new independent owner/drivers are in the race as well, including: Travis Petri in Toxic, JR McNeal in Razin Kane, Jeff Murphy in Fatal Attraction and Derrick Anson in Heavy Hitter. Take a look at some of each drivers’ accomplishments thus far in 2011:

– Todd Leduc, Blue Thunder – first ever major stadium racing win in Phoenix, Arizona this past weekend.
– Nicole Johnson, Tasmanian Devil – three arena racing victories
– Darron Schnell, Firestone Bigfoot #11 – three wheelie wins, 1 racing win and 3 freestyle wins along with being a candidate for save of the year after an incredible save in Fayetteville
– Derrick Anson, Heavy Hitter – seven racing victories on the TBO Tour
– Becky McDonough, Dragon’s Breath; Travis Petri, Toxic; Jimmy Tracey, Black Stallion; Morgan Kane, Mopar Magic; and JR McNeal, Razin Kane – each of these drivers have also found victory lane in at least one racing/freestyle competiton.

The new season is very young but the early leaders have to be Leduc, Schnell, Johnson and Anson as they are finding victory lane with regularity in just the first month of their first full season in monster trucks.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this look around the monster truck industry with January completed, stay tuned to the TMB Results Tracker to see what drivers are putting wins on the board each week. Watch for an updated TMB Leaderboard article following the completion of each month as we bring recognition to outstanding performance all throughout 2011!

In Focus: Eric Tack

We caught up with Eric Tack, legendary former Bigfoot driver who has returned to fill in for the injured Larry Swim, and he’s going to be our subject of second installment of In Focus. Eric drove for Team Bigfoot in the ’90’s and early ’00’s, but stepped out of the seat and has made a few come back appearances in recent years. Eric is currently piloting the Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 on the Monster Truck Winter Nationals series until regular driver Larry Swim is able to return.

Legendary BIGFOOT driver Eric Tack celebrates a big freestyle win at last April's Pontiac Silverdome event.

Chris Parrish: Eric, you’re back in the saddle driving Bigfoot again after a lengthy break, what’s it like to be back?

Eric Tack: It’s just another walk in the park, actually. It’s fun to sit back in the truck again and enjoy the thrill and excitement of it.

CP: We’re going to venture through your career. How did you get started with Bigfoot and did you work with any other teams before that?

ET: No, actually, years ago John Piant and Dan Runte were in Pittsburgh and I talked to them, and that was where I first made contact with Bigfoot. That would be back in ‘88 or ‘89. That was right when Dan started, I know. I used to race motor cross back in the old Camel Mud & Monster days. I talked to Dan and at that time, they had a deal where an insurance clause wouldn’t allow you to work for them until you were 25, so I had to put it off for a couple years. I talked to Jim Kramer in Bloomsburg, PA one year and he said the insurance thing went away, so I sent in my resume and two weeks later I was working for Bigfoot.

CP: What was the first Bigfoot you drove in a show?

ET: It would have been Bigfoot #8 in Illinois. No, I’ve got to back up there. It would have been Bigfoot #9, which had a Snake Bite body on it, in Craig, CO. That would have been my first show.

Tack has been on fire since stepping into the Bigfoot Bad Boy ride, winning nearly every event he has competed in during the first month of the year.

CP: Do you have a highlight in your career? Any particular high moment?

ET: Yeah, working for Zane (Rettew of Checkered Flag Productions). Not prompted there at all, he’s not standing close or anything (laughing). Really, wining the 2000 PRO MT championship would have been one. Jumping the airplane (In Firestone Wilderness) would have been a big one. Doing a lot of neat shows and meeting a lot of neat people.

CP: Speaking of the airplane jump, tell us a little bit about that. Thoughts, feelings… you’re jumping over an AIRPLANE in a MONSTER TRUCK!

ET: We did a bunch of test jumps out in the test field down at Bigfoot. I think I jumped 13 times just to make sure I could get the height and distance. Then there was about a month and a half until we actually did the jump. So, there was a lot of anxiety waiting and realizing what was going on.

CP: When did you get out of the sport?

ET: I think November 2003 was my last show. That’s when I moved from St. Louis and left Bigfoot full time and moved back to Butler, PA. I bought my dad’s excavating business and have been digging ditches ever since.

CP: Did you miss monster trucks during that time?

ET: It’s an addiction. I guess I’ve heard it before, you can take the boy out of the truck, but you can’t take the truck out of the boy. It’s something that you do miss, but running equipment you do get somewhat of the same satisfaction, but you don’t have as big of crowds.

Tack has typically made a cameo appearance here and there since stepping away from the sport, as he did here piloting Raminator in Canfield, Ohio in 2008.

CP: You stepped away for a while, but you’ve appeared to be willing to jump back in the seat. Would you have any interest in running a truck full time?

ET: I’d probably consider it, but running a business back home in the winter months right now, we’re slow and we’re just depending on the snow coming down because we plow snow, too. You kind of fill in, in between doing that. But, in the summer months when we’re busy, I don’t know how easy it would be to run full time.

CP: The deal running the Bigfoot Bad Boy in Larry’s place during first quarter really works out well for you?

ET: Yeah, it kind of all came all together. When Bob Trent called and told me the situation and asked about it, it was great to know that they felt they could call and put me in that position.

CP: Throughout your career, who do you think was your biggest rival?

ET: Oohh…probably Dan(Runte)….within the Bigfoot organization. There are a lot of great drivers I’ve met out there. Gary Porter and Dan Patrick are probably two of the top ones, other than the Bigfoot drivers.

CP: You’ve mentioned that it’s hard to really get out of the sport, it’s always a part of you…what’s the biggest benefit to being out of the sport?

ET: None.. (laughter)….

CP: You’ve seen a lot of developments through your career in the industry. Is there any one item that you consider to be the biggest improvement in the sport?

ET: I’d say lately, probably the specialized seats that are custom made to the driver. That’s a huge, huge step. When I was at Bigfoot, Jim Kramer and I started the shocks that they are running now, and they have fine tuned them since. The shocks were a big step, but these ISP seats that Bigfoot runs, that’s a huge safety step.

CP: Where do you see the sport going in the future? Do you have any thoughts on where it might be heading?

ET: Well, I watch TV and watch Feld do their thing and watch all the promoters do theirs. I don’t know how much bigger you can go with it. (They’re) pushing the extremes of the trucks. I guess you can only go bigger.

