Monster Photos: Monster Mash – Julian, NC 2017

Event Information

Event: Monster Mash
Venue: Piedmont Dragway
Location: Julian, North Carolina
Date: October 27th-28th, 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Bad Company (John Gordon), Ice Cream Man (Roy Pridgeon), Jester (Matt Pagliarulo), Reckless Drivin (Jeremy Hosman), Wild Thang (Doug Charles), Xtermigator (Jack Brown) [Read more…]

The Allen Report: 2016 Rocky Mountain Raceway Maverik Clash of the Titans

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on “The Allen Report”, we make our way to West Valley City, Utah, a state full of motorsport history as some of the biggest names in speed have gathered at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats to be the fastest man on wheels. However, on the second weekend of August, Rocky Mountain Raceways holds its traditional Maverik Clash of the Titans monster truck figure-8 race event, this year for the historic twentieth consecutive year. To commemorate the event, a record sixteen monster trucks were invited, the most ever at this event.

Leading the charge were all four members of Jimmy Creten’s 2Xtreme Racing. Jimmy himself drove the American Sniper Bounty Hunter while wife and teammate Dawn, as usual, took the steering wheel of Scarlet Bandit. Tim “Mullet” Missentzis piloted the pickup Iron Outlaw. And the lead guitarist of metal band Five Finger Death Punch himself, Zoltan Bathory from Hungary brought his insane looking 3D-bodied Knucklehead to compete. From just up the road in South Willard, Utah was Kreg Christensen in his hot rod hybrid Wicked on Sunday. On Saturday, Kreg’s stepson Paul Jensen drove Wicked before stepping into the radical trophy truck bodied monster in its first public outing, Kamikaze on Sunday. Twins Travis and Tyler Groth arrived to do battle; Travis in his orange Trouble Maker and Tyler in the bright green Double Trouble.

Another set of twins was in the house this weekend as Aaron Basl filled in for David Smith in King Krunch while brother Daron, as usual, took the helm of the reborn El Matador after several years of the Nitro Hornet identity. Darren Migues (pronounced Me-guess) had both trucks in tow. Darren himself hopped in the driver’s seat of Nitro Menace while his daughter Kaylyn continued her blossoming monster truck career in Jailbird. From West Jordan, Utah was Ron “the Dunc” Duncombe in the Maverik Monster Trakker. Returning to the Raceway for the third straight year were Doug Charles and Wild Thang. Rounding out the field was southwestern monster truck legend Jimmy Lyons stepping in for Rod Wood to drive McGruff and Lake Havasu, Arizona’s Mark Schroeder in the cockpit of Felon.

On Saturday qualifying to open the weekend, Bounty Hunter set the pace as the first truck out at a time of 30.97 seconds. None of the trucks that followed him could go faster and Jimmy Creten got off to a strong start as the number one qualifier. In the opening round of eliminations, Scarlet Bandit and Iron Outlaw both crossed the finish line first in their respective heat races to face each other in the quarter finals. On the opposite side of the bracket, the brothers Groth both won their first round races, but would have to race against each other in the third heat of the second round. In the final opening round race, Kaylyn Migues was unable to defeat the more experienced Mark Schroeder, but garnered a good ovation from the crowd nonetheless. Bounty Hunter would out-race Maverik Monster Trakker and Iron Outlaw over the next two rounds, earning his spot in the championship race. Double Trouble did the same by defeating his own brother in the quarters and Felon in the semis to meet the former World Champion in the two lap finals. The championship round was one for the history books. Jimmy Creten got the jump off the line and had a clear cut lead going into the second half of the race. With only one corner to go, Tyler Groth whipped his truck around the turn and past an unsuspecting Jim Creten to take the Racing title.

To close the Saturday night show, a donut contest was held for the very first time after many years of wheelies, billed as a “Twister” competition. Despite being down about five hundred horsepower, Jimmy Lyons gave an admirable effort and low scores couldn’t keep the noise from the spectators down. Former Australian Monster Finals competitor Paul Jensen quickly shed the rust by turning the half Studebaker, half Camaro monster Wicked into the spin cycle and being rewarded with a good score of 8.75, with 10.0 being perfection. The very next truck out was Aaron Basl and King Krunch. His run had the crowd picking up noise as he picked up speed and cleared the bar set by Wicked with a hard to beat score of 9.35. Truck after truck came after him, but it wasn’t until the Racing champion came out when the legendary Texas monster was beaten. Tyler Groth spun Double Trouble so fast he was bicycling on two wheels before laying off the throttle to bring it down on the rubber side. The crowd was roaring and the professional judges were impressed too, giving the Gig Harbor, Washington driver the Saturday Twister win and the clean sweep.

