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Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Date: April 9th, 2011
Photographer: Paul M. Harry
Lineup: Chalkboard Chuck (Jeff Hatten), E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Samson (Dan Patrick), Star Marshal (Dave Radzierez) [Read more…]
Event: Monster Nationals
Venue: Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Date: April 9th, 2011
Photographer: Michael Harry
Lineup: Chalkboard Chuck (Jeff Hatten), E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot #15 (Rick Long), Lucas Oil Stabilizer (Bobby Holman), Samson (Dan Patrick), Star Marshal (Dave Radzierez) [Read more…]
Event: Monster Truck Thunder Slam
Venue: ISU Hulman Center
Location: Terre Haute, Indiana
Date: March 26th, 2011
Videographer: Chris Parrish, Laura Parrish
Lineup: Firestone Bigfoot #11 (Darron Schnell), Predator (Allen Pezo), Prowler (Lenny Kuilder), War Wagon (Andy Hoffman) [Read more…]
Monster Truck Radio With Host Jeff Richards
Date: Monday, March 28th, 2011
Guest #1: Darren Migues, driver of Stone Crusher/Bounty Hunter
Guest #2: Donald Epidendio, driver of Titan [Read more…]
Another Monster Truck Winter Nationals season is now behind us, but there is a new face hoisting the big trophy as Devin Jones and Barbarian is the 2011 Champion. This represents the first series title for the young man from Miami, Oklahoma and breaks the hold that Team BIGFOOT and driver Larry Swim have had on the championship for the last two years.
The ISU Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho is the site for the annual Monster Truck Grand Nationals finale.
The battle would come down to the Monster Truck Grand Nationals finale at Pocatello, Idaho’s ISU Holt Arena where a sold out crowd of over 14,000 people would witness the title bout. Only three drivers would remain in contention for the points title as Swim and the Bigfoot Bad Boy, Jones and Barbarian and Bill Payne in Rock Star would compete with fellow season long points competitor Garrett Ladelle in California Kid.
The lineup would also include such superstars as Bounty Hunter, Titan, Amsoil Shock Therapy, Iron Outlaw and Excaliber, though those five trucks would not be playing the role of spoiler as in years past. The decision was made by CFP officials to have the four points trucks race and freestyle only against each other, and to have the other 5 trucks race in a separate bracket and then close the night with multi-truck freestyles.
The championship racing bracket started out wild as Bill Payne in Rock Star navigated the tight u-turn quickest and took down Devin Jones in Barbarian. A frightening moment would occur in the next race as Bigfoot Bad Boy lost a left front tire upon landing at the finish in his first round defeat of California Kid. The loose tire would careen towards the pit area and impact the arena wall with incredible force before bouncing to a stop. Thankfully the tire impacted in an area of the pits where no track or crew personnel were standing.
The breakage would unfortunately be terminal for the BIGFOOT team, leaving Larry Swim on the sidelines for the remainder of the event and ending his chance at a three-peat. With Swim unable to meet Rock Star in the finals, CFP officials made the call to bring back Devin Jones and Barbarian. Jones would have one more shot at Payne, but the result would be the same the second time around as Payne would pilot Rock Star to the racing victory. In the non-championship bracket, it was Darren Migues in Bounty Hunter picking up the racing victory.
With the remaining title contenders having finished 1-2 in racing, it would all come down to freestyle. Knowing he had no choice but to win, Devin roared onto the floor in Barbarian and proceeded to lay down one of his best runs of the year, with big air, slap wheelies and a wild finishing move that saw Jones attempt to crossthread a bus, only to roll backwards onto his lid. Jones had set the bar very high for Ladelle and Payne to try and beat.
After a solid run that was cut a short with breakage for Garrett Ladelle in California Kid, Rock Star fired up and Bill Payne readied to do what he does best – wow the crowd with an incredible freestyle. Payne started the run with one great wow moment, but on the second hit trouble struck as a bad bounce would send Rock Star onto its lid much too early. The 2-hit effort would only be good enough for third in freestyle, handing the championship to Devin Jones in Barbarian.
Devin Jones & Barbarian, the 2011 Monster Truck Winter Nationals Champion.
For the young independent Devin Jones, the title represents an incredible accomplishment for the small family team out of Miami, Oklahoma. After acquiring the old leaf sprung Road Rage machine in 2005, Devin quickly proved to be a natural talent, competing and even winning in a wildly out of date chassis. Bucking the trend in the industry of purchasing a pre-built chassis, Devin and his father set to work in 2006 on building a custom chassis that was made ready for the start of the 2007 season. Ever since, there has been nothing but impressive performances and big wins for the Barbarian.
