Monster Photos: Summer Smash Monster Truck Show – Evansvile, IN 2020

Event Information

Event: Summer Smash Monster Truck Show
Venue: Vanderburgh County 4H Center
Location: Evansville, Indiana
Date: July 10th-11th, 2020
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Avenger (Jim Koehler), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Brutus (Chris Koehler), Higher Education (Preston Perez), Iron Warrior (Matt Cody), Lone Eagle (Allen Pezo), Overkill Evolution (Brad Allen), Scarlet Bandit (Dawn Creten), Tail Gator (Doug Noelke) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Truck Show – Wayne City, IL 2019

Event Information

Event: American Monster Truck Series
Venue: Wayne County Speedway
Location: Wayne City, Illinois
Date: June 28th-29th, 2019
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Higher Education (Preston Perez), Iron Warrior (Matt Cody), Lucas Oil Bigfoot (Christian Norman), Overkill Evolution (Michael Vaters Jr.), Raminator (Mark Hall) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Minnesota Monster Madness – Elk River, MN 2017

Event Information

Event: Minnesota Monster Madness
Venue: ERX Motor Park
Location: Elk River, Minnesota
Date: June 23rd, 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Big Kahuna (Shane England), Black Stallion (Michael Vaters), Bounty Hunter (Christian Norman), Higher Education (Preston Perez), Incinerator (Ryan Rice), Iron Outlaw (Mikael Christensen), Iron Warrior (Matt Cody), Jailbird (Kaylyn Migues), Midnight Rider (Tom Herzog), Monster Patrol (Michael Phelps), Nitro Menace (Darren Migues), Overkill Evolution (Michael Vaters Jr.), Rat Nasty (James Trantina), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Larry Swim), Twisted Addiction (Tim Jones) [Read more…]

Vaters Monster Motorsports Announces Summer Schedule

Vaters Monster Motorsports, the 2010 MTRA Promoter of the Year, has announced their schedule of events for the summer and fall of 2011. The action will kick off this Memorial Day Weekend in Plattsburgh, New York as Airborne Speedway will host two big shows featuring heart pounding monster truck action, the Kamikaze jet-powered 4-wheeler and extreme freestyle motocross.

Both shows will be held Sunday, May 29th with performances at 1:00PM and 7:00PM and are presented by Verizon Wireless, Della Motorsports and Precision Auto. The monster truck action will be headlined by seven-time Thunder Nationals champion Mike Vaters in the Black Stallion as he takes on Iron Warrior, Rap Attack, Toxic and the incredible new Higher Education monster school bus which is making its U.S. debut.  The monsters will compete in wheelie, racing and freestyle contests.

 

Come see the new Higher Education monster bus in action in its U.S. debut at the Vaters Monster Motorsports events in Plattsburgh, New York.

If all that monster action doesn’t cure your need for speed, power and destruction, then just wait til you see the Kamikaze jet powered 4-wheeler in action. Featuring 25 foot flames as it performs speed runs, you’re sure to be on the edge of your seat when the Kamikaze burns a junk car to the ground in a flaming inferno. In addition, the ever popular extreme freestyle motocross as these insane riders jump 60 foot gaps steel ramp to ramp on dirt bikes, performing gravity defying tricks while in mid-air.

Monster trucks will be on display Friday and Saturday at Liquor & Wine Warehouse and Della Motorsports. Come on out to see the trucks up close and personal and get your picture taken with the stars of the show.

Advance tickets are on sale now through Friday, May 27th and can be purchased at Airborne Speedway, Della Motorsports, and Aaron’s. Tickets are $15 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-12 and kids 5 and under are FREE!  Any remaining available tickets can be purchased at the gate on the day of show.