Tack rides a wheelie over the massive center stack at the Pontiac Silverdome in Bigfoot #11. When the Bad Boy stint is over, who knows where Tack will turn up next?

CP: You mentioned watching it on TV. Do you keep up with the sport while you’re away from the seat?

ET: A little bit. I’m not computer oriented, so I don’t do the internet stuff, but when it’s on TV and I have time to watch, I flip through and watch it.

CP: Is there anything about the sport you don’t like these days?

ET: Down time.

CP: On a personal level, what’s your daily driver? What does a monster truck driver drive during the week?

ET: I start the morning in an F-150, then either move to a super duty or an International dump truck in the afternoon.

CP: Do you have any hobbies? I understand that you follow the Steelers.

ET: Oh, of course!

CP: Any other hobbies?

ET: I like to hunt and fish, ride quads, and just spend time with family.

CP: Pittsburgh fan all around?

ET: Ah, yes. Ehh…except for baseball. We won’t go there.

CP: Do you have a favorite monster truck?

ET: Blue. There is only one monster truck isn’t there?

We’ve got to thank Eric Tack for his time and participation. Eric has done a great job filling in for Larry Swim in Bigfoot Bad Boy. He has put on an excellent show everywhere he’s traveled, filling the Bad Boy shoes perfectly and we can only hope to continue to seeing Eric in the seat in some capacity in the future after Larry’s return sometime in February.

We hope you enjoyed another edition of In Focus, stay tuned next month as we detail another of the industry’s top personalities.

Photos courtesy Ross Z. Bonar and Paul M. Harry.

Wow Moments: R.O.R. – Monster Trucks’ Most Realistic Game is Free?

The world of monster truck gaming has evolved once again with the fruition of Rigs of Rods. For those not familiar with monster truck’s newest and most realistic game, Rigs of Rods, or R.O.R., is an open source vehicle simulator based on soft-body physics. In layman’s terms, Rigs of Rods consists of realistic trucks and tracks with physics that are unmatched in previous monster truck games, including those in the Monster Jam series and Monster Truck Madness 2.

Rigs Of Rods: Monster Truck Gaming Taken To A Whole New Level!

With a reasonable gaming computer and a little patience for downloading, the realm of Rigs of Rods will have you riding slap wheelies, landing monster sky wheelies, and spinning cyclone donuts in no time! R.O.R. features replica tracks including the Indianapolis 4 Wheel Jamboree, Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, and even a rendition of the World Finals held at Sam Boyd Stadium. In addition, Rigs of Rods allows its users to pilot over 80 of the top monster trucks in the world today. The count of new trucks grows consistently as the masterminds behind the success of Monster Truck Madness 2 have taken on the task of creating new and improved trucks to be used in game play.

Did I mention it was free? Rigs of Rods can be downloaded at www.rigsofrods.com. The site offers newcomers a “Beginner’s Guide” that contains tips, tricks, and troubleshooting that is invaluable to setting up and playing the game. When the game is installed and you’re ready to download various truck and track packs, visit www.sim-monsters.com and their download sections. There you will find the trucks and tracks mentioned above as well as leagues to allow you the opportunity to strut your stuff against other R.O.R. enthusiasts. Remember, when saving new trucks and tracks, make sure you enter the streams folder within the Rigs of Rods main folder first, then the “final” folder, and finally, place them in either the terrains or vehicles folder. Last but not least, on the Rigs of Rods configurator, remember to “clear cache” and “regen cache”, which are both located under the “Advanced” tab, to ensure your new trucks and tracks will be installed for gameplay.

The monster truck gaming world has been revolutionized by Rigs of Rods. I encourage you to install the game and play it. We here at TMB love to dabble in R.O.R. when time permits and want to hear what you think about the game. What could be done differently to better the game? What do you like the least? Most? Speak your mind…

Photos Courtesy of www.Sim-Monsters.com and Video Courtesy of www.YouTube.com.

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #4

The first month of the season is in the books and Adam Anderson has become the first driver to hold the #1 spot for two weeks running in one of the most competitive TMB “Road to the World Finals” power rankings seasons yet. Anderson and Grave Digger The Legend swept the entire weekend in Washington D.C. to retain the top spot by just over 15 points. Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter keeps the #2 spot after a semi-final appearance and runner-up in freestyle in Indianapolis this past weekend.

Linsey Weenk continues to hang around the front of the pack after a big racing win in Indianapolis while Chad Tingler moves up to 4th after following up his San Diego double down with a final round appearance and freestyle victory in Phoenix. Rounding out the top 5 is former #1 Damon Bradshaw in Air Force Afterburner, who also had a great weekend in Indianapolis.

Randy Brown continues to barely hang in the top 24, currently fighting it out with John Seasock and Scott Hartsock for that final position. Alex Blackwell and George Balhan are now on the outside looking in, with Kelvin Ramer now joining them after a strong weekend in Anaheim.

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

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

1/29 – Anaheim, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Kelvin Ramer – Time Flys – 15
Semi-Finals – Andrew Peckhum – Tropical Thunder – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Ryan Huffaker – TMNT – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Tony Farrell – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
3rd – Ryan Huffaker – TMNT – 10
4th – Kelvin Ramer – Time Flys – 5

1/29 – Phoenix, Arizona

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Todd Leduc – Blue Thunder – 20
2nd – Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 15
Semi-Finals – Jim Koehler – Avenger – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Alex Blackwell – Captain’s Curse – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Jim Koehler – Avenger – 15
3rd – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 10
4th – Todd Leduc – Blue Thunder – 5

1/29 – Orlando, Florida

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Scott Hartsock – Gun Slinger – 15
Semi-Finals – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Chuck Werner – El Toro Loco – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jeremy Slifko – Backdraft – 20
2nd – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 15
3rd – Steve Sims – Stone Crusher – 10
Tie 4th – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 2.5
Tie 4th – Cam McQueen – Nitro Circus – 2.5

1/29 – Indianapolis, Indiana

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 20
2nd – Damon Bradshaw – Air Force Afterburner – 15
Semi-Finals – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 15
Tie 3rd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 7.5
Tie 3rd – Damon Bradshaw – Air Force Afterburner – 7.5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2011 Results Tracker January 14th-16th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win).

If you haven’t followed along with TMB’s Road to the World Finals in the past, we’re sure that you have many questions about how we put this together: How does it work? Which events are we including? How are the points awarded? etc. At the bottom of each week’s update, you’ll see the detailed rationale and explanation that should answer most of these questions.

