The Allen Report: 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals – Springfield, MO 2012

EVENT DATE: May 5th-6th, 2012

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Weekend Recap

When the 2011 4 Wheel Jamboree season rolled around, Dan Runte was back and ready to stop the Hall Brothers decade long win streak. When all was said and done, Dan stood head and shoulders above the rest, bringing the trophy back to Midwest 4-Wheel Drive. Now another battle royal for the 4 Wheel Jamboree Series Title has begun in Springfield, MO. Dan Runte was driving the new E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #18 with sophomore season driver Darron Schnell with him in Vi-Cor Bigfoot “Bessie” #11. Those two went up against Mark Hall and Mat Dishman in Raminator and Rammunition. The other trucks in the field of ten were Bobby Holman in Lucas Oil Stabilizer with Michelle Simpson and Chalkboard Chuck, regular Stomper driver Joe Nichter with the General Tire body on the Ironman chassis and Dave Radzierez driving both Star Marshall and the XDP sponsored Diesel Monster Truck. Rounding out the field was Australian Champion Clive Featherby and Outback Thunda. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: NAPA Monster Truck Nationals – Chandler, AZ 2012

EVENT DATE: April 21st-22nd, 2012

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona has something for just about any racing fan. Throughout the year, the track hosts the opening and closing races for off-road racing, one round of hydroplane racing, the second race of the year in NHRA pro drag racing and every April, one of the biggest monster truck shows the Grand Canyon State has to offer: the NAPA Auto Parts Monster Truck Nationals. This year’s competitors were: Jim Koehler in Avenger and Chris Bergeron in Brutus from Team Scream, Jimmy Creten driving Bounty Hunter was back to defend his crown from the past several years along with Ben Winslow in Iron Outlaw from 2Xtreme Racing, and rounding out the field were Dan Runte in Summit Bigfoot #18 and home state favorite Sam Sturges in Unnamed & Untamed. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: Monster Truck Show – Phoenix, AZ 2012

EVENT DATE: April 15th, 2012

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Believe it or not, some promoters put together automotive entertainment shows without monster trucks. Arizona’s own Grand Canyon State Promotions has done demo derby shows and freestyle motocross shows, but never monster trucks. That is, until now. On April 15th, the last day of the 2012 Maricopa County Fair, the young promoter ventured into monster trucks. The lineup included: Travis Sturges in 1/2 Pint, brother Ronnie in Nasty Boy and their Uncle Sam in Unnamed & Untamed. There was also Murphy McCorey driving El Perro Loco and New Mexico’s own Jack Koberna in Tuff Enuff. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: Monster Jam – Phoenix, AZ 2012

EVENT DATE: January 28th, 2012

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

Survival is crucial to success in monster truck racing. If you can’t keep your truck in one piece the whole night, someone else will walk onto the winner’s stage. And this year’s show at the Chase Field Monster Jam was a prime example of that. The show featured both Grave Digger and Son-Uva Digger with Carl Van Horn and Ryan Anderson driving. The “General” himself, Brian Deegan drove the Metal Mulisha for the first time in his career. Former World Finals fastest qualifier Marc McDonald brought El Toro Loco back. Linsey Weenk returned to Phoenix with the Lucas Oil Crusader. Former sprint car driver Taryn Laskey filled in for Nicole Johnson in Tasmanian Devil. The other teams were: Mitch Tulachka and Shane Phreed in Geter Done and Robo Machine. Allen Pezo and Ron Nelson drove Predator and Pouncer. Kelvin Ramer drove Time Flies and former California Kid driver Garrett Ladelle drove Detour. Rounding out the field were Mark Schroeder and Rod Wood driving the Felon and McGruff. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2011

EVENT DATE: November 19th, 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

It’s important to preserve the history and rise to fame of the monster truck industry so that the next generation of fans can see for themselves how the sport started. Auburn, Indiana’s own Jeff Cook of Shotgun Harry intends to accomplish this by doing two things: operating a museum preserving historic monster trucks and, starting with the inaugural induction ceremony held on November 19th, 2011, hold an annual Hall of Fame ceremony. This year’s ceremony was a big success with over 250 people attending and nine historic monsters and two active monsters on display for all to see.

The first class of Hall of Fame inductees included: Bob Chandler of Bigfoot, Dan Degrasso of Beast and Everett Jasmer of USA-1 (who each had their original monster truck creations on display at the museum that night), Fred Shafer of Bearfoot, Jack Wilman Sr. of Taurus and Jeff Dane of King Kong and Awesome Kong. Fred was unable to attend the event, so Scott Hess of Hercules and a Team Bearfoot driver, filled in to accept the award on Fred’s behalf. [Read more…]

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

EVENT DATE: November 4th-6th, 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. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: Maverik Clash of the Titans – Rocky Mountain Raceway 2011

EVENT DATE: August 13th-14th, 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

This year at the Maverik Clash of the Titans in West Valley City, Utah’s at the always impressive Rocky Mountain Raceways, all four members of Jimmy Creten’s team made the trip. Jimmy would drive Bounty, and his wife Dawn piloted Scarlet Bandit. Darren Migues took the helm of Red Baron on a brand new chassis appearing in public for only the second time. Finally, Ben “Bobo” Winslow drove Iron Outlaw. The opposition consisted of Daron Basl of El Matador with David Smith in King Krunch in tow, Dan Runte driving Summit Bigfoot #16 and Larry Swim driving Snake Bite #14. Rounding out the field was Roger Stidell in Captain USA and hometown hero Ron Doncombe in the Maverik Monster Trakker. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: WGAS Monster Truck Tour – Del Mar/Pomona, CA 2011

EVENT DATE: July 1st-4th, 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

The 4th of July is always an important date on the modern calendar and monster trucks are about as American as they come. That is why six of the best monsters this side of the Mississippi River arrived for the annual show at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, California, followed by the KaBoom show at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. The six combatants are Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter, Darren Migues in Iron Outlaw and the father and son duo Rick and Eric Swanson in Obsession and Obsessed. Kelvin Ramer drove Time Flys while Hog Wild ride truck owner Bob Johnson and Chris Etchison shared driving duties in Fired Up. [Read more…]

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

EVENT DATE: April 30th-May 1st, 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. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: Monster Jam – Anaheim, CA 2011

EVENT DATE: February 12th, 2011

(Coverage By Christopher Allen, Photos By Jim Allen)

The Monster Jam superstars lowered the curtain on a triad of shows in the home of the Anaheim Angels Saturday, February 12th, 2011. The stacked 16 truck field featured the following top names in monster trucks: Charlie Pauken in Grave Digger, Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction, Adam Anderson in Grave Digger The Legend, Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter, Cam McQueen in Nitro Circus, Candace Jolly in the Monster Mutt Dalmatian, Becky McDonough in Dragon’s Breath, Scott Buetow driving Iron Man, Pat Gerber in Shocker, Don Frankish with Maniac, Scott Anderson in Jurassic Attack, Kelvin Ramer in Time Flys, Nick Owens driving Iron Outlaw, Mark Schroeder in The Felon, Dan Rodoni and The Patriot and Mike Pappas in Tropical Thunder. [Read more…]

The Allen Report: Monster Jam – Phoenix, AZ 2011

EVENT DATE: January 29th, 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. [Read more…]

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