Following the big opener in Plattsburgh, Vaters Monster Motorsports continues with many big shows the rest of the year. See below for the dates and featured attractions:

July 21st – Harrington, Delaware – Delaware State Fair
Black Stallion, Iron Warrior, Higher Education, Illuminator with Kamikaze Jet 4-Wheeler & FMX

July 31st – Seekonk, Massachusetts – Seekonk Speedway
Black Stallion, Iron Warrior, Higher Education with Kamikaze Jet 4-Wheeler

August 3rd – Algona, Iowa – Kossuth County Fair
Black Stallion, Higher Education with Kamikaze Jet 4-Wheeler & FMX

August 11th-12th – Reading, Pennsylvania – Reading Fair
Black Stallion, Iron Warrior, Higher Education with Kamikaze Jet 4-Wheeler & FMX

August 11th-12th – Mannington, West Virginia – Mannington Fair
FMX

August 13th – Lebanon, Connecticut – Lebanon Country Fair
Black Stallion, Iron Warrior with Kamikaze Jet 4-Wheeler & FMX

August 16th – Smethport, Pennsylvania – McKean County Fair
Black Stallion, Iron Warrior, Higher Education, Illuminator with Kamikaze Jet 4-Wheeler & FMX

October 1st – South Boston, Virginia – South Boston Speedway
Grave Digger, BIGFOOT, Black Stallion, Spiderman, Iron Warrior, Higher Education, Illuminator with Kamikaze Jet 4-Wheeler & FMX

Dates are still being booked for 2011, so stay tuned to www.VatersMotorsports.com for all the latest information on where you can see some of the best shows of the summer and fall!

(Article Courtesy Vaters Monster Motorsports, Photo Courtesy Johany Jutras)

Monster Photos – Monster Jam – Indianapolis, IN 2011

Monster Jam made its annual visit to downtown Indianapolis last weekend as 14 trucks competed in racing and freestyle at the beautiful new palace that is Lucas Oil Stadium. Fittingly, it was Monster Jam driver Linsey Weenk who took the big racing win in Feld’s new Lucas Oil sponsored truck, the Crusader. Freestyle would see strong runs from several drivers but when defending Freestyle World Champion Charlie Pauken is on his game, there is no stopping the Grave Digger as Chuckie took the big win.

IMG_2381

TMB was out in force for the big event in Indy as Chris Parrish, Paul Harry and Michael Harry were all shooting photos. Check out the links below to see all of their great work and a big thanks to all the guys for their efforts!

Photos By Chris Parrish

Photos By Paul M. Harry

Photos By Michael Harry

Monster Photos – Monster Jam – Indianapolis, IN 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: January 29th, 2011
Photographer: Michael Harry

Lineup: Air Force Afterburner (Damon Bradshaw), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Dragon’s Breath (Becky McDonough), Grave Digger (Charlie Pauken), Ground Pounder (Chris Ryan), Iron Outlaw (Ben Winslow), Iron Warrior (Trey Meyers), Lucas Oil Crusader (Linsey Weenk), Maximum Destruction (Tom Meents), Michigan Ice Monster (Chris Lagana), Rap Attack (Dave Rappach), Superman (Chad Fortune) [Read more…]

Monster Photos – Monster Jam – Indianapolis, IN 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: January 29th, 2011
Photographer: Paul M. Harry

Lineup: Air Force Afterburner (Damon Bradshaw), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Dragon’s Breath (Becky McDonough), Grave Digger (Charlie Pauken), Ground Pounder (Chris Ryan), Iron Outlaw (Ben Winslow), Iron Warrior (Trey Meyers), Lucas Oil Crusader (Linsey Weenk), Maximum Destruction (Tom Meents), Michigan Ice Monster (Chris Lagana), Rap Attack (Dave Rappach), Superman (Chad Fortune) [Read more…]

Monster Photos – Monster Jam – Indianapolis, IN 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: January 29th, 2011
Photographer: Chris Parrish

Lineup: Air Force Afterburner (Damon Bradshaw), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Dragon’s Breath (Becky McDonough), Grave Digger (Charlie Pauken), Ground Pounder (Chris Ryan), Iron Outlaw (Ben Winslow), Iron Warrior (Trey Meyers), Lucas Oil Crusader (Linsey Weenk), Maximum Destruction (Tom Meents), Michigan Ice Monster (Chris Lagana), Rap Attack (Dave Rappach), Superman (Chad Fortune) [Read more…]

TMB TV Episode 3.8 – Montreal, Quebec

Event:  Monster Spectacular
Venue:  Olympic Stadium
Location:  Montreal, Quebec
Date:  October 23rd, 2010
Host:  Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers:  Colby Marshall, Ross Z. Bonar

