- Monster Spectacular Tour Update - New
Brunswick!!
5/28/10
- Miami, OK O'Reilly Outlaw Nationals
Photo Gallery!!
5/26/10
- Lima, OH 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals Photos &
Video Coverage!!
- A New High Maintenance Under Construction!!
5/24/10
- Miami, OK O'Reilly Outlaw Nationals
Recap & Teasers!!
5/20/10
- Monsters Return to Miami, OK This Weekend!!
5/18/10
- Monster Spectacular Tour Update - Alberta!!
5/15/10
- Virginia Beach, VA Monsters on the Beach
Recap & Photos!!
- Patrick Enterprises Open House Video
Highlights!!
5/12/10
- Eliminator, Defender to Appear on Spike TV's
Powerblock!!
5/11/10
- Monster Spectacular Tour Update -
Penticton!!
5/05/10
- TMB TV Episode 3.2 from the Silverdome!!
5/04/10
- Monster Spectacular Tour Update - Regina!!
5/03/10
- Springfield, MO Monster Truck Thunder Drags
Recap & Photos!!
5/01/10
- TMB TV Trackside Silverdome Pre-Show Episode!!
Monster Truck Wars South American Tour!!: (A.P. Motorsports PR) A.P.Motorsports and South American
promoters are excited to announce our tour dates, monster truck lineup and
freestyle moto-x-jumping team for the 2010 Monster Truck Wars Tour South
America.
Talent line up for the Monster Truck Wars Tour will
feature Monster Patrol driven by James Tigue ll, Godzilla driven by Steve
Hearley, Grim Reaper driven by Dustin Lewis, Sin City Crusher driven by
Darren Cox and Burnin' Money driven by Mark Foulk. Our Freestyle
moto-x-jumping team features riders Tim Dyson, Dan Weeks and
Nicholas Gore. Also touring is the Bumble Bee ride truck driven by Dezo
Turos and Lisa Fonder. The Monster Truck Wars tour will feature bilingual
announcing in English and Spanish. Mike Fonder, President of
A.P.Motorsports and long time motorsports announcer will be announcing the
performances in English with a special guest Spanish announcer to be
announced shortly.
The Monster Truck Wars 2010 South American Tour
is scheduled to start June 25 in Bogota,Colombia at the Simon Bolivar Park
with three shows June 25,26,27 at 7pm. Then the tour moves to Bucaramanga,
Colombia at the Soccer Football Stadium of Bucaramanga with one big show
July 3 at 7pm. From there the tour moves to Medellin, Colombia at the
Stadium El Dorado for two show's July 9 & 10 at 7pm. One last date in
Colombia is pending and then the Tour heads to Chile,Argentina,Boloivia
and Peru. More countries and dates are being finalized for September and
October and will be announced soon.
A.P.Motorsports has signed a 5-year deal with our South
American partners to produce all kinds of motorsports and concert events
in South America over the next 5 years. Our South American partners just
finished a tour with Guns-n-Roses and has the Scorpions starting their
South American Tour.
But for now South America get ready cause the REAL DEAL
Monster Truck Tour is ready to rock-n-roll the fans, waiting to see the
American Monster Trucks. Trucks have been gone threw with new motors being
installed, new identity's for a couple of the trucks and alot of work from
the teams to make this tour a huge success. Parts are packed, trucks are
loaded, clothes are packed and the tour is ready to ship to South America.
A.P.Motorsports would like to thank all the team
owners,drivers,crew members who have busted their butts working long hours
to prepare trucks,file paperwork and everything else they have done to
make this a reality. Steve Hearley deserves a "that a boy" for dropping
everything he was doing for Chris Arel in Canada to come home and get his
truck and equipment ready in two days!! Thanks Steve Hearley and the
Godzilla monster truck team including Jeff!! Chris Arel Thank You for
everything, your the man in Canada!!
A.P.Motorsports will have coverage of events in South
America weekly being sent to monster truck news outlet TheMonsterBlog.com
with results, pictures and video. For more information, check out
apmotorsports.tripod.com and remember, "The Ground's Already Shakin'!!"
(05/30/10)
Monster Spectacular Tour Update - New
Brunswick!!: (By Doug De Nance) Three cities – three
shows – in three days. Could it be a three-peat for the defending Monster
Spectacular
champion?
