The Allen Report: American Thunder Motorsports Show – Douglas, AZ 2014

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on “The Allen Report”, we travel to the Cochise County Fairgrounds in the United States border town of Douglas, Arizona, for an American Thunder Motorsports show, courtesy of an invite from promoter Ron Leach. On the card were three rounds of freestyle by four monster trucks on both Friday and Saturday night. Travis Sturges took the wheel of the 1940 Willys Nasty Boy. His Uncle Sam Sturges, as usual, was piloting a 1942 Dodge Panel Wagon called Unnamed & Untamed. Todd Morey came to town at the helm of Iron Outlaw and Jimmy Creten was in the house with his Bounty Hunter Yellow machine.

With only three jumps to work with on the Cochise County Fairgrounds floor, it was up to the drivers to get creative in order to entertain the fans. On Friday, both Sturges monsters managed terrific wheelies, something that can be expected from the trucks in that fleet. Nasty Boy even rode wheelies that lead straight into a jump off the middle double-sided ramp. For Jimmy Creten, the end of the first night came a little sooner than expected when the front drive shaft and differential came apart after his first hit of the night. But it wasn’t just the team owner who had a bad evening. Iron Outlaw lost right front drive midway through his run. Throughout most of the night and part of the next day, Jim and Todd, with help from their competition, worked feverishly on their rides to get them back in show condition. Their efforts were rewarded as both 2Xtreme Racing vehicles were ready for showtime the next day.

When a tremendous crowd piled in for Saturday’s action, all signs pointed to every man for himself, beat or be beaten freestyle action. The Sturges team picked up where they left off the night before with some slap wheelies that put the crowd on its feet. The man called “Wildman Sam” even threw some donuts into the mix to prove that his creations are all around freestyle machines, not just wheelie specialists. But Jimmy Creten was a man on a mission after the early-ending run of the night before. Huge air, constantly going straight from one obstacle to the next and cyclones that truly were dirt slinging had the capacity crowd going nuts with applause and cheers. Afterward, the drivers signed autographs until long after show-ending interviews.

In other motor race action, classic style, car against clock mud bogs had the fans wanting more. On Saturday night, the American Thunder Motorsports crew gathered two mud bog trucks, hooked them up with a chain and let them loose in a tug of war battle. Finally, the legendary transforming jet drag racer known as Vorian Prime arrived and gave an encouraging message which appealed to the kids in the audience.

Stay tuned monster truck fans, as very soon, five monster truck legends receive the sport’s highest honor at the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame ceremony on November 1st of this year in Auburn, Indiana. Days are running out to buy tickets to this annual event. We at “The Allen Report” hope to see as many of you as possible there. On that note, we would like to thank you for reading, a special thank you to Ron Leach and the whole American Thunder Motorsports crew for having us, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

Photo Gallery

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2014.

The Allen Report – Monster Truck Show – Phoenix, AZ 2013

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on “The Allen Report”, five regional favorites are pushed to the limit in two shows in a single day, the last day of the Maricopa County Fair. It was here, one year ago, where Grand Canyon State Promotions ventured into the world of monster trucks for the very first time. With the big crowd that followed last year, it made sense the monster trucks came back this year. The lineup looked like this: Tucson’s Rod Wood was in McGruff and Ronnie Sturges, as always, piloted Nasty Boy. His brother Travis filled in for their Uncle Sam in Unnamed & Untamed and a friend of the Sturges’ from just across the border in Mexico named Cesar Nunez took the helm of the sleek ’63 Corvette named Rat Attack. Finally, Jack Koberna, as always, drove Tuff-E-Nuff.

