The Allen Report: Maverik Clash of the Titans – West Valley City, UT 2012

August 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on The Allen Report, we come to you from the Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley City, Utah where two of the biggest monster truck teams have to fight to get to victory lane. 2Xtreme Racing was represented by the black Bounty Hunter driven by Ben “Bobo” Winslow and, as always, Jimmy Creten in the blue Bounty Hunter. Dawn Creten, with Scarlet Bandit in tow, had embarrassing the boys on her mind and regular Hurricane Force driver Steven Thompson jumped into the Iron Outlaw for the very first time in a substitute role.

Representing Team Bigfoot was Dan Runte coming to RMR in the radical Bigfoot #18 for the very first time with Larry Swim behind the wheel of Vi-Cor Bigfoot “Bessie” #16. As always, the Salt Lake area’s own Maverik Monster Trakker was in the house driven by Ron Duncombe, and rounding out the field were the twin brothers Groth: Travis driving the ever patriotic Captain USA and Tyler driving the truck they had built from the ground up, Double Trouble.

From the start, the world’s only cow themed monster truck was driven to its limit, taking the number one spot as the sole driver to qualify in the 29 second range. Due to the odd number of competitors, Bessie got a bye run in the first round, but from there it only got harder. To face Bessie in the finals, both Bounty Hunters had to race each other, with the ever experienced Jimmy Creten in the Blue Bounty taking the win. Bigfoot #18 tried his hardest against his own teammate, but Larry, who drove Snake Bite to the finals in one race of this event a year ago, was not to be denied.

In the 2 lap grand finale, the event’s perennial racing finalist Bounty Hunter Blue got the matchup he wanted with Larry. But “the cow”, as the announcers called Bessie throughout the weekend, had the corners down better than any other driver, taking the Saturday night racing win, despite being behind at the start of the final lap.

As a prelude to freestyle the next day, a wheelie contest closed the first night. All drivers gave their best efforts, but the two time reigning champion, with now no chance for a three-peat, unleashed his truck’s inner beast, carrying a slap wheelie three-quarters of the length of the front straightaway. Not surprisingly, Dan’s score was an almost perfect 9.4 out of a potential 10.0 to take the win. But the weekend was far from over.

On Sunday, Dan and Bigfoot #18 had their eyes on the prize, and it showed. He was king of the hill once more in qualifying, missing his own track record by just seven-tenths of a second. Things took a turn on the wild side when Maverik Monster Trakker tried to make up for lost time against Bigfoot #18 in the quarter-finals, only to cartwheel hard on its roll cage in a savage crash. While Ron was only rattled, a continuous list of broken parts meant there was no saving the home state monster.

Dan’s march to the finals required him to take out the rising star they call “Bobo” in Bounty Hunter Black, and he delivered. Back in 2010, Jim Creten and Dan Runte had faced each other in the final round both nights, with Dan, at the time driving Retro Bigfoot #16, going two for two in those races. The final race of the weekend this year would mirror that sight, with Bounty Hunter fans watching in bitter disappointment as Runte took another racing trophy.

This time, the grand finale was all out freestyle. The four runner-up finishes in six final round races over the past three years made the former World Freestyle Champion even more determined, hitting everything with tremendous speed, creativity in a class all its own, and unbeatable air on every obstacle and erased all doubt about who the winner was. The Tonganoxie, Kansas native narrowly edged out Larry Swim in Bessie who also had an excellent run with a score of 36.85, stopping the Bigfoot clean sweep and winning freestyle at RMR for the third time in as many years.

As usual, the entire weekend saw Basalt, Idaho’s own Ron Barrows and his ride truck called “Thumper” giving rides to everyone who wanted one. With a different racing winner each night, there was no Undisputed Champion for the first time since “The Allen Report” started representing TMB in West Valley City. But as both racing winners had the name Bigfoot on the sides of their trucks, the overall racing winner was team Bigfoot.

Next up for us is the 2nd Annual International Monster Truck Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, where legends become immortals. Until that time, thank you for reading, a special thanks to everyone at Rocky Mountain Raceways for their wonderful hospitality, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

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The Allen Report: Kaboom Monster Truck Show – Pomona, CA 2012

July 29, 2012 by 1 Comment

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

The annual KaBoom! Event in Pomona, CA, has been sellout every year since its inception in 2002. Its 10th birthday was celebrated side by side with America’s birthday by again being held on the 4th of July. The Monster Trucks performing were Jimmy Creten in bounty Hunter, Geno Kinal in Iron Outlaw, Kelvin Ramer in Time Flys, Rosalee Ramer in Detour and Eric Swanson in Obsessed.

To get the crowd pumped up for the monster trucks, four of the most fearless freestyle motocross riders you could find had the crowd screaming for the favorite – The Backflip, and the riders, including Metal Mulisha representative Jimmy Fitzpatrick, delivered.

