Monster Photos: Monster Truck Nationals – Wheatland, MO 2017

Event Information

Event: Monster Truck Nationals
Venue: Lucas Oil Speedway
Location: Wheatland, Missouri
Date: October 21st, 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Basher (Steven Snellen), BIGFOOT #19 (Darron Schnell), Big Kahuna (Shane England), Heavy Hitter (Derick Anson), Raminator (Matt Dishman), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom) [Read more…]

TMB TV: ActionTracks 8.6 – 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals – Indianapolis, IN 2017

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Episode Information

Episode: ActionTracks 8.6
Event: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals
Venue: Indiana State Fairgrounds
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: September 15th-17th, 2017
Videographer: Chris Parrish (Check out Mean Duck Productions on Facebook)

Featured Monster Trucks

Dirt Crew – Jerry Beck
General Tire – Dale Gerding
Lucas Oil BIGFOOT #21 – Larry Swim
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Snake Bite – Vinny Venom
Tail Gator – Doug Noelke

Featured Links

www.4WheelJamboree.com
www.BigDawg4x4.com
www.BIGFOOT4x4.com

[Read more…]

TMB TV: ActionTracks 8.5 – 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals – Indianapolis, IN 2017

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Episode Information

Episode: ActionTracks 8.5
Event: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals
Venue: Indiana State Fairgrounds
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: September 15th-17th, 2017
Videographer: Chris Parrish (Check out Mean Duck Productions on Facebook)

Featured Monster Trucks

Dirt Crew – Jerry Beck
General Tire – Dale Gerding
Lucas Oil BIGFOOT #21 – Larry Swim
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Snake Bite – Vinny Venom
Tail Gator – Doug Noelke

Featured Links

www.4WheelJamboree.com
www.BigDawg4x4.com
www.BIGFOOT4x4.com

[Read more…]

The Allen Report: Rocky Mountain Raceway Maverik Clash of the Titans 2017

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

This time on “The Allen Report”, we hit the road back to Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley City, Utah, for the ninth consecutive year. Once again, we arrive to a stacked lineup of twelve well known monster trucks ready to do battle on the oval track’s figure-8 course, a track that has been equally tough on rising stars and experienced veterans alike.

Again this year all four members of 2Xtreme Racing came to take on each other, the competition and the track. Not surprisingly, Jimmy Creten took the controls of his trusty Bounty Hunter, complete with the original rendition of his popular and patriotic American Sniper Chris Kyle body. Dawn Creten was again at the helm of her trusty Scarlet Bandit. Mikeal Christensen came along to drive the prestigious Iron Outlaw truck. The fourth member of the equation, Knucklehead, had a different driver each of the two days, Austin Minton on Saturday and Christian Norman on Sunday.

Team Bigfoot returned to the Raceway after a year off with Larry Swim behind the wheel of Summit Bigfoot #21. But not far behind was the mysterious masked man Vinny Venom, recently crowned the 2017 Toughest Monster Truck Tour series champion, piloting Snake Bite. This version of the truck, hugely popular with the kids at the pre-show pit party, was a mixture of classic and current as the iconic “retro red” paint style remained from its 25th Anniversary tour one year ago, but the bedsides clearly showcased the sport’s recent trend of off road race truck bodies.

Back again was one of the father/daughter teams on the circuit as Darren Migues returned in his Nitro Menace truck with daughter Kaylyn in her usual Jailbird. The twins from Gig Harbor, Washington, were also back with Travis in his orange Trouble Maker and Tyler ready to put his Saturday championship from last year on the line in the sleek looking black Double Trouble. Making the trip up from Lake Havasu, AZ was past World Finals field reporter Mark Schroeder in driving Devastator. Finally, ready to defend his home state turf was Ron “the Dunk” Duncombe continuing his tenth year of driving the Maverik Monster Trakker. When a huge crowd came through the gates of the Raceway and into the pre-show pit party, it appeared that the stars had aligned for an intense, go-or-blow monster truck battle royale.

Qualifying set the pace for the rest of Saturday evening. The first three trucks in line went progressively faster than the monster that went before them until Larry Swim and Bigfoot threw down the challenge to his rivals with a time of 30.71 seconds. And Bigfoot’s old rival showed no fear when racing the clock, as Snake Bite bested Bigfoot by just a few tenths of a second. When qualifications were over, Snake Bite and Bigfoot has qualified first and second, sending them to opposite ends of the bracket.