The challenge began in Saint John, New Brunswick on the Canadian east
coast leg of the 2010 Monster Spectacular tour. Fans thronged to the VIP
Pit Party to meet all the stars including FMX riders. Sport Bike Stunt
riders and ATV Quad warriors. But ultimately the fans were there early to
meet the man.
To be the man you must beat the man – Jimmy Creten and
Bounty Hunter, the defending Monster Spectacular Points Champion. Everyone
in the stands knew it. And so did the highly competitive slate of monster
truck drivers waiting for their shot at the man – and the points.
Jay McPherson was brought in as the driver of Iron
Outlaw specifically because he held the fastest time trial time in Monster
Spectacular history. Last year Jay Mac posted a 1.97 over a five car stack
on concrete. Now the fastest time title holder would take on the racing
master – none other than his boss on the 2 Xtreme racing team.
Jon Zimmer is the 2009 Rising Star Award winner and the
2010 Big Air Champion in Amsoil Shock Therapy. But he’d more that rising
into the sky to beat Jimmy Creten. He’d need to be first over the car
stack every time.
Excaliber is a storied truck from the 1980’s. The big
Chevy Silverado had the original graphics restored just for this occasion.
And a hired gun driver with the same experience level as the truck name
itself. John Kilinger couldn’t resist the chance to do battle with the man
– and just possibly live up to his nick name, “The Killer”.
The scene was set in Saint John. First up was the
Wheelie Competition – and the first win for Creten. Was this to be the
pattern for Bounty Hunter all weekend? If Monster Truck Racing was an
indication, Creten was on a roll, blasting through the brackets to take
the win.
The shock and frustration was thick in the air as the
tour moved to Moncton. Jay Mac settled into the mechanics of Iron Outlaw
and spent the time before show time secretly tweaking the 1800 horsepower
at his disposal to see if he could get 1801. Zimmer’s typical Texas-style
smile was gone and he glowered at Bounty Hunter, and then sat visualizing
his racing strategy. The Killer looked like he just might make his name a
reality, his dark eyes flashing like a lit powder keg.
In order to reset the brackets, it was to be a Monster
Spectacular fans dream come true. Time trials would have to be run – with
the record holder in the house. The Topeka, Kansas native climbed into
Iron Outlaw to watch for the green light. Maybe he was over anxious, maybe
it was too much adrenaline, but like Casey’s famous turn at bat, Jay Mac
failed to break the 2 second barrier.
But that 2 second barrier would be broken, and the time
trial record tied that night. John Zimmer is as competitive as they come.
He was smarting from the loss the night previously and decided to lick his
wounds by trying to put a licking on the Monster Spectacular time trial
record. He managed to lay down a 1.97, tying Jay Mac’s record time.
But Zimmer pushed Amsoil Shock Therapy so hard that the
monster sat crippled at the end of the cars, blocking Creten’s time trial
lane. Zimmer struggled with the truck, eventually enlisting the track
officials to help. The time ticked by as Creten sat in Bounty strapped
into his seat with a five point harness ratcheted so tight he could barely
breathe. And he sat, and sat and sat as Zimmer worked on his truck.
Then it dawned on the fans that maybe Zimmer was
stalling to make Creten lose his edge as he waited in Bounty Hunter.
Zimmer is a very clever driver and he knew that his record tying time
trial time would give him the pick of the brackets and the lane choice. It
was never revealed if that was Zimmer’s strategy, for just as the question
was being posed, Amsoil Shock Therapy was cleared from the track.
Creten eased Bounty to the car stack, then abruptly
roared the engine and slammed the front tires down on the lead car. He
wanted the best possible trajectory for this time trial. But did the wait
take the edge off the defending champion?
Creten waited for the light to go green and shot off
the line like the devil himself was chasing Bounty Hunter. The monster
crossed the stack barely clearing the tops of the cars. It looked like a
very fast time. But the official time had to be checked on all official’s
watches as it was unbelievable. The fans believed as they screamed out
their approval. Creten had just set the new Monster Spectacular time trial
record with 1.75 seconds.
The tour rolled on through the maritime province to
Bathurst for a Sunday matinee. While the times were fast in the time
trial, Creten could not duplicate the feat from the night before, posting
a 1.98 with Bounty Hunter as the fast time.