But the show soon became a nightmare for Jimmy Creten really fast. Despite a bye all the way to the finals where Iron Outlaw joined him, the former World Champion broke a ring and pinion in the front differential right off the starting line of the Chicago-style, Roundy-round course, causing him to wash out on both turns, and giving up the win to his teammate, Iron Outlaw. The front end mechanical goblins, which had followed him up to Pomona from Del Mar, proved too much for Jimmy to fix in time and the entertainer had to have the curtain come down early.

Similarly, Eric Swanson in Obsessed lost second gear and had difficulty finishing his freestyle run, just barely clearing the big center jump. Iron Outlaw and Kelvin Ramer in Time Flys performed the duet freestyle finale, crashing through the extra long mobile home much to the crowd’s excitement. Iron Outlaw was declared the freestyle winner with Rosalee and Detour finishing a strong second.

The fans forgot all about being sad about Bounty Hunter breaking when the opening fireworks went off, saying “goodbye” and “thank you for coming” with a BANG!

Next for us at “The Allen Report” is one of the biggest monster truck shows of the summer. Every August, some of the biggest players of the monster truck game gather at the Rocky Mountain Raceways in Wet Valley City, Utah for a “Clash of the Titans”. “The Allen Report” will be there to cover the activities. Thank you for reading, a special thanks to John Borba and WGAS Motorsports for their wonderful hospitality, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

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The Allen Report: Monster Truck Show – Del Mar, CA 2012

July 29, 2012 by 2 Comments

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This edition of “The Allen Report” comes to you from Del Mar, California where Jimmy Creten in the Bounty Hunter is thinking San Diego County Fair Championship three-peat. Rick Swanson has introduced a new body design called WrongWay Rick. The other participants were Kelvin Ramer and Time Flys, the Youngest Female Professional Monster Truck Driver in the World, Rosalee Ramer in Detour, Eric Swanson the Youngest Professional Male driver in the World in Obsessed and Russell Steeley in Iron Outlaw.

The monsters would be competing at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar in two shows a day for four days with a different contest each day. The combined scores from both shows in the same day would determine the day’s winner. Day 1 consisted of a high jump contest. Detour jumped 9 feet 2 inches in the first afternoon show and a roof-raising 12 feet 8 inches for a day total of 21 feet, 10 in to take the first win.

Day 2 was a wheelie contest day. This saw Eric Swanson nail a well executed wheelie in Obsessed, but broke a ring and pinion a monster at the same time. However, Jimmy Creten had his game together, never once getting a wheelie that was less than vertical and the length of the floor to take the win.

Day 3 featured a long jump contest with football field style measurements. Fan favorite Time Flys jumped a respectable 64 feet but that was only good enough for 4th place in the early afternoon show. But then came the late afternoon show and the 1934 Ford flew a neck wrenching 71 feet. These two distances made him the 3rd different winner in 3 days of competition.

The 4th and final day was a full blown freestyle. The trophy cart races were fast and furious, but the crowd was anxious to get down to the meat and potatoes. Bounty Hunter did not disappoint. His perfect 40 in both shows of the day made Jimmy Creten a 3 time San Diego County Fair Undisputed Champion.

Next up for us at “The Allen Report” will be the 4th of July celebration called simply KaBoom! at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA. Many thanks for reading, a special thanks to John Borba and WGAS Motorsports for their hospitality and access to the pits and drivers, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

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The Insider: TMB Leaderboard Update – June 2012

July 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

(Article By Ross Z. Bonar) – The third edition of the TMB Leaderboard for 2012 is out following the last weekend of competition in second 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 226 drivers have competed in monster truck events this year with an incredible 155 different drivers scoring a competition win.

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 – 22
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 21
3) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 16
4) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 14
— Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 14
— Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 14
7) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 12
8) Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 11
9) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 10
— Morgan Kane – Stone Crusher – 10
— BJ Johnson – California Kid – 10
— Mat Dishman – Rammunition – 10
— Norm Miller – Batman – 10

Total Freestyle Wins

1) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 33
2) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 29
3) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 26
4) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 22
5) Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 18
— Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 18
7) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 15.5
8) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 15
9) Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 14
10) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 12
— Joe Miller – Monster Mutt – 12
— Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 12

Total Combined Racing/Freestyle Wins

1) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 54
2) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 48
3) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 41
4) Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 32
5) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 29
6) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 26
7) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 25.5
8) Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 25
9) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 24
10) Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 21

Total Wheelie Competition Wins

1) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 21
2) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 20
3) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 18
4) Greg Winchenbach – Crushstation – 17
5) Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 15
— Cam McQueen – Northern Nightmare – 15
7) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 13
— Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – 13
— BJ Johnson – California Kid – 13
10) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 12.5

