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

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

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

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

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

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

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2011.

Newly Crowned Freestyle Champ Jim Koehler & Avenger Bring Winning Moves to Firebird

(Chandler, AZ – Firebird International Raceway PR) – He’s always been a Firebird International Raceway crowd favorite with his daring style and reckless antics. Now he’s a two-time world champion as well!

On March 26th, Jim Koehler and the Avenger lit up the always bright Las Vegas skies with an epic run to capture the second Monster Jam World Finals freestyle championship of his career. Just weeks removed from reaching the pinnacle of the sport, Koehler plans to thrill Firebird International Raceway fans once again during the 2011 NAPA Auto Parts Monster Truck Nationals & Night of Fire, set for April 30th and May 1st.

2011 World Finals Freestyle Champion Jim Koehler will return to Firebird riding one of the hottest streaks of his career.

While many would consider the recently crowned world champ to be the favorite to win this April, Koehler faces a field stacked with some of the sport’s top drivers, including Dan Runte, the driver of BIGFOOT, and Jimmy Creten, piloting the Bounty Hunter.

Known as the “most daring driver” on the BIGFOOT team, Runte’s willingness to put it all on the line – literally – has earned him the love of Firebird fans, and the feeling is mutual. On the BIGFOOT team website, Runte calls Firebird International Raceway one of his three favorite places to perform.

Jimmy Creten has been nearly unbeatable over the last several years at Firebird.

And while Koehler is bringing his recently won world championship to the late-April showdown, Creten and the Bounty Hunter have some impressive hardware in their garage as well! Creten recently was named the winningest driver in Monster Trucks for 2010 by TheMonsterBlog.com, compiling an impressive 68 victories in the 118 events Bounty Hunter entered.

In other words, this Bounty Hunter doesn’t plan on finishing second to anyone.

Joining Koehler, Runte and Creten in the star-studded field are Koehler’s teammate Chris Bergeron, the driver of Brutus; and Arizona’s own Sturges Monster Trucks team with Unnamed and Untamed and Nasty Boy.

While the Monster Truck stars will definitely shine during the 2011 NAPA Auto Parts Monster Truck Nationals & Night of Fire, they won’t be the only motorized mayhem rocking the Gila River Indian Community track that weekend. The 40-foot-tall, 30-ton mechanical monstrosity known as Robosaurus makes his triumphant Firebird return during the event, as well.

The event features something for everyone including:

– JET DRAGSTERS – Have a need for speed? Watch as airplane engine + car + track combine for speeds nearing 300 MPH
– TRUCK SHOW N’ SHINE – See some of the most tricked out trucks from across the Southwest
– BIG SHOW SATURDAY NIGHT – Includes massive fireworks display!
– MANUFACTURERS’ MIDWAY – Truck fans’ favorite products will be on-display and available for purchase
– KIDS ZONE – When they’re not marveling at the awesome Monster Trucks, there’s plenty of fun waiting for Firebird’s younger fans in the Kids Zone

To ensure this family friendly show is accessible to EVERYONE, including parents with younger children, in addition to Firebird’s awesome Saturday night performance, a Sunday-afternoon encore is also being offered. Gates open at noon both days, with the Saturday night show beginning at 7 pm, and Sunday’s encore show starting at 3:30 pm.

General Admission tickets are $25 for Saturday and $20 for Sunday, with reserved seats starting at $30 and suite tickets starting at $50. Kids 12 and under receive free general admission seating with a paying adult. To learn more or purchase tickets, please call 602-268-0200, or visit firebirdraceway.com.

About Firebird International Raceway

Since its inception in 1983, Firebird International Raceway has grown into one of the most versatile and diversified motorsport venues in the world. A staple of Metropolitan Phoenix’s sports and entertainment scene, Firebird’s annual attendance regularly eclipses the 600,000 mark.

The Gila River Indian Community-based facility features a prominent calendar of championship-series events including annual stops by the National Hot Rod Association Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series as well as its popular Monster Truck Nationals. Firebird also hosts dozens of smaller public and private events each year, as well as professional race team testing, ride-and-drives for major automobile manufacturers, concerts, and corporate meetings. To learn more about Firebird International Raceway, please visit firebirdraceway.com.

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

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

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

Monster Photos: Monster Nationals – Glendale, AZ 2011

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

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

The Allen Report: Monster Jam – Phoenix, AZ 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Chase Field in downtown Phoenix once again played host to Monster Jam on Saturday, January 29th and it all kicked off as the most famous on-track rivalry in monster truck racing roared out of the tunnel. The most decorated lineup Phoenix has ever seen included Chad Tingler behind the wheel of Grave Digger, Kreg Christensen returning to Maximum Destruction, Madusa in her Phoenix debut, Norm Miller driving Batman, Alex Blackwell in Captain’s Curse, Todd Leduc in Blue Thunder, the “voice of Monster Jam on SPEED” Mark Schroeder in The Felon, all four members of Team Scream and local favorite Rod Wood driving McGruff. Throughout the night, both Norm Miller and Alex Blackwell were announced as Monster Jam World Finals qualifiers.

The style of course for UTI Racing was Southern California, or, so-cal style. The trucks start by racing each other off a large tabletop before turning away from each other, flying down a straightaway, making a u-turn and racing back the way they came. Max D would take the top spot in qualifying with a time of 25 seconds flat, but it proved useless as he fell to Grave Digger in the quarter finals. Also advancing to the semis were Captain’s Curse, Blue Thunder and Avenger as the fastest loser even after a mid-air collision with Madusa back in Round 1. Grave Digger and Blue Thunder were even through most of the finals, but then the slippery track finally bit Tingler and spun him out in the final turn, giving Todd Leduc his first ever racing victory!

For the third consecutive year, the 30 second bonus time rule was in place. Of the first six of the twelve truck field, Blue Thunder was one of only three drivers who could make it to bonus time with a score of 22. Chris Bergeron in Brutus tried to do a back flip of his own off the side of the tabletop, but the wheelie bar caught the dirt and Brutus went belly-up with a full minute left in the run. Avenger nailed cross threads, big air and did not roll until just moments before his time was up. But after falling short of a racing win, Chad Tingler clearly had blood in his eyes and gave the fans a vintage Grave Digger freestyle, never rolling over and flying long after his time was finished. With a score of 26, Grave Digger saw the Phoenix victory lane for the first time since 2008.

After what happened here in 2011, how can the monsters do better still next year?  They will try and we will be there for all of it. Until next time, check out some of Jim Allen’s great photos from the event and thanks for reading!

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2011.

Monster Photos – Monster Jam – Phoenix, AZ 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Chase Field
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Date: January 29th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup: Avenger (Jim Koehler), Batman (Norm Miller), Blue Thunder (Todd Leduc), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Captain’s Curse (Alex Blackwell), Grave Digger (Chad Tingler), Madusa (Debra Miceli), Maximum Destruction (Kreg Christensen), McGruff (Rod Wood), Spike (Rich Hilgendorf), The Felon (Mark Schroeder), Wrecking Crew (Steve Koehler) [Read more…]