Creten did duplicate his winning ways in Wheelie
competition, tossing t-shirts to the crowd after the cheer off. And he did
get back to his winning ways on the race track, defeating his teammate Jay
Mac in Iron Outlaw for the win.
But the ultimate winners are the fans. They win with
safety, as Bounty picked up extra time in Freestyle when fans unwittingly
stepped below the safety holds and Bounty Hunter was stopped with the
remote ignition interrupter radio to allow the fans to be escorted to
their seats. And they win with the excitement of Freestyle as Bounty
Hunter used the time to deliver the biggest air of the weekend, a cyclone
donut and a bicycle style landing on the driver side wheels out of a sky
wheelie.
Just like Jimmy Creten, you can be a winner too.
Just check the schedule on
www.MonsterSpectacular.com to find out
when you can attend a Monster Spectacular show!! (05/30/10)
Miami, OK O'Reilly Outlaw Nationals Photo
Gallery!!:The annual Miami, Oklahoma O'Reilly
Outlaw Nationals was held this past weekend and our HUGE 300+ picture
photo gallery is now online!! See great monster truck action
including stars like Barbarian, Equalizer, Hot Tamale, Cult Energy
Activator and more, along with modified tractor pulling and tuff trucks,
all by clicking the link below. Thanks to Ross Z. Bonar for the great
shots, be watching for TMB TV from Miami, Oklahoma in a few weeks!!
(05/28/10)
Lima, OH 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals Photos
& Video Coverage!!:The 2010 4 Wheel Jamboree Nationals
tour continued as the series rolled into Lima, Ohio's Allen County
Fairgrounds for what is annually one of the biggest outdoor shows of the
year!! After a tight battle following the first weekend in
Springfield, Missouri, Dan Runte had a slight lead over Mark Hall in the
season points entering Lima. Hall turned up the heat in a big way over the
four show weekend, making it to every final round and winning 3 of 4
racing competitions, with Runte only managing a Sunday afternoon victory.
Raminator now sits atop the Monster Truck Thunder Drags standings by 160
points over Bigfoot. In addition to the great racing action, Chris
Bergeron in General Tire continued to dominate the freestyle portion of
the events much like he did in Springfield, while Dave Radzierez finally
got a chance to show what the Airdog diesel monster can do with some great
exhibition freestyle performances. TMB's Paul Harry and Chris Parrish were
on hand for all the weekend's events and they've put together some awesome
coverage. Click below to see Paul's huge photo gallery and Chris's
excellent video coverage, featuring interviews, action and features.
Thanks to Family Events for their hospitality and to Paul and Chris for
their great work!!
(05/26/10)
A New High Maintenance Under Construction!!: (Coopersville, MI) After taking 3
Freestyle Championships, some nasty crashes, vertical wheelies, and
blistering fast cyclones, the current High Maintenance chassis will be
retired this Summer. Built in 2000 by the Perrin family and Charlie
Bidgood of AB Spring, the current chassis has served well for nearly a
decade of wild rides and heart thumping thrills. To segway into a new
decade and new chapter of Perrin Motorsports we would like to welcome Rich
Inman and Concussion Engineering to the team and announce the construction
of a new Concussion Engineering Chassis for Perrin Motorsports.
“I
couldn’t be happier with Rich and the guys at concussion” stated team
owner Jeff Perrin, “We’re definitely looking forward to achieving some
great things with the new truck.” he continued. “Rich’s fabrication work
is amazing and his chassis are tough.” Perrin Motorsports is also thrilled
to welcome Steve Combs and Knight Stalker Enterprises to the fantastic
lineup of sponsors making it possible to compete. Knight Stalker
Enterprises will be sponsoring the new High Maintenance with all new sway
bars and two new 4” double bypass 26” travel shocks and the team couldn’t
be more excited.
August will mark the 20th anniversary of Jocelyn's monster truck career,
what a way to celebrate as she will climb behind the wheel of her all new
truck as Concussion Engineering and Perrin Motorsports hope to have the
truck fully operational by September.
The
team is shooting for some testing and possibly unveiling for a test and
tune session at the 4 Wheel Jamboree in Indianapolis, Indiana in
mid-September. Fans can still catch High Maintenance and Jocelyn in action
with the summer shows kicking off July 3rd in Mt Pleasant, Michigan.
