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Event: Monster X Tour
Venue: Silver Dollar Speedway
Location: Chico, California
Date: April 8th-9th, 2011
Photographer: Ross Z. Bonar
Lineup: California Kid (Garrett Ladelle), Fired Up (TJ Etchison), Rock Star (Bill Payne), Titan (Donald Epidendio), Time Flys (Kelvin Ramer) [Read more…]
Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Date: March 26th, 2011
Host: Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers: Ross Z. Bonar, Lynette Bonar
Lineup: 1/2 Pint (Travis Sturges), Black Knight (Dave Rife), Chalkboard Chuck (Jeff Hatten), E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), El Perro Loco (Rod Wood), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Star Marshal (Dave Radzierez), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]
The Monster X Tour invaded Chico, California this past weekend and TheMonsterBlog.com was on hand for all the action, the tour’s and our first outdoor event of 2011. Some of the biggest names from the West Coast would battle it out in wheelie, racing, and freestyle competitions, including the Monster Truck Mafia’s Rock Star and California Kid, this year’s breakout star Donald Epidendio in Titan and California superstars Time Flys and Fired Up.
Friday night’s action would begin with a with a 2 hit wheelie contest as each truck would hit a 6 car stack then swing around to a slap wheelie bump. It was Garrett Ladelle in California Kid setting the bar with a nice vertical wheelie and slap wheelie to start the competition. After efforts from rookie T.J. Etchison in Fired Up and Kelvin Ramer in Time Flys, Donald Epidendio would come out and raise the bar with a massive vertical sky wheelie on the car stack and though he missed a slap wheelie the first time, an impromptu hit on the van stack would provide the bounce needed for a huge slap wheelie. Finally, Bill Payne would bring his new Rock Star out for its first hit outdoors. Payne jammed the brakes before the car and matted Rock Star, ultimately sending the truck past vertical and onto its roof. Bill would wait for the truck to be flipped back over and deliver a quick freestyle to the fan’s delight, giving Rock Star the wheelie contest win.
Bill Payne in Rock Star wins the Friday wheelie contest with a wild past vertical effort and rollover.
Racing would be tricky as the Monster X Tour crew created a challenging over-under, figure 8 track. In past over-under tracks, the chances of one monster jumping over another were slim to none. This over-under was the exactly the opposite which created some exciting, but tense moments. Each truck would start at the base of each lane, putting one truck right above another much to the delight of the Chico fans. The final round would come down to teammates Garrett Ladelle in California Kid and Bill Payne in Rock Star. Payne would bobble in the final turn, handing the win to Garrett in the Kid who laid down a flawless pass. Garrett was particularly excited about the win as it came on the one year anniversary of the first time he ever drove a monster truck.
Garrett Ladelle celebrates his one year anniversary of his first time driving a monster truck by taking a big racing win.
The final competition of Friday’s show would be freestyle and all drivers let it hang out. Right out of the gate, it was California Kid getting wild and almost sending the truck end over end followed by Kelvin Ramer with some big air in Time Flys. Next out was Donald Epidendio in Titan in one of the best runs TMB has seen in quite some time. Donald launched Titan off of every obstacle, rocked some sick cyclones in the mud, and some great vertical wheelies to the roaring approval of the fans. Knowing he had to go big, Bill Payne only made it three hits into his run before a 3/8’’ bolt let go in the driveline, ending his run short and leaving the freestyle title to Epidendio in Titan.
Donald Epidendio lays down one of the better runs we've seen in a long time to give Titan the Friday night freestyle win.
The weekend finale on Saturday night started out with one of the best collective wheelie contests that TMB has seen in some time. It all came down once again to Titan and Rock Star, as Titan was again vaulted past-vertical into the 5th car of the 6 car set and drove the truck to an insane one wheeled slap wheelie. Payne once again rolled Rock Star over backward and followed up with a quick freestyle after being turned over. In a questionable call, it was Payne in Rock Star getting the win to sweep both wheelie contests on the weekend based on the rollovers and freestyles while Epidendio had the most impressive efforts.
Absolutely jaw-dropping effort from Titan as Epidendio puts it up in a one wheeled slap wheelie.