The race course of choice was “Minneapolis Style”, with the trucks starting in the middle and working their way around with the third jump representing the finish line. After Nasty Boy put McGruff in the dog pound, Rat Attack took the place of Unnamed against Tuff-E-Nuff after the 1942 Panel Wagon locked up both axles on the way to the starting line. Rat Attack won the right to face Nasty Boy in the first semi final. In the consolation race, McGruff got his groove back and tamed Tuff-E-Nuff to get another shot at the main event where Nasty Boy, having beaten Rat Attack, was there waiting. But history repeated itself when McGruff spun out in the final corner, giving the racing title to Ronnie Sturges. In the exhibition only freestyle, McGruff had some great air and kept the speed up very well. But the highlight came when Rat Attack launched off a starting line jump and followed it up with a slap wheelie before a tuff truck jump sent him on his side, much to the delight of the fans.

The evening show would see only 4 vehicles as Rat Attack’s rollover broke his hub inside the axle and it could not get fixed in time. But Unnamed & Untamed was back in the game with both third members in the axles fixed. In racing, McGruff rolled the dice one more time with Unnamed and won to advance to the finals. Nasty Boy downed Tuff-E-Nuff in the other semi to face Rod Wood for the third time in the same day. But first, the dark cloud finally lifted off of U & U when Travis Sturges drove to victory over New Mexico’s Jack Koberna in the third place race. In the main event, Rod Wood just could not stop the domination of Team Sturges at the Maricopa County Fair. Nasty Boy swept racing. To finish the night, all 4 trucks gave it all in a wild exhibition only freestyle. Jack Koberna, the southwest monster truck legend from New Mexico, threw out some huge air, a near vertical slap wheelie and some dusty donuts, much to the delight of the fans.

The shows also featured some tuff truck racing, freestyle motocross action and hilarious side by side SUV racing on the tuff truck course. For us at “The Allen Report”, we are headed over to Los Angeles next to cover Robby Gordon’s SST race at the venue where stadium off road racing all began, the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. So, thank you for reading, a huge thanks to Grand Canyon State Promotions for their hospitality, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

Photo Gallery

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2013.

Video of the Week – 01/26/13

Week Ending: January 26th, 2013
Truck(s) Featured: Equalizer (Brandon Budd), Maverik Monster Trakkar (Ron Duncombe), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Red Solo Truck (Travis Sturges), Toxic (Travis Petri), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges)
Video Type: Fan Video
Courtesy: www.YouTube.com

Description: Highlights from Saturday night’s event at the first All Star Monster Truck Tour at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah!

Monster Photos: Monster Truck Winter Nationals – Loveland, CO 2013

Event: Monster Truck Winter Nationals
Venue: Budweiser Events Center
Location: Loveland, Colorado
Date: January 19th, 2013
Photographer: John Roberts

Lineup: El Loco Hombre (Shannon Miller), Ghost Ryder (Larry Quick), Malicious (Gabriel Montoya), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), SPEED Energy Bigfoot #19 (Larry Swim), Unnamed & Untamed (Travis Sturges) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster X Tour – Colorado Springs, CO – 08/18/12

Event: Monster X Tour
Venue: Norris-Penrose Events Center
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Date: August 18th, 2012
Photographer: John Roberts

Lineup: El Perro Loco (Rod Wood), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Ninja Rat Attack (Ronnie Sturges), Tuff Enuff (Jack Koberna), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]

Monster Photos – Monster X Tour – Colorado Springs, CO – 08/17/12

Event: Monster X Tour
Venue: Norris-Penrose Events Center
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Date: August 17th, 2012
Photographer: John Roberts

Lineup: El Perro Loco (Rod Wood), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Ninja Rat Attack (Ronnie Sturges), Tuff Enuff (Jack Koberna), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster X Tour – Colorado Springs, CO 2012

Event: Monster X Tour
Venue: Norris-Penrose Events Center
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Date: August 17th, 2012
Photographer: Raymon Morehouse

Lineup: El Perro Loco (Rod Wood), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Ninja Rat Attack (Ronnie Sturges), Tuff Enuff (Jack Koberna), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]

