The Insider: TMB Leaderboard Update – March 2012

(Article By Ross Z. Bonar) – The second edition of the TMB Leaderboard for 2012 is out following the last weekend of competition in first quarter! Based on all of the information gathered through the TMB Results Tracker, we are able to statistically see who the top performing drivers have been so far in 2012. A total of 201 drivers have competed in monster truck events this year with an incredible 137 different drivers scoring a competition win.

The Grave Digger team celebrated their 30th Anniversary in style during 1st Quarter as Dennis Anderson, Pablo Huffaker and Gary Porter combined to lead 6 of our 9 statistical categories on the TMB Leaderboard.

See below for the top 10 drivers in each of our statistical categories:

[column size=”1-3″]

Total Racing Wins

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 20
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 16
3) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 13
4) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 12
5) Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 11
6) Norm Miller – Batman – 10
7) Bari Musawwir – Spiderman – 9
— Alex Blackwell – Wolverine – 9
— BJ Johnson – California Kid – 9
— Kyle Doyle – Firestone Bigfoot #14 – 9

Total Freestyle Wins

1) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 25
2) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 24
3) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 22
4) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 16
5) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 13.5
6) Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 12
— Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 12
— Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 12
— Joe Miller – Monster Mutt – 12
— Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 12

Total Combined Racing/Freestyle Wins

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 44
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 41
3) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 29
4) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 23.5
5) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 23
6) Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 20
7) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 19
— Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 19
— Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 19
10) Joe Miller – Monster Mutt – 18

Total Wheelie Competition Wins

1) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 16
2) Greg Winchenbach – Crushstation – 15
— Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 15
4) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 14
5) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – 13
6) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 12.5
7) Joe Miller – Monster Mutt – 12
— Cam McQueen – Northern Nightmare – 12
9) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 11
10) Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 10

Total Donut Competition Wins

1) Jocelyn Perrin – High Maintenance – 15
2) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 10
— Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 10
4) Joe Miller – Monster Mutt – 6
5) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 5
— Chris Ryan – Ground Pounder – 5
— Bobby Holman – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 5
8) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 4
— Dave Radzierez – Star Marshal – 4
10) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 3
— Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 3
[/column] [column size=”2-3″ last=”1″]

Best Racing Win Percentage

1) Kyle Doyle – Firestone Bigfoot #10 – 64%
2) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 63%
3) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 59%
4) Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 58%
5) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 57%
6) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 50%
7) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 48%
8) Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 44%
9) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 39%
10) BJ Johnson – California Kid – 38%

(A driver must have competed in 15 racing competitions to be listed in this category)

Best Freestyle Win Percentage

1) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 90%
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 76%
3) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 69%
4) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 67%
— Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 67%
6) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 64%
7) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 63%
8) Bobby Holman – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 60%
9) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 56%
10) Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 52%
— Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 52%

(A driver must have competed in 15 freestyle competitions to be listed in this category)

Best Combined Racing/Freestyle Win Percentage

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 63%
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 62%
3) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 53%
— Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 53%
— Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 53%
6) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 50%
— Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 50%
8) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 44%
— Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 44%
10) Bobby Holman – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 43%

(A driver must have competed in a combination of 30 racing and/or freestyle competitions to be listed in this category)

Most Wins In Fields of 10+ Trucks

1) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 12
2) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 8
— Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 8
4) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 7
5) Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 6
6) Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 5
7) Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 4
8) Jim Koehler – Avenger – 3
— Alex Blackwell – Wolverine – 3
— Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 3
— Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 3
— Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 3
[/column]

Great job to all of the drivers on their outstanding performances thus far in 2012. Stay tuned to the TMB Results Tracker to find out what went down at events all around the country and watch for another Leaderboard update later this season!

(Photo By Chris Parrish)

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…]

Monster Photos: Monster Jam – St. Louis, MO 2012

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Edward Jones Dome
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: February 4th, 2012
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), El Toro Loco (Becky McDonough), Grave Digger (Carl Van Horn), Grinder (John Seasock), Ice Cream Man (Scott Sweat), Incinerator (Ryan Rice), Iron Man (Lee O’Donnell), Lucas Oil Crusader (Linsey Weenk), Maximum Destruction (Tom Meents), Metal Mulisha (Todd Leduc), Monster Energy (Damon Bradshaw), Monster Magic (Bryan Wright), Razin Kane (JR McNeal), Scarlet Bandit (Dawn Creten), Stone Crusher (Steve Sims), Tasmanian Devil (Taryn Laskey)
[Read more…]

The Insider: TMB Leaderboard Update – January 2012

(Article By Ross Z. Bonar) – The first edition of the TMB Leaderboard for 2012 is out following the last weekend of competition in the month of January! Based on all of the information gathered through the TMB Results Tracker, we are able to statistically see who the top performing drivers have been so far in 2012. A total of 178 drivers have competed in monster truck events this year with an incredible 98 different drivers scoring a competition win.

