The Allen Report: Monster Truck Show – Phoenix, AZ 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

One year ago, WGAS Motorsports brought monster trucks back to the Arizona State Fair after a several year absence. And they must have done well because not only did the monsters play to a sold out house each night, but they came back for more just last weekend, November 3rd through 6th with my father Jim and I covering each night from the 4th onward. This year’s four drivers included father and son duo Rick and Eric Swanson driving their signature Obsession and Obsessed machines in front of an Arizona crowd for the very first time. Rounding out the field was Chris Lagana in the Ice Monster and Chris Ryan in Ground Pounder.

On the first night, 16 year old Eric and Obsessed impressed many, including the judges with a score of 27 out of 40. But the runs of his father Rick and Chris Ryan in the Ground Pounder were both so good, they could only tie, each with a score of 34. The next night, every driver took their runs to a whole new level. Obsessed had the fastest donuts of the night and Ice Monster had great air, but Ground Pounder finally found the signature slap wheelies he had been searching for and got a perfect 40 for the win. The final day saw the monsters perform to a sellout crowd. Rick and Obsession pulled off the gloves and went for broke, hitting everything on the track and had plenty of speed. The judges were impressed and gave him a score of 38, but in the end, Ground Pounder edged him out by just one point, giving Chris Ryan the weekend sweep.

In other action, Bob Johnson gave rides to everyone who wanted one in his Hog Wild monster while Jake Blackwell did the same with his 1947 Mack fire monster, the Extinguisher. Also, the term “Home wrecker” was taken to a whole new level with motor home demolition derbies. Next for me is the inaugural International Monster Truck Museum Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Then it’s on to 2012 for us at “The Allen Report”. Until then, thank you for reading, a special thanks to John Borba and WGAS Motorsports for their hospitality, enjoy the great photos by Jim Allen and cheer on!

All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2011.

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

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

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

Monster Photos: Outlaw Monster Truck Spectacular – Rolla, MO 2011

Event: Outlaw Monster Truck Spectacular
Venue: Phelps County Fairgrounds
Location: Rolla, Missouri
Date: October 8th, 2011
Photographer: Danny Maass

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

Monster Photos: Monster Truck Summer Throwdown – Monroe, MI 2011

Event: Monster Truck Summer Throwdown
Venue: Monroe County Fairgrounds
Location: Monroe, Michigan
Date: August 5th, 2011
Photographer: Paul M. Harry

Lineup: Amsoil Shock Therapy (Jon Zimmer), Avenger (Jim Koehler), Bounty Hunter (Ben Winslow), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Excaliber (Kevin Koszala), High Maintenance (Jocelyn Perrin) [Read more…]

TMB TV: MT Unlimited Episode 2.6 – Jonesboro, IL 2011

Event: Monsters of Destruction
Venue: Trail of Tears Lodge & Resort
Location: Jonesboro, Illinois
Date: July 29th-30th, 2011
Videographer: Colby Marshall

Lineup: Amsoil Shock Therapy (Jon Zimmer), Big Dawg (Dale Gerding), Excaliber (Kevin Koszala), Heavy Hitter (Derick Anson), Quadzilla (Roger Gauger), Tail Gator (Doug Noelke) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monsters of Destruction – Jonesboro, IL 2011

Event: Monsters of Destruction
Venue: Trail of Tears Lodge & Resort
Location: Jonesboro, Illinois
Date: July 29th-30th, 2011
Photographer: Danny Maass

Lineup: Amsoil Shock Therapy (Jon Zimmer), Big Dawg (Dale Gerding), Excaliber (Kevin Koszala), Heavy Hitter (Derrick Anson), Quadzilla (Roger Gauger), Tail Gator (Doug Noelke) [Read more…]

TMB TV: Highlights – All Star Monster Truck Tour – Primm, NV 2011

Event: All Star Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Star of the Desert Arena
Location: Primm, Nevada
Date: June 24th-25th, 2011
Videographer: Lynette Bonar