Special thank you to everyone who made the past decade
of thrills and spills possible and to everyone helping to make the next
just as fun! For more information on High Maintenance and the Perrin
Motorsports team, check out
www.PerrinMotorsports.com!!
(05/26/10)
Miami, OK O'Reilly Outlaw Nationals Recap &
Teasers!!:The TMB Crew made our fifth annual stop at
the O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals in Miami, Oklahoma this past weekend, with
John Darnell and the MAP Motorsports crew putting on a great show as
always. With heavy hitters such as Equalizer, Cult Energy Activator, and
the hometown-hero Devin Jones, this was setting up to be one of the best
shows to ever hit the Miami Fairgrounds.
Racing all weekend was fast
and intense, with Bruce Haney in Bad News Travels Fast picking up the
Friday win over Ben “Bobo” Winslow in Sudden Impact’s Ground Pounder and
Sean Duhon in the Cult Energy Activator getting the nod in a very close
call over Isaiah Morales in Hot Tamale for the Saturday racing win.
The
wheelie contests each night boasted some of the best collective efforts
the TMB crew has seen as every truck accomplished wheelies that could have
won on any given night. Devin Jones and the Barbarian edged out both Hot
Tamale and Equalizer’s vertical wheelies with earthshaking, vertical
wheelies and slap wheelies as well as a wild, one-wheeled wheelie that we
can’t wait to show you!
Freestyle topped off both nights as Team Hawkins tried to dethrone the
Barbarian truck. In the end, however, the hometown hero was too much as a
wild two-wheel drive freestyle Friday and a hard rollover on Saturday
placed the Barbarian in the winner’s circle.
A
huge thanks goes out to John Darnell and the MAP Motorsports Team, Steve
Darnell, and all the teams for hospitality and effort over the course of
the weekend. Be on the lookout for an all-new TMBTV episode with
two-angles of footage from Colby Marshall and Kaedon Berry as well as a
full photo gallery from Ross Z. Bonar in the coming weeks!! (5/24/10)
Monsters Return to Miami, OK This Weekend!!: (Springfield, MO) The lineup has been
set and it's going to be the best show to ever hit Miami! Equalizer,
Hot Tamale, Ground Pounder, Cult Energy Activator, Bearfoot, Bad New
Travels Fast, Sgt. Smash and of course Miami's very own superstar, Devin
Jones in the Barbarian. Eight of the best monster trucks in the nation,
plus 30-40 tuff trucks, plus the smoking diesel 4x4 pulling trucks, plus a
special grudge match between Justin Gallion's triple engine modified
tractor and the brand new triple engine tractor from Albuquerque, New
Mexico that Sonny Martinez is thrashing on right now to get finished in
time to make the show. It is without a doubt the best lineup of horsepower
to ever hit Oklahoma. Don't miss this year's show!!
TMB
will on hand for all the fun in Miami for the 5th straight year, stay
tuned for updates on our Facebook account and for coverage later in the
week right here on TheMonsterBlog.com!
Monster Spectacular Tour Update - Alberta!!: (By Doug De Nance) It was Monster
Spectacular in stereo this past weekend. Two cities. Two teams. Two
teammates. Two winners. The
monsters rolled into the rolling foothills of Southern Alberta with two
cities to rev up before the off week on the western leg of the 2010 tour.
First up was Medicine Hat, named the gas city for all the natural gas
resources nearby. Lots of “gas” in the form of methanol racing fuel was
about to be burned there on Friday night.
The two teams that had been frequently battling it out
in the West squared off to do the dance again. The US pairing featured the
Sudden Impact team of Sean Duhon driving Cult and Ben “BoBo” Winslow
piloting Ground Pounder.
While the two boys from the
southern states were set to compete against each other, they had the
famous Maniac Racing team from Canada set to spoil their fun. Veteran
driver Don Frankish had Maniac tuned to perfection, using the wonderful
weather to hide out in the sunshine away from the pits to do his final
tweaks. True to his legacy of grooming up and coming drivers, Don Frankish
had invited the driver of Western Renegade to come and learn from the
master. Barry Parkin leaped at the chance and had the honor this weekend
of driving side by side with Frankish in the other Maniac team truck,
Jurassic Attack.