Total Donut Competition Wins

1) Jocelyn Perrin – High Maintenance – 15
2) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 11
3) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 10
4) Joe Miller – Monster Mutt – 6
5) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 5
— Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 5
— Chris Ryan – Ground Pounder – 5
— Bobby Holman – Lucas Oil Stabilizer – 5
— Dave Radzierez – Star Marshal – 5
10) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 4.5
[/column] [column size=”2-3″ last=”1″]

Best Racing Win Percentage

1) Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 56%
2) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 53%
3) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 52%
4) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 47%
— Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 47%
6) Doug Noelke – Tail Gator – 45%
7) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 43%
8) Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 39%
8) Norm Miller – Batman – 36%
10) Ronnie Sturges – Nasyt Boy – 32%

(A driver must have competed in 20 racing competitions to be listed in this category)

Best Freestyle Win Percentage

1) Jerry Perry – Brute Force – 78%
2) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 76%
3) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 76%
4) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 71%
5) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 67%
6) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 62%
7) Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 56%
8) Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 46%
9) Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 41%
— Chad Tingler – Grave Digger – 41%

(A driver must have competed in 20 freestyle competitions to be listed in this category)

Best Combined Racing/Freestyle Win Percentage

1) Pablo Huffaker – Grave Digger – 60%
2) Gary Porter – Grave Digger – 57%
— Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 57%
4) Bill Payne – Rock Star – 53%
5) Randy Brown – Grave Digger – 44%
6) Larry Swim – Bigfoot Bad Boy #16 – 43%
7) Rick Long – E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – 42%
8) Dan Runte – Summit Bigfoot #18 – 41%
9) Larry Quick – Ghost Ryder – 39%
10) Doug Noelke – Tail Gator – 38%

(A driver must have competed in a combination of 40 racing and/or freestyle competitions to be listed in this category)

Most Wins In Fields of 10+ Trucks

1) Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 15
2) Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 10
3) Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 9
4) Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 7
5) Charlie Pauken – Grave Digger – 6
6) Carl Van Horn – Grave Digger – 5
— Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 5
8) Mark Hall – Raminator – 4
— Mat Dishman – Rammunition – 4
— Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 4
[/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!

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The Allen Report: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals – Springfield, MO 2012

May 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

When the 2011 4 Wheel Jamboree season rolled around, Dan Runte was back and ready to stop the Hall Brothers decade long win streak. When all was said and done, Dan stood head and shoulders above the rest, bringing the trophy back to Midwest 4-Wheel Drive. Now another battle royal for the 4 Wheel Jamboree Series Title has begun in Springfield, MO. Dan Runte was driving the new E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #18 with sophomore season driver Darron Schnell with him in Vi-Cor Bigfoot “Bessie” #11. Those two went up against Mark Hall and Mat Dishman in Raminator and Rammunition. The other trucks in the field of ten were Bobby Holman in Lucas Oil Stabilizer with Michelle Simpson and Chalkboard Chuck, regular Stomper driver Joe Nichter with the General Tire body on the Ironman chassis and Dave Radzierez driving both Star Marshall and the XDP sponsored Diesel Monster Truck. Rounding out the field was Australian Champion Clive Featherby and Outback Thunda.

The track construction crew put together a brand new, “Double S” race course. The two trucks complete half a clock-wise roundy-round lap before making a hairpin turn to the left and flying over one more jump to the finish line. After some photo finishes, tight turns and a lot of dust, the semi-finals featured the Rammunition gunning down the reigning champion Bigfoot, while Bigfoot Bessie “udderly” embarrassed the Stabilizer. In the finale, it was neck and neck all the way to the end where Mat stood on the throttle and edged out the world’s only dairy themed monster truck by less than a truck length. In the following freestyle and the second show freestyle (which was the only competition for the second show with no racing), no official winner was crowned, but the fans cheered on.

The second day of racing saw only 7 trucks hit the track for the afternoon and only show on Sunday. Star Marshall gave up his two front tires to make up for a broken rim on the Stabilizer. Bigfoot Bessie had blown a motor the night before during freestyle and the XDP Diesel had some gear problems that were fixed but a steering line was also broken with no chance of being fixed in time.

In racing, the Aussie legend went head to head with the American legend Bigfoot #18 in the first semi final. It was neck and neck until Clive spun out in the final corner leading up to the final jump. Mat Dishman demoted the General and 20 plus year veteran Joe Nichter in the other semi to put together a classic Hall Brothers/Bigfoot finale. For the first two-thirds of the race there was no clear leader until Bigfoot went into the final corner too hot, giving the Hemi powered Rammunition the weekend sweep. Like the night before, there was no winner in freestyle. But the best runs of the day belonged to “Horse with Attitude” Outback Thunda and the 10 time champion Dan Runte. Both drivers pushed their trucks to the limit, much to the increasing noise from the crowd.