Gary Porter is dominating across nearly all statistical categories to kick off the 2012 season.

See below for the top 10 drivers in each of our statistical categories:

[column size=”1-3″]

Total Racing Wins

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 9
2) Kyle Doyle – Firestone Bigfoot #10 – 6
3) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 5
— Darren Migues – Bounty Hunter – 5
— Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 5
— Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 5
— Michael Harper – Outlaw – 5
8) Doug Noelke – Tail Gator – 4
— Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 4
— Morgan Kane – Stone Crusher – 4

Total Freestyle Wins

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 11
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 9
3) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 8.5
4) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 8
5) Michael Harper – Outlaw – 6
6) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 5.5
7) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 5
— Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 5
— Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 5
— Kevin King – Strait Jacket – 5

Total Combined Racing/Freestyle Wins

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 20
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 14
3) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 11
— Michael Harper – Outlaw – 11
5) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 10.5
6) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 8.5
7) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 8
— Darren Migues – Bounty Hunter – 8
— Doug Noelke – Tail Gator – 8

Total Wheelie Competition Wins

1) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 9
2) Greg Winchenbach – Crushstation – 7
— Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 7
— Bill Payne – Rock Star – 7
— Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – 7
6) Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 6
— Michael Harper – Outlaw – 6
8) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 5.5
9) Devin Jones – Barbarian – 4
— Joe Miller – Monster Mutt – 4

Total Donut Competition Wins

1) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 3
— Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 3
— Chris Ryan – Ground Pounder – 3
4) Mark Hall – Raminator – 2
— Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 2
— Aaron Basl – El Toro Loco – 2
— Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 2
— Paul Cohen – Grave Digger – 2
[/column] [column size=”2-3″ last=”1″]

Best Racing Win Percentage

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 82%
2) Kyle Doyle – Firestone Bigfoot #10 – 75%
3) Doug Noelke – Tail Gator – 57%
4) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 56%
— Darren Migues – Bounty Hunter – 56%
— Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 56%
— Michael Harper – Outlaw – 56%
8) Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 50%
9) Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 44%
10) Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 43%

(A driver must have competed in 6 racing competitions to be listed in this category)

Best Freestyle Win Percentage

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 100%
2) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 94%
3) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 89%
4) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 83%
5) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 75%
6) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 71%
7) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 67%
— Bobby Holman – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 67%
— Michael Harper – Outlaw – 67%
10) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 61%

(A driver must have competed in 6 freestyle competitions to be listed in this category)

Best Combined Racing/Freestyle Win Percentage

1) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 91%
2) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 61%
— Michael Harper – Outlaw – 61%
4) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 58%
— Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 58%
— Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 58%
7) Doug Noelke – Tail Gator – 57%
8) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 50%
— Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 50%
— Bobby Holman – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 50%

(A driver must have competed in a combination of 12 racing and/or freestyle competitions to be listed in this category)

Most Wins In Fields of 10+ Trucks

1) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 6
— Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 6
3) Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 5
4) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 4
— Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 4
6) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 3
7) Jim Koehler – Avenger – 2
— Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 2
— Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 2
— Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 2
— Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 2
— George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 2
[/column]

Great job to all of the drivers on their outstanding performances thus far in 2012. Stay tuned to the TMB Results Tracker to find out what went down at events all around the country and watch for another Leaderboard update after the month of February is in the books!

(Photo By Stephanie Cotnoir)

TMB TV: Highlights – Outlaw Monster Truck Spectacular – Rolla, MO 2011

Event: Outlaw Monster Truck Spectacular
Venue: Phelps County Fairgrounds
Location: Rolla, Missouri
Date: October 8th, 2011
Videographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Bounty Hunter (Ben Winslow), Ground Pounder (Chris Ryan), Michigan Ice Monster (Chris Lagana), Viper (Rich Blackburne) [Read more…]

Indy 4-Wheel Jamboree Championship Weekend Recap

(By Ross Z. Bonar) The weekend marked the 30th Anniversary of the 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana and how better to celebrate than with an incredible battle for the 2011 Monster Truck Thunder Drags season championship. Hall Brothers Racing entered the weekend looking to extend their decade of domination in this series to an unheard of eleventh year in a row, but 2011 would be their biggest challenge yet as legendary BIGFOOT driver Dan Runte entered the weekend 80 points ahead of Mark Hall and Raminator.