Parkin was going to have a great opportunity to
learn on the fly. A new wrinkle was to be included to challenge the
drivers. Not only would they have to contend with the slick cement surface
of a hockey rink. But the cars had been set on plywood that was placed on
some sort of powder or dust that caused the car stacks to move like they
were alive under the tires of the monsters. Track officials would not
reveal the nature of the material, but it certainly challenged the drivers
as it was like trying to hit wheelies on the back of a greased pig.
Due to this unique set up, Barry Parkin had his
learning delivered by the school of hard knocks on his very first hit
during the Monster Wheelie Contest. As the cars shifted under the back
tires of Jurassic, Parkin pounded on the throttle. When the spinning back
tires grabbed the edge of the first car, Parkin stayed on the throttle and
snapped a rear axle, putting him all but out of the game. Then Winslow
aggressively approached the cars. Again the liquid nature of the obstacles
caused Ground Pounder to not get as vertical as Winslow would have liked.
With Frankish preoccupied about his second team truck, his wheelie was not
of the form we are used to seeing from Maniac. Sean Duhon, watching the
other trucks struggle, took a more finesse approach to the cars and stood
Cult at 12 o’clock to take the win by cheer off.
Regardless of being in his rookie year, Winslow as a
quick study, experience as well as his team mate. He feathered Ground
Pounder’s throttle over the cars to win without much of a challenge from
the mechanically challenged Jurassic Attack. Duhon had his work cut out
for him, but beat Maniac to advance Cult to the racing final.
What a contrast the two team mates were who sat staged
across from each other for the Monster Spectacular Racing Final that
night. While dubbed the “Rajun Cajun”, Duhon hardly breaks a sweat when
driving. Winslow on the other hand, is literally dripping when he emerges
from the cab. Perhaps this intensity is what Duhon worked on this night.
As they waited for the light to go green, Duhon stabbed the throttle while
still standing hard on the brake. Cult lurched hard but appeared not cross
the start line. Winslow however, reacted to the sound of Cult’s engine
revving and jumped across the cars a fraction of a second before the light
turned green.
It appeared that Winslow had false started and the win would be handed to
Cult. But the chief track official ruled that Cult actually did move the
tires onto the start line and therefore also had false started. To the
delight of the fans, the race would have to be re-run. But the fact that
Winslow had actually crossed the cars meant he would have a five foot
penalty and have to start back that distance from the line. Cult took the
checkered flag and the racing win.
After an amazing monster freestyle and greeting the
fans at the post show VIP pit party, the monster drivers and crews had to
tire down and load up to make the trek to Central Alberta for a Sunday
afternoon matinee performance in Red Deer.
The Maniac team was the last to arrive at the arena on
Sunday morning, having spent many late hours repairing the broken axle on
Jurassic. Frankish’s blue eyes looked cold and menacing as he tired up the
trucks. The Maniac looked more like his namesake every minute as the clock
ticked down to show time.
Maniac put a huge challenge down to Duhon in the
Wheelie contest, grabbing the biggest air of the day in his pass. With
Frankish drawing the final order position, it seemed that the win would
have been a given. But Duhon again wowed the crowd with the verticality of
his truck position. During the second round of the cheer off, Duhon
actually reached out and shook Don’s hand thinking that Maniac had won.
But when the track officials consulted the sound meter, Cult had won
another Wheelie contest by the slimmest of margins.
Racing pitted the two wheelie finalist against each
other, but this time Maniac left no doubt as to who won – defeating Cult
by a quarter truck length. Barry Parkin was inspired by the driving of his
mentor, but could not keep the front end of Jurassic as low to the cars as
Ground Pounder. Winslow would face Maniac in the final.
Winslow had the look of a deer in the headlights as he
sat on the line. A few feet away sat the winningest monster truck driver
that Canada has ever produced. And Frankish was motivated. He wanted the
points that he needed to keep him in the running for the Monster
Spectacular 2010 title. Maybe it was the adrenaline that makes Winslow
sweat so hard, maybe it was youthful reaction time. Maybe it was the young
drivers other career of having to keep out of the way of raging bulls when
he performs as a rodeo clown that gave him the edge. Whatever it was, it
was enough as Bobo grabbed the racing win by the width of a terra tire
tread over Maniac.