This year’s title is an exclamation point on what has been an incredible start to this young driver’s career. The accomplishment is made so much more impressive when you consider that this championship has been held for the last 4 years by the multi-truck teams of BIGFOOT and Sudden Impact Racing – in 2011, it was a young man and his father from Miami, Oklahoma who did it their way, beating the big money teams with nothing but hard work and pure talent.
TheMonsterBlog.com congratulates our good friend Devin Jones on his 2011 Monster Truck Winter Nationals Championship!
(Ottawa, Ontario – By Doug De Nance) Monster Spectacular always is a “must see” when the big trucks visit the capital of Canada. But this time there was more on the line in Ottawa than ever before. It was to be a showdown between two champions – the defending Monster Spectacular champion, Joe Sylvester in the Readylift Bad Habit truck versus the newly crowned World Freestyle Champion, Jim Koehler and Avenger.
This battle had been fought before in this very same building one year ago. Last year Sylvester triumphed at Scotiabank Place by hitting massive reverser wheelies to defeat Koehler for the coveted Monster Spectacular crown.
This year Koehler’s confidence was boosted by the winning of his second world freestyle title in Las Vegas a few weeks before. But Sylvester had another year under his belt – and that year had the pressure of defending his Monster Spectacular crown at every turn.
One of the coolest stories this spring, Vaters Monster Motorsports debuted their new Higher Education school bus monster truck in Montreal.
Yet it looked like there could be a spoiler or two in this storyline, because some of the greatest names in monster trucks were sitting in the pits. Along with the brand new Higher Education truck, there sat 29 year veteran Mike Vaters and Black Stallion and the big dog Brutus driven by Chris Bergeron.
Bergeron put the first wrinkle into the flow by definitively winning the wheelie contest. Bergeron blasted Brutus skyward on his first pass and landed “pogo” style, landing perfectly vertical by planting his wheelie bar into the final car in the stack. But his second pass was even more spectacular, hitting a massive sky wheelie. But the car stack collapsed sending Brutus sideways. Bergeron somehow pulled the big dog out of a bicycle on the passenger side two wheels and set the truck down on all four tires. Even Koehler preempted the cheeroff to congratulate the obvious winner – his Team Scream team mate, Chris Bergeron.
Chris Bergeron hits a huge wheelie in Brutus to take the opening win in Ottawa.
The next spoiler was Mike Vaters. The Black Stallion driver is known to be an extraordinary racer. He’s also known as the King of Concrete, with endless experience on the slippery surfaces like the track in Ottawa. Plus, he loves to race his way through the brackets. Vaters did just that, winning racing confidently.
So the story of the battle really did come down to the two champions in freestyle. While the other trucks laid down amazing freestyle runs that could easily win any other night, all eyes were on Bad Habit and Avenger.
Sylvester eased onto the course, knowing that the variable time clock would not start until he hit the first obstacle. Bad Habit hit every obstacle hard including not one, but two reversers – with the final one clearing all five cars in the stack.
Jim Koehler may be at his best ever as he takes the freestyle win in Ottawa, his third straight since winning the World Finals Freestyle title for the second time.
During an interview the question was posed to Koehler if he could just lay back now that he was world champion once again. Koehler answered it then with a very loud no. And he answered it again very loudly with the roar of Avenger.
Hitting every obstacle multiple times, Avenger caught the biggest air of the night on each one. But it was Koehler’s final cyclone donut that sealed the deal. Whirling so fast that Avenger seemed like a green blur, Koehler emerged staggeringly dizzy to the loudest roar of all – that of the Monster Spectacular fans!
Those same fans were treated to more excitement in the form of quad racing, freestyle motocross and the Krazy Krew BMX team – who all jumped over the announcer’s head.
Be sure to treat yourself to all the excitement the next time Monster Spectacular comes to your town. Check www.MonsterSpectacular.com for a show near you.
