Canfield, OH Monster Nationals Recap & Photos

Monster trucks returned to the Canfield Fairgrounds last weekend as Family Events brought the Monster Nationals series to town for the very first time!! 2010 Monster Nationals Racing Champion Rick Long in Bigfoot #15 would take on Avenger, Raminator, Brutus, Lucas Oil Stabilizer and Rammunition in racing and freestyle competitions.

Long would be the weekend’s big winner as he took one racing win and two freestyles with some great slap wheelies. Mark Hall in Raminator and Geremie Dishman in Rammunition each picked up racing wins, while Chris Bergeron in Brutus was the only driver to top Long in freestyle.

A big thanks to Family Events for a great weekend and of course to resident TMB Super Photographer Paul M. Harry for once again putting together an amazing set of photos. As the Monster Nationals 2010 Tour is now complete, a big congratulations to 2010 Racing Champion Rick Long and to 2010 Freestyle and Wheelie Champion Jocelyn Perrin in High Maintenance on their incredible seasons!!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAUL HARRY’S CANFIELD, OH MONSTER NATIONALS PHOTOS

Monster Nationals – Canfield, OH – 07/31-08/01/10

Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: Canfield Fairgrounds
Location: Canfield, OH
Date: July 31st – August 1st, 2010
Photographer: Paul M. Harry

Lineup:  Avenger (Jim Koehler), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Raminator (Mark Hall), Rammunition (Geremie Dishman) [Read more…]

Bloomsburg 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals Recap & Photos

One of the most storied venues in monster truck history was the scene this past weekend for another round of the 2010 Monster Truck Thunder Drags – the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds. A season that started off with great competition for the championship between Dan Runte in the Retro Bigfoot and Mark Hall in the new Raminator has now become the yearly Hall Brothers Racing domination tour as Mark went 3 out of 4 in Bloomsburg, with teammate Geremie Dishman in Rammunition getting the other win. Hall’s lead over 2nd place Runte is now massive after the dominant weekend and Bigfoot’s championship hopes are beginning to dwindle. In addition to the racing, there was plenty of great freestyle action from all eight trucks as well.

With the TMB crew scattered across the country this weekend, we have to send out a HUGE thanks to our good friend Jason Miller for submitting some absolutely gorgeous photos from Saturday in Bloomsburg – click the link below to check out his amazing work.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW JASON MILLER’S BLOOMSBURG, PA PHOTO GALLERY

4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals – Bloomsburg, PA – 07/10/10

Event:  4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals
Venue:  Bloomsburg Fairgrounds
Location:  Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
Date:  July 10th, 2010
Photographer:  Justin Miller

Lineup:  Avenger (Jim Koehler), General Tire (Chris Bergeron), Holman’s Beast (Bobby Holman), Ms. Bigfoot #11 (Amber Walker), Raminator (Mark Hall), Rammunition (Geremie Dishman), Retro Bigfoot #16 (Dan Runte), Tail Gator (Doug Noelke) [Read more…]

Monster Spectacular Tour Update – Ottawa

(Chris Arel Motorsports PR – By Doug De Nance) So it had all come down to this. Six long hard fought months with the best monster trucks in the world… all across Canada from Saint John, New Brunswick to Victoria, B.C.… all competing to be the best of the best… all wanting to be the most spectacular of Monster Spectacular. The points had earned five trucks the chance to be the top truck in Monster Truck Wheelie, Racing and Freestyle – maybe even the top truck overall. Now it was the moment of truth. One night. The Night of Champions.

The drivers were all jumpy throughout the morning and afternoon of the Saturday night show. They acted like there was no pressure – joking around and apparently having fun. But careful observation revealed an inordinate amount of attention by the drivers double checking every little thing on the trucks. When they thought no one was looking, the eyebrows would lower and the eyes would go blank as they visualized their greatest performances. To paraphrase the great American football coach Vince Lombardi “… at this level winning is 90% mental”.

Fans began to flood into Scotiabank Place the moment the doors opened. They wanted to be close to the best of the best. The drivers did their best to hide their nerves and the fans helped put them at ease taking pictures and giving autographs on the exclusive Monster Spectacular souvenirs.