Freestyle saw everything from flat track turns to
cyclone donuts to slap wheelies to sky wheelies. When the smoke cleared,
the fans were on their feet waving their Monster Spectacular souvenir
pennants, hats, DVDs and anything else they could lay their hands on to
show their love for the drivers.
The Western leg of the tour takes the next weekend off,
but the competition rages hot and heavy on the east coast. This time it’s
three cities in three days in New Brunswick. Why not join the tour trek
and catch all three performances of Monster Spectacular as the 2010 tour
continues. Check out
www.MonsterSpectacular.com for more
information!! (05/18/10)
Virginia Beach, VA Monsters on the Beach
Recap & Photos!!:Last weekend TMB made our first ever
trip out to one of the most unique events held each year, Monsters on the
Beach held on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk!! The event featured a
great seven truck lineup including Randy Brown in Grave Digger, the
hometown hero Steve Sims in Stone Crusher, legend Diehl Wilson in Virginia
Giant and the wild new Crushstation "monstah lobstah", along with Gun
Slinger, Bad Habit and Mopar Magic. The long beach race course would see
Scott Hartsock and Gun Slinger dominate all weekend, making all four final
rounds and winning three of four. Similar domination would be seen in
freestyle as Steve Sims dominated the weekend, easily topping three of the
four competitions. Randy Brown in Grave Digger did manage to take the
Saturday night racing win and tore up the beach on Sunday to edge out the
competition in freestyle. One driver making a splash was Joe Sylvester in
Bad Habit as he was toward the top of freestyle every day, easily getting
the biggest air of the weekend. A HUGE thanks to George Carpenter and Mike
West for their hospitality and a great show, and also to Greg Winchenbach
for helping bring TMB out for this special event. Our 300+ picture photo
gallery is now online and keep checking back for more coverage from this
awesome event!!
(05/15/10)
Patrick Enterprises Open House Video
Highlights!!:You've seen Paul Harry's great photos from
the Patrick Enterprises Open House, now check out some great video
highlights from TMB's Chris Parrish!! See all the behind the scenes
material, from classic photos and much more with some interviews mixed in
as well. You can also check out some of Chris's great photos from the
event at CP Action Art by clicking
here. Click the link below to check out
the video, a big thanks to Chris for his great work!! (05/15/10)
Eliminator, Defender to Appear on Spike
TV's Powerblock!!:(Bainbridge, IN) The Truk Wurks Off Road
monster truck team has announced that their Bar’s Leaks Eliminator and
Rislone Defender monster trucks, along with the father/son driving team of
Greg and Zach Adams will be appearing this weekend on Spike TV’s
“Powerblock” program!
“We
had a great time filming the Powerblock segment,” said Eliminator driver
Greg Adams. “We’ve been running hard this year, and definitely tearing up
our share of parts, so it was a nice break to be able to hang out and keep
the trucks shiny and clean!” he said with a laugh.
Greg’s son Zach, was equally excited: “Whenever we are
home or at a hotel, we definitely tune in to SpikeTV’s Powerblock.” He
added that “It definitely was an honor to be invited to appear on the
show, to represent both our team and our sponsors. We’ve worked hard over
the last couple of years to get our team where it needs to be, and a gig
like this definitely tells me we’ve been doing something right.”
Needless to say, the team was excited when the request
to appear on the hit automotive series, one of the most popular features
on the Spike TV channel. “There have been some amazing motorsports and
automotive vehicles and personalities featured on Powerblock in the past,”
said Greg Adams. “Not many monster trucks have been invited to grace the
studios there, so for us and the industry this is a pretty big honor.
We’re definitely excited to be bringing our Bar’s Leaks and Rislone
monsters to show off to the world!”
The folks at Powerblock are pretty excited too it would
seem, evidence of this being their recent post on the Powerblock Blog:
http://powerblocktv.com/blog . Fans can check their local listings to find
airtimes for Powerblock featuring the Truk Wurks monsters. The episode
featuring the trucks will air this Saturday and Sunday, May 15th & 16th.
Bar's Leaks and Rislone’s line
of automotive chemicals is well known, well trusted, and maintaining the
product standards you have come to expect in your vehicle maintenance
throughout the years. Technologies change, but standards should not. Your
vehicle is important and Bar's Leaks and Rislone have the solution! Find
out more at www.BarsLeaks.com.
