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!