Jim Koehler lived up to his nickname of Mr. Excitement, revving the fans up in a pre-show interview to cheer for Avenger. Steve Koehler took a page out of his older brother’s book and shouted out his desire for the fans to get behind Brutus. Joe Sylvester flexed his massive arms for the cameras and took a more low key approach to seek support for his 2010 Cadillac truck Bad Habit. Bob Robbins was as friendly as ever, but noted that he’d waited 12 years to win a title for Aftershock and was short of patience to wait any longer. The one man who had trouble expressing himself on the mic due to his struggles with English and French (after all, it was his first time in Canada) was the Russian hired gun driver for Krazy Train, Sergei Kurishnikoff, known as the Siberian Express. The muscular man from Moscow had no language barrier when it came to his skill behind the wheel and he let his driving do the talking. He had won monster truck racing the night before in Kingston and had earned his way straight into the finals.

Three monster truck disciplines were on the agenda, each with the Monster Spectacular Championship going to the winner. Would there be an overall champion if one driver could be a multiple winner?

When the Wheelie Contest was announced, it looked like Avenger would be that truck. Mr. Excitement had the most experience at the top levels of competition, being a former Monster Truck Freestyle Champion of the World. Koehler had pulled the coveted last spot in the order draw and was strapped in his truck form the moment show introductions were over, just waiting to milk it for all it was worth.

Kurishnikoff didn’t have the same break he had in racing, drawing first. But he stood Krazy Train perfectly vertical in a classic 12 o’clock wheelie to start the competition. Bob Robbins did the same thing with Aftershock to essentially tie up the first two places. Then Bad Habit hit the cars. Sylvester took the new school wheelie approach and launched Bad Habit into a massive sky wheelie with all four tires off the ground. Steve Koehler knew he had to make the big dog sit up and beg and tried to do the same thing with Brutus. But the cars slipped slightly on his approach and he twisted off to the side, barely missing the dasher boards as he smashed down to the ground.

Avenger eased out of the pits and drove slowly past the fans, as Koehler waved from his center seat. He deliberately turned the ’57 Chevy in a 3 point turn to line up the cars. He paused for a moment, allowing the big block engine to quiet to an idle, and then blasted Avenger to the car stack. A huge straight ahead sky wheelie was the result. But the question formed on everyone’s lips – was it bigger than Bad Habit’s wheelie?

The drivers tried to swagger with confidence as they made their way to the arena floor for the cheer off. When the sound meter was calibrated, there was no doubt this was the loudest crowd of the season. Who would they give that same level of cheering for to award a champion? Well it wasn’t Krazy Train, or Aftershock or Brutus. But it was impossible to decide between Bad Habit and Avenger. It had to go to a second cheer off. The noise was deafening for both but the sound meter told the tale. By a couple of decibels, Avenger had won the Monster Spectacular Monster Truck Wheelie Championship for 2010.

While Jim Koehler basked in the glory of his Wheelie win, Avenger is not known as a truck that dominates racing. As a matter of fact, Team Scream is known more for freestyle than straight ahead drag racing. That meant that the big man from Moscow just might have to learn to speak something other than Russian if he had to conduct a championship interview. Kurishnikoff was the one to beat, yet would have to go into the finals cold with no preliminary race to warm him up.

If it seemed that Brutus was just warming up, Steve Koehler proved he was hot from the get go. Yet after easily besting Aftershock, the younger Koehler brother seemed almost surprised to be facing Bad Habit in the semi-finals, as Sylvester had defeated the older Koehler and Avenger. Once the flag dropped the big dog took a bite out of Bad Habit and Steve Koehler had Brutus in his first championship final.

During the half time VIP party in the pits, Steve Koehler was mobbed by fans, thinking the same thing that the Brutus driver was thinking – is this the moment when he steps out from his brother’s shadow and wins his own championship? After the remote ignition interrupter was tested on the two trucks, the silence was deafening. The younger driver in Brutus looked across at the Russian in Krazy Train, but Kurishnikoff stared straight ahead, seemingly willing his truck to be first across the finish line. But once the flag dropped there was no doubt, this was Steve Koehler’s moment; Brutus had won the Monster Spectacular Racing title.

Steve Koehler could barely contain himself during the Championship interview, shouting his excitement to the fans. Mr. Excitement came to the track to congratulate his younger brother and team mate and then left the winners circle to let his former crew chief have his moment of glory. Steve celebrated the best way he could, tossing collector edition souvenirs to the fans.

Now it was time to toss caution to the wind, because Monster Truck Freestyle would decide if there would be an overall Monster Spectacular Champion. The points were just that close, that it would take a double down win for one driver to be the overall winner. But as Jim Koehler pointed out, the real winners were the fans, there to see such tight competition.