But Vinny Venom didn’t slow down there. He had no trouble at all in the opening round and caught the Iron Outlaw in the first quarter final while Bigfoot beat Jailbird in the first round and defeated the former World Champion Bounty Hunter in the quarter finals. It wasn’t game over for the Tonganoxie, Kansas, team owner though, as Jimmy Creten had gone fast enough to return as the fastest loser. But from there, Creten’s racing luck ran out for the night as he just couldn’t catch Snake Bite in an incredibly close race. In the other semi, Bigfoot escaped the dark horse Devastator to set up another classic Bigfoot/Snake Bite championship round. But it wasn’t going to be easy as the final race was set for two laps, per tradition of the Raceway.

The final race was one to remember. Both trucks were dead even out of the gate, with Vinny Venom drifting around the turns but Larry Swim never let “the Snake” get too far ahead. In the second to last turn of the race, the masked Snake Bite driver finally pushed it too hard at the exit of the turn, the truck’s back end coming so far around the driver had to lay off the throttle. Larry’s took full advantage, slipping past his old rival in the final turn of the race and never looking back to take the Racing Championship to thunderous response from the spectators.

One year ago, RMR officials introduced the Donut Contest (billed as a “Twister” contest at the time), and its huge popularity with the crowd encourage officials to bring it back for 2017. Sadly, Bigfoot had encountered engine trouble so there would be no double win on Saturday. Additionally, Snake Bite wouldn’t get a chance to as transmission trouble kept him sidelined, too. Trouble Maker was the second truck out and went straight to an incredible height with a score of 9.6 with perfection being 10.

Scarlet Bandit stepped up to challenge the good old boys but missed the lead by a fraction of a point. But there were still several more opportunities for 2Xtreme Racing to take the Donut win. Iron Outlaw and Knucklehead both gave admirable efforts, but the team’s big boss was locked and loaded and Bounty Hunter’s lightning fast rotations, smoke rising from the tires and long spinning duration had the crowd roaring and the judges most impressed with a score of 9.85, taking the Donut Contest win.

As the second and final day of monster competition went on, it wasn’t long before the Racing comp got turned on its ear. Fastest qualifier Bigfoot easily won his first race against rising star Kaylyn Migues and Jailbird, but more mechanical gremlins kicked in and sadly kept him out for the remainder of the night. Despite being a first-timer on this track, Christian Norman quickly proved the doubters and skeptics wrong by marching straight to the finals. Scarlet Bandit showed consistency round after round, the driver’s superb efforts paying off when Dawn Creten found herself across the starting line from Knucklehead, the females in the crowd were firmly in Dawn Creten’s corner. And it must have worked because Dawn Creten took the lead early in the first of the two laps and never looked back, claiming the Racing Championship.

With a triple car stack, a large distance jump and a wheelie bump to play with and two long minutes on the clock, freestyle was certain to be a seriously competitive affair. Motivated by his early racing loss, Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter got huge air, put down dizzying donuts, executed several vertical wheelies and several cross threads to shoot into the lead with a score of 36.5. Truck after truck came after him, only to fall short. Only his own wife and the Racing Champion, the last driver in the order, came close at a score of 33.5, but Creten again won the freestyle competition to close the Maverik Clash of the Titans for another year.

We at “The Allen Report” are going to take some time off for now. But when we return, we will do so from Watsonville, California, the hometown of our friends at Living the Dream Racing, home of the popular Time Flys and Wild Flower monster trucks. With that, we send a huge and sincere “Thank you” to Mike Eames, Dan Breach, Ron Craft and all of the Rocky Mountain Raceways staff for giving us such great hospitality and support, thank you for reading, enjoy the photos and cheer on!