Stay tuned each week to 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 5-8 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 a weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4 (Tacoma being the exception with 5), and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)).

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #3

The Monster Jam season is rolling through the first month of the season and with Week #3 in the books, we have yet another new face on top of the standings. Young Adam Anderson has taken over the #1 seed after sweeping freestyle in Toronto this past weekend. He holds a slight lead over Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter who is coming off a freestyle sweep of his own in Sacramento.

Perrenial #1 spot contender Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction has moved back into contention for the top spot after dual racing victories in Toronto along with two freestyle runner-ups. Linsey Weenk’s consistent performances in stadium shows keep him in the fourth spot overall while last week’s #1, Damon Bradshaw falls to fifth after a rough weekend in Tampa.

Lee O’Donnell, Randy Brown and Alex Blackwell are hanging on to the last couple spots in the top 24, while Dan Rodoni, John Seasock and Scott Hartsock are just barely on the outside looking in.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #3 below:

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

1/23 – San Diego, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 15
Semi-Finals – Chris Bergeron – Brutus – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Mark MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Jim Koehler – Avenger – 15
3rd – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 10
4th – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 5

1/23 – Tampa, Florida

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Scott Hartsock – Gun Slinger – 15
Semi-Finals – Lionel Easler – Instigator – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Frank Krmel – AAP Grinder – 15
3rd – Steve Sims – Stone Crusher – 10
4th – Alex Blackwell – Captain’s Curse – 5

1/23 – Houston, Texas

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Darren Migues – Stone Crusher – 20
Tie – 2nd – Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 12.5
Tie – 2nd – Dana Creech – Monster Mutt – 10
4th – Ryan Huffaker – TMNT – 5

1/23 – Toronto, Ontario

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 15
Semi-Finals – Mike Vaters – Black Stallion – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 20
2nd – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 15
3rd – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 10
4th – Scott Buetow – Iron Man – 5

1/24 – Toronto, Ontario

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
Semi-Finals – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 20
2nd – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 15
3rd – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 10
4th – Mike Vaters – Black Stallion – 5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2011 Results Tracker January 14th-16th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win).

If you haven’t followed along with TMB’s Road to the World Finals in the past, we’re sure that you have many questions about how we put this together: How does it work? Which events are we including? How are the points awarded? etc. At the bottom of each week’s update, you’ll see the detailed rationale and explanation that should answer most of these questions.

Stay tuned each week to 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 5-8 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 a weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4 (Tacoma being the exception with 5), and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)).

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #2

Week #2 of the 2011 Monster Jam season is in the books and TMB’s Road to the World Finals unofficial power rankings have shaken up dramatically as a new face has taken over the top spot!  The cancellation of the Atlanta Monster Jam scheduled for this weekend saw 14 trucks redistributed among other Monster Jam events all over the country. With 22 trucks in San Antonio, 18 in Anaheim and 14 in Tacoma, the weekend was full of high profile events, giving the opportunity for a driver to step up and seize control of the standings. Damon Bradshaw and Jimmy Creten did exactly that as Bradshaw swept it all in San Antonio while Creten dominated in Tacoma. They are now ranked 1-2 in the overall standings.

Linsey Weenk in Lucas Oil Crusader takes over the 3 spot after a couple of racing wins in Tacoma, while Carl Van Horn sits fourth overall after nearly sweeping the entire weekend in Hidalgo, Texas. Rounding out the top 5 is Adam Anderson in Grave Digger the Legend who followed up his dominating performance in Manchester last week with strong runs in San Antonio.

Damon Bradshaw and Air Force Afterburner have taken over the top spot after a huge weekend sweep in San Antonio.

The battle for the 24th and final position is beginning to shape up as Lee O’Donnell, Frank Krmel, Alex Blackwell and John Seasock currently sit tied for 21st overall. Just on the outside looking in are former World Freestyle Champ Jim Koehler in Avenger and sophomore driver Nick Owens in Iron Outlaw, who has greatly impressed in just the first two weeks of his rookie Monster Jam season.

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

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

1/15 – Anaheim, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Mark MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 20
2nd – Jim Koehler – Avenger – 15
Semi-Finals – Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Kelvin Ramer – Time Flys – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 15
3rd – Alex Blackwell – Captain’s Curse – 10
4th – Chris Bergeron – Brutus – 5

1/15 – San Antonio, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Damon Bradshaw – Air Force Afterburner – 20
2nd – John Seasock – AAP Grinder – 15
Semi-Finals – Mark Hall – Raminator – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Darren Migues – Stone Crusher – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Damon Bradshaw – Air Force Afterburner – 20
2nd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
3rd – Darren Migues – Stone Crusher – 10
4th – Joe Sylvester – Bad Habit – 5

1/16 – San Antonio, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Damon Bradshaw – Air Force Afterburner – 20
2nd – Darren Migues – Stone Crusher – 15
Semi-Finals – Ben Winslow – Bounty Hunter – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Damon Bradshaw – Air Force Afterburner – 20
2nd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
3rd – Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 10
4th – Darren Migues – Stone Crusher – 5

1/14 – Tacoma, Washington – Friday

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 10
2nd – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Chad Fortune – Superman – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Dan Rodoni – The Patriot – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 10
2nd – Tony Farrell – Grave Digger The Legend – 7.5
3rd – Rod Schmidt – Grave Digger – 50
4th – Nick Owens – Iron Outlaw – 2.5

1/14 – Tacoma, Washington – Saturday #1

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 10
2nd – Dan Rodoni – The Patriot – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Andrew Peckhum – Tropical Thunder – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Nick Owens – Iron Outlaw – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tony Farrell – Grave Digger The Legend – 10
2nd – Rod Schmidt – Grave Digger – 7.5
3rd – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 50
4th – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 2.5

1/14 – Tacoma, Washington – Saturday #2

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 10
2nd – Tony Farrell – Grave Digger The Legend – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Lupe Soza – AAP Grinder – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 10
2nd – Tony Farrell – Grave Digger The Legend – 7.5
3rd – Lupe Soza – AAP Grinder – 50
4th – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 2.5

1/14 – Tacoma, Washington – Sunday #1

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 10
2nd – Dan Rodoni – The Patriot – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Bari Musawwir – El Toro Loco – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 10
2nd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 7.5
3rd – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 50
4th – Rod Schmidt – Grave Digger – 2.5

1/14 – Tacoma, Washington – Sunday #2

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 10
2nd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Dan Rodoni – The Patriot – 3.75
Semi-Finals – Nick Owens – Iron Outlaw – 3.75

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 10
2nd – Lupe Soza – AAP Grinder – 7.5
3rd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 50
4th – Rod Schmidt – Grave Digger – 2.5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2011 Results Tracker January 14th-16th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win).