The Allen Report: Monster Truck Show – Phoenix, AZ 2012

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Believe it or not, some promoters put together automotive entertainment shows without monster trucks. Arizona’s own Grand Canyon State Promotions has done demo derby shows and freestyle motocross shows, but never monster trucks. That is, until now. On April 15th, the last day of the 2012 Maricopa County Fair, the young promoter ventured into monster trucks. The lineup included: Travis Sturges in 1/2 Pint, brother Ronnie in Nasty Boy and their Uncle Sam in Unnamed & Untamed. There was also Murphy McCorey driving El Perro Loco and New Mexico’s own Jack Koberna in Tuff Enuff.

Both shows saw Chicago style racing. To open the afternoon show, Nasty Boy defeated 1/2 Pint in Round 1. Due to a lack of available fast loser, the 1940 Willys got a bye into the finals. El Perro Loco, who had had a bye run the round before, faced Tuff Enuff for the right to face Nasty Boy in the finals. The 30 year veteran Jack Koberna crossed the line first, but lost due to failing to get both front tires up the ramp on the final jump. In the finale, it was neck and neck until the crazy dog’s tail washed out on him, giving Nasty Boy the win. Freestyle saw great runs from all. Sadly, Tuff Enuff was finished for the weekend only two jumps in due to a blown motor. After several tries at a cheer off, it was Sturges walking away with the win, Sam and Unnamed, that is.

The evening show saw Nasty Boy chain El Perro Loco to advance into the finals again, this time facing teammate 1/2 Pint in a rematch from the afternoon. This time around, Travis put Nasty Boy in the naughty corner with a win to close racing for the weekend. But the night’s action was far from over. Having been plagued by ignition problems all day, Sam still impressed his home state fans with wheelies and fine air. But 1/2 Pint had the biggest air of the day on several of the big jumps on the floor, long wheelies and plenty of speed. All of those moves were more than enough to become the only double winner of the weekend. It was truly an amazing weekend for the home state team; as every member of the team took home at least one trophy. With a nearly full crowd, a good field of competitors and a well built track, the future looks promising for Grand Canyon State Promotions.

Throughout the weekend, there had been an exhibition showcasing tough trucks racing special off road vehicles called tom cars, all supplied by a local Ford dealer. And the Boogie Monster ride truck gave rides to all who wanted one before and after every performance. Next stop for us at “The Allen Report” is Firebird International Raceway where some of the biggest names who play the game will throw down to see which one of them can freestyle best on the unforgiving drag strip. Until then, thank you for reading, thanks to everyone at Grand Canyon State Promotions for their hospitality, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2012.

TMB TV: Original Series 5.7 – Monster Truck Thunder Slam – Jonesboro, AR 2012

TMB TV's Original Series Presented By E3 Spark Plugs
[column size=”1-3″]

Episode Information

Episode: Original Series 5.7
Event: Monster Truck Thunder Slam
Venue: ASU Convocation Center
Location: Jonesboro, Arkansas
Date: March 2nd-3rd, 2012
Host: Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers: Shane Skinner, Ross Z. Bonar
[/column] [column size=”1-3″]

Featured Monster Trucks

1/2 Pint – Travis Sturges
Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – Larry Swim
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Unnamed & Untamed – Sam Sturges
War Wizard – Robert Parker
[/column] [column size=”1-3″ last=”1″]

Featured Links

www.AMPTour.com
www.Bigfoot4x4.com
www.E3SparkPlugs.com
www.SturgesMotorsports.com
www.WarWizardRacing.com
[/column] [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Truck Thunder Slam – Jonesboro, AR 2012

Event: Monster Truck Thunder Slam
Venue: ASU Convocation Center
Location: Jonesboro, Arkansas
Date: March 2nd-3rd, 2012
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: 1/2 Pint (Travis Sturges), Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 (Larry Swim), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges), War Wizard (Robert Parker) [Read more…]

Video of the Week – 05/07/11

Week Ending: May 7th, 2011
Truck(s) Featured: Avenger (Jim Koehler), Bounty Hunter (Darren Migues), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Summit Bigfoot 16 (Dan Runte), Unnamed & Untamed (Travis Sturges)
Video Type: Fan Video
Courtesy: www.YouTube.com

Description: Highlights from this year’s NAPA Monster Truck Nationals & Jet Car Meltdown featuring Robosaurus.