In addition to the monster truck championship battle, Jamboree fans would be treated to the usual great lineup of entertainment, from show’n’shine trucks to mud bogs, tough trucks and everything in between. For the 30th Anniversary event, Family Events pulled out all the stops, bringing in 12 race trucks, the young star Kid KJ and the incredibly popular Megasaurus car-eating dinosaur. The monster truck lineup included:  E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #16, Raminator, Rammunition, Avenger, General Tire, Lucas Oil Stabilizer, Heavy Hitter, Star Marshal, Stomper, Black Knight, Airdog Diesel and Chalkboard Chuck.

A great 12 truck lineup was assembled to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana.

A slight damper was cast on the weekend’s festivities however as Family Events was forced to make some layout changes due to the ongoing investigation into the Indiana State Fair stage collapse. The main grandstand was still closed and unavailable, so Family Events transported in temporary bleachers to accommodate the great crowds on hand for the event.

The collapsed stage remains as the investigation continues into the cause of the terrible tragedy prior to the Sugarland concert at last month's Indiana State Fair.

Those layout changes fortunately did not stop Head Track Official Lee Collins from putting together a wild S-course racing layout that featured a unique rhythm section not often seen in monster truck racing. This would be sure to present an interesting challenge for the drivers and another exciting twist in the title bout.

With four shows scheduled for the weekend, three of those including side by side racing, the points picture could change in a heartbeat. See below for the standings entering the weeekned:

Point Standings – Entering the Weekend

1st – Bigfoot – 1480
2nd – Raminator – 1400
3rd – Rammunition – 1240
4th – General Tire – 1120
5th – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 880
6th – Avenger – 880
7th – Star Marshal – 800
8th – Chalkboard Chuck – 640
9th – Crushstation – 600
10th – Samson – 440
11th – Black Knight – 240

Also presented here is the Family Events point scale:

How Points Are Awarded

1st – 200 points
2nd – 160 points
Semi-Finals – 120 points
1st Round – 80 points

Action kicked off Friday night with a freestyle-only warm-up to the weekend’s competition and all the trucks put on a great show for the fans in attendance.

The real action got started Saturday afternoon as the trucks took to the S-course for some intense side by side racing. The focus was on the championship contenders in round one as Mark Hall in Raminator made quick work of Bobby Holman in Lucas Oil Stabilizer while Dan Runte in Bigfoot dodged the powerful punch of the Heavy Hitter, taking out the impressive rookie Derick Anson in a close race. Mat Dishman looked strong in Rammunition as he took down Bryan Wright in Black Knight while Dave Radzierez cruised to victory in the Star Marshal when Chris Bergeron in General Tire was unable to make the call.

The semi-final round began with Raminator taking on Star Marshal for a trip to the finals and Mark Hall laid down a solid pass to defeat Razeriez. That win put the pressure on Runte as he had to race Mat Dishman in Rammunition. The two waged a great battle but Dishman used the big momentum off the outside lane coming to the line to edge out Runte and knock out Bigfoot. This would effectively close the point gap to 40 as Hall moved on to the finals.

In the all Hall Brothers Racing finale, Hall would have the chance to tie it all up by taking down his teammate. But in monster truck racing, there aren’t any team orders and Dishman would pull out all the stops to try and beat the boss. In another great battle, Dishman used the outside lane once again to carry incredible speed coming to the line, leaving Raminator in the dust and taking his third win of the 2011 General Tire Monster Truck Thunder Drags season. The race would be a missed opportunity for Hall as he exited the first race of the weekend still 40 points behind Runte.

A Hall Brothers Racing showdown in the finals of the Saturday afternoon race would see Mat Dishman in Rammunition in victory lane.

Here is a look at the racing bracket results and points after race #1:

Round One

Raminator def. Lucas Oil Stabilizer
Star Marshal def. General Tire (General Tire unable to make call)
Bigfoot def. Heavy Hitter
Rammunition def. Black Knight

Semi-Finals

Raminator def. Star Marshal
Rammunition def. Bigfoot

Final Round

Rammunition def. Raminator

Unofficial Point Standings – After Saturday Afternoon Race

1st – Bigfoot – 1600
2nd – Raminator – 1560
3rd – Rammunition – 1440
4th – General Tire – 1200
5th – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 960
6th – Star Marshal – 920
7th – Avenger – 880
8th – Chalkboard Chuck – 640
9th – Crushstation – 600
10th – Samson – 440
11th – Black Knight – 320
12th – Heavy Hitter – 80

Kid KJ impressed all weekend as he continues to improve, pulling off some great moves in his mini monster truck, the Monster Bear.