Throughout the weekend, the Sergeant Smash ride truck gave rides to anyone who wanted one and Kid KJ & The Lil’ Mighty Monsters both raced and gave freestyle runs, showing the future of the monster truck industry looks bright. With two Bigfoot/Hall Brothers battles in two races, this reporter is confident that the rivalry can only get hotter as the season winds down. Right now: Hall Brothers 2; Bigfoot 0. Next stop for The Allen Report is the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, California over Independence Day weekend. In the meantime, thanks to Family Events for their hospitality, enjoy the photos, thank you for reading and cheer on!

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The Allen Report: NAPA Monster Truck Nationals – Chandler, AZ 2012

May 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona has something for just about any racing fan. Throughout the year, the track hosts the opening and closing races for off-road racing, one round of hydroplane racing, the second race of the year in NHRA pro drag racing and every April, one of the biggest monster truck shows the Grand Canyon State has to offer: the NAPA Auto Parts Monster Truck Nationals. This year’s competitors were: Jim Koehler in Avenger and Chris Bergeron in Brutus from Team Scream, Jimmy Creten driving Bounty Hunter was back to defend his crown from the past several years along with Ben Winslow in Iron Outlaw from 2Xtreme Racing, and rounding out the field were Dan Runte in Summit Bigfoot #18 and home state favorite Sam Sturges in Unnamed & Untamed.

Saturday night saw the wheelie, donut and freestyle contest each with a total score of 30 for each contest, with whoever getting the closest to an overall perfect score of 90 taking the trophy. Sam and Unnamed & Untamed nearly repeated his incredible move from this show 5 years ago, but did not end up on all fours, suffering a hard rollover. Sam was okay. As it had been the past two years, all eyes were on Team Scream and 2Xtreme Racing. Both Brutus and Avenger gave applause worthy runs and they also impressed the judges. But Bounty Hunter got the highest scores of all three competitions, two of which were perfect 30’s and the freestyle attempt, which included a jump over Iron Outlaw, gave the Tonganoxie, Kansas based team the Saturday night victory with a nearly perfect score of 86.

Sunday saw only two of those same competitions as the wheelie contest was cancelled thus bringing a perfect combined score down to 60. Bounty Hunter was off to a great start in the donut contest when his motor blew. This eliminated any chances of a Sunday donut win. Bigfoot had problems of his own, breaking a rear axle part called the third member bringing the end of his day a little sooner. The win went to Brutus, despite great efforts from teammate Avenger. When the points race was won and the smoke plume cleared Chris had combined his donut efforts with a wicked freestyle to execute an almost perfect 56 point effort, claiming the Sunday win. Still, Bounty Hunter’s combined winning number from the night before was the higher of the two, ensuring that the new Firebird champion was the same as the old champion, Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter.

Also in the show was Robosaurus, a 40 foot tall, 60,000 pound car eating, fire breathing transforming dinosaur that thrilled kids and adults alike with his car eating, breaking and burning. Jelly Belly Ed Jones also performed with his wheel standing stage coach and bags of Jelly Bellies. He went 100+ mph in the quarter mile all on his back wheels. Finally, Ronnie Sturges, Sam’s nephew, drove the “Boogie Monster” ride truck all afternoon on both days.

For us at The Allen Report, we’re now off to Springfield, Missouri for our first ever 4 Wheel Jamboree; where it all began for monster trucks just under 40 years ago. In the meantime, thank you for reading and a special thanks to a great sponsor of Firebird Raceway, Loud Pedal Motorsports, for their hospitality under the blazing Arizona sun. Enjoy the photos and cheer on!

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

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

(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!

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The Insider: TMB Leaderboard Update – March 2012

April 1, 2012 by 2 Comments

(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)

Filed Under: 2012 Results, Feature Articles, Featured News, News, Results Tracker, The Insider Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Final Standings

March 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The 2012 Monster Jam regular season wrapped up this weekend with five arena shows around the country, bringing to a close TMB’s sixth edition of the “Road to the World Finals” unofficial standings. For the first time ever, a driver other than Dennis Anderson or Tom Meents has finished at #1, and that driver is none other than Ryan Anderson and Son Uva Digger!

Ryan Anderson’s incredible season featured 8 stadium event wins, 7 of those coming in freestyle competitions. Add to that an additional 12 racing and freestyle wins in arena shows, along with 5 wheelie contest victories and you have one of the best seasons by any driver in recent Monster Jam history. Many have been predicting Ryan to be the odds on favorite to win the World Freestyle Championship, and he would certainly be deserving of the title as his 7 stadium freestyle wins tower over his next closest competitors at only 4 wins. A big congratulations to Ryan Anderson from all of us here at TMB on such an incredible 2012 season.

Ryan Anderson and Son Uva Digger are the winners of TMB's 2012 "Road to the World Finals"!