If you haven’t followed along with TMB’s Road to the World Finals in the past, we’re sure that you have many questions about how we put this together: How does it work? Which events are we including? How are the points awarded? etc. At the bottom of each week’s update, you’ll see the detailed rationale and explanation that should answer most of these questions.

Stay tuned each week to 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 5-8 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 a weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4 (Tacoma being the exception with 5), and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)).

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” Returns for 5th Season

One of our most popular features each year on TheMonsterBlog.com is back for 2011, as we once again rank drivers week to week in our “Road to the World Finals” Unofficial Point Standings. Fans always wonder exactly how USHRA selects its 24 competitors for the annual Monster Jam World Finals, and so do we. We also often wonder just how all the drivers stack up against each other throughout, and at the end of the year. Without a national points system for the Monster Jam series, it is awfully hard to do so as they often run events in up to 10-15 different venues in a single weekend. So for the 5th year in a row, TMB will be operating our “Road to the World Finals” unofficial point standings for the Monster Jam series based straight from results available at MonsterJam.com. This is our way of ranking the drivers based on their performance throughout the season and gives us a good idea of which drivers have earned a spot in the World Finals, whether they ultimately end up being selected or not.

If you didn’t follow along last year, we’re sure that you have many questions about how we put this together: How does it work? Which events are we including? How are the points awarded? etc. At the bottom of each week’s update, you’ll see the detailed rationale and explanation that should answer most of these questions. Last year, Tom Meents edged out Dennis Anderson in one of the closest point battles we’ve ever seen, eclipsing Dennis by less than 5 points. Who will be tops in 2011? Follow along and let’s find out together!

So far in the 2011 season, the battle for the #1 spot is shaping up to once again be the Dennis and Tom show, with Anderson having the edge after Week 1. Anderson’s huge double down in Houston has him out front over Meents, who picked up a freestyle win in Detroit but was eliminated in the semi-finals of racing. Big performances from Gary Porter and Carl Van Horn in Columbus and Trenton, each winning 5 of a possible 6 competitions has them in the mix as well, tied for third overall with Linsey Weenk in the new Lucas Oil Crusader stemming from his strong performance in Houston.

The legendary Dennis Anderson has the #1 spot after a Double Down performance in Houston.

The battle for the last spot has yet to take shape after only one week of competition as thirteen drivers are currently tied for the 21st overall position. Once a couple weeks of the season are in the books, we’ll have a better picture of who is earning a shot at the World Finals in 2011.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week 1 below:

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

1/8 – Detroit, Michigan

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 20
2nd – Frank Krmel – AAP Grinder – 15
Semi-Finals – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 15
3rd – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 10
4th – Frank Krmel – AAP Grinder – 5

1/8 – Houston, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 15
Semi-Finals – Cam McQueen – Nitro Circus – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Damon Bradshaw – Air Force Afterburner – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Lupe Soza – AAP Grinder – 15
3rd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 10
4th – Chris Bergeron – Brutus – 5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2011 Results Tracker January 7th-9th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle 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 5-8 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 a weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4 (Tacoma being the exception with 5), and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)).

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Wow Moments: Razin Kane Ready for 2011 Season

This edition of the Wow Moments Blog checks in with Team Razin Kane’s owner/driver JR McNeal. Over the course of just one year in competition, the team took home numerous wins against some of the stars and top names in the monster truck world today. The team has since undergone a lot of changes in the offseason and they feel they are beyond ready to tackle the competition in 2011. We talked to JR about those changes and about his thoughts on beginning his rookie season behind the wheel.

Razin Kane has been revamped and overhauled and is ready to take on the competition in 2011.

TMB: This coming Friday will mark the first time you pilot the truck in full-on competition. Talk about some of the things going through your mind as you mentally prepare for the Southaven Monster Nation show.

JR: There’s a lot of things going through my mind. The driving part I’m not too worried about. It’s more the stupid stuff like something going wrong with the truck, like it won’t start or the rear steering malfunctioning.  I just want to perform and have fun. The one thing on my side is I know the teams competing at our first show and I know the track layout. There’s definitely a comfort level established with these things already in place. I have some shoes to fill from last year but I don’t see that being a problem.

TMB: Your schedule takes you to a lot of familiar places that saw Razin Kane with Chris Lagana driving last year and they know what the truck is capable of. Which shows will you be driving in and which will new teammate Ronnie Cochran be handling the driving duties?

JR: Well first of all Ronnie is a hell of a guy and brings a hell of a lot of experience to the team.  We are actually talking about what shows that he will be driving for us during the weekend of our first show.  Ronnie will be driving full time eventually when the second truck is done, which will be in March. Until then, Ronnie and I will be switching back and forth because of my business at home.

Just one of the many upgrades for 2011, Razin Kane's new nitrogen shocks.

TMB: Razin Kane has become a force to be reckoned with in it’s first year of competition. Talk about what modifications you’ve made to truck and to the team in the offseason to further the team’s success.

JR: We have made a lot of changes to the truck. We’ve changed the body out from the Dodge Dakota body you saw last season to a brand new 2011 Dodge Ram 3500 full size pick-up body. We also changed out the shocks from 18 inch coil shocks to nitrogen 26’s all the way around, which means all new shock mounts. We decided to move the steering back three inches, changed the zoomies to headers for exhaust, rewired the whole truck with the new painless wiring system designed specifically for monster trucks, a brand new motor, new seat, all new lexan up front with new gauges, back up lights to go with back up beeper, a new different style radiator, and even added a new sway bar up front and  two more batteries. We also modified our frame a little and re-enforced the running gear and rims. Last and not least,  we modified the paint job.

In addition to the changes to the truck itself, we lost a team member and gained three new members. Chris moved on, which was for the best and we wish him well. We are excited at the shop with new attitudes and different ideas. I’m really excited because of the things that will get done while I’m on the road at the shop. The next truck has been started and we will have video up soon from beginning to end so stay tuned to our website at www.RazinKaneMonsterTrucks.com.

Razin Kane is sporting a brand new Dodge Ram 3500 body for 2011.