Racing would see the same two drivers continue to battle it out as Payne and Epidendio won their respective races to meet in the finals. After a close start, Epidendio would bobble in the turn and Payne would make a flawless run to take the victory.
Donald Epidendio had the edge at the start but it was Bill Payne taking the Saturday racing win.
The final competition of the weekend would be freestyle. Teammates TJ Etchison and Kelvin Ramer would both perform nice donuts and wheelies and Garrett Ladelle in California Kid would pose a formidable run before the transmission went out. Again, Donald Epidendio would pilot Titan to a high-energy and big air filled run to the roaring approval of the Chico fans, but it was Payne in Rock Star that would come out with an insane run, ultimately ending in a backwards rollover after pile driving the backside of the over-under jump.
Bill Payne in Rock Star putting together an incredible run Saturday night to win the last competition of the weekend.
A big thanks goes out to Danny Torgerson and the Monster X Tour staff for their hospitality and having the TMB crew on hand for their first outdoor show of the season! Stay tuned for a full photo gallery from TMB’s Ross Z. Bonar this week and don’t miss all the action from the weekend on TMB TV’s Original Series featuring incredible footage from Colby Marshall and Kaedon Berry. Episode 4.5 from Chico will debut on Wednesday, April 27th at 8PM eastern time with all the weekend’s monster truck competitions as well as some extras you won’t want to miss!
Amsoil Shock Therapy – Jon Zimmer
Bad Habit – Joe Sylvester
Bigfoot #14 – Larry Swim
Black Stallion – Mike Vaters
Bounty Hunter – Jimmy Creten
Brutus – Chris Bergeron
Excaliber – Kevin Koszala
Heart Breaker – Kaila Savage
Higher Education – Jimmy Tracey
Martial Law – Paul Strong
Red Baron – Darren Migues
Wrecking Crew – Steve Koehler
Bounty Hunter – Jimmy Creten
Bounty Hunter – Jimmy Creten
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Grinder – John Seasock
Gun Slinger – Scott Hartsock
Instigator – Lionel Easler
Mopar Magic – Morgan Kane
Stone Crusher – Steve Sims
TMNT – Aaron Basl
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Mopar Magic – Morgan Kane
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Mopar Magic – Morgan Kane
Stone Crusher – Steve Sims
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Chalkboard Chuck – Jeff Hatten
E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – Rick Long
Lucas Oil Stabilizer – Bobby Holman
Samson – Dan Patrick
Star Marshal – Dave Radzierez
Samson – Dan Patrick
E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – Rick Long
Lucas Oil Stabilizer – Bobby Holman
California Kid – Garrett Ladelle
Fired Up – TJ Etchison
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Time Flys – Kelvin Ramer
Titan – Donald Epidendio
Rock Star – Bill Payne
California Kid – Garrett Ladelle
Titan – Donald Epidendio
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Terminator – Gary Schott
Unnamed & Untamed – Sam Sturges
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Event: Monster Truck Thunder Slam
Venue: ISU Hulman Center
Location: Terre Haute, Indiana
Date: March 26th, 2011
Videographer: Colby Marshall
Lineup: Firestone Bigfoot #11 (Darron Schnell), Predator (Allen Pezo), Prowler (Lenny Kuilder), War Wagon (Andy Hoffman) [Read more…]
Get ready Montreal, the 2011 Monster Spectacular tour kicks off this weekend at Olympic Stadium! The 15th edition of this grandiose event will be written into the history books this Saturday night as a new track design awaits 12 of the best monster trucks in the world.
Fall racing champion Red Baron will be back to battle it out with former world champion Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter, while Joe Sylvester and Bad Habit also returns after burning it down in freestyle last fall. Team BIGFOOT wants to find its way back to victory lane at the “Big O” and for the first time ever, they’re sending their craziest driver, Larry Swim and the BIGFOOT Bad Boy. Those drivers will take on the best of the best including Black Stallion, Brutus, Amsoil Shock Therapy, Crushstation, Martial Law, Excaliber, Wrecking Crew and Iron Warrior.
Red Baron and Bounty Hunter will battle it out again Saturday night.
As if the monster truck action wasn’t enough, fans will be treated to the high flying antics of ATV and snowmobile freestyle, street bike stunts and the destruction of car stunts and a demolition derby.