Lineup:  Aftershock (Bob Robbins), Avenger (Jim Koehler), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), California Kid (Garrett Ladelle), Crushstation (Greg Winchenbach), Illuminator (Jay Snyder), Iron Warrior (Trey Meyers), Krazy Train (Roger Cardot), Ms. Bigfoot #11 (Amber Walker), Red Baron (Ben Winslow), Rock Star (Bill Payne) [Read more…]

Montreal Monster Spectacular – The Doug De Nance Report

(Recap By Doug De Nance) “X marks the spot! While that might be a line out of pirate legends, the legend of monster trucks in Canada, Chris Arel made a new high water mark with a monstrous X in Montreal’s Monster Spectacular show that brought out top media reporters like Ross Bonar of TheMonsterBlog.com to report first hand on this incredible event.

The X in question was in the middle of the most unique monster truck racing course ever seen on this continent. The giant floor of the Olympic Stadium was laid out in a huge dirt oval with an X made of up two distinct school bus jumps criss-crossing through the center. To top it off, the trucks would have to race this challenging course side by side.

And what a slate of trucks there were to take on this incredible track. Fourteen of the top trucks on the planet had been assembled for one night in front of 45,000 fans. Just listen to the names: Bounty Hunter, Avenger, Black Stallion, Miss Bigfoot, Bad Habit, Rock Star, Brutus, Aftershock, plus the newest star in monster trucks, the Chris Arel The Red Baron truck and many more all came with guns a blazin’ and engines roaring.

The night began with all 14 trucks pitted in a wheelie contest, hitting the car stacks on either side of the oval portion of the track. It was such rapid fire action that the Big O looked like a Saturday afternoon traffic jam at the local mall – except every vehicle was a monster truck. Like a three ring circus, there was so much air-born action it was hard to keep track as truck after truck soared vertical. Despite many incredible wheelies, Jay Snyder and Illuminator lit up the judge’s scorecards for the win with a 12 o’clock tail stand on the cars that sent him crashing to the concrete like a giant redwood under the lumberjack’s axe.

Racing was exactly what was predicted by the incredible track – wild and crazy. The tacky clay dirt caused many trucks to hook up extra hard. Bad Habit found that out the hard way in the very first round of bracket racing, tumbling the truck over and tearing the body completely off and sending Trey Myers and Iron Warrior to the quarter finals. The driver of The Red Baron was a masked mystery coming into the race, but the respect was fast coming as he made Aftershock his first kill of the night. Black Stallion had an easy time of his race as Chris Bergeron took Brutus over an unintended obstacle, one of the Super 4 racing cars that had been abandoned on the side of the track.

The wildest and craziest race of the first bracket series saw the wild man from Washington, Bill Payne and Rock Star matched up against the pretty petite Amber Walker in Miss Bigfoot. Payne had said that this was the final night for the original Rock Star truck as he is busy designing a brand new version from the ground up. That should have been the tip off to Amber Walker that Payne would do what he does the very best – destroy everything in his path. The two trucks were bumper to bumper as they launched off the start line and over the first bus stack through the center X of the track. When they came to the first turn something had to give. So Payne gave it a little extra and ran up the rear tire of Miss Bigfoot, sending Payne up onto his back wheelie bar and Amber Walker wobbling from side to side. Somehow she kept the rubber side down but stalled out. Payne managed to get Rock Star back down to earth upright and finished the lap to move on to the quarter finals.

The story of the Red Baron is the stuff of legend from World War I. But a new legacy to that legend was been written during the subsequent rounds of racing by the unknown driver of the new Red Baron truck. Former world champions like Bounty Hunter and Avenger were expected to be able to adapt to the full contact that this new track created. A racing legend like Mike Vaters in Black Stallion would have been a good bet to make to the finals, but lost out to Jimmy Creten. However, it was the Red Baron astounded all who watched the masked driver win again and again to eventually face Bounty Hunter in the final race.

From a truck perspective, it was a draw. Both trucks were Ford Expeditions with 572 cubic inch engines kicking out more than 1800 horsepower. That wasn’t a surprise since Chris Arel had commissioned Jimmy’s 2Extreme Racing Team to design the new Red Baron truck. So the wild card was unknown track record of the driver of the new truck versus the legendarycompetiveness of Jimmy Creten.