While he wasn’t able to come out on top, Dennis Anderson finished at #2 overall by just over 20 points, the equivalence of only one stadium victory. While son Ryan may be the favorite for the freestyle title, there is no question that Dennis Anderson is the man to beat for the racing crown. With 5 stadium racing wins this year (his closest competitors were only able to win 3), and another 3 arena racing wins, Anderson has a great shot at celebrating Grave Digger’s 30th Anniversary with his 4th racing championship.

Anderson edged out Tom Meents by only 2 points for second, as the 9-time World Finals champ finished at #3 this year. Meents turned in another great season, picking up 7 stadium wins overall along with another 16 arena wins. While he may not have finished the year on top, Meents would be a worthy champion in either category and as always in Vegas, if you want to win a World Finals title, you’ll have to beat Tom Meents to do it.

The top 5 is rounded out by two Grave Digger drivers who perennially top the charts in total wins on the Monster Jam tour. Pablo Huffaker and Gary Porter were dominant once again in 2012, with Pablo racking up 67 wins across all competitions, to Gary’s 60. Pablo also mixed in some strong stadium performances to earn another invite to Vegas, while Porter’s accomplishments were once again overlooked as the best performing driver not to receive a World Finals invitation.

Skipping back to the all important cutoff at the 24th position, this is the line all drivers want to be above after the last week of competition on TMB’s “Road to the World Finals”. Being compared on the same scale as every other driver to compete in Monster Jam throughout the season, if you can finish in the top 24, you’ve proved you deserve consideration for a spot at the World Finals, whether you ultimately are lucky enough to get the call, or not.

The action was hot and heavy as it is every year, with drivers jockeying in and out of the top 24 each and every week. Less than 10 points separated 20th from 25th at the finish, with Jimmy Creten, Charles Benns, John Seasock, Morgan Kane and Bari Musawwir making the cut, and Chad Fortune just barely missing it. Cam McQueen, Jon Zimmer and Rod Schmidt all finished within 15 points of the cutoff as well. Of that group of drivers, only Creten, Seasock and McQueen received invites, while Kane and Musawwir were made part of the lineup for the new Young Guns Shootout instead.

Check out the Final 2012 Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings below:

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker March 16th-17th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win, 2 points for a wheelie or donut win).

We hope you’ve enjoyed following TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings every week this season. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun, and enjoy the Monster Jam World Finals this weekend in Las Vegas!

About TMB’s Road to the World Finals:

For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.

So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.

Elite Level Events

What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5

Normal Level Events

What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-10 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in racing/freestyle each weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4–a couple events being the exception with 5–and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)). Beginning in 2012, we are also awarding 2 points for wheelie/donut contest wins as that information has become more readily available than when the Road to the World Finals was first started.

Wheelie/Donut Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 2

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

(Photo courtesy Paul M. Harry)

Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured News, News, Road to the World Finals Tagged With: , , ,

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #10

March 12, 2012 by 3 Comments

Only one final weekend of competition remains before the Monster Jam World Finals and Ryan Anderson has all but locked up the #1 spot on the 2012 TMB “Road to the World Finals”! Anderson used a strong weekend in Reno to stay on top despite Dennis Anderson and Tom Meents racking up big points finishing 1-2 in both racing and freestyle in Syracuse. The elder Anderson’s second straight double down performance was enough to put Grave Digger over Maximum Destruction for 2nd place overall. With all three of these drivers taking the week before the World Finals off, the top three are essentially locked in.

Gary Porter and Neil Elliott combined to nearly sweep the weekend in Toledo to round out the top 5. Porter and Pablo Huffaker, in 6th position overall, are the only drivers currently ranked in the top 10 that are competing this upcoming weekend, so they will have one last chance to rack up some wins and improve their position.

While the final Monster Jam World Finals lineup was announced by Feld this week, the action is still incredibly hot and heavy back around the 24th and final spot on the TMB “Road to the World Finals” as drivers vie to see who will be able to say they earned a shot at the World Finals title, whether they ultimately ended up being selected or not.

Several of the drivers competing for that final spot had big weekends and while no drivers fell out or jumped in to the top 24, positions were exchanged leaving Chad Fortune on the hot seat and Bari Musawwir less than 5 points back in 25th. Musawwir, Cam McQueen, Rod Schmidt and Jon Zimmer are mathematically still in contention, while Chad Tingler, Charles Benns, John Seasock, Morgan Kane, and Fortune are just barely hanging on.

How will it all shake out? Only one weekend of competition remains on the TMB “Road to the World Finals”!

Ryan Anderson has all but clinched the top spot on the 2012 TMB "Road to the World Finals" power rankings after a big weekend in Reno!

