One week from now monster trucks will return to one of the most historically significant venues in the history of the sport as the Pontiac Silverdome hosts the 1st Annual Monster Truck Fall Shootout!! 11 trucks are scheduled to compete in racing and freestyle including Bounty Hunter, Raminator, Tail Gator, Virginia Giant, War Wagon, Big Dawg, Rammunition, Shell Camino, Bar’s Leaks Eliminator, Airborne Ranger and Rislone Defender.
The return of the Silverdome has been one of the biggest and best stories of 2010 and TMB is excited to return for our 10th and final episode of TMB TV Season 3. We’ll cover all the action with three camera angles and two huge photo galleries. With tickets at only $13 at www.SilverdomeTickets.com, this event will surely be one of the best values of the year.
As we countdown the days of this final week leading up to the big event, we’ll interview one of the big personalities and get their thoughts on the Monster Truck Fall Shootout. Check back every day for another quick Q&A with one of the event’s big stars!
11/08/10: Q&A w/Doug Noelke | Countdown Status: 5 Days to Go!
TMB: TMB’s Countdown to the Silverdome Q&A series continues today as we talk to two-time Monster Nationals Racing Champion Doug Noelke, owner of the Big Dawg 4×4 team out of Union, Missouri and driver of the Tail Gator monster truck. Doug, we’ve been starting off talking to each driver about their past experience at the Silverdome – have you had a chance to run there before?
DN: As a matter of fact we have, and it was actually one of the first few events we ever did when we were first getting started back in 2001. The first year in 2000 when we finished the truck we only ran about 4-5 shows so as we were getting ready to start our first winter season, they had given us a few smaller Monster Jam events. Well two weeks before the first arena show we were scheduled to go to, they called and told us they needed us to go to the Silverdome the week before that – our first ever indoor show! So that whole weekend was the kind of “deer in the headlights” experience as we were there at this historic venue for this huge show right out of the gate. But all in all, it went really well that weekend and it was a great experience.
Doug Noelke runs the Big Dawg at the Silverdome in 2001 – courtesy www.BigDawg4x4.com
TMB: It’s really neat to hear some of these great stories, with Diehl Wilson having won at some of the classic Silverdome events in the past and now hearing that your first ever indoor show was here at the Silverdome. So its 10 years later now and you have built your team into one of the top teams in the industry – how exciting is it to be going back as one of the favorites to win?
DN: Well when the building closed, that was pretty sad to see because of all the history there, so its really exciting to have the chance to go back there when you wouldn’t have thought that was possible. We’ll try not to get too caught up in that though, the key is to try and stay focused, especially in racing, on being consistent and not making mistakes. As good as you may be running, you still need plenty of good luck to get the win.
TMB: One of the things we heard from Ryan Westlake in his interview was that he is excited about giving trucks the opportunity to run in a stadium style setting that may not get that opportunity all that often. When was the last time you ran a stadium and how much more challenging is a stadium course?
DN: I’d say the last time we ran at a big stadium was back in 2005 at the RCA Dome for Family Events. We took the racing win that night and had a pretty good freestyle too. The obstacles will be bigger, that’s for sure, but we still see that kind of stuff outdoors at places like Bristol and Charlotte. We’ve gotten to do a lot of the Monster Truck Challenge and MLMT stuff the past few years, so we do pretty well on big racing courses. With freestyle, you’ve just got to go out there, have some fun, not worrying about tearing things up, run hard and try not to lay an egg.
TMB: Well Doug, it was great to talk to you as we lead up to the big shows and we’re really looking forward to seeing great performances by yourself in Tail Gator and Dale in Big Dawg this weekend. Let’s wrap up by having you sum up what a win at the Silverdome on Saturday would mean to you.
DN: We’re finishing up the year with one of our biggest shows of the year – it’s been a pretty good season, it would be great to cap it off with a big win. Plus all the nostalgia at this place, all the history, that just adds to it even more. Hopefully this event goes great and they can keep the facility open and keep doing these events every year.
The Monster Truck Fall Shootout is this Saturday, November 13th – 11 of the nation’s top trucks compete in racing and freestyle at the historic Pontiac Silverdome! Advance tickets are only $13, all fees included at www.SilverdomeTickets.com – get yours now!