The Allen Report: NAPA Monster Truck Nationals – Chandler, AZ 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Six of the top monster trucks in the world arrived at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona for the annual NAPA Monster Truck Nationals and Night of Fire, held on Saturday, April 30th and Sunday, May 1st, 2011. Participants included current Monster Jam World Finals Freestyle Champion Jim Koehler in Avenger, with last year’s Firebird runner-up Chris Bergeron in Brutus right behind him. Darren Migues would be filling in for perennial Firebird Champ Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter, Dan Runte would be back in Summit Bigfoot 16 and Travis and Ronnie Sturges would be piloting Unnamed & Untamed and Nasty Boy from just down the road in Tucson. Nasty Boy was even sporting the great looking TMB flag for the weekend’s events. The grand finale would be the return of the 40-foot tall, 60,000 pound car-eating, fire-breathing monstrosity Robosaurus.

Opening each show was a wheelie and donut competition with the brothers Sturges giving wheelies that set the stage for what was to come. Brutus not only surprised the Firebird fans with a 45 degree angle wheelie attempt, but gave cyclones that had yours truly thinking back to Wrecking Crew at the 2010 Monster Jam World Finals encore. Even better, Chris put the wreck from last year behind him with a perfect score of 30, followed it up with an outstanding freestyle, taking the Saturday night championship.

Sunday saw the encore performance for the fans that could not make it the first night. At one of his favorite places to perform, Dan and Bigfoot got the crowd pumped up with his shots at the wheelie and donut win. But it was déjà vu for Chris Bergeron, who found himself tied with Bounty Hunter with just freestyle left to go for the weekend. The judging was close, but Darren kept the Bounty Hunter Firebird legacy alive with a score tallied over wheelies and donuts combined with his freestyle number to oust Brutus for the second year in a row.

To close each show, Shawn Pacheco and Robosaurus fascinated the kids in the crowd by eating, breaking and burning a junk car or, in the case of the big show on Saturday, no less than three. In addition, Sam Sturges gave rides to fans young and old in his team’s “Boogie Monster” ride truck. Will Team Scream ever be able to defeat Bounty Hunter at Firebird? Find out next year. Until then, thank you for reading, thanks to everyone with Firebird Raceway for their hospitality, enjoy Jim’s great photos and cheer on!

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2011.

TMB TV: Original Series Episode 4.4 – Glendale, AZ 2011

Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Date: March 26th, 2011
Host: Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers: Ross Z. Bonar, Lynette Bonar

Lineup: 1/2 Pint (Travis Sturges), Black Knight (Dave Rife), Chalkboard Chuck (Jeff Hatten), E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), El Perro Loco (Rod Wood), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Star Marshal (Dave Radzierez), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Nationals – Glendale, AZ 2011

Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Date: March 26th, 2011
Photographer: Lauren Z. Bonar

Lineup: 1/2 Pint (Travis Sturges), Black Knight (Dave Rife), Chalkboard Chuck (Jeff Hatten), E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), El Perro Loco (Rod Wood), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Star Marshal (Dave Radzierez), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]

Profile: 1/2 Pint

Truck Name:  1/2 Pint
Driver Name:  Travis Sturges
Team Name:  Sturges Motorsports
Hometown:  Tucson, Arizona
Team Website:  http://www.SturgesMotorsports.com

2009 TMB Results Tracker Statistics:
– 1/2 Pint was driven by Ronnie Sturges and Travis Sturges in 2009, with Travis returning to the seat after many years out of the sport.
[Read more…]