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #10 below:

Here is how points were scored in this weekend’s Elite Level events:

3/10 – Syracuse, New York

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 15
Semi-Finals – Todd Leduc – Metal Mulisha – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 15
Tie 3rd – Todd Leduc – Metal Mulisha – 7.5
Tie 3rd – John Seasock – Grinder – 7.5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker March 9th-11th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win, 2 points for a wheelie or donut win).

Keep following TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings each week. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun, and enjoy as we track the Monster Jam series all the way to the World Finals in March!

About TMB’s Road to the World Finals:

For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.

So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.

Elite Level Events

What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5

Normal Level Events

What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-10 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in racing/freestyle each weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4–a couple events being the exception with 5–and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)). Beginning in 2012, we are also awarding 2 points for wheelie/donut contest wins as that information has become more readily available than when the Road to the World Finals was first started.

Wheelie/Donut Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 2

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

(Photo courtesy Jim Allen)

Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured News, News, Road to the World Finals Tagged With: , , ,

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #9

March 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The month of March is underway and there are now just two weeks of competition left before the 2012 Monster Jam World Finals. With four stadium events this weekend, a lot was on the line and Ryan Anderson stepped up big in El Paso. Son Uva Digger’s weekend sweep of freestyle has him back out in front over Tom Meents. Meents had a solid weekend in Indianapolis, winning racing and staying within reach of the top spot.

Dennis Anderson had a huge double down performance in Jacksonville to keep the third spot overall, while Gary Porter turned in another strong weekend to stay in fourth. A big double down performance in the motor city has Adam Anderson back into the top 5 overall.

Looking back to the scramble for the top 24, John Seasock used a strong showing Indianapolis as did Joe Miller in Saginaw to make their way IN, knocking Bari Musawwir and Carl Van Horn OUT. Chad Tingler now has the hot seat, a mere 1/2 point ahead of Musawwir who is the first driver on the outside looking in.

Ryan Anderson has re-claimed the top spot on the Road to the World Finals after two big freestyle wins in El Paso.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #9 below:

Here is how points were scored in this weekend’s Elite Level events:

3/3 – Jacksonville, Florida

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Mat Dishman – Rammunition – 15
Semi-Finals – Mark Hall – Raminator – 7.5
Semi-Finals – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Lupe Soza – Grinder – 15
3rd – George Balhan – Mohawk Warrior – 10
4th – Steve Sims – Stone Crusher – 5

3/3 – Detroit, Michigan

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 20
2nd – Frank Krmel – Grinder – 15
Semi-Finals – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Alex Blackwell – Wolverine – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 20
2nd – Frank Krmel – Grinder – 15
3rd – Kreg Christensen – Maximum Destruction – 10
4th – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 5

3/3 – Indianapolis, Indiana

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Chad Fortune – Captain America – 15
Semi-Finals – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 7.5
Semi-Finals – John Seasock – Grinder – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 20
2nd – John Seasock – Grinder – 15
3rd – Bari Musawwir – Spiderman – 10
4th – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 5

3/3 – El Paso, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 20
2nd – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 15
Semi-Finals – Devin Jones – Barbarian – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Rick Swanson – Obsessed – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 20
2nd – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 15
3rd – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 10
Tie – 4th – Dan Rodoni – The Patriot – 2.5
Tie – 4th – David Smith – King Krunch – 2.5

3/4 – El Paso, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 20
2nd – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 15
Semi-Finals – Paul Cohen – Grave Digger – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 20
2nd – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 15
Tie – 3rd – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 7.5
Tie – 3rd – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 7.5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker March 2nd-4th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win, 2 points for a wheelie or donut win).

Keep following TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings each week. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun, and enjoy as we track the Monster Jam series all the way to the World Finals in March!

About TMB’s Road to the World Finals:

For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.

So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.

Elite Level Events

What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5

Normal Level Events

What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-10 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in racing/freestyle each weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4–a couple events being the exception with 5–and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)). Beginning in 2012, we are also awarding 2 points for wheelie/donut contest wins as that information has become more readily available than when the Road to the World Finals was first started.

Wheelie/Donut Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 2

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

(Photo courtesy Jim Allen)

Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured News, News, Road to the World Finals Tagged With: , , ,

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #8

February 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The month of February is in the books and with only three weeks left on the TMB “Road to the World Finals”, Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction has solidified his hold on the #1 spot. The top 3 in the rankings went head to head this weekend at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas as Meents, Ryan Anderson in Son Uva Digger and Dennis Anderson in Grave Digger were all part of one all-star lineup.

Dennis would actually have the best night in Grave Digger, winning racing and finishing runner-up in freestyle. Meents prevailed in the head to head match-up with Son Uva Digger however, as Max D’s semi-finals in racing and freestyle victory netted far more points than Ryan’s 3rd place in freestyle. The standings are still very close heading into another big weekend to start off March, with Meents up by 19 over Son Uva Digger and 28 over Grave Digger. Gary Porter approaches a jaw-dropping 50 wins while Neil Elliott nearly doubled down again in Oakland, and they round out the top 5 overall.