TMB: It is amazing how much work goes into getting these trucks race ready. Even beyond that though, countless hours are devoted by teams just in traveling from show to show and routine maintenance in between shows to ensure the truck is at 100% each weekend. Who are some of the folks that help the team stay running?

JR: You’re exactly right. We do it because we love it and anyone else who isn’t affiliated with monster trucks wouldn’t understand this love/hate relationship we all deal with in this sport. I can’t thank all the people who help us enough – first and four most the Man above, my wife , my kids, my business partners, Marc White, Roy Pridgeon, Thomas Tripp, James Walker, and all my employees for all the continued support. It really makes me feel good. My sponsors that I would like to thank are myself and myself lol. Just kidding, really, thanks to Central Florida Speed and Machine, FTI Competition Transmissions and Convertors, Braille Batteries, FK Rod End, BMF Shocks, and McNeal and White Contractors. To the Promoters – man, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate Ed and Zane over at Checkered Flag Productions. I would not have this opportunity if it weren’t for these guys. Monster Nation with Brian and Kelly, and John over at MAP Motorsports have also given our team a shot and for that we’re extremely grateful. I can’t thank these promoters enough for giving Razin Kane the chance and we won’t let you down. This is going to be a good year for us.

A big thanks to JR for taking time out of the team’s busy preparation schedule to talk with us. Check out last week’s Video of the Week to see JR’s last test run in Razin Kane before heading out to compete in his first event this weekend in Southaven. Stay tuned to TheMonsterBlog.com to follow JR and the guys with Razin Kane as they tackle the competition in 2011. For more information and the teams 2011 appearance schedule, visit their website at www.RazinKaneMonsterTrucks.com.

The Insider: Team Beast Expanding for 2011

With the calendars now turned to 2011, the start of the new season is less than a week away and work is progressing feverishly at the Team Beast shop in Ohio. One of the big stories of the off season is the major expansion of veteran monster truck competitor Bobby Holman’s Team Beast as they add two brand new trucks in preparation for the 2011 Monster Nationals indoor season.

Team Beast took delivery of two brand new Patrick Enterprises chassis right around Thanksgiving and work has been going on 24/7 to complete the build of the new trucks which will be ran as Star Marshall and Chalkboard Chuck. The new Patrick chassis trucks are an addition to the custom Holman built chassis ran on Lucas Oil Stabilizer and Ironman.

Two beautiful new Patrick Enterprises chassis ready for delivery to Team Beast (photo courtesy Samson4x4.com).

“We’ve had plans to expand the team for some time, but we weren’t planning on doing it quite this soon,” explained team owner Bobby Holman. “But when Family Events called and wanted us to do the Star Marshall and Chalkboard Chuck trucks, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. It’s created a lot more work during the offseason but we’ve been adding on to the shop and we’ll be working on getting a system down for maintaining the trucks as we start first quarter. It’ll likely be  a bit rough to handle at first, but we’ll be ready for it. Most of all, we’re really excited to debut the trucks, we think the fans are really going to enjoy them.”

The concept for the new Star Marshall truck is themed around a fun, kid-friendly sheriff character. “He’s a good guy with a bad attitude, a real Clint Eastwood type,” said Holman. Bobby’s brother Ralph Holman will be the pilot for the new truck.

Much anticipation surrounds the debut of the new concept truck, Chalkboard Chuck. Family Events and Team Beast have been working with a company that produces a special “chalkboard” textured paint. The top of the fiberglass body will be vinyl wrapped with the Chalkboard Chuck design, while the bottom will feature the chalkboard paint, allowing fans to write on the side of the truck during the Pit Party and see their designs as the truck competes in the show. The designs can then be erased, leaving a blank slate for the next group of fans to decorate for the next show. Dave Radzierez will be the driver of Chalkboard Chuck for the Monster Nationals season as he follows the tour displaying his Airdog Diesel monster truck.

The 2011 season will also see a new rookie driver for the team as newcomer Jeff Hatten replaces former Team Beast driver Shane Smith behind the wheel of Ironman.

In addition to the expansion of the team, Holman is very proud to welcome back Lucas Oil for 2011 as he and the Stabilizer will once again run for the 2011 Monster Nationals championship. “We’ve got a lot of big things in the works with Lucas Oil including a new wrap design they’ve been working on with us that we should have ready for the Madison, Wisconsin event,” said Holman. “We’re really going after the championship this year, we’ve been working on some different things to make the truck hook up harder on the concrete so we can give Rick and Bigfoot a run for their money.”

Bobby Holman will be back in the Lucas Oil Stabilizer, gunning for the 2011 Monster Nationals championship.

The team will wrap up first quarter in a big way as all four trucks will head down to Phoenix for the big Monster Nationals event at University of Phoenix Stadium. Holman is looking forward to returning to the beautiful stadium that was featured in a SPEED TV Monster Jam episode this past season. “We were there for the opening of that place at the big AMP show a few years back, put on a wild freestyle and rolled her over. It’s always exciting to do a stadium show and we’re real excited that Monster Nationals is stepping it up to that level and that we’re a big part of that, taking all four trucks.”

Holman finishes a wild freestyle by putting the Beast on its lid at the 2006 AMP event at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The entire team has also been invited to participate on the entire 4 Wheel Jamboree Nationals tour in 2011 taking on the likes of Hall Brothers Racing, Team Scream and the Crushstation “Monstah Lobstah”. After running a couple of the Jamborees in 2010, Holman will also be gunning to try and be the one to finally break the stranglehold that Hall Brothers Racing has has on the Monster Truck Thunder Drags title for the last 10 years or so.

See below for Team Beast’s First Quarter Event Schedule:

1/7-8:  Huntington, West Virginia – Big Sandy Superstore Arena
1/20-21: Highland Heights, Kentucky – Bank of Kentucky Center
1/28-29: Madison, Wisconsin – Alliant Energy Center Memorial Coliseum
2/4-5: Corbin, Kentucky – The Arena
2/11-12: Cedar Rapids, Iowa – US Cellular Center
2/18-19: Sioux City, Iowa – Tyson Events Center
2/25-26: Du Quoin, Illinois – Southern Illinois Center
3/12-13: Hoffman Estates, Illinois – Sears Centre Arena
3/26: Glendale, Arizona – University of Phoenix Stadium

TMB thanks Bobby Holman for taking a few moments out of Team Beast’s first quarter preparation to share some details on all they’ve got going on. Stay tuned for the unveiling of Star Marshall and Chalkboard Chuck and also be watching for an all new website for Team Beast that is currently in development and expected to be released in the coming weeks.