Over 45,000 fans are expected to help kick off the 2011 Monster Spectacular tour in style Saturday night, don’t be the one who misses out on an incredible night of action. Head on over to www.MonsterSpectacular.com to get your tickets now!
Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Date: March 26th, 2011
Photographer: Lauren Z. Bonar
Lineup: 1/2 Pint (Travis Sturges), Black Knight (Dave Rife), Chalkboard Chuck (Jeff Hatten), E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), El Perro Loco (Rod Wood), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Nasty Boy (Ronnie Sturges), Star Marshal (Dave Radzierez), Unnamed & Untamed (Sam Sturges) [Read more…]
Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: Bryce Jordan Center
Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
Date: April 2nd, 2011
Photographer: Jason Miller
Lineup: Chalkboard Chuck (Jeff Hatten), Crushstation (Greg Winchenbach), E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Star Marshal (Dave Radzierez) [Read more…]
Grave Digger – Gary Porter
Grinder – John Seasock
High Maintenance – Jocelyn Perrin
Monster Mutt Rottweiler – Dustin Brown
Spiderman – Whit Tarlton
War Wizard – Randy Moore
Spiderman – Whit Tarlton
Grinder – John Seasock
Grave Digger – Gary Porter
Grinder – John Seasock
Monster Mutt Rottweiler – Dustin Brown
Grave Digger – Gary Porter
Spiderman – Whit Tarlton
Monster Mutt Rottweiler – Dustin Brown
Grinder – John Seasock
Chalkboard Chuck – Jeff Hatten
Crushstation – Greg Winchenbach
E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – Rick Long
Lucas Oil Stabilizer – Bobby Holman
Star Marshal – Dave Radzierez
Crushstation – Greg Winchenbach
E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – Rick Long
Crushstation – Greg Winchenbach
Crushstation – Greg Winchenbach
Lucas Oil Stabilizer – Bobby Holman
Crushstation – Greg Winchenbach
Bounty Hunter – Jimmy Creten
El Matador – Daron Basl
Iron Outlaw – Nick Owens
King Krunch – David Smith
McGruff – Rod Wood
Obsessed – Rick Swanson
Obsession – Jeff Jones
Razin Kane – JR McNeal
Bounty Hunter – Jimmy Creten
Bounty Hunter – Jimmy Creten
Avenger – Jim Koehler
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Unnamed & Untamed – Sam Sturges
Wrecking Crew – Steve Koehler
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Avenger – Jim Koehler
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Unnamed & Untamed – Sam Sturges
Avenger – Jim Koehler
Evolution – Paul Winkleman
Nite Stalker – Dalton Vanskyhawk
Pouncer – Dale Mitchell
Predator – Allen Pezo
Predator – Allen Pezo
Predator – Allen Pezo
Predator – Allen Pezo
Predator – Allen Pezo
Pouncer – Dale Mitchell
Predator – Allen Pezo
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Heart Breaker – Kaila Savage
Martial Law – Paul Strong
Play’N 4 Keeps – Tony Canedo
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Event: Monster Truck Thunder Slam
Venue: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Date: March 27th, 2011
Photographer: Paul M. Harry
Lineup: Big Dawg (Dale Gerding), Desperado (Drew Haygood), Ghost Ryder (Larry Quick), Tail Gator (Doug Noelke) [Read more…]
Event: Outlaw Monster Truck Spectacular
Venue: West Plains Civic Center
Location: West Plains, Missouri
Date: March 12th, 2011
Videographer: Kaedon Berry
Lineup: Dragonfly (Rob French), Monkey’N Around (Steven Hill), Outtacontrol (Steven Hill), Twisted Dragon (Rob French) [Read more…]
Event: Monster Jam
Venue: EJ Nutter Center
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Date: March 19th, 2011
Photographer: Paul M. Harry
Lineup: Bad Habit (Joe Sylvester), Black Stallion (Mike Vaters), El Toro Loco (Joey Parnell), Full Boar (Ed Eckert), Grave Digger (Randy Brown), High Maintenance (Jocelyn Perrin), Rap Attack (Dave Rappach), Virginia Giant (Diehl Wilson) [Read more…]
Air Force Afterburner – Damon Bradshaw
Amsoil Shock Therapy – Jon Zimmer
Avenger – Jim Koehler