Running in the intro order mean that Krazy Train and Aftershock were the first two trucks out. Both drivers did an admirable job of hitting all the obstacles and working the unique variable clock of Monster Spectacular freestyle competition by showing their ability to get creative with extra time.

Then Bad Habit hit the floor. Roaring out of the pits, the big man from Ohio rammed the Cadillac into the van stack and launched his 10,000 pound truck into the biggest air of the night. Sylvester had to jam his brakes on hard to drop the front end in time to land the truck and not crash into the other parked in the pits. Bad Habit pulled every trick in the book including a cyclone donut. When Sylvester realized the variable clock was working in his favor he knew he’d have to wow the judges and the fans. He did just that with not one, but two huge reverser wheelies, his last one sending him air born backwards over the van stack.

Steve Koehler knew he’d have to drive on the ragged edge to beat Sylvester and he took Brutus there in a hurry. But this time it was the dog that got bitten as he went up into a bicycle on the two wheels on the driver side and then rolled the truck. Avenger appeared to come to the rescue and was chained to Brutus to turn the turn upright, but Koehler waved them off and left Brutus upside down as a potential obstacle for Avenger’s freestyle.

The former World Champion knew his freestyle must be of that caliber to been Bad Habit and Koehler pulled out every trick he could. Hugh sky wheelies, slap wheelies up on two wheels, it was a run of epic proportions. He was so aware of his surroundings that Koehler saw the time end as he as in the middle of a massive donut. So he took the steering wheel and tossed it out on the track floor as he continued to spin.

The judges debated and argued as the fans ran to the track floor for the post show VIP pit party. Would they be congratulating an overall champion or would they be celebrating a different winner? Finally the word came down. Bad Habit had won the Monster Spectacular Monster Truck Freestyle Championship for 2010.

Congratulations to all the drivers and truck teams who made the 2010 Tour the best with the tightest competition ever in over 20 years of Monster Spectacular. As Jim Koehler said – it’s the fans that are the real winners with Monster Spectacular. One more finale show to go in 2010 in Montreal this fall and then look out – here comes the 2011 Monster Spectacular Championship Tour!! Check out www.MonsterSpectacular.com for more information.

TMB TV Episode 3.6 Featuring the Springdale Monster X Tour

TheMonsterBlog.com’s four straight weeks of TMB TV comes to a close tonight as we present great action from the Springdale, Arkansas Monster X Tour!! A great lineup does battle in wheelie, long jump, racing and freestyle including Avenger, Summit Bigfoot, Brutus, Wrecking Crew and Spike. You’ll also see some wild stunts by the “Demolition Devil” Scott Turkiewicz.

Don’t miss all the fun as TMB TV Host Ross Z. Bonar and Videographers Colby Marshall and Kaedon Berry take you through the ins and outs of the two day event. Click the link below to watch our sixth all-new episode of TMB TV Season 3.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW TMB TV EPISODE 3.6 FEATURING THE SPRINGDALE MONSTER X TOUR

TMB TV Episode 3.6 – Springdale, AR

Event:  Monster X Tour
Venue:  Parsons Stadium
Location:  Springdale, Arkansas
Date:  June 4th-5th, 2010
Host:  Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers:  Colby Marshall, Kaedon Berry

Lineup: Avenger (Jim Koehler), Bigfoot #16 (Dan Runte), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Spike (Rich Hilgendorf), Wrecking Crew (Steve Koehler) [Read more…]

Firebird Raceway NAPA Monster Truck Nationals Coverage

TMB coverage has been a staple at Firebird International Raceway over the last 5 years and this year is no different as we present to you coverage from this past April’s NAPA Monster Truck Nationals!! Our awesome contributors Jim and Chris Allen were on hand to provide the great write-ups and amazing photos from each show. In addition, our own Lauren & Lynette Bonar attended the Saturday event to bring you more great video coverage from one of the southwest’s biggest events. So read on below to enjoy Christopher Allen’s great recap from the events:

“There once was a time in the monster truck racing sport when if you broke, you did not bother to try and fix it in time for the next round. Once that happened, you could just load your truck on the trailer and go on home. The fans would have known you with the dreaded words “out for the night”. Then came freestyle and this was less often the case. But, as we will see, the words “out for the night” are not in the dictionary of “Team Scream”, especially when they are competing at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona for the annual NAPA Auto Parts Monster Truck Nationals.