Time seemed to slow down to slow motion as the trucks took off from the starting line. Side by side they launched off the bus stack and into the first turn. The only advantage seemed to be the inside lane as it gave the Red Baron a bumper width lead. It was the thinnest of margins but they say racing is a game of inches. The Red Baron only needed an inch to defeat Bounty Hunter for the racing win.

The Red Baron driver kept the mask on to keep the mystery intact as the trucks headed into freestyle. There was even a red plane as an obstacle that looked tailor made for the racing winner. But Joe Sylvester lived up to his trucks name as the Bad Habit driver tore up everything on the track. Sylvester has set the new world record for the monster truck longest jump in September of this year, sailing the Cadillac 208 feet and besting the 202 foot record held by Bigfoot for many years. Well, Sylvester looked like he was trying to beat his own record as he flew through the air off every obstacle he could hit. While the Red Baron and trucks like Black Stallion, Bounty Hunter and Avenger all had spectacular runs; it was Bad Habit making a habit of rocking freestyle – just like he had done at the Monster Spectacular finals in June.

The mystery of the Red Baron was solved at the conclusion of freestyle as the driver wearing the Mexican wrestler mask took to the mic. The southern charm and soothing accent of Ben “Bobo” Winslow didn’t require the driver to be unmasked to be recognized. The former driver from the Sudden Impact team, who had dazzled fans on the Monster Spectacular tour during the summer, had continued to wow the crowd behind the wheel of the new Red Baron. Winslow looks to fly high in his new ride.

As is always the case with Monster Spectacular, Chris Arel treated fans to much more motorsports entertainment, ranging from autocross with Baja styled racers culminating in a champagne soaked trophy presentation to a street style Super 4 series with supped up 4 cylinder customs to a full contact tough truck battle to welcoming back Kamikaze the jet quad and Felix Famlard and his incredible sport bike freestyle team. Perhaps the biggest treat was the introduction of Arel’s newest venture with Vic Theriault, The Legends of the Fighting Arts. Many stars from the fight game, including Jean-Yves Theriault witnessed the kickoff of the program with awards going to such famous fight names as Michel Jette, JF Bergeron, Regis Levesque and Jacques Rougeau. There will be much more to come next year with Legends of the Fight Arts.

It’s always a sad moment when the crowd has left the building in Montreal in October because it means the last Monster Spectacularshow of the year is over. But the good news is that a new season of Monster Spectacular is just around the corner in 2011. Watch for the biggest monster truck show in Canada to rumble into your area soon.”

A huge thanks to Monster Spectacular Tour Announcer Doug De Nance for another great season of keeping TMB posted on all the happenings with the Monster Spectacular tour!

Monster Spectacular – Montreal, Quebec – 10/23/10

Event:  Monster Spectacular
Venue:  Olympic Stadium
Location:  Montreal, Quebec
Date:  October 23rd, 2010
Photographer: Stephanie Cotnoir

Lineup:  Aftershock (Bob Robbins), Avenger (Jim Koehler), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Creten), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), California Kid (Garrett Ladelle), Crushstation (Greg Winchenbach), Illuminator (Jay Snyder), Iron Warrior (Trey Meyers), Krazy Train (Roger Cardot), Ms. Bigfoot #11 (Amber Walker), Red Baron (Ben Winslow), Rock Star (Bill Payne) [Read more…]

Red Baron, Bad Habit Big Winners In Montreal

The TMB crew headed north of the border this weekend for the huge fall Monster Spectacular in Montreal, Quebec as Chris Arel Motorsports put on one of the biggest events Canada has ever seen at Olympic Stadium!! The event featured 14 of the top trucks from the U.S. and a wild new race course design that was sure to create excitement and controversy. The event kicked off with a wheelie contest as all 14 trucks took one hit on the cars. Despite great efforts from Brutus, Bounty Hunter, and Red Baron, it was Jay Snyder in the Illuminator taking the win as he stood absolutely straight up and down before rolling hard onto the roof.

The unique race course would not only see the trucks running side by side over school buses, but would also see the trucks racing off road style after the first jump with no lanes, anything goes, “rubbin’s racing”. The concept wouldn’t take long to provide the controversy as wildman Bill Payne in Rock Star drove hard into the corner following Amber Walker in Ms. Bigfoot, making contact with her truck and nearly sending her over as she made a great save to keep the truck on all fours. Payne ended up on his tailgate before backing down onto all fours and continuing on for the win.