Lineup: Bounty Hunter (Darren Migues), Ground Pounder (Chris Ryan), Iron Outlaw (Gene Kinal), McGruff (Rod Wood), Michigan Ice Monster (Chris Lagana) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: All Star Monster Truck Tour – Primm, NV 2011

Event: All Star Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Star of the Desert Arena
Location: Primm, Nevada
Date: June 24th-25th, 2011
Photographer: Lauren Z. Bonar

Lineup: Bounty Hunter (Darren Migues), Ground Pounder (Chris Ryan), Iron Outlaw (Gene Kinal), McGruff (Rod Wood), Michigan Ice Monster (Chris Lagana) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Jam – Cleveland, OH 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Quicken Loans Arena
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Date: February 19th, 2011
Photographer: Paul M. Harry

Lineup: Amsoil Shock Therapy (Jon Zimmer), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Excaliber (Kevin Koszala), Grave Digger (Carl Van Horn), Rap Attack (Dave Rappach), Spike (Rich Hilgendorf), Tasmanian Devil (Nicole Johnson) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Jam – Cleveland, OH 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Quicken Loans Arena
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Date: February 19th, 2011
Photographer: Michael Harry

Lineup: Amsoil Shock Therapy (Jon Zimmer), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Excaliber (Kevin Koszala), Grave Digger (Carl Van Horn), Rap Attack (Dave Rappach), Spike (Rich Hilgendorf), Tasmanian Devil (Nicole Johnson) [Read more…]

Monster Photos – Monster Jam – Detroit, MI 2011

Event: Monster Jam
Venue: Ford Field
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Date: January 8th, 2011
Photographer: Paul M. Harry

Lineup: Amsoil Shock Therapy (Jon Zimmer), Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Dragon’s Breath (Becky McDonough), El Toro Loco (Marc MacDonald), Excaliber (David Brown), Grave Digger (Charlie Pauken), Grinder (Frank Krmel), High Maintenance (Jocelyn Perrin), Iron Man (Lee O’Donnell), Maximum Destruction (Tom Meents), Monster Mutt (Joe Miller), Mopar Magic (Morgan Kane), Stone Crusher (Steve Sims), War Wizard (Randy Moore) [Read more…]

Monster Truck Radio 09/27/10 – Jon Zimmer & Ross Z. Bonar

Monster Truck Radio With Host Jeff Richards
Date:  Monday, September 27th, 2010
Guest #1:  Jon Zimmer, Amsoil Shock Therapy
Guest #2:  Ross Z. Bonar, owner/operator of TheMonsterBlog.com [Read more…]

Video of the Week – 09/18/10

Week Ending:  September 18th, 2010
Truck(s) Featured:  Cult Energy Activator (Mike Barnes)
Video Type:  Fan Event Video
Courtesy:  www.YouTube.com

Description:  War Eagle owner/driver Mike Barnes will be appearing behind the wheel of a Sudden Impact Racing truck in a handful of fall events, beginning with this weekend’s AMP Tour Monster Truck Thunder Slam event in Austin, Texas. He started this new gig in style with a wild winning wheelie contest performance!

Profile: Amsoil Shock Therapy

Truck Name:  Amsoil Shock Therapy
Driver Name:  Jon Zimmer
Team Name:  Sudden Impact Racing
Hometown:  Jefferson, Lousiana
Team Website:  http://www.SuddenImpact.com

2009 TMB Results Tracker Statistics:
– Competed in 55 shows with 12 racing wins and 12 freestyle wins.
– Driver Jon Zimmer scored 5 wins in competitions featuring 8+ truck lineups.

[Read more…]

Profile: Cult Energy Activator

Truck Name: Cult Energy Activator
Driver Name: Sean Duhon
Team Name: Sudden Impact Racing
Hometown: Jefferson, Lousiana
Team Website: http://www.SuddenImpact.com

2009 TMB Results Tracker Statistics:
– Competed in 57 shows with 24 racing wins and 12 freestyle wins.
– Duhon’s 36 racing & freestyle wins ranked him 11th best in all of monster trucks in 2009.
– Duhon’s 24 racing victories was the 5th best total of all drivers in 2009.

[Read more…]