(Photos by Johany Jutras)
Bounty Hunter – Darren Migues
California Kid – Garrett Ladelle
Captain USA – Jeff Bainter
Double Trouble – Travis Groth
Fired Up – TJ Etchison
Iron Outlaw – Nick Owens
Play’n 4 Keeps – Tony Canedo
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Time Flys – Kelvin Ramer
Western Renegade – Barry Parkin
Bounty Hunter – Darren Migues
Bounty Hunter – Darren Migues
Amsoil Shock Therapy – Jon Zimmer
Barbarian – Devin Jones
Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 – Larry Swim
Bounty Hunter – Darren Migues
California Kid – Garrett Ladelle
Excaliber – Chris Ryan
Iron Outlaw – Nick Owens
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Titan – Donald Epidendio
Rock Star – Bill Payne
Barbarian – Devin Jones
Bad News Travels Fast – Bruce Haney
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Grinder – John Seasock
Stone Crusher – Steve Sims
TMNT – Aaron Basl
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Grinder – John Seasock
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Grinder – John Seasock
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Captain’s Curse – Alex Blackwell
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
Grave Digger – Pablo Huffaker
El Matador – Daron Basl
El Toro Loco – Marc MacDonald
Grave Digger – Chad Tingler
King Krunch – David Smith
Obsessed – Rick Swanson
Obsession – Jim Lenertz
El Toro Loco – Marc MacDonald
Grave Digger – Chad Tingler
Grave Digger – Chad Tingler
King Krunch – David Smith
Grave Digger – Chad Tingler
El Toro Loco – Marc MacDonald
El Matador – Daron Basl
El Matador – Daron Basl
El Toro Loco – Marc MacDonald
Avenger – Jim Koehler
Brutus – Chris Bergeron
Bad Habit – Joe Sylvester
Black Stallion – Mike Vaters
Higher Education – Jimmy Tracey
Brutus – Chris Bergeron
Black Stallion – Mike Vaters
Avenger – Jim Koehler
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Cyborg – Jack Koberna
Monkey’N Around – Steven Hill
Outtacontrol – Orville Hill
Strait Jacket – Kevin King
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Bounty Hunter – Ben Winslow
Monkey’N Around – Steven Hill
1/2 Pint – Travis Sturges
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Terminator – Gary Schott
Unnamed & Untamed – Sam Sturges
Nasty Boy – Ronnie Sturges
Desperado – Drew Haygood
Pouncer – Allen Pezo
Predator – Allen Pezo
Reptoid – Jim Jack
Predator – Allen Pezo
Week Ending: April 16th, 2011
Truck(s) Featured: Bigfoot Bad Boy #11 (Larry Swim), California Kid (Garrett Ladelle)
Video Type: Fan Video
Courtesy: www.YouTube.com
Description: A tire breaks lose from Larry Swim’s Bigfoot Bad Boy #11 during the CFP Grand Nationals in Pocatello, Idaho. While Larry would win the race against California Kid, the broken tire would put him out of competition for the night.
(Hazelwood, MO) Make your plans now to attend the 5th Annual BIGFOOT & Midwest 4 Wheel Drive Open House, presented by Bommarito Auto Group, on Saturday, June 4th, at the Home of BIGFOOT®, in Hazelwood, MO. The fun starts at 10 am and runs to 4 pm! Best of all, most of the event is completely FREE!
Two BIGFOOT car crushes (Noon & 3pm) highlight the day’s festivities, with driver autograph sessions immediately after! In addition to the car crunching fun, the Land of Giants truck club will be showing off their tricked out trucks! Our automotive showcase isn’t just limited to trucks….over the years, we’ve had everything from exotic supercars to modified mud dragsters. You never know what you’ll see!
Check out the full flyer for the 2011 BIGFOOT Open House.
Door raffles will be taking place at the top of every hour. Register to win a new set of INSTALLED Firestone tires, Summit Racing Equipment Gift Certificates, and BIGFOOT gift bags! You can see some of the latest rides to hit the market at the Bommarito Auto Group’s New Car Showcase. And make sure you show up hungry, as Monty’s BBQ will be on hand serving up delicious ‘Q! Free parking will be provided by our neighbors at Bommarito.
The Open House is our way of saying of saying THANK YOU to all of our loyal fans in and around St. Louis, and we hope to see YOU there!
For directions to the Home of BIGFOOT and further information on the event and the team, head on over to www.Bigfoot4x4.com.
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
Week Ending: April 9th, 2011
Truck(s) Featured: Bigfoot Bad Boy #14 (Larry Swim)
Video Type: Fan Video
Courtesy: www.YouTube.com
Description: You know it was going to be “Monster Spectacular” when Larry Swim freestyle’d at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium for the first time, and he didn’t disappoint with a wild run that ended with an incredible tailgate plant into the dirt.
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…]
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