The participants, along with Avenger and Brutus driven by Jim Koehler and Chris Bergeron, were Dan Runte and Bigfoot #16, Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter, Firebird regulars Travis Sturges filling in for Uncle Sam Sturges in Unnamed and Untamed, brother Ronnie driving Nasty Boy, and returning to Firebird were Mike Hawkins in Equalizer after a couple years away, along with teammate Isaiah Morales in Hot Tamale.

Following some 300 mph jet car action, exciting introductions and an Independence Day rivaling fireworks show, was the long jump competition. Hot Tamale was the opener and made a nice jump, slightly tagging the freestyle van stack just off the landing. Nasty Boy, more known for wheelies, didn’t quite make the distance. Then came Brutus. He just didn’t make it in the actual jump, but then tried to make up for it by attacking the tire pyramid, but when he did, disaster struck. To find out how, check out the video coverage and photos! Following Brutus’ clearing of the track, Unnamed & Untamed, Equalizer, Avenger and Bigfoot each tried and failed to beat Hot Tamale, but then came Bounty Hunter. He easily made the distance, then ran into the van stack but saved it to take the win.

Freestyle is often the “Main Event” of monster truck shows, and tonight was no different. Each driver put his truck’s major horsepower to the ground to out-perform the next guy. Mr. Runte is always a potential winner at Firebird and got a near-perfect score of 29. Then the shocker of the night came with the return of Brutus, having been fixed just in the nick of time. Showing no mercy, the other half of the loudest interviewees in the sport hit literally every obstacle the track threw at him. With a perfect score of 30, all Mr. Creten could do was tie. And that is exactly what he did.

The announcer then got word that since there cannot be co-winners in the race to get a highest total score for the weekend to become the year’s undisputed champion, it was decided that the showdown Firebird fans long deserved would occur the next day. With one wild, rabid dog in one corner and a hard to beat old west tracker in the other, Sunday might very well see the greatest throw-down in Firebird history.

The NAPA Monster Truck Nationals employs an interesting championship crowning system each year. The distance in the long jump is calculated with the scores in freestyle and whoever has the highest distance-score combination wins, and that driver has been Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter several times as of recent memory. But there was another driver, Chris Bergeron and Brutus, who also scored a perfect 30 on Saturday night, making this war arguably Jimmy’s greatest Firebird challenge yet.

Unique to Firebird Raceway is the challenge of having to watch out for swarms of bees around the facility. A slight bee attack delayed the show about half an hour, making the monster truck drivers’ job even harder, but they did not disappoint. Bounty Hunter made the first jump in the jump off contest look easy. Truck after truck came after him only to fall short. Then came a fired up Jim Kohler with Avenger that had two things on his mind: slowing down Brutus and beating Bounty Hunter. After he made the jump that looked almost identical to Jim Creten’s, the fans knew this was going to be close heading into the finale, the winner take all freestyle.

The first freestyle is always a challenge but the Bounty Hunter driver showed he did not fear anyone who followed, if his freestyle, which was worth a 28 point score, said anything. The remaining headliners, Avenger and Bigfoot must have been paying attention, because they showed no mercy, either. But when it was all said and done, Jimmy and Bounty Hunter, with three wins and one tie, overall never finishing out of the top two all weekend, was declared the undisputed monster truck champion of the 2010 NAPA Monster Truck Nationals.

Hopefully, Firebird Raceway fans went away with some new memories and even some new fans of the monster truck racing sport were made. The bee attack notwithstanding, another great show at the historic race track is in the books.” – Coverage By Chris Allen

Thanks again to Christopher for the great write-up of this year’s event. Now click the links below to see Jim Allen’s incredible photos from the event and also Lynette Bonar’s great video coverage. Thanks to all our TMB’ers for the great job out in Firebird this year.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW JIM ALLEN’S FIREBIRD RACEWAY PHOTO GALLERY

CLICK HERE TO VIEW LYNETTE BONAR’S FIREBIRD VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Video Highlights – Chandler, AZ – 04/24-25/10

Event:  NAPA Monster Truck Nationals
Venue:  Firebird International Raceway
Location:  Chandler, Arizona
Date:  April 24-25th, 2010
Videographer:  Lynette Bonar

Lineup: Avenger (Jim Koehler), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Equalizer (Mike Hawkins), Hot Tamale (Isaiah Morales), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Summit Bigfoot #16 (Dan Runte), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]

NAPA Monster Truck Nationals – Chandler, AZ – 04/24-25/10

Event:  NAPA Monster Truck Nationals
Venue:  Firebird International Raceway
Location:  Chandler, Arizona
Date:  April 24-25th, 2010
Photographer:  Jim Allen

Lineup: Avenger (Jim Koehler), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Equalizer (Mike Hawkins), Hot Tamale (Isaiah Morales), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Summit Bigfoot #16 (Dan Runte), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]

Springdale, Akansas Monster X Tour Recap & Teasers

TMB was on hand to capture all the action from Danny Torgeson’s Monster X Tour’s first stop in Springdale, Arkansas in 2010. The weather was hot and the action was hotter as the legendary Bigfoot piloted by Dan Runte took on all of Team Scream including Avenger, Brutus, Spike, and Wrecking Crew in nightly wheelie, long jump, racing, and freestyle contests.