In Focus: Randy Barton

Having seen many monster truck shows through the lens of a still camera or videocamera, I know how important it is to properly capture the subject in focus. Thus, TMB’s new feature article series, In Focus, will take a look at the people in the industry that make it happen in detail. We’ll be doing this through detailed interviews as we try to bring you the perspective of the men and women behind the machines.

For our premiere In Focus feature article we’re talking with Randy Barton, a life long fan making the dream a reality. Randy is a very talented racing chassis builder from Guilford, Indiana who is preparing his own unique monster and getting ready to tackle monster truck competition full force.

“I started on Bugzilla, a VW Beetle show truck on a modified ’75 Chevy Blazer frame, when I was 15yrs old. That got me involved in the Jamborees, I really liked the atmosphere. After that I went mud racing for a few years, class V and VI rear-engine cars. I had my fill of that and looked to monster trucks.” – Randy Barton

CP: When did you begin to follow monsters trucks?

RB: I had liked monster trucks as a little kid, I saw Spiker’s Eagle and Stomper Bully, if you remember, those were the coolest trucks ever! As a little kid I always said, “One day, I’m going to have a monster truck.” That’s probably a lot of the reason that as a teenager in high school I got into welding. I guess I looked at it as, “By welding I can make a living and learn how to do stuff that it is going to take to assist with my hobbies.” Luckily, I guess I’m pretty decent at it, that’s how I’ve made my living ever since I graduated high school. That’s led to a teaching job for a while, with welding. Now I’m back to pipefitting, which I really enjoy. I can honestly say that I like my job welding. Because of that, it is fairly easy to do chassis work and stuff like that. That’s kind of how I got into the 4wd scene, the monster trucks. I was a little kid that liked monster as most of the readers do.

CP: Do you remember your first live show?

RB: It had to have been the mid 80’s, ’85ish maybe, at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum. I can’t remember if it was a tractor pull or a mud bog, but monster trucks were the side act as they often were in those days. I remember that Bigfoot, Lon Ranger, Samson 1, the Blue Thunder Camaro and Stomper Bully were all there. Definitely a stacked lineup.

CP: You built the Abuzer tank and have already sold it. What happened to that?

RB: I actually sold it to Ryan Rice and his dad, who have the General Hazard ride truck. They actually bought the Incinerator truck that used to be the old Sniper truck of Rob French’s years ago. They’re a really cool group and they have a nice ride truck, a race truck, and, I think, a pretty decent tank now.

CP: Do you miss the tank?

RB: I am yet to miss any metal object that I’ve ever sold. It also freed up a little bit of money for me to put better parts in the monster truck.

CP: That brings up another point, you are running the notoriously more costly Hemi instead of the cheaper and more common Chevy blocks, why?

RB: When I was mud racing, I ran a Hemi in that and I really liked the power that it made. Now though, as I’m buying parts for the Hemi now, I’m almost wishing that I had gone with a big block Chevy engine. It would have been a lot cheaper. The Hemi is also known to be less reliable, so that is an issue as well. If reliability really becomes an issue, I’ll just take the Hemi out and drop a Chevy in. I really like the power of the Hemi, but I am regretting it a little as the costs stack up.

CP: Bugzilla looks wild compared to some of the more standardized designs, tell us what is different.

RB: It is a variation of a Willman chassis. It has one main tube for the main frame rail. It is bellied out in the middle and then tapers in and down on each end. That’s because I’ve got the Hemi behind me, which is a lot wider than a big block Chevy and it is really deep in the chassis, so I really needed to make that chassis wider to get it that low. It has a 3.5in main tube. A lot of the subframe, the cradle area, is 2.5in diameter on the bottom. If you notice in the cage and the bottom of it, there is a little bit less material. I did that because I went with stronger materials. All of the cage, all of the upper part of it, instead of .120 or .125, like others use, I went with .188 wall DOM.

I gave my tubing bender a workout, but it is SO strong, I can’t believe it! I figure the thing is going to be upside down and when it hits hard, I don’t want to replace 10 bars that are .120 wall, I want to replace one or two bars that are .188 wall. It is also very light, actually. I’m not a very big guy, but you and I could probably actually pick the frame up off the ground. So it is strong and it is light and it is bobbed off at the end. It is a 150in wheelbase and the frame is no longer than a 150in. People have asked “What is it, like 120in or like one of Bill Payne’s trucks?” With the axles and the four-link bars underneath of it, you can see the wheels are on the far corners.

CP: No one wants to thrash needlessly on a truck, talk about the convenience built into the truck.

RB: The pan that the seat actually sits on, it is actually pinned in there with four pins to adjust so that you can move the seat back and forth. So if somebody else got in to drive it, you just slide the seat forward. You can also pull that whole assembly out, because the floor is only bolted in with maybe 8 or 10 bolts. There is also a flanged bar around the door area, so with a couple of pins and bolts in a flange you can change a tranny in a really short amount of time. Also, if you notice the suspension mounts, everything is adjustable. Up on the hoops, where there would typically be a hoop, there is a flat bar with 12-14 holes in it. The good thing about that, if I ever decide to change shocks or anything like that, I don’t have to change anything on the chassis. I can make taller mounts, shorter mounts, angled mounts, so changing shocks, changing the angle on the shocks easily. It is no more difficult than sliding a mount up or down and you’re good to go. Same thing with the limiting straps. I tried to make stuff as adjustable as possible on the chassis and the housings. I’ve got good bump stops for the rear because the motor does fit so low. I don’t want the four bars coming in contact with the oil pump or anything like that. I don’t want to replace busted Hemi parts.

CP: The housings are custom and look huge, what are they?

RB: I’ve got Pettibone knuckles on the end and 106s in the center. Some pretty standard stuff, but I built some real nice diamond shaped housings. They are built out of quarter inch. They have a 4.5in. tube on the inside that is a quarter inch thick. There are also block-off plates on the inside. We’re going to keep the oil in the third member area. I always figure that there is no need to have a couple of extra gallons of oil sloshin’ around in the tubes, or when you go into a corner, all of the oil runs to one side. I’ll put some seals inside and won’t have the drips all over the floor like a lot of other guys. There is caster and camber built into each one of the housings, so it should handle pretty good, and I believe we’re going to be pretty strong.

CP: The frame is bellied, but skinny, how do you climb in?