After a great freestyle display from all the trucks to close out the afternoon event, the teams would go to work on the trucks with one race under their belts and a better idea of the adjustments needed to improve on the setups for the evening race. The focus in round one would continue to be on Bigfoot and Raminator with the gap close to just 40 points.

Rich Hilgendorf leads the way in freestyle Saturday afternoon with a great performance from the Avenger.

Round one racing would see Dan Runte in Bigfoot make quick work of Joe Nichter in Stomper while Mark Hall in Raminator would receive a bye run when Rich Hilgendorf in Avenger was unable to make the call due to rear steering issues. Derick Anson in Heavy Hitter made Mat Dishman sweat in their match-up as he was pulling away when the truck swung wide in the final turn, making contact with and knocking over the giant O’Reilly’s inflatable to the delight of the crowd. Dishman would go on to win. “Hillbilly” would be back behind the wheel of the Black Knight and was very solid in his win over Bobby Holman in Chalkboard Chuck.

The semi-finals would see what might have been one of the most important races of the weekend as the two championship contenders went head to head. If Runte could win it, he would move back to 80 points ahead of Hall, while if Raminator won, the points race would be all tied up. Both trucks charged off the line, but Runte made great time through the rhythm section, entering the final turn very close on the inside. With a perfect turn, Runte was able to put the power down and leave Raminator behind, taking a huge win to move on to the finals. In the other semi-final match-up, “Hillbilly” in Black Knight made Mat Dishman work for it but lost it in the final turn as Rammunition powered by for the victory.

With an 80 point lead going into the final round, Runte could effectively wrap up the championship with a win in the finals. If he could carry a 120 point lead into the final race, he would need only to start and even if Hall won the Sunday event, the points would result in a tie for the championship. The tiebreaker would be # of race wins on the season and that would go to Runte and Bigfoot with 5 wins.

Not being exactly aware of the math, Dan Runte did know that a win in the finals would be huge and had Bigfoot on kill, ready to try and take down Mat Dishman and Rammunition. Dishman had looked great all weekend in the outside lane coming to the finish and that is the lane he had for the finals. The trucks stayed near even to the final turn where Runte whipped Bigfoot around in a perfect turn allowing him to get the power down as Dishman came charging hard on the outside. At the line, it was Runte taking the win by about a truck length but Rammunition came flying by in the air leaving the trucks side by side as they landed.

Dan Runte in Bigfoot takes a decisive final round victory Saturday night in Indy, while Mat Dishman charges hard toward the shutdown area.

Both trucks took hard landings but Bigfoot landed sideways, breaking a sway bar and sending the truck towards Rammunition. Runte gave a great effort to gather up Bigfoot but it would be to no avail as the trucks made contact, sending both out of control. There was no saving Bigfoot as Runte went for a hard rollover onto the cab and then back onto the wheels. Dishman continued on trying to save the truck but finally the tires caught in the dirt sending Rammunition over hard onto the cage.

Bigfoot and Rammunition make contact in the shutdown area which would send both trucks out of control and over onto their lid.

Track officials and crew members and drivers ran to the trucks as thankfully both drivers emerged slightly shaken up but otherwise unscathed from the hard crash. Officials made a quick review to ensure the call was correct, and yes it was Bigfoot by a truck length at the finish line taking the win and all but wrapping up the championship.

After a lengthy cleanup on the track and darkness consuming the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the decision was made by track officials to cancel freestyle in the interest of safety. With the layout changes due to the closing of the main grandstand, the big lights atop the grandstand were unavailable leaving much of the track in near complete darkness.

Here are the full results and resulting point standings after race #2:

Round One

Bigfoot def. Stomper
Raminator def. Avenger (Avenger unable to make call)
Rammunition def. Heavy Hitter
Black Knight def. Chalkboard Chuck

Semi-Finals

Bigfoot def. Raminator
Rammunition def. Black Knight

Final Round

Bigfoot def. Rammunition

Unofficial Point Standings – After Saturday Night Race

1st – Bigfoot – 1800
2nd – Raminator – 1680
3rd – Rammunition – 1600
4th – General Tire – 1200
5th – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 960
6th – Avenger – 960
7th – Star Marshal – 920
8th – Chalkboard Chuck – 720
9th – Crushstation – 600
Tie – 10th – Samson – 440
Tie – 10th – Black Knight – 440
13th – Heavy Hitter – 160
14th – Stomper – 80

To clinch the championship title, Runte and the Bigfoot team would at least have to make an appearance in round one in the final race on Sunday. As the team checked over the truck, they found several spots in the chassis that would need welding and immediately sent out calls to team drivers Larry Swim and Darron Schnell to be on standby to bring Bigfoot #14 and Bigfoot #11 from their display events to Indianapolis for Runte to compete in on Sunday. After further review of the damage, the team decided to make the repairs to #16 and working through the night and into the morning, the truck was ready to race on Sunday.

