Monster Spectacular Tour Update – Red Baron Rocks Regina

(Ottawa, Ontario – By Doug De Nance) – The mystery man who drives the truck that reigns supreme in Canada supremely entertained Monster Spectacular fans in Regina when he not only tore off his mask, but tore up his truck during a most spectacular monster truck racing win.

During the VIP pre-show pit party, the Red Baron kept his red and white Luchador mask firmly in place, refusing to speak to the fans one on one or to them all on the microphone. When asked how he planned to win racing he simply held his arm up in an arc, demonstrating that he would make Red Baron fly over the cars. The incognito driver had more in common with the lucha libre wrestlers than just the mask. That heavily muscled arm he used to predict his racing win strained the seams of his black fire suit as the Canadian Champion signed autographs and had photos taken. But his personality remained an enigma to Monster Spectacular fans and officials alike.

One man who was anything but a mystery was Jimmy Creten. The 2005 World Monster Truck Freestyle Champion had come in second in racing at the world finals a few months ago and was out to prove he should have been first. Tearing through racing bracket after racing bracket since, Jimmy was driving Bounty Hunter to win after racing win. When asked if he would win tonight, he was respectful to his fellow drivers, but confident he would make history repeat itself.

As is historically the case, Creten edged out a win in the Monster Truck Wheelie contest, but had his toughest challenge from Red Baron. The Canadian Champion, hit a fantastic” timber” wheelie, standing the 10,000 pound truck straight up on the wheelie bar jammed the brakes to cause the truck to stop at the 120’clock position and slowly fall back to earth. However, as Baron goosed the throttle the truck lurched into a bicycle onto the two passenger side wheels but he drove out easily to a stop.

 

Jimmy Creten took the wheelie contest win in the Bounty Hunter.

They say history repeats itself. In the finals, that was the case for the Red Baron, but not for Jimmy Creten. Red Baron had to race his way to the finals through the monster truck straight ahead drag racing brackets, beating Don Frankish in Maniac (in what may well be his final year after 21 years on the monster truck circuit), as well as Frankish’s team mate Nathan Weenk, back behind the wheel of Jurassic Attack after spending that last few years racing in the Canadian Nascar series (Weenk calls that style of racing a “traffic jam at 120 mph”). While Creten had a buy into the second round, he still had to defeat Barry Parkin and Western Renegade to get to the final.

With the two finalists at the line, the tension began to build. Creten backed off of the line and then roared the massive engine of Bounty Hunter to spin all four tires trying to warm up the rubber for some extra traction on the slippery cement surface of the Brandt Center. Not to be outdone, Red Barron did the same thing. Then Creten repeated the action and the Red Baron reciprocated. If Creten was trying to play a mind game, the Red Baron was giving as good as he was getting. Finally the track official staged the two trucks and the final race was about to go green.

The trucks looked like mirror images of each other, not only because they are Ford Expeditions, but because as they hit the cars, both trucks titled to the outside of the car stacks as they soared though the air. Both trucks landed on the outside two wheels virtually simultaneously at the end of the car stacks. But that is where the mirror image was shattered. Creten bounced back and forth, but somehow managed to stop with the rubber side down. Not so for the Red Baron. The truck rocked back and forth and then was headed straight for Maniac who was pitted on the floor. To avoid a head on crash, the Baron cranked the wheel catapulting the truck onto its side and then its roof. Sliding across the floor, the Baron slammed into Frankish’s front passenger side tire, caving in his front quarter panel in the process. The impact into Maniac stopped the upside down Red Baron dead in his tracks, slamming the Baron violently in his seat against the 5 point harness.

 

WILD ride for the Red Baron as Ben Winslow takes the racing victory.

A hush fell over the arena as fans waited to see if the Baron would emerge from the upside down truck. After what seemed an eternity, the Baron slowed inched his way out through the driver side window and stood woozily waving to the crowd. The roar of the crowd all but drowned out the announcement that the Red Baron had defeated Jimmy Creten. Once again Bounty Hunter had come in second, while the Red Baron stole the win and the hearts of the fans.