On Sunday, a big crowd filed in for the pre show pit party and into the stands for the final night of the twentieth anniversary of the event. Scarlet Bandit was the first truck out for qualifying and she put together a very nice run, punching in a time of 31.94 seconds. By the halfway point of qualifications, Trouble Maker held the lead with a time of 31.35 seconds. But Jim Creten, the ninth of sixteen drivers out, set a new standard of 30.39, bettering his time from Saturday. That time took the lead and held it to the end. In the third heat of the first round of eliminations, Zoltan and Knucklehead won against a struggling Aaron Basl and King Krunch. In the first race of the second round, Bounty Hunter faced off against former teammate driver Kreg Christensen and Wicked. The superstar in both America and Australia put up a good fight right up until the third of the four corners, where the truck did a complete 270, ensuring that Bounty Hunter was one step closer to getting another shot at the racing win. Reigning racing champion Double Trouble was out to defend his crown and got off to a great start, dispensing of Monster Trakker and Wild Thang to reach the semi finals. But his twin Travis was there waiting. Travis gave it everything he had, pushing Trouble Maker to the limit, but Tyler could not be stopped, punching his ticket to the two lap finals for the second straight night. After beating teammate Iron Outlaw in the semi-finals, Jim Creten got the rematch he wanted. This time, the 21 year veteran of the sport could not be stopped, sliding Bounty Hunter around the turns beautifully and standing on the loud pedal down the straightaways. Tyler Groth raced as hard as he could but the power of Bounty Hunter was too much, as the Tonganoxie, Kansas native took the racing championship that had eluded him the night before, fair and square. With two minute freestyle next in line to end the event, the battle was far from over.

The track construction crew had put together a great track with a wheelie bump at one end, a ramp for big air at the other and a double van stack off the back straightaway, all fitting considering the magnitude and prestige of this year’s event.

To open freestyle, Darren Migues and Nitro Menace got off to a great start, hitting all the obstacles with gusto, doing great donuts and not stopping until his brake rotors were glowing and shooting sparks. Kamikaze, for a brand new truck with a driver who had spent a few years out of the sport, did a very good job by hitting the cars the wrong way, doing some donuts and overall getting the crowd excited. Maverik Monster Trakker nailed several slap wheelies, had great speed and consistently got good air, never breaking down and driving out under its own power, officially ending the bad luck streak that has plagued this driver and team for so many years here. His efforts did not go unnoticed, either, as the truck sponsored by the local Maverik convenience store franchise took the lead with a score of 28.5. A couple trucks later was Felon, who used several slap wheelies, lightning fast cyclones and big air to take the lead with a score of 35.5.

The very next truck was Wicked, and Kreg Christensen stood on the throttle most of the run, matching the former Monster Jam on SPEED announcer jump for jump and for velocity. The judges gave him a score of 34.75. The third to last truck out was Trouble Maker, who bent the champagne early in his run, but kept going for as long as he could, hitting numerous obstacles while the left front wheel was still attached. He finished his time, ensuring a score, just as the tire came off. Trouble Maker was towed out onto the grass and out of the way to make room for the remaining monsters. His score reflected his efforts, taking the lead at 35.5. Sadly, Iron Outlaw and Double Trouble received no score for failing to finish their two minute time. But Jimmy Creten and the Chris Kyle Bounty Hunter would settle for nothing less than the double victory. Huge wheelies, getting into the spin cycle and big air multiple times had the crowd roaring and the judges most impressed, giving Creten the freestyle championship to end the historic weekend at Rocky Mountain Raceways.

In other racing action, the Raceway featured Super Stock and fan favorite Pro Truck Racing, the latter similar to NASCAR’s Camping World Truck series, to compliment the monster action. Next, we at “The Allen Report” turn south towards the Tucson Speedway, where four western favorites arrive to tear up the front straightaway. More coverage coming from that event later. Well, thanks for reading, a special thank you to Dan Breach and all the Rocky Mountain Raceway staff for their generous hospitality, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

Photo Gallery

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2016.