RB: It is somewhere in the 40in wide range in the center of it. Luckily, I’m fairly skinny and pretty nimble, so, I can actually climb in, but the door is going to swing open and I’ll actually climb in through the window. It is slim, but it’s mounted straight to the main frame rail. I figure that is going to be a little more ridged than mounting bars to outriggers that come off the main frame.

CP: What kind of body style are you using?

RB: This will be a glass version of a Baja Volkswagen. Convertible top, Baja front end, Baja fenders in the rear, not a whole lot in the rear. It is really going to look like an open class Baja car, but with a little bit bigger tires. It’s going to be called Bugzilla just like my old show truck.

CP: A VW isn’t a common fiberglass mold. What’s the story?

RB:
I knew the guy that started the Cincinnati Off-Road Center and he had a bunch of old VW parts scattered across his property. I went out there and wondered around the woods until I found a front clip for a VW Beetle convertible. You can see it wasn’t stored for preservation, but it would serve well for our mold for Bugzilla. I already had some doors and stuff laying around and bought a Baja front clip. We’ll have to stretch some of the parts to keep everything in proportion, so the body should look pretty authentic from a distance, just scaled up when close up.

CP: Racing or Freestyle emphasis? Mentally and technically.

RB: Looking at it, you can tell it is built really strong. If you look at some things, the adjustable shock mounts, the big Hemi, and the Abruzzi Powerglide, it is going to be a heck of a racer, but I built it so solid that I think I could just beat it to death and I’m not going to have a whole lot of issues. I enjoy freestyle, I LOVE freestyle, who doesn’t? I like racing too, though. I mud raced, I flat dragged for years, so I’ve got the racer mentality; I still like that stuff. I believe with the Hemi in it, it is going to have plenty of power to race anybody that I come against. If you look at the suspension, the rear ends, the shocks that I got for it, I think it will hang tough with about any freestyle course. I think I’ve built a pretty good all around machine. Time will tell.

CP: You have a full-time job. How do you plan on scheduling Bugzilla? Will you race full-time or maintain your pipefitting job?

RB: I’ve been at my job for a long time, it is a great job, I like it, I don’t think I’d give it up, no matter how great things got with this. Luckily, I’ve been there so long, if I need to take off an extended weekend, no problem. Obviously, I couldn’t do it every weekend. I don’t know that I’d want to do it every weekend. If I could run this thing 15 or 20 times the first year, that will tell me more what I want to do with it. Hopefully, I put good enough parts in it that I’m not going to be replacing parts, because if I’m replacing parts, spending money, that is going to put a sour taste in my mouth. I figure, if I build a good solid machine and I have a lot of fun with it, that will keep me more interested in it and make me want to run it more

CP: What is your favorite monster moment as a fan?

RB: I don’t know if I have a favorite moment, but I remember standing next to Spiker’s All-American with the 73’s and polished aluminum wheels. That was really cool.

CP: If you could change one thing in the industry, what would it be?

RB: I really hate the stereotypes that have been placed on the industry. The idea that the sport is comprised of a bunch of rednecks with primitive vehicles crushing things annoys me. There is a bit of the redneck stereotype in all motorsports, but it seems to be especially prevalent in monster trucks. These vehicles are sophisticated pieces of engineering specifically designed for their purpose. There are also many well spoken people participating in the industry and hopefully that will begin to counter the stereotypes.

CP: What is your biggest fear about the industry?

RB: I suppose my biggest fear is unknowingly getting involved with some of the dishonest people in the industry. There are a lot of good people in the industry, but there are some bad ones as well.

CP: How do you see the industry developing in the future?

RB: I see the sport continuing to become more sophisticated, hopefully with more participation from sponsors. Bigfoot 8, Equalizer and perhaps Taurus 3 were really the last big jump from one level to the next. There has been a lot of progress, but those trucks were a big jump for their time. I think something will happen at some point that will be another big leap like that. I think a big A-frame, independent suspension monster truck is possible, and will come along at some point and will probably be the next big leap in monster technology. Scott Bryant and I have some ideas, it isn’t something we are working on anytime soon, but we talk about it regularly and believe the possibility is out there.

CP: When will you debut?

RB: Soon hopefully, but I’ve got a project that has placed Bugzilla on a backburner, I’m also waiting on my Hemi to be done, but as soon as that project is completely, I’ll put the finishing touches on and test it. Hopefully, The Monster Blog can come out when I test it and I don’t make a fool out of myself or it doesn’t make a fool out of me.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the premiere article of TMB’s In Focus, stay tuned each month as we bring you another detailed interview with one of the monster truck industry’s newsmakers.

Blast From The Past: Minneapolis, MN 1988

Hello Monster Bloggers!   Welcome to the very first edition of the “Blast from the Past” feature article. I, TMB Videographer Colby Marshall, will be reviewing classic and not-so-classic shows from the glory days of monster truck competition. I’ll be doing this in a light-hearted, playfully sarcastic manner so don’t take offense, and let’s all sit back, have a few laughs and remember the way things used to be. Quite often in this article series, I plan on reviewing the lesser-known and lesser-celebrated events – why, you ask?  More material!

The first event I am going to cover is no exception. Welcome to the fantastipotomus (cough cough) that was the Minneapolis USHRA event in 1988! (YouTube would be a good place to look if you want to follow along) In addition to the monster trucks, this event featured pulling and mud racing. This being THE MONSTER BLOG, I will only be focusing on the monsters. As I start watching…oh no…no…it can’t be! LARRY HUFFMAN AND MARGO KING CALLING THE ACTION?!? For the love of all that is sacred, this is gonna be interesting.

We are immediately reminded that the winner of this particular event will be facing the Virginia Beach Beast in some kind of existential battle of good and evil…or something. My first thought is that the year before called and said, “You know, guys. We tried this. A LOT! And it really wasn’t that exciting.” Yet, here we are quite a bit past this “attraction” running its course. Margo and Larry play this up as one of the very first times this has happened (if you ignore the 745 other times before) and that it is some kind of major challenge. Whatever. On to the first race.

Oh, look, its Heartbeat. Wait a minute. It has a different driver. Who is the “Brent” Engleman guy? Must be Brett’s cousin. Kinda looks like Brett, so it must simply be a case of family resemblance, because USHRA broadcasts in the 1980’s would NEVER misspell a name, would they? He is lining up against Fred “Don’t call me Bob Chandler” Shafer in the 1988 Chevy-bodied Bearfoot. They will race down the pulling track, make an outside turn and hit six cars. The finish line is about thirty feet past the cars.