During the intermission VIP pit party fan after fan requested to see the Baron, but the mystery driver was busy in the pits seeing if he could resurrect the Red Baron truck for monster truck freestyle. While he was unable to do that, he did something extra special for the VIP fans at the post show pit party. He arrived on the scene sans mask, letting these fans see that Ben “Bo Bo” Winslow was the man behind the mystery that is the Red Baron.

Fans always receive something special at a Monster Spectacular show. They can have VIP treatment at the exclusive pit parties, they get to meet the man behind the mask of Red Baron and they are dazzled by motorsports entertainment like a motorcycle freestyle extravaganza featuring both sport bikes and FMX. What something special will you receive? Find out at the next Monster Spectacular show in your area. Check the schedule at www.MonsterSpectacular.com and then get your tickets now.

The Allen Report: Monster Jam – Anaheim, CA 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

The Monster Jam superstars lowered the curtain on a triad of shows in the home of the Anaheim Angels Saturday, February 12th, 2011. The stacked 16 truck field featured the following top names in monster trucks: Charlie Pauken in Grave Digger, Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction, Adam Anderson in Grave Digger The Legend, Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter, Cam McQueen in Nitro Circus, Candace Jolly in the Monster Mutt Dalmatian, Becky McDonough in Dragon’s Breath, Scott Buetow driving Iron Man, Pat Gerber in Shocker, Don Frankish with Maniac, Scott Anderson in Jurassic Attack, Kelvin Ramer in Time Flys, Nick Owens driving Iron Outlaw, Mark Schroeder in The Felon, Dan Rodoni and The Patriot and Mike Pappas in Tropical Thunder.

The track of choice was an appropriate one for the locale and venue, the very popular so-cal style. That means they fall off a tabletop jump, turn away from each other, fly down a straightaway and race back the way they came. Early racing highlights saw Bounty Hunter advance with a bye after Jurassic Attack suffered fatal engine trouble during intros and Time Flys upset new World Finals qualifier Nitro Circus in the opening race, free of qualifying. In one of the semis, the blue and gray Digger and Max D crossed the finish line side-by-side with Grave Digger The Legend winning by an inch or two, if that much. The other Digger outraced Bounty Hunter to setup a history making Digger vs. Digger final. In the end, Adam proved himself more than just a freestyler by taking the huge racing win.

Freestyle started off a little slow, with most of the first half the field slowly strutting their way around the track with little air. Nick Owens in Iron Outlaw would hold the lead for the longest time with a score of 22. Even the young Anderson and Owen’s boss Jimmy Creten could not outscore him. But then, there were two. Tom Meents has four World Freestyle championships to his credit and showed why, finishing his run with an upside-down cyclone on the tabletop. With a score of 29, Meents looked to see a trophy for the first time at the Big A in a few years. To close the show, the reigning freestyle champion of the world Charlie Pauken gave the fans a potential winning freestyle in Grave Digger, but he only impressed the judges enough for second place, giving Meents the victory.

Although the Anaheim Monster Jam season was over, two weeks later Monster Jam would make its debut at the Los Angeles Dodger Stadium. With Monster Jam, a great show is always guaranteed. On that note, thank you for reading, enjoy Jim Allen’s great photos and cheer on, we’ll see you down the road!

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2011.

Monster Photos: Monster Jam – Anaheim, CA #2 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Location: Anaheim, California
Date: January 29th, 2011
Photographer: Susan Clemens Woolley, www.123EventPhotography.com

Lineup: Backwards Bob (Rick Swanson), Captain USA (Jeff Bainter), El Matador (Daron Basl), Grave Digger (Pablo Huffaker), Grave Digger The Legend (Tony Farrell), Jurassic Attack (Scott Anderson), King Krunch (David Smith), Maniac (Don Frankish), Monster Mutt Rottweiler (Charles Benns), Obsession (Jeff Jones), Shocker (Pat Gerber), The Patriot (Dan Rodoni), Time Flys (Kelvin Ramer), TMNT (Ryan Huffaker), Tropical Thunder (Andrew Peckhum) [Read more…]