TMB TV: Original Series 8.2 – Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Loveland, CO 2015

tmbtv_original

Episode Information

Episode: Original Series 8.2
Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Budweiser Events Center
Location: Loveland, Colorado
Date: April 3rd-4th, 2015
Host: Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers: Ross Z. Bonar, Bryan Wagner

Featured Monster Trucks

Double Trouble – Tyler Groth
Over Bored – Jamey Garner
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Summit Bigfoot #21 – Dan Runte
Trouble Maker – Travis Groth
Wild Thang – Doug Charles

Featured Links

www.BIGFOOT4x4.com
www.MTXEventProduction.com
www.MirrorImageRacing.com
www.OverBoredMonsterTruck.com
www.ThunderbirdEntertainment.com
www.ToughestMonsterTrucks.com

[Read more…]

TMB TV: MT Unlimited 6.7 – O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals – Miami, OK 2015 Night Two

tmbtv_mtu

Episode Information

Event: O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals
Venue: Ottawa County Fairgrounds
Location: Miami, Oklahoma
Date: June 6th, 2015
Videographer: Colby Marshall (Check out BMPS Video Productions on Facebook), Ross Z. Bonar

Featured Monster Trucks

Avenger (Jim Koehler)
Barbarian (Devin Jones)
Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten)
Ghost Ryder (Larry Quick)
Heavy Hitter (Derrick Anson)
Over Bored (Jamey Garner)
Pony Express (Shannon Quick)
River Rat (Vern House)
Scarlet Bandit (Dawn Creten)
Tail Gator (Doug Noelke)
Wild Thang (Doug Charles)
Wrecking Crew (Steve Koehler)

Featured Links

www.AvengerRacing.com
www.Barbarian4x4.com
www.BigDawg4x4.com
www.BountyHunter4x4.com
www.GhostRyderMonsterTruck.com
www.MAPMotorsports.com
www.OverBoredMonsterTruck.com

[Read more…]

TMB TV: MT Unlimited 6.6 – O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals – Miami, OK 2015 Night One

tmbtv_mtu

Episode Information

Event: O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals
Venue: Ottawa County Fairgrounds
Location: Miami, Oklahoma
Date: June 5th, 2015
Videographer: Colby Marshall (Check out BMPS Video Productions on Facebook), Ross Z. Bonar

Featured Monster Trucks

Avenger (Jim Koehler)
Barbarian (Devin Jones)
Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten)
Ghost Ryder (Larry Quick)
Heavy Hitter (Derrick Anson)
Over Bored (Jamey Garner)
Pony Express (Shannon Quick)
River Rat (Vern House)
Scarlet Bandit (Dawn Creten)
Tail Gator (Doug Noelke)
Wild Thang (Doug Charles)
Wrecking Crew (Steve Koehler)

Featured Links

www.AvengerRacing.com
www.Barbarian4x4.com
www.BigDawg4x4.com
www.BountyHunter4x4.com
www.GhostRyderMonsterTruck.com
www.MAPMotorsports.com
www.OverBoredMonsterTruck.com

[Read more…]

The Allen Report: Maverik Clash of the Titans – West Valley City, UT 2015

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on “The Allen Report”, we travel to West Valley City, Utah, just a stone’s throw from Salt Lake City, for the sixth year in a row. It’s a city known for snowy mountains and home of hockey’s Utah Grizzlies and basketball’s Utah Jazz. But on this day, ten huge names in monster trucks were going full bore outdoors in the nineteenth annual Maverik Clash of the Titans at the motor race facility Rocky Mountain Raceways. Jimmy Creten was back again, ready to defend the clean sweep he got a year ago in his sleek Bounty Hunter Black n’ Yellow. Wife Dawn Creten was ready to give it all in her usual Scarlet Bandit. Trent Montgomery was in the house in Knucklehead, the official monster vehicle of metal band Five Finger Death Punch. Newcomer Brian Maes rounded out Team 2Xtreme Racing in Iron Outlaw. Larry Swim was looking to take the title back to St. Louis as the pilot of Firestone Bigfoot #18, with rookie Josh Gibson right behind in the classic bodied Retro Bigfoot #14. It was sophomore season at RMR for Doug Charles and his radical looking Wild Thang, complete with an emotional tribute to original owner, Tony Farrell on the side. Travis Groth was gearing up for the show in his bright orange Trouble Maker while twin brother Tyler was doing the same in his green Double Trouble. Finally, hometown driver Ron Duncombe was ready to give the fans a show in his Maverik Monster Trakker.