The very first race would see the championship decided without question or need for a tiebreaker as Dan Runte and Bigfoot cruised to an easy victory over Joe Nichter in Stomper. With the teams not 100% of the points math in the pits, all Mark Hall knew was that he needed to win and hope for the best, and he began that quest by marching to victory over Rich Hilgendorf in Avenger. Derick Anson in Heavy Hitter continued to impress as he defeated Mat Dishman in Rammunition, while Bobby Holman scored his first round win of the weekend, driving Chalkboard Chuck to the victory over Black Knight.

Even though the championship math had already been decided, this was still not certain in the pits setting up a huge match-up between Bigfoot and Raminator in the semi-finals. In what was probably the closest race of the entire weekend, Dan Runte edged Mark Hall by less than a tire length to erase any doubt as he moved on to the finals and was officially announced by Family Events to the crowd as the 2011 General Tire Monster Truck Thunder Drags Champion. Derick Anson cruised to the win over Chalkboard Chuck and was looking to really make an impression with a win in the finals.

Dan Runte defeats Mark Hall in the closest race of the weekend in the Sunday semi-finals.

The championship battle started close going into Indy, but Dan Runte like the legend and champion he is, never faltered and now entered the final round with the opportunity to celebrate the title with yet another win on the season. Anson was looking to spoil the Bigfoot party and gave a great effort, giving Runte all he could handle. As they came out of the final turn, Runte began to pull away and took the big win. Bigfoot cruised by the stands as they crowd saluted Dan Runte as the Sunday racing victor and the 2011 General Tire Monster Truck Thunder Drags champion.

Dan Runte takes the final win of the weekend on Sunday, taking down the impressive Derick Anson in Heavy Hitter.

Freestyle would see great efforts from all the trucks and drivers as they closed out a great 30th Anniversary of the 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Chris Bergeron lets it all hang out in the General Tire machine in the Sunday freestyle finale.

Here are the bracket results from the final race and the unofficial final season point standings:

Round One

Bigfoot def. Stomper
Raminator def. Avenger
Heavy Hitter def. Rammunition
Chalkboard Chuck def. Black Knight

Semi-Finals

Bigfoot def. Raminator
Heavy Hitter def. Chalkboard Chuck

Final Round

Bigfoot def. Heavy Hitter

Unofficial Point Standings – After Sunday Afternoon Race

1st – Bigfoot – 2000
2nd – Raminator – 1800
3rd – Rammunition – 1680
4th – General Tire – 1200
5th – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 960
6th – Avenger – 740
7th – Star Marshal – 920
8th – Chalkboard Chuck – 840
9th – Crushstation – 600
Tie – 10th – Samson – 440
Tie – 10th – Black Knight – 520
13th – Heavy Hitter – 320
14th – Stomper – 160

All of us at TheMonsterBlog.com would like to send a big congratulations to Dan Runte and all of Team BIGFOOT on their 2011 General Tire Monster Truck Thunder Drags title. We would also like to salute Hall Brothers Racing on their incredible 10 year streak of winning that championship. Although the streak may have ended, there is no denying that their decade of domination is one of the greatest feats in monster truck history.

Stay tuned for an incredible amount of TMB coverage coming your way from the 30th Indianapolis 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals. You’ll see photo galleries from Danny Maass and Paul Harry, a highlight video from Colby Marshall and full event coverage in two episodes of Chris Parrish’s ActionTracks. Be sure to check out the TMB Facebook for more teaser photos from the weekend’s action.

A big thanks to everyone with Family Events for their hospitality this weekend and to all the teams and drivers for their great efforts this season, and also a big tip of the hat to new head track official Lee Collins on really taking some of the racing at the Jamborees to the next level this year with some great track designs including the unique S-track this weekend in Indy.

After such an incredible season of General Tire Monster Truck Thunder Drags racing, we’re already counting down to Springfield, Missouri in 2012 where the chase for another championship will begin anew!