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Monster Photos: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals – Indianapolis, IN 2017

Event Information

Event: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals
Venue: Indiana State Fairgrounds
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: September 15th-17th, 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Dirt Crew (Jerry Beck), General Tire (Dale Gerding), Lucas Oil BIGFOOT #21 (Larry Swim), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom), Tail Gator (Doug Noelke) [Read more…]

TMB TV: MT Unlimited 8.7 – Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Loveland, CO 2017

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Episode Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Budweiser Events Center
Location: Loveland, Colorado
Date: April 7th-8th, 2017
Videographer: Colby Marshall (Check out BMPS Video Productions on Facebook)

Featured Monster Trucks

Basher – Tim Jones
Dirt Crew – Jerry Beck
Heavy Hitter – Derick Anson
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Snake Bite – Vinny Venom
Summit Bigfoot #21 – Larry Swim

Featured Links

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

[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…]

TMB TV: MT Unlimited 8.6 – Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Lafayette, LA 2017

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Episode Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Cajundome
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Date: March 24th-25th, 2017
Videographer: Colby Marshall (Check out BMPS Video Productions on Facebook)

Featured Monster Trucks

Basher – Tim Jones
Dirt Crew – Jerry Beck
Heavy Hitter – Derick Anson
King Krunch – David Smith
Nitro Hornet – Aaron Basl
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Snake Bite – Vinny Venom
Summit Bigfoot #21 – Larry Swim

Featured Links

www.Bigfoot4x4.com
www.DirtShows.com
www.KingKrunch.com
www.ToughestMonsterTrucks.com

[Read more…]

Monster Photos: Monster Truck Racing League – Indianapolis, IN 2017

Event Information

Event: Monster Truck Racing League
Venue: Indianapolis Speedrome
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: June 3rd, 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Basher (Steven Snellen), Buckshot (Brandon Budd), Equalizer (Mike Hawkins), Heavy Hitter (Derick Anson), Hot Tamale (Joe Yatsko), Rap Attack (Dave Rappach), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom) [Read more…]

TMB TV: MT Unlimited 8.5 – Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Independence, MO 2017

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Episode Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena
Location: Independence, Missouri
Date: March 17th-18th, 2017
Videographer: Colby Marshall (Check out BMPS Video Productions on Facebook)

Featured Monster Trucks

Basher – Trent Montgomery
Dirt Crew – Jerry Beck
Heavy Hitter – Derick Anson
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Snake Bite – Vinny Venom
Summit Bigfoot #21 – Larry Swim

Featured Links

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

[Read more…]

TMB TV: ActionTracks 8.3 – Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Saginaw, MI 2017

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Episode Information

Episode: ActionTracks 8.3
Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: The Dow Event Center
Location: Saginaw, Michigan
Date: March 10th-11th, 2017
Videographer: Chris Parrish (Check out Mean Duck Productions on Facebook)

Featured Monster Trucks

Basher – Kevin Lewis
Dirt Crew – Jerry Beck
Heavy Hitter – Derick Anson
Quad Chaos – Aaron Cain
Snake Bite – Vinny Venom
Summit Bigfoot #21 – Larry Swim

Featured Links

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

[Read more…]

Monster Photos: Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Loveland, CO 2017

Event Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Budweiser Events Center
Location: Loveland, Colorado
Date: April 7th-8th 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Basher (Tim Jones), Dirt Crew (Jerry Beck), Heavy Hitter (Derick Anson), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Larry Swim) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Lafayette, LA 2017

Event Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Cajundome
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Date: March 24th-25th, 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Basher (Tim Jones), Dirt Crew (Jerry Beck), Heavy Hitter (Derick Anson), King Krunch (David Smith), Nitro Hornet (Aaron Basl), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Larry Swim) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Independence, MO 2017

Event Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena
Location: Independence, Missouri
Date: March 17th-18th 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Basher (Trent Montgomery), Dirt Crew (Jerry Beck), Heavy Hitter (Derick Anson), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Larry Swim) [Read more…]

Monster Photos: Toughest Monster Truck Tour – Saginaw, MI 2017

Event Information

Event: Toughest Monster Truck Tour
Venue: The Dow Event Center
Location: Saginaw, Michigan
Date: March 10th-11th 2017
Photographer: Danny Maass (Check out Maass Media on Facebook)

Truck Lineup

Basher (Kevin Lewis), Dirt Crew (Jerry Beck), Heavy Hitter (Derick Anson), Quad Chaos (Aaron Cain), Snake Bite (Vinny Venom), Summit Bigfoot #21 (Larry Swim) [Read more…]