RMR is the only monster truck venue where figure-8 racing is the course on hand and it proved difficult for Tyler Groth, Josh Gibson and Jimmy Creten, all penalizing themselves for knocking down cones at some point in their qualifying runs. Larry Swim and Firestone Bigfoot didn’t have that problem though, taking the number one qualifying spot and handily dispensing Wild Thang in the first race of the night. The second heat in the first round saw the Groth twins race each other. Trouble Maker had the lead for the first three of the four corners, but a complete one-eighty coming out of the last one gave the win to his brother and Double Trouble. Josh Gibson had been fastest loser in both the first two rounds, but his luck finally ran out in the first semi-final round against veteran teammate Larry Swim. Bounty Hunter’s chances of a second clean sweep in back to back years came to a grinding halt in the other semi-final when teammate and protégé Trent Montgomery upset the former World Champion to meet Firestone Bigfoot in the 2 lap super final. Trent held nothing back, but Larry was unstoppable, taking the racing victory on Saturday night.

The first night of competition was closed with a customary wheelie contest. Wild Thang kicked things off with two great efforts that were rewarded with a score of 4.5 out of 10.0. Truck after truck came after him only to fall short until Retro Bigfoot came in and rode a wheelie perfectly vertical the length of half the main straightaway to garner an excellent score of 8.5. But the very next truck was a master of wheelies. Jim Creten rode out two straight up and down wheelstands that went on and on to get the crowd on its feet. The judges were impressed too, as Bounty Hunter was the new leader with a score of 9.7. Despite the best efforts of Knucklehead and Firestone Bigfoot, Jimmy Creten walked away with yet another wheelie contest victory.

Sunday was even more competitive, with the top three qualifiers separated by less than a second. In the second race of the night, Maverik Monster Trakker just barely squeaked past Iron Outlaw in a photo finish. In a rematch from the night before, Dawn Creten raced her husband in the middle quarter final. Also like Saturday night, Dawn was coming on strong but she ran out of racetrack, giving Bounty Hunter the win. Scarlet Bandit would still advance to the semis, however, as the fastest loser. The second semi-final was practically a final in itself. In one lane was the former World Champion Bounty Hunter. In the other was perennial favorite Larry Swim and Firestone Bigfoot. Jimmy Creten pushed as hard as he could, but just fell short to the member of the original monster truck team by less than a truck length. Larry and Bigfoot advanced to the super final, where Trent Montgomery and Knucklehead were there waiting. Unfortunately, on the first jump of the first lap, the rising star for 2Xtreme Racing suffered a broken right front planetary, leaving the track and surrendering the win and racing clean sweep to Firestone Bigfoot. It was later announced to the fans that this was the first time in the history of the event that a breakdown after the first of the super finals’ five jumps had ever happened.

Freestyle got off to a strong start when Travis Groth and Trouble Maker had good speed, nice sky wheelies and good donuts just before time ran out for a score of 31.25 out of 40.0. Double Trouble raised the bar even higher with wheelies, donuts, and hitting the car pyramid at the back straightaway of the oval to receive a 34.0. Jim Creten was only a few trucks later, and was on a roll with long wheelies, huge air, and smoke blowing donuts when his RPM’s went too high and his transmission let go with time still on the clock. Still, his score was good enough to take the lead at 34.75, less than a one point ahead of Double Trouble. But the very next run was by Trent Montgomery. A tough loss in the final round had the Knucklehead driver on a mission. The young gun showed he’s learning from the best in the business, with high speed, continuously hitting every obstacle and riding the limit without going over it to finish his time. The crowd roared when his score of 37.25 came over the loudspeaker, taking the lead with only one truck left to go. Larry Swim gave an honorable effort, but it wasn’t good enough to overtake the three year newcomer. Trent Montgomery got his first career win at Rocky Mountain Raceways in freestyle, bringing the win back to Tonganoxie, Kansas.

Next for us at “The Allen Report”, we will be coming to you from the WGAS productions at the Southern California Fair in Perris, CA. Look for more monster truck action in October. On that note, thank you for reading, a sincere thanks to the Rocky Mountain Raceway staff for their superb hospitality, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

Photo Gallery

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2015.