(Article by Ross Z. Bonar, Photos By Danny Maass & Bob Chandler, Video Footage By Ross Z. Bonar & Michael Harry)

Monster Photos: Monster Truck Racing Super Series – Springdale, AR 2011

Event: Monster Truck Racing Super Series
Venue: Parsons Stadium
Location: Springdale, Arkansas
Date: June 3rd-4th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Bar’s Leaks Eliminator (Greg Adams), Barbarian (Devin Jones), Brute Force (Jerry Perry), Crashmaster (Jeremy Perry), Temper Tantrum (Amy Perry) [Read more…]

Lebanon I-44 Speedway Opening Night – 05/07/2011

Event: Opening Night at the Races
Venue: Lebanon I-44 Speedway
Location: Lebanon, Missouri
Date: May 7th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Late Models, Modifieds, Road Warriors, Sportsman, Chargers & Outlaw Mini-Stocks [Read more…]

Devin Jones Wins First Series Championship In Barbarian

Another Monster Truck Winter Nationals season is now behind us, but there is a new face hoisting the big trophy as Devin Jones and Barbarian is the 2011 Champion. This represents the first series title for the young man from Miami, Oklahoma and breaks the hold that Team BIGFOOT and driver Larry Swim have had on the championship for the last two years.

 

The ISU Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho is the site for the annual Monster Truck Grand Nationals finale.

The battle would come down to the Monster Truck Grand Nationals finale at Pocatello, Idaho’s ISU Holt Arena where a sold out crowd of over 14,000 people would witness the title bout. Only three drivers would remain in contention for the points title as Swim and the Bigfoot Bad Boy, Jones and Barbarian and Bill Payne in Rock Star would compete with fellow season long points competitor Garrett Ladelle in California Kid.

The lineup would also include such superstars as Bounty Hunter, Titan, Amsoil Shock Therapy, Iron Outlaw and Excaliber, though those five trucks would not be playing the role of spoiler as in years past. The decision was made by CFP officials to have the four points trucks race and freestyle only against each other, and to have the other 5 trucks race in a separate bracket and then close the night with multi-truck freestyles.

The championship racing bracket started out wild as Bill Payne in Rock Star navigated the tight u-turn quickest and took down Devin Jones in Barbarian. A frightening moment would occur in the next race as Bigfoot Bad Boy lost a left front tire upon landing at the finish in his first round defeat of California Kid. The loose tire would careen towards the pit area and impact the arena wall with incredible force before bouncing to a stop. Thankfully the tire impacted in an area of the pits where no track or crew personnel were standing.

The breakage would unfortunately be terminal for the BIGFOOT team, leaving Larry Swim on the sidelines for the remainder of the event and ending his chance at a three-peat. With Swim unable to meet Rock Star in the finals, CFP officials made the call to bring back Devin Jones and Barbarian. Jones would have one more shot at Payne, but the result would be the same the second time around as Payne would pilot Rock Star to the racing victory. In the non-championship bracket, it was Darren Migues in Bounty Hunter picking up the racing victory.

With the remaining title contenders having finished 1-2 in racing, it would all come down to freestyle. Knowing he had no choice but to win, Devin roared onto the floor in Barbarian and proceeded to lay down one of his best runs of the year, with big air, slap wheelies and a wild finishing move that saw Jones attempt to crossthread a bus, only to roll backwards onto his lid. Jones had set the bar very high for Ladelle and Payne to try and beat.

After a solid run that was cut a short with breakage for Garrett Ladelle in California Kid, Rock Star fired up and Bill Payne readied to do what he does best – wow the crowd with an incredible freestyle. Payne started the run with one great wow moment, but on the second hit trouble struck as a bad bounce would send Rock Star onto its lid much too early. The 2-hit effort would only be good enough for third in freestyle, handing the championship to Devin Jones in Barbarian.

 

Devin Jones & Barbarian, the 2011 Monster Truck Winter Nationals Champion.

For the young independent Devin Jones, the title represents an incredible accomplishment for the small family team out of Miami, Oklahoma. After acquiring the old leaf sprung Road Rage machine in 2005, Devin quickly proved to be a natural talent, competing and even winning in a wildly out of date chassis. Bucking the trend in the industry of purchasing a pre-built chassis, Devin and his father set to work in 2006 on building a custom chassis that was made ready for the start of the 2007 season. Ever since, there has been nothing but impressive performances and big wins for the Barbarian.