Backdraft – Jeremy Slifko
Batman – Norm Miller
Bounty Hunter – Jimmy Creten
Brutus – Chris Bergeron
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
El Toro Loco – Marc MacDonald
Grave Digger – Dennis Anderson
Grave Digger The Legend – Adam Anderson
Grinder – Frank Krmel (Racing) / Lupe Soza (Freestyle)
Iron Man – Lee O’Donnell
Lucas Oil Stabilizer – Linsey Weenk
Madusa – Debra Miceli
Maximum Destruction – Tom Meents
Mohawk Warrior – George Balhan
Monster Mutt – Charlie Pauken
Monster Mutt Dalmation – Candace Jolly
Nitro Circus – Cam McQueen
Spiderman – Chad Tingler
Stone Crusher – Steve Sims
Superman – Chad Fortune
TMNT – Pablo Huffaker
Maximum Destruction – Tom Meents
Avenger – Jim Koehler
Captain USA – Roger Stidell
El Matador – Daron Basl
El Toro Loco – Bari Musawwir
Grave Digger – Rod Schmidt
King Krunch – David Smith
El Matador – Daron Basl
El Matador – Daron Basl
King Krunch – David Smith
El Matador – Daron Basl
Captain USA – Roger Stidell
Captain USA – Roger Stidell
King Krunch – David Smith
Grave Digger – Rod Schmidt
Captain USA – Roger Stidell
Grave Digger – Rod Schmidt
King Krunch – David Smith
Grave Digger – Rod Schmidt
1/2 Pint – Travis Sturges
Black Knight – Dave Rife
Chalkboard Chuck – Jeff Hatten
E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – Rick Long
El Perro Loco – Rod Wood
Lucas Oil Stabilizer – Bobby Holman
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Star Marshal – Dave Radzierez
Unnamed & Untamed – Sam Sturges
Lucas Oil Stabilizer – Bobby Holman
E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 – Rick Long
Barbarian – Devin Jones
Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – Larry Swim
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
California Kid – Garrett Ladelle
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Barbarian – Devin Jones
Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – Larry Swim
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – Larry Swim
Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – Larry Swim
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Crushstation – Greg Winchenbach
Project X – Kevin Poore
Shell Camino – Shelley Kujat
Viper – Rich Blackburne
Project X – Kevin Poore
Shell Camino – Shelley Kujat
Viper – Rich Blackburne
Shell Camino – Shelley Kujat
Viper – Rich Blackburne
Crushstation – Greg Winchenbach
Big Dawg – Dale Gerding
Desperado – Drew Haygood
Ghost Ryder – Larry Quick
Tail Gator – Doug Noelke
Tail Gator – Doug Noelke
Ghost Ryder – Larry Quick
Tail Gator – Doug Noelke
Ghost Ryder – Larry Quick
Firestone Bigfoot #11 – Darron Schnell
Ghost Ryder – Larry Quick
Predator – Allen Pezo
Prowler – Lenny Kuilder
War Wagon – Andy Hoffman
War Wagon – Andy Hoffman
War Wagon – Andy Hoffman
Predator – Allen Pezo
Bar’s Leaks Eliminator – Greg Adams
Outlaw Clydesdale – Bennett Clark
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Rislone Defender – Zach Adams
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Event: Monster Truck Thunder Slam
Venue: ASU Convocation Center
Location: Jonesboro, Arkansas
Date: March 4th-5th, 2011
Host: Ross Z. Bonar
Videographers: Kaedon Berry
Lineup: Firestone Bigfoot #11 (Darron Schnell), Pouncer (Allen Pezo), Predator (Dale Mitchell), Prowler (Lenny Kuilder), War Wagon (Andy Hoffman) [Read more…]
After a long first quarter of Monster Jam action, the regular season is officially over bringing a conclusion to TMB’s Road to the World Finals! As we announced to you last week, Dennis Anderson has once again prevailed this year, taking the top spot by less than 2 points over son Adam in our closest unofficial power rankings battle ever. Tom Meents follows in third, missing the top spot by less than 5 points. Gary Porter finished another year of arena domination with an incredible 46 racing/freestyle wins to finish fourth overall while Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter rounds out the top five.