In the scramble for a spot in the top 24, Feld teammates Chad Tingler and Bari Musawwir used a big weekend in Cleveland to jump IN, knocking Jim Koehler and John Seasock OUT. Seasock, Koehler and Jon Zimmer are all just barely on the outside looking in, all less than 5 points out.

Another big weekend for Tom Meents in Arlington has extended his lead on the TMB Road to the World Finals.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #8 below:

Here is how points were scored in this weekend’s Elite Level events:

2/25 – Oakland, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Todd Leduc – Metal Mulisha – 20
2nd – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 15
Semi-Finals – Paul Cohen – Grave Digger – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Dan Rodoni – The Patriot – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
Tie 2nd – Chuck Werner – El Toro Loco – 12.5
Tie 2nd – Chad Fortune – Captain America – 12.5
4th – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 5

2/25 – Arlington, Texas

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 20
2nd – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 15
Semi-Finals – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 7.5
Semi-Finals – David Smith – King Krunch – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Tom Meents – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 15
3rd – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 10
Tie – 4th – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 2.5
Tie – 4th – Frank Krmel – Grinder – 2.5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker February 24th-26th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win, 2 points for a wheelie or donut win).

Keep following TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings each week. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun, and enjoy as we track the Monster Jam series all the way to the World Finals in March!

About TMB’s Road to the World Finals:

For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.

So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.

Elite Level Events

What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5

Normal Level Events

What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-10 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in racing/freestyle each weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4–a couple events being the exception with 5–and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)). Beginning in 2012, we are also awarding 2 points for wheelie/donut contest wins as that information has become more readily available than when the Road to the World Finals was first started.

Wheelie/Donut Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 2

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

(Photo courtesy Jim Allen)

Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured News, News, Road to the World Finals Tagged With: , , ,

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #7

February 20, 2012 by 3 Comments

After another big weekend of Monster Jam competition, the 2012 TMB “Road to the World Finals” is setting up to be an incredibly exciting battle as Tom Meents has re-assumed the lead over Ryan Anderson by less than 2 points! Meents and Anderson were both strong in Pittsburgh and Tupelo respectively, but Meents came away with a few more wins which has put Max D back on top after Week #7.

Dennis Anderson had a big weekend himself in Worcester, which has launched him back up to 3rd overall, while Gary Porter’s domination in Hampton has him back up to 4th. Adam Anderson used a final round appearance in Los Angeles to keep the 5th spot in the standings in Grave Digger The Legend.

Looking back to the scramble to get in the top 24, Chad Fortune used a semi-final appearance at Dodgers Stadium to jump IN, knocking Chad Tingler OUT. John Seasock remains on the hot seat while Jon Zimmer made the most of a guest appearance in Grave Digger in Spokane, picking up 8 wins and moving to 25th overall, less than 5 points out of the top 24.

Tom Meents is back at #1 after a big weekend in Pittsburgh.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #7 below:

Here is how points were scored in this weekend’s Elite Level events:

2/18 – Los Angeles, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
Semi-Finals – Chad Fortune – Captain America – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Lee O’Donnell – Iron Man – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Damon Bradshaw – Monster Energy – 20
2nd – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 15
3rd – Dan Evans – Hot Wheels – 10
4th – Brian Deegan – Metal Mulisha – 5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker February 17th-19th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win, 2 points for a wheelie or donut win).

Keep following TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings each week. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun, and enjoy as we track the Monster Jam series all the way to the World Finals in March!

About TMB’s Road to the World Finals:

For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.

So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.

Elite Level Events

What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5

Normal Level Events

What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-10 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in racing/freestyle each weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4–a couple events being the exception with 5–and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)). Beginning in 2012, we are also awarding 2 points for wheelie/donut contest wins as that information has become more readily available than when the Road to the World Finals was first started.

Wheelie/Donut Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 2

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

(Photo courtesy Jim Allen)

Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured News, News, Road to the World Finals Tagged With: ,

TMB Road to the World Finals Rankings – Week #6

February 13, 2012 by 1 Comment

We are at roughly the halfway point on the 2012 “TMB Road to the World Finals” after 6 weeks of Monster Jam competition, and it’s Ryan Anderson and Son Uva Digger still occupying the #1 position. After an OK weekend in Miami, Anderson has seen his lead fall to less than 5 points over Tom Meents. Meents and Maximum Destruction picked up several wins in Nashville to close the gap on the leader.

With a runner-up finishes in racing and freestyle in Anaheim, Adam Anderson has moved Grave Digger The Legend back to third overall. Dennis Anderson is fourth after a solid weekend in Miami, while Neil Elliott’s double down performance in Anaheim has vaulted him into the top 5.