This year’s title is an exclamation point on what has been an incredible start to this young driver’s career. The accomplishment is made so much more impressive when you consider that this championship has been held for the last 4 years by the multi-truck teams of BIGFOOT and Sudden Impact Racing – in 2011, it was a young man and his father from Miami, Oklahoma who did it their way, beating the big money teams with nothing but hard work and pure talent.

TheMonsterBlog.com congratulates our good friend Devin Jones on his 2011 Monster Truck Winter Nationals Championship!

Monster Photos: Monster X Tour – Chico, CA 2011

Event: Monster X Tour
Venue: Silver Dollar Speedway
Location: Chico, California
Date: April 8th-9th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: California Kid (Garrett Ladelle), Fired Up (TJ Etchison), Rock Star (Bill Payne), Titan (Donald Epidendio), Time Flys (Kelvin Ramer) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Truck Thunder Slam – Jonesboro, AR 2011

Event: Monster Truck Thunder Slam
Venue: ASU Convocation Center
Location: Jonesboro, Arkansas
Date: March 5th-6th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Firestone Bigfoot #11 (Darron Schnell), Pouncer (Allen Pezo), Predator (Dale Mitchell), Prowler (Lenny Kuilder), War Wagon (Andy Hoffman) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Battle of the Monster Trucks – Tulsa, OK 2011

Event: Battle of the Monster Trucks
Venue: QuikTrip Center
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Date: February 18th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Ballistic (Mac Plecker), Bar’s Leaks Eliminator (Greg Adams), Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 (Larry Swim), Desperado (Drew Haygood), Rislone Defender (Zach Adams), Snake Bite #11 (Darron Schnell) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Jam – Kansas City, MO 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Sprint Center
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Date: February 12th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Aftershock (Bob Robbins), Bounty Hunter (Jay McPherson), Destroyer (Dan Evans), Grave Digger (Pablo Huffaker), Krazy Train (Roger Cardot), Martial Law (Paul Strong), Reptoid (Jim Jack), TMNT (Aaron Basl) [Read more…]

The Insider: Beefcake Design Setting Standard for T-Shirt Design

Ever since we started working in the monster truck industry over six years ago, we have met many incredible people who use their talents to work in the industry they love. That’s really the story of many of the best people working in the industry – a love of monster trucks since childhood and the use of their own personal skill sets to provide useful services to others in the industry.

We at TMB are proud to work with such people and recommend such services, whether it be vinyl wraps and services from our friends at Steel Skinz Graphics, parts from the folks at AA Speed & Custom and even full on chassis and turn key monster trucks from Patrick Enterprises, Racesource Inc and Concussion Engineering. The people behind these organizations are monster truck fans first and they work to provide services that will improve the industry they love.

One area we had yet to run across someone who exceeded all our expectations was in the area of t-shirt design. This is one of the most in demand services in the monster truck industry. Merchandise sales are a huge part of a monster truck owner/operator or event promoter’s revenue streams and historically, there is no bigger seller than the t-shirt.

Every big monster truck fan has the dual purpose collection/wardrobe of monster truck t-shirts they have collected over the years. And let’s face it, the selection of which shirts they end up purchasing is not solely based on who their favorite truck is – it’s very much about the design.

We at TMB have been through the first time client experience in having t-shirts done before and as we are beginning our second project, we thought we would share some of our experiences and make a pitch for a fellow monster truck enthusiast who is doing the work that so many in the industry need done.

Spend Money to Make Money – Don’t Skimp on the Design

One of the biggest mistakes monster truck owner/operator and promoters make is to try and save money by spending less on the design. The cost savings realized from having cheaper, lower quality illustrated artwork instead of using a slightly more expensive professional who understands the monster truck industry may be somewhere in the range of $300-$500 at the time of making the order; however it will end up being the difference between walking away at the end of any given weekend having sold a mere handful of shirts versus having up to several thousand dollars worth of extra income from t-shirt sales.

This one is a no-brainer – the fans may love your truck but if you have a simple or amateurish design, they’re not going to spend the money on one of your shirts. Trying to save a couple hundred dollars on production could cost you thousands in sales later on.

OWN Your Design – Use an Independent Designer Who Loves Monster Trucks

You need to find a designer who knows and loves monster trucks – they will be more passionate about the job and they will work harder to create a design that is unique to your brand. Now we’re not recommending using someone who doesn’t know t-shirt design – there are many ins and outs to designing a t-shirt because of they way they are printed that even a great graphic designer may not handle properly (using proper PMS colors, etc). This could end up costing you more money when you take the design to have it printed.