It always seemed weird to me that in a huge dome stadium, they would use a track that would fit in some hockey arenas. Was minimalist art in vogue in 1988? Maybe Ken Donat was considering a monastic lifestyle or something. Speaking of Ken Donat, he waves a flag and runs for his life. Fred jumps out to a gigantic lead as they make the turn. A bunch of awkward camera cuts later, and your winner is…Brent Engleman?!? How the heck did that happen? I wish I could tell you, but the production work was AWFUL for this first run. Even the Brett Engleman look-alike has no clue who won. He looks all confused until someone standing at trackside decides its time to tell him he was the victor. Brent pumps his fist in a glory not seen since Tiger Woods…oh nevermind. Heartbeat moves on.

The little pony that could, Black Stallion, is out next. Mr. Vaters will be taking on Jeff Bainter in Hot Stuff. Its for sale as I type this. Not much to report here. Hot Stuff wins by ten seconds on a twenty second course. You know, this young Vaters kid might turn into something some day. But this ain’t that day.

All hail the beauty that is Samson 1. My goodness, what an absolutely stunning vehicle! Don Maples as usual. Suddenly, a bird goes rocketing across the floor, and two stones are dead. This can mean only one thing. Bigfoot 4 levitates into place on the line, this time taking Rich Hooser along for the nirvana-like experience. Of course, this was two years before MC Hammer learned the hard way that 4, in fact, can touch this. No doubt in this one as Foot 4 completes the course 14 times before Samson 1 hits the turn. Bigfoot 4 moves on, but not before building a snowman out of rain.

Kodiak and Mark Bendler stroll to the starting blocks next to take on another of the most amazing looking vehicles ever built. Its pulling icon Diehl Wilson and Virginia Giant. Run, Donat, RUN! Wilson grabs a three-truck lead, but struggles with the turn. Kodiak makes up most of the ground, but not enough. This was a good race, but Virginia Giant moves on. Maybe there is something weird about that left-side turn. Might explain what happened to Fred, but we will never know because the director was having a seizure of some kind during that first race.

Sound the trumpets! Its time for round number two of the Monster trucks! Brent Engleman pulls back up to the line in the stolen Heartbeat truck. He lines up against the world’s largest jeep, Hot Stuff. The Ken Donat self-preservation run of doom signals the beginning of this contest. They are even, but Hot Stuff grabs a slight lead just before the turn. Brent proves that he is more talented than his identical twin cousin Brett by mastering the horrid left lane turn and retakes the lead. Both trucks race towards the cars in what is turning into a fantastic race. Its close! OH &%#$!!! Hot Stuff breaks pretty much everything in the front end! That looks expensive. We are told that Heartbeat won at the line, and while we don’t see it, I am sure that another fist pump of satisfaction was had. In a related story, I turn on the VOICE BASSIFIER AND REVERBERATOR 9000 to announce that it is time for…

THE MARGO KINGISM OF THE NIGHT!

“Where is Big Tow when you need him?”

and that was your MARGO KINGISM OF THE NIGHT! Back to the races.

Virginia Giant struts its blinged out self to the line as Foot 4 teleports itself from the pits to the starting box. Donat runs for his life again and the competition commences. Diehl Wilson leads at the turn as Bigfoot 4 takes time out to solve that pesky scientific issue about cold nuclear fusion. Virginia Giant spins on the ball bearing-covered teflon ice that is the floor of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Bigfoot 4 wins, but you already knew that.

We come back from a long-forgotten commercial for the final round, but not before a special bonus MARGO KINGISM OF THE NIGHT!

“Now, there aren’t many things that intimidate Monster Trucks, but Monster Tanks do!”

A two for one deal on THE MARGO KINGISM OF THE NIGHT, and now you all owe me.

Bigfoot 4 remains in the pits, but wishes a second version of itself into existence for the final round race against the man of 1000 faces, Brent “I am fairly certain that is a typo” Engleman. Foot 4 takes a lead going into the turn, but spins out so that it can set an ant on fire with a magnifying glass. Indoors. This leaves things wide open for Brent, who inexplicably stops to take a phone call from cousin Brett’s lawyer. 4 slams a revolving door and calmly finishes the course for the easy win. The crack production team misses the Bigfoot celebration donut while holding on a shot of the far lane cars while waiting for Heartbeat to finally hit them. YAY for lack of desire!

And now it is time for the most epic battle since the Austria-Ottoman Wars of 1529 (thank you, Google) as Bigfoot 4 takes on the Virginia Beach Beast. Aaaaaannnnnd Foot 4 wins by three truck lengths. The left front tire of 4 comes off the ground 10 inches, thus saving a small puppy that wandered onto the track. This doesn’t stop Larry Huffman from screaming that the truck “ALMOST GOES OVER!!!” Right, Larry.

We will be right back with the driver…I’ll be watching Alf.

Fun event that was typical of USHRA at the time. Seemed like they were in a rut of doing as little as possible in track design. It is still more interesting to me that straight line track #496 of the season over in that other tour.

That’s all, folks! I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Until next time…OLD SCHOOL RULES!

Wow Moments: The Silverdome Lives

The 2010 season marked the return for one of the most prestigious venues in the history of monster trucks: The Pontiac Silverdome. TMB was fortunate enough to be part of both the inaugural event (Domination in the Dome) and this November’s “Monster Truck Fall Shootout”. Between the two shows, names including Bigfoot, Excaliber, and Virginia Giant made their return to the hallowed building to once again do battle.  Other story lines, including the return of Eric Tack to pilot Bigfoot 11 for the show and the rebirth of the “Michigan Ice Monster” added nostalgic flavor and got my wheels turning as to how the legacy of the Silverdome could be further amplified.

The Pontiac Silverdome 11/13/10

Would a promoter in today’s monster truck world be able to successfully market an old-school style monster truck show in the Silverdome, including a full on truck and tractor pull and mud bog, alongside a full on “Battle of the Monster Trucks” between some of the old school trucks that are being plucked from fence rows and revived today? Would the average fan in Detroit who is used to the fast paced and high flying nature of today’s monsters be interested in paying to attend a show that showcases the roots of monster trucks?  After seeing the immense success of Jeff Cook’s 4×4 Off Road Truck Show Challenge in Auburn, Indiana this past October, I think the answer is yes. What do you think? If you were given the opportunity to promote a show in the legendary Pontiac Silverdome, what style event would you promote and why?