Monster Photos: IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Reunion – Auburn, IN 2014

Event: 4th Annual International Monster Truck Museum Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Reunion
Venue: International Monster Truck Museum @ The American Heritage Village
Location: Auburn, Indiana
Date: November 1st, 2014
Photographer: Danny Maass

Hall of Fame Class of 2014: Diehl Wilson (Virginia Giant), Jon Breen (Mad Dog II, Stomper Bully), Michael Vaters (Black Stallion), Andy Brass (BIGFOOT), Kirk Dabney (Blue Thunder, Giant) [Read more…]

The Allen Report: IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Reunion 2014

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on “The Allen Report”, we once again make our way to the Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum in Auburn, Indiana, for the 4th Annual International Monster Truck Museum Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Reunion. Hundreds of people came from places like New York, Texas, Arizona and many places in between to watch the following five monster truck legends have their careers come full circle by entering the Hall of Fame:

– Diehl Wilson – Owner and driver of the beautiful and competitive Virginia Giant monster trucks
– Jon Breen – Owner and driver of the unique and innovative Mad Dog monsters
– Michael Vaters – Owner and driver of the envelope pushing Black Stallion monsters
– Andy Brass – One of the most hard charging and fearless team Bigfoot drivers of all time
– Kirk Dabney – Owner and Driver of numerous monster trucks from the Blue Thunder monster car to the Monster Truck speed record setting Extreme Overkill

Along with the inductees, the following legendary monster trucks were on display for one and all to observe:

– Hall of Famer Jeff Dane’s King Kong I
– Hall of Famer Allen Pezo’s Predator I
– Alan Tura’s Goliath
– Andy Hoffman’s Nitecrawler tank, formerly Bear Foot Trax of previous HOF inductee Fred Shafer
– IMTM President Jeff Cook’s old school style Shotgun Harry
– John Nowacki’s old school style Mud Monster I
– Eric Howe’s old school style High Horse bronco

The day began on the north side of the museum, where the inductees held the annual Monster Truck History Discussion, answering questions and sharing stories about the good ol’ days. IMTM board member and first ever inductee Bob Chandler of Bigfoot started what could be a new tradition in this annual meeting by asking the inductees the first question. Inductees and attendees alike enjoyed hearing about the sport’s history so much that the discussion ran longer that scheduled.

As the sun set on the clear, chilly northeastern Indiana day, the hour was at hand. A delicious hearty meal was served as historic monster truck footage, most of which one would be hard pressed to find anywhere else, was shown on projection screens.

The inductees were clearly humbled to receive this honor. This was especially the case with both Vaters and Dabney as they made plans to say thanks to the Hall of Fame by rebuilding their respective monster projects for display in the future. And as each inductee’s interview with TheMonsterBlog.com’s Ross Bonar ended, the audience’s applause for the new Hall of Famers were long and loud.

Finally, for the third year in a row, an auction was held to benefit the International Monster Truck Museum to end the night. And in very single bidding case, the drama was intense. We strongly encourage anyone who loves monster trucks and the sport’s history to make next year’s event a can’t-miss.

While Jim and Christopher were enjoying the 4th Annual Monster Truck Hall of Fame, guest reporter Carol Allen attended the Arizona State Fair where ProForce Productions held their inaugural event. President Jamie McNutt brought the always popular Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter Yellow, Dawn Creten in Iron Outlaw and the “Flying Spaniard” himself, Tony Canedo driving Play N’ 4 Keeps. The popularity of the monster trucks was evident as the bleachers were packed to capacity for all six shows. The weekend culminated in a backflip by Jim Creten in Iron Outlaw. Announcer Lloyd Massey’s efforts to get the crowd involved was made easier by the enthusiastic support monster truck fans gave the drivers. Dawn Creten and Tony Canedo entertained the monster truck loving crowd with wheelies, some donuts and by jumping various obstacles.

Also, an act new to the Arizona State Fair, the Globe of Death appeared, with the daredevil motorcycle riders amazing the crowd with their gravity defying stunts followed by some very nervy tuff truck competitors. Carol would like to personally thank Loren Saubel, Jamie McNutt and Phil Vicinanza for their kindness and support.

That’s a wrap for us at “The Allen Report” for the year 2014 as we intend to enjoy the first quarter of 2015 simply as fans. But don’t worry monster truck nation, it won’t be long before you hear from us again. So, thank you for reading, a special thanks to the IMTM for hosting this great event once more, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

Photo Gallery

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2014.

Monster Truck Radio 05/14/12 – Randy Moore & Kirk Dabney

Monster Truck Radio With Host Ross Z. Bonar & Co-Host Chris Parrish
Date: Monday, May 14th, 2012
Guest #1: Randy Moore, driver of War Wizard & Aaron’s All-American Dream Machine
Guest #2: Kirk Dabney, driver of Maximum Overkill [Read more…]

Aaron’s All-American Dream Machine Sets World Speed Record At zMAX Dragway

(Concord, North Carolina – zMAX Dragway PR) – Today at zMAX Dragway, Randy Moore made the fastest quarter-mile pass ever in a monster truck at 96.80 mph.

Moore made several passes during the NOS Energy Test-N-Tune at zMAX Dragway, reaching speeds of nearly 90 mph, before turning in a run at 95.65 mph, then at 96.80 mph. The previous unofficial record was 93 mph, set at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tennessee.

“We’re real excited,” said Moore. “That truck’s running great. We put the motor on kill and obviously it was on kill because we just threw the rods out of it and had a small fire, but that’s part of what it takes to set these records. But today was a big success, we basically ran 97 miles per hour and that bettered our mark from 93. We’re extremely happy.”