A general staff designer for the t-shirt printing company you’re using may be very talented and do great artwork, but you are just another job to them and in most cases – this is VERY important to note – they co-own your design with you, so that you will only be able to have that design printed if you use that company. This also allows them to duplicate elements of the artwork you paid to have created in another client’s project! Case in point comes from TMB’s own first time t-shirt design client experience.

Our first project was handled by the $2.95 Guys, who are a great t-shirt printer that we would recommend to anyone for the actual printing of the t-shirts. However, we used one of their staff designers and even chose the most expensive level of design, following the advice above. The designer did a great job on the shirt and we were happy with the experience at the time. But later on, we found out that our design that we paid full price for, which was created directly from a TMB taken photo, had been taken and minimally modified for another client, who was also charged full price!

The lesson is OWN your t-shirt design. Have it done by an independent professional and then take it to the t-shirt printing company of your choice. Go even further and use someone passionate about monster trucks so that you are sure to receive a unique, well thought out design by someone who understands your brand and what your target market wants.

TMB Recommendation – Beefcake Design

In our search for a designer for our second t-shirt project – new TMB TV shirts which will be coming out later this year – we were lucky enough to meet a fellow monster truck enthusiast who is setting the standard by which monster truck t-shirt artwork is measured.

Jason Becker is from Hutchinson, Kansas and has been a monster truck fan all his life. Always having had that “artistic touch”, he went to school for to pursue graphic design and became a school teacher instructing in that field.

As a monster truck fan, he always attended events in his area and as a hobby, would do illustrations of trucks and have them autographed by drivers at the events. While attending a ProMT event at Kansas Speedway, Jason met Team Scream drivers Jim Koehler and Chris Bergeron. They were so impressed with his illustrations that they enlisted his help in coming up with a 3D dog body concept they wanted to do for Chris’ Brutus truck.

Never having had experience with such a thing, Jason worked with them and came up with a concept drawing for the new body. They were so pleased with the concept, they then enlisted Jason’s help in building it. An S10 body was sent to Jason’s house and with the help and advice of the folks at GTS Fiberglass and lots of collaboration with Team Scream, Jason was able to create what is now one of the most recognizable 3D bodies in all of monster trucks.

Jason Becker works on transforming an S10 body into one of the most recognizable 3D body styles in all of monster trucks.

After creating several t-shirt designs for Team Scream, Steve Koehler recommended Jason to the folks at Feld Entertainment, as they were looking for an additional designer for some of their t-shirt projects. After creating a well received Blue Thunder design, Feld also used Jason’s talents to create t-shirts for trucks including Air Force Afterburner, TMNT, Captain’s Curse, Donkey Kong, El Toro Loco, Maximum Destruction, Taz and Superman.

Jason has also worked with independent teams, doing t-shirt designs for Equalizer, Amsoil Shock Therapy, Excaliber and Bad News Travels Fast.

Examples of some of the great t-shirt designs done by Beefcake Design.

Now Becker has started his own design company and is looking to expand his work to more clients in the monster truck industry. The Beefcake Design philosophy is that each design is much more than just artwork, its a branding of what your team is all about and how you run. Jason strives to create artwork that is unique to each client and communicates the driver or team’s personality and attitude. Becker would also be open to working on another 3D body concept project and is even expanding his services to include designing full truck wraps.

We are very excited to unveil the new TMB TV t-shirt that Beefcake Design is currently working on for us and we are very happy to have found a monster truck t-shirt designer we can recommend to all our friends in the industry. Check out their portfolio at www.BeefcakeDesign.com and feel free to give Jason a call at (316) 648-8165 or shoot him an email at jason@beefcakedesign.com for more information how he can work with you on your next project.

Check out the full Beefcake Designs portfolio at www.BeefcakeDesign.com.

We hope you’ve found this edition of The Insider to be an informative look at the monster truck t-shirt design process and that some of the tips included will help you avoid a bad experience in your t-shirt projects. Whether you end up using our friends at Beefcake Design or not, remember not to skimp on the design and to use someone who will create a design unique to you and your team – it will pay off in the end!

Monster Photos: Monster X Tour – Bakersfield, CA 2011

Event: Monster X Tour
Venue: Rabobank Arena
Location: Bakersfield, California
Date: January 21st-22nd, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Black Knight (“Hillbilly”), California Kid (Garrett Ladelle), Rock Star (Bill Payne), Summit Bigfoot #16 (Dan Runte), Titan (Donald Epidendio) [Read more…]