The final weekend didn’t disappoint as it produced some drama at the battle for the 24th and final spot. John Seasock picked up three wins to vault himself back into the top 24, knocking out Jim Koehler who had stayed in the top 24 nearly all season before slipping out at the last second. Among the drivers who have been battling it out, the final tally sees Seasock, Lupe Soza and Steve Sims in, while Koehler, Jon Zimmer, Mike Vaters and Jeremy Slifko just missed it.
Overall, it’s been another great year of following along with the Monster Jam series as we have highlighted some of the best performances by drivers this year. Thanks to all of you for following along with another year of TMB’s Road to the World Finals and best of luck to all of this year’s competitors in the Monster Jam World Finals coming up this weekend!
Check out the Road to the World Finals Final unofficial rankings after Week #11 below:
Here is how points were scored in this week’s Elite Level events:
N/A
For results from Normal Level events, check out the 2011 Results Tracker March 18th-20th Weekend Results page (drivers earn 5 points for a racing or freestyle win).
If you haven’t followed along with TMB’s Road to the World Finals in the past, we’re sure that you have many questions about how we put this together: How does it work? Which events are we including? How are the points awarded? etc. At the bottom of each week’s update, you’ll see the detailed rationale and explanation that should answer most of these questions.
Stay tuned each week to TMB’s “Road to the World Finals” for all the results and current standings each week. Keep in mind this is all unofficial and is just for fun and enjoy as we track the Monster Jam series all the way to the World Finals in March!
For some time, fans across the country have wondered why the USHRA does not run a public points system of some kind for their Monster Jam series. We are included in the group that would love to be able to follow the standings of such a series each week. We are of the belief that a berth in the Monster Jam World Finals should be earned based on performance throughout the year in both racing and freestyle. Regardless of what portion of the monster truck industry you favor, there is no denying that the Monster Jam World Finals is the biggest and highest profile event our sport has to offer. A chance to compete at this event is a big deal for many drivers out there, and it is our opinion that they should be able to earn their way in. We’re not saying that Feld Motorsports doesn’t pick the World Finalists based on performance currently–we’re simply saying that we don’t know how they make up the field because the process isn’t made public.
So with that in mind, we have created an UNOFFICIAL points system that is simple (although it may seem complicated) and that rewards performance in all Monster Jam events across the country leading up to the World Finals. In our Standings, we will show the cut-off after the 24th truck, indicating that IF entry to the World Finals was based SOLELY on performance, these are the drivers that would be headed to Las Vegas. Keep in mind that this is just for fun and has no actual bearing on the selection of World Finals participants. See below for a breakdown of our points system and our rationale for the decisions we made in creating it.
Elite Level Events
What is an Elite Level event? We define an Elite Monster Jam event as any with a field of 12 of more trucks. We have chosen to award these events the highest amount of points, because these are the highest profile Monster Jam events. These events are the ones held in the major stadiums in front of the biggest crowds, some of which are even televised on SPEED. It is our belief that performance in the highest profile shows should be weighted most heavily toward a World Finals berth because these events are most similar to the World Finals itself. The most points any one driver can score in an Elite Level event (and thus in any event) is 40. If an event meeting all of this criteria holds 3 or more shows over the course of a single weekend, the points for each show are worth half of what is listed below.
Racing Finish – Points Awarded
1st – 20
2nd – 15
Semi-Finals – 7.5
Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded
1st – 20
2nd – 15
3rd – 10
4th – 5
Normal Level Events
What is a Normal Level show? The majority of Monster Jam events held around the country are Normal Level shows. These events are typically held in smaller arenas around the country, consisting of multiple shows held over the course of the weekend (anywhere from 2-5), with fields of anywhere from 5-8 trucks. Looking at the points awarded for these shows, you will notice they are much less than the upper levels. We equate the significance level of an entire 4 show weekend of Normal Level events with the significance of one Elite Level show–thus, the maximum points a driver can earn in a weekend at a Normal Level event is 40 (this based on the usual maximum # of shows being 4 (Tacoma being the exception with 5), and an available 10 points per show (10×4=40)).
Racing Finish – Points Awarded
1st – 5
Freestyle Finish – Points Awarded
1st – 5
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