Night one started off strong as Chris Bergeron sent the snout of Brutus skyward, snagging the wheelie contest win. In the long jump competition, however, Mr. Excitement Jim Koehler lined up to the metal ramps and lofted Avenger up to grab the win. The racing set up was a tricky, Chicago style format over car-van-car stacks and the finals would come down to Bigfoot and Avenger. Showing his true knack for racing, Runte ousted the hard-charging Koehler for the Friday racing win. Freestyle would round out the night in Springdale as Koehler in Avenger would edge out both Runte in Bigfoot and teammate Chris Bergeron in Brutus.

The final show of the weekend was filled with more of the same great action. The wheelie contest would be taken by Runte in Bigfoot as he danced the rear tires of the truck all the way up and over the double van stack. The long jump competition would go to Steve Koehler in Wrecking Crew, as he just edged out Avenger and Bigfoot. Racing would get interesting as the finals, just as on Friday night, were set between Avenger and Bigfoot. Koehler snagged an impressive lead off the line and continued to hold on until the final turn when Avenger’s rear steer froze, ultimately preventing him from turning and allowing Runte and Bigfoot to power to the win. The final freestyle of the weekend was full of big air shots and donuts from Brutus and Bigfoot, but it wouldn’t be enough to top Jim Koehler’s momentum and wild cyclones in Avenger.

TMB was in full force in Springdale, so be on the lookout for a full photo gallery from Ross Z. Bonar as well as another edition of TMB-TV with footage from Colby Marshall and Kaedon Berry in the coming weeks. Thanks goes out to Danny Torgerson and the Monster X Tour crew for their hospitality, keep checking back for more coverage.

TMB TV Episode 3.3 Featuring Springfield, MO 4-Wheel Jamboree

TMB TV is back as we begin an incredible 4 straight weeks of new episodes!! What better way to start it off than with the 2010 edition of the Springfield, Missouri 4 Wheel Jamboree. Watch some of the top trucks in the industry including Bigfoot, Raminator, and Avenger battle it out on the concrete in intense, side by side racing and freestyle competitions as they all vie for the early points lead in the 2010 Monster Truck Thunder Drags series. See new bodies from Team Bigfoot including the amazing “Retro-Foot” and Ms. Bigfoot and great new schemes for Raminator and Rammunition.

Thanks to everyone with the Family Events crew for their hospitality, as well as thanks to TMB’s Rajeana Bonar for the great footage. All the action of TMB TV Season 3, Episode 3 is only a click away!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW TMB TV EPISODE 3.3 FEATURING THE SPRINGFIELD, MO 4-WHEEL JAMBOREE

TMB TV Episode 3.3 – Springfield, MO

Event:  4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals
Venue:  Missouri Entertainment & Events Center
Location:  Springfield, Missouri
Date:  May 1st-2nd, 2010
Host:  Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers:  Rajeana Bonar

Lineup:  Avenger (Jim Koehler), General Tire (Chris Bergeron), Ms. Bigfoot #11 (Amber Walker), Raminator (Mark Hall), Rammunition (Geremie Dishman), Retro Bigfoot #16 (Dan Runte) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals – Springfield, MO 2010

Event Information

Event: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals
Venue: Missouri Events & Entertainment Center
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Date: May 1st-2nd, 2013
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Truck Lineup

Avenger (Jim Koehler), General Tire (Chris Bergeron), Ms. Bigfoot #11 (Amber Walker), Raminator (Mark Hall), Rammunition (Geremie Dishman), Retro Bigfoot #16 (Dan Runte)
[Read more…]

Monster Truck Radio 04/12/10 – Jim Koehler

Monster Truck Radio With Host Jeff Richards
Date: Monday, April 12th, 2010
Guest #1:   Jim Koehler, driver of Avenger
Guest #2:  N/A [Read more…]