Randy Moore & Kirk Dabney's Aaron's All-American Dream Machine at zMAX Dragway.

On the final run of the day, while pushing the truck’s limits in an effort to reach 100 mph, the engine blew, ending the attempt.

“It’s amazing how quick you can get a 10,000 lb monster truck stopped when you’re on fire,” said Moore. “But it’s all good and we’ll come back from it. I really appreciate zMAX Dragway being behind us. We’ll come back here and we’ll get this goal set. We’re too close to it now. There will be another day and it will be real soon.”

The NOS Energy Test-N-Tune continues Saturday, March 24, at zMAX Dragway. Car and driver registration is only $20, spectators are only $5 and kids 13 and under are in free. Gates open at 9 a.m. and racing begins at 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Buy three tickets and get one free, any day, at the greatest spectacle in drag racing, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15, at zMAX Dragway. Tickets are available by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.zmaxdragway.com.

Connect with zMAX Dragway and stay up to speed on all the action at the Bellagio of drag strips on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zmaxdragway and by following on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zMAXDragway.

Randy Moore & Kirk Dabney Team Up to Break Monster Truck Speed Record

(Bristol, Tennessee – War Wizard Racing PR) – After two unsuccessful attempts at breaking the monster truck speed record since being set at 90.44 MPH in February by veteran Kirk Dabney, Randy Moore and the Aaron’s Outdoors team took a leap of faith and partnered up with the record holding rival.

Kirk Dabney, owner of Maximum Overkill, a well known pioneer in monster truck racing has been in a heated speed record battle with Bigfoot 4x4x4, Inc. since 2009. Previously Randy Moore, driving the popular War Wizard, held the speed record of 84.38 set in 2005.

Previously rivals, Moore and Dabney combined their vast knowledge of Randy’s drag racing experience with Kirk’s advanced technological skills in monster trucks and set out to clinch a speed record for Aaron’s Outdoors.

Randy Moore teamed up with Kirk Dabney to run an Aaron's body on the Extreme Overkill chassis and piloted it to a new speed record of 92 MPH.

Friday evening, September 9th, 2011, Randy Moore took to the strip at Bristol’s Thunder Valley Dragway to topple Dabney’s February speed record of 90.44. After a great launch off the line, Randy piloted the Aaron’s Outdoors monster truck down the quarter mile strip clocking a max speed of 91.88 MPH.

“I have my eyes set on being the first to break 100 MPH in a monster truck. It’s been a dream of mine since the first day my team started building War Wizard #1. We’re determined and will conquer the 100 MPH barrier, it can be done and we’ll get it accomplished. Working with Kirk, Aaron’s Outdoors and my team has been a blast, we’ll continue working together and we will be back to set a record over 100 MPH,” said an enthusiastic Randy Moore during his post run interview.

A future speed record attempt to break the 100 MPH barrier has yet to be set. Once a date is confirmed it will be released on www.warwizardracing.com.

Previous speed records:
• Kirk Dabney (OVERKILL), 90.44 MPH in February 2011
(http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Kirk-Dabney-Sets-Monster-Truck-Speed-Record-at-More-than-90-MPH.html)
• Dan Runte (BIGFOOT), 86.56 MPH in September 2010
(http://themonsterblog.us/2010/09/27/dan-runte-team-bigfoot-reclaim-monster-truck-world-speed-record/)
• Kirk Dabney (OVERKILL), 84.92 in 2009
• Dan Runte (BIGFOOT), 84.49 MPH in 2009
• Randy Moore (WAR WIZARD), 84.382 MPH in August 2005

About Aaron’s:

Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), the nation’s leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, has more than 1,800 Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada.

Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur R. Charles Loudermilk Sr. and headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron’s has been publicly traded since 1982.

In 2009, Aaron Rents re-branded to Aaron’s, Inc to bring the company in line with the same name that all stores now operate under. Over 55 million households across North America know and trust the Aaron’s name.

About War Wizard Racing:

War Wizard Racing is a Bristol, Tennessee monster truck race team owned and operated by Randy Moore. Randy Moore has over 30 years experience in drag racing competing in IHRA and NHRA events nationally. In early 2000’s Randy built and raced War Wizard, a custom built drag racing monster truck. In 2005 Randy Moore set a world speed record of 84.38 MPH. Randy Moore and WWR compete nationally at Monster Jam events and is featured on SPEED channel and official Monster Jam merchandise.

PSM World Finals – Deland, FL – 11/19-20/05

Event:  Paul Shafer Motorsports World Finals
Venue:  Volusia County Fairgrounds
Location:  Deland, Florida
Date:  November 19th-20th, 2005
Photographer:  Bryan Wagner

Lineup:  Bad News Travels Fast (Bruce Haney), Bearfoot (Larry Swim), Bigfoot #11 (Rick Long), Bigfoot #14 (Dave Harkey), Captain USA (Rodney Tweedy), Carolina Crusher (James Tigue II), Dominator (Kyle Chandler), Equalizer (Mike Hawkins), Extreme Overkill II (Doug Charles), Frankenstein (Paul Shafer), Kid Rock #29 (Larry Swim), Monster Patrol (Kirk Dabney), Rampage (Charlie Miller), Smoke (Charlie Miller), Spiderman (Paul Jensen), Tuff Country Dragon Slayer (Kreg Christensen), Wild Thang (Brian Harwood) [Read more…]