Monster Photos: No Limits Monster Truck Summer Nationals – Ardmore, OK 2015

Event Information

Event: No Limits Monster Truck Summer Nationals
Venue: Southern Oklahoma Speedway
Location: Ardmore, Oklahoma
Date: July 10th-11th, 2015
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Freedom Keeper (Kaylyn Migues), Monster Patrol (Michael Phelps), Nitro Menace (Darren Migues), Odyssey Battery Bigfoot #19 (Darron Schnell), Wild Thang (Doug Charles) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals – Miami, OK 2015

Event Information

Event: O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals
Venue: Ottawa County Fairgrounds
Location: Miami, Oklahoma
Date: June 5th-6th, 2015
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Avenger (Jim Koehler), Barbarian (Devin Jones), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Ghost Ryder (Larry Quick), Heavy Hitter (Derrick Anson), Over Bored (Jamey Garner), Pony Express (Shannon Quick), River Rat (Vern House), Scarlet Bandit (Dawn Creten), Tail Gator (Doug Noelke), Wild Thang (Doug Charles), Wrecking Crew (Steve Koehler) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: No Limits Monster Truck World Championship – Waco, TX 2015

Event Information

Event: No Limits Monster Truck World Championship
Venue: McLane Stadium
Location: Waco, Texas
Date: May 2nd, 2015
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Avenger (Cory Rummell), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Freedom Keeper (Matt Clark), Nitro Menace (Darren Migues), Rislone Defender (Zach Adams), Scarlet Bandit (Dawn Creten), Scorpion (Mike Dufrene), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Dan Runte), Wild Thang (Doug Charles), Wrecking Crew (Steve Koehler) [Read more…]

TMB TV: Monster Sights & Sounds 2.1 – Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Salina, KS 2015

tmbtv_mss_header

Episode Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Bicentennial Center
Location: Salina, Kansas
Date: February 6th-7th, 2014
Videographer: Ross Z. Bonar

Featured Monster Trucks

Over Bored – Jamey Garner
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Snake Bite #14 – Josh Gibson
Summit Bigfoot #21 – Dan Runte
Wild Thang – Doug Charles

Featured Links

www.Bigfoot4x4.com
www.DirtShows.com
www.OverBoredMonsterTruck.com
www.ToughestMonsterTrucks.com

[Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Nationals – Du Quoin, IL 2015

Event Information

Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: Southern Illinois Center
Location: Du Quoin, Illinois
Date: February 27th-28th, 2015
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Birthday Bigfoot #14 (Josh Gibson), Lucas Oil Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), Midnight Rider (Tom Herzog), Raminator (Mark Hall), Rammunition (Mat Dishman), Retro Bigfoot #11 (Kevin Koszala), Wild Thang (Doug Charles) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Nation – Beaumont, TX 2015

Event Information

Event: Monster Nation
Venue: Ford Park
Location: Beaumont, Texas
Date: February 20th-22nd, 2015
Photographer: Matthew Ison (Check out Matthew Ison Photography on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Equalizer (Joe Yatsko), Firestone Bigfoot #18 (Larry Swim), Midnight Rider (Tom Herzog), Red Solo Truck (Brandon Budd), Walking Tall (Maxie Broaddus), Wild Thang (Doug Charles) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Salina, KS 2015

Event Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Bicentennial Center
Location: Salina, Kansas
Date: February 6th-7th, 2015
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Over Bored (Jamey Garner), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Snake Bite #14 (Josh Gibson), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Dan Runte), Wild Thang (Doug Charles) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Southaven, MS 2015

Event Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Landers Center
Location: Southaven, Mississippi
Date: January 9th-10th, 2015
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Over Bored (Jamey Garner), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Snake Bite #15 (Rick Long), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Dan Runte), Walking Tall (Maxie Broaddus), Wild Thang (Doug Charles) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Nation – Bossier City, LA 2015

Event Information

Event: Monster Nation
Venue: CenturyTel Center
Location: Bossier City, Louisiana
Date: January 16th-17th, 2015
Photographer: Matthew Ison (Check out Matthew Ison Photography on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Midnight Rider (Tom Herzog), Over Bored (Jamey Garner), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Dan Runte), Walking Tall (Maxie Broaddus), Wild Thang (Doug Charles) [Read more…]