The rest of the racing brackets would be much tamer as the truck on the inside lane at the start usually held the advantage. Bounty Hunter, Black Stallion, Brutus and Red Baron would be the final four and like so many other times in Montreal, it would eventually come down to an all 2Xtreme Racing final round as “Bobo” Ben Winslow would take on Jimmy Creten for the big win. The officials deemed Red Baron the fastest truck in the semi-finals giving him lane choice and that was all it would take for Winslow to hold off the boss for the biggest win of his career.

Freestyle would see all the trucks taking on a tough and treacherous course that provided plenty of big air and wow moments through the competition. Avenger, Bounty Hunter, Black Stallion and Red Baron all turned in stellar runs but it was Joe Sylvester in Bad Habit who rocked Olympic Stadium with an epic performance to take the victory.

TMB’s Ross Z. Bonar and Colby Marshall had a great time once again attending Montreal and both filmed for what should be an amazing episode of TMB TV, which will premiere Wednesday, November 10th at 8PM Eastern. Stephanie Cotnoir handled the photo duties and came up with some amazing shots that you will soon see in a full photo gallery – check out the TMB Facebook and become a fan to see lots more teasers from the show. TMB thanks Chris Arel Motorsports for all their support in helping make this coverage possible and we are already looking forward to the next Monster Spectacular in Montreal!! Stay tuned for great coverage from this major event coming soon.

Monster Spectacular Returns to Montreal w/14 Trucks, Figure 8 Racing

(Montreal, Quebec) The Monster Spectacular is returning to Olympic Stadium this Saturday night for one of the wildest events the Big O has ever seen – a 14 truck lineup and monster truck figure 8 racing!! The racing portion of the event will be unlike any other figure 8 ever seen as trucks will race together on the same course in a unique concept tested earlier this year at Quebec City Speedway. The lineup is stacked as always as Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter returns after sweeping last fall’s event while Team BIGFOOT sends new sensation team driver Amber Walker and Ms. Bigfoot north of the border for the first time to try and take him down. Also returning will be superstars Jim Koehler in Avenger, Chris Bergeron in Brutus and Mike Vaters in Black Stallion.

Making their first trip to Olympic Stadium will be the Straight Up Racing team out of Washington as freestyle juggernaut Bill Payne will make his final appearance in the current Rock Star chassis before scrapping it and debuting a new piece next season. Joining him will be team truck California Kid and rounding out the lineup will be big names including the “monstah lobstah” Crushstation, Bad Habit, Aftershock, Illuminator, Iron Warrior, Siberian Express and the debut of The Red Baron.

As if all that monster truck excitement wasn’t enough, the Monster Spectacular in Montreal never fails to have an amazing support card as this year’s event will feature the North American Autocross Championship and much more.

If you haven’t got your tickets already, head on over to www.MonsterSpectacular.com and get them now as this is one event you just don’t want to miss!!

TMB TV ActionTracks Episode 1.4 – Waverly, OH

Event:  Monster Truck Show
Venue:  K-C Raceway
Location:  Waverly, Ohio
Date:  September 18th, 2010
Host:  Chris Parrish
Videographer:  Chris Parrish

Lineup: Avenger (Jim Koehler), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), Brutus (Steve Koehler), Iron Warrior (Trey Meyers), Samson (Dan Patrick) [Read more…]

Monster Spectacular Summer Clash Quebec Tour

(Drummondville, Quebec) Quebec Speedways will be hit by a monster storm at the end of the month as Chris Arel Motorsports will invade three big cities, holding qualifying events for the big Olympic Stadium event on October 23rd. The first stop will be Friday night in Chris Arel’s hometown, Daveluyville where Arel has just acquired Devil City Speedway. Then the tour packs up and heads down the road to Quebec City for a Saturday night show at Riverside City Speedway. The monsters then move on to CAM’s Eastern Front Command Post, Drummondville for a big Sunday show at Autodrome Drummon.

Many big names are confirmed for this three event mini-tour including the “Monstah Lobstah”, Greg Winchenbach’s Crushstation, defending champion Mike Vaters in Black Stallion, along with Excaliber, Ground Pounder, Illuminator, Screamin Demon and Iron Warrior! Head on over to www.ChrisArel.com for more information on these big events coming to Quebec!!