Trying to stay in the top 24 has been the most interesting battle as this week has seen Darren Migues fall out, back to 26th, while John Seasock has moved into a tie for 23rd with Morgan Kane to jump in. Chad Fortune holds the 25th spot overall and is once again just a single point from the cutoff.

Even after a so-so weekend in Miami, Ryan Anderson retains the top spot by less than 5 points over Tom Meents.

Check out the Road to the World Finals unofficial rankings after Week #6 below:

Here is how points were scored in this weekend’s Elite Level events:

2/11 – Miami, Florida

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 20
2nd – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 15
Semi-Finals – Jon Zimmer – Amsoil Shock Therapy – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Lupe Soza – Grinder – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Lupe Soza – Grinder – 20
2nd – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 15
Tie 3rd – Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger – 5
Tie 3rd – Ryan Anderson – Son Uva Digger – 5
Tie 3rd – Marc MacDonald – El Toro Loco – 5

2/11 – Anaheim, California

Racing Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
Semi-Finals – Mark Schroeder – The Felon – 7.5
Semi-Finals – Todd Leduc – Metal Mulisha – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Driver – Truck – Points Earned

1st – Neil Elliott – Maximum Destruction – 20
2nd – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger The Legend – 15
3rd – Chad Fortune – Captain America – 10
Tie 4th – Todd Leduc – Metal Mulisha – 2.5
Tie 4th – Linsey Weenk – Lucas Oil Crusader – 2.5

For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2012 Results Tracker February 10th-12th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win, 2 points for a wheelie or donut win).

Keep following TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings each week. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun, and enjoy as we track the Monster Jam series all the way to the World Finals in March!

About TMB’s Road to the World Finals:

For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.

So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.

Elite Level Events

What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5

Normal Level Events

What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-10 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in racing/freestyle each weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4–a couple events being the exception with 5–and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)). Beginning in 2012, we are also awarding 2 points for wheelie/donut contest wins as that information has become more readily available than when the Road to the World Finals was first started.

Wheelie/Donut Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 2

Racing Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded

1st – 5

(Photo courtesy Jim Allen)

Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured News, News, Road to the World Finals Tagged With: ,

The Allen Report: Monster Jam – Phoenix, AZ 2012

February 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Survival is crucial to success in monster truck racing. If you can’t keep your truck in one piece the whole night, someone else will walk onto the winner’s stage. And this year’s show at the Chase Field Monster Jam was a prime example of that. The show featured both Grave Digger and Son-Uva Digger with Carl Van Horn and Ryan Anderson driving. The “General” himself, Brian Deegan drove the Metal Mulisha for the first time in his career. Former World Finals fastest qualifier Marc McDonald brought El Toro Loco back. Linsey Weenk returned to Phoenix with the Lucas Oil Crusader. Former sprint car driver Taryn Laskey filled in for Nicole Johnson in Tasmanian Devil. The other teams were: Mitch Tulachka and Shane Phreed in Geter Done and Robo Machine. Allen Pezo and Ron Nelson drove Predator and Pouncer. Kelvin Ramer drove Time Flies and former California Kid driver Garrett Ladelle drove Detour. Rounding out the field were Mark Schroeder and Rod Wood driving the Felon and McGruff.

Grave Digger was ready to face the former Bustin’ Loose driver in Pouncer in the semi-finals when he lost oil pressure coming to the start line due to a rollover during introductions and had to be replaced by Felon, whom he had beaten the round before. Mark took advantage of the opportunity and won. In the other half of the semis with Son-Uva Digger taking on Crusader, Ryan spun out coming down the main straightaway of the so-cal style track only to get the win back when the former Canadian hit the jammer obstacle and flipped over. In the finals a broken ring and pinion in the back axle of Felon meant Predator, who had lost to him back in the opening round, had to take his place. In the final, it was neck and neck until the third member of the Anderson equation spun out again, giving Allen Pezo a huge win.

Brain Deegan set the bar early with a lead score of 20 and held the lead most of the night. El Toro Loco took the lead with only the two “Diggers” to go thanks to a score of 23. The man they call “CVH” saved his truck from another rollover, but was unable to fire back up and keep going with time still on the clock. When all was said and done, Ryan Anderson took the win by just one point, extending his perfect record of freestyle wins to five. But in true Anderson fashion, trophy or not, he came back out and unleashed his inner beast, giving the Digger-maniacs in the stands a wicked encore.

Monster Jam at Chase Field gets bigger every year this year’s show is one of the reasons why. For us at “The Allen Report”, Firebird Raceway is next on our schedule in April. Until then, thanks for reading, enjoy the great photos by Jim Allen and cheer on!

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Filed Under: Feature Articles, Featured News, News, The Allen Report Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,