For an up-to-date schedule as well as other information
on the team, check them out online at
www.trukwurksoffroad.com. (05/12/10)
Monster Spectacular Tour Update -
Penticton, BC!!:(Montreal, Quebec) They say that history
repeats itself. That old saying was certainly true on Saturday night in
Penticton, British
Columbia,
when talking about Canadian monster truck drivers. The match up was Canada
versus the USA in truck teams that night. But it could have been billed as
old school versus new school and still had the same trucks on each team.
The Sudden Impact team boasted rookie sensation Ben “BoBo”
Winslow in Ground Pounder, along with 7 year veteran Sean Duhon in Cult.
But eight years total team driving experience was just a drop in the
bucket when compared to the Maniac Racing team.
Don Frankish has been driving monster trucks for 22
years, most of it behind the wheel of the giant Ford Maniac. Frankish is
renowned as a groomer of monster drivers, offering training and seat time
to develop such stars as Linsey Weenk and Kristie Edge. Most of them have
had the honor of driving one of the most recognizable trucks in the world
– inside the teal blue colored Triceratops styled 3D body of Jurassic
Attack.
But Don had a very special surprise in store for the fans in
Penticton. In the same way Jurassic Attack has a million years of history
in the inspiration for the look of the truck, Don took a page out of the
history books and brought it back to life by coaxing out of retirement the
man who was the very first driver of Jurassic Attack, none other than
Kevin Weenk.
As the oldest of the famous Weenk brothers, Kevin was
the inspiration for the youngest sibling Linsey, now the driver of Blue
Thunder and the middle brother Nathan, a Cascar racing champion and
freelance monster driver, most recently piloting El Toro Loco. Both
brothers had their time behind the wheel of Jurassic Attack. But Kevin
started it all back in the early 90’s – first driving an old steel body
truck named Young Gun. His rise to fame came when he climbed inside
Canada’s first 3D designed truck, Jurassic Attack, in 1995.
While this history was mesmerizing for the true fans of
Canadian monster trucks that populated the stands in Penticton, the Sudden
Impact team was not impressed. They had done their research, at least
according to the “Rajun’ Cajun” Sean Duhon. He made mention of the fact
that Frankish was now 42, and while the Maniac driver was a four time
former Canadian Monster Truck Champion, there was little respect being
shown by Duhon – at least as far as Don’s age was concerned. He also
pointed out that Weenk had been retired for a decade to raise his family
with the same rural farm values as Weenk had been privileged to receive
from his parents. Duhon made sure to remind the fans that history would be
written on the track that very night when the monster competitions began.
Duhon seemed intent on writing himself into the history books
right away, as Cult aggressively took to the floor during the
introductions. He slammed the front tires down on the car stack as if to
make the statement that the “Cajun Kid” was here and to be reckoned with
right now.
The first competition was the Wheelie Contest and Duhon
could have filed a protest as he was forced to use the same lane of crush
cars for both his wheelie passes. On the other hand, maybe he felt he had
it easy in Wheelie competition.
First up was Maniac. Maybe Frankish had taken Duhon’s
comments a bit too emotionally as he slammed into the cars for his first
pass perhaps a bit too aggressively. Crush cars on cement are like hitting
a moving target as they can slip and slide under 10,000 pounds of monster
truck. As Frankish stepped into the throttle to raise Maniac to vertical,
the cars shifted sending the big Ford sideways. He got the back end of
Maniac so deep into the cars that he pulled out his “kill cable” on the
back of the truck and had to have a track official reset it for his second
pass.
Winslow was not willing to sit back and show respect to the history behind
the Canadian team either. Bobo blasted Ground Pounder into massive
wheelies that set the crowd to howling for the wild man from Plymouth,
North Carolina. The highly educated driver (he holds two degrees in
agriculture science from two different universities), knew he’d have to be
great as Jurassic Attack was up next.
While Kevin Weenk is known for his calm and cool
demeanor, sometimes even the most collected and controlled individual has
circumstances get the better of him. Weenk seemed completely revved up and
ready to go as Jurassic roared out to the car stack and pulled into
position. The track officials tested the remote ignition interrupter and
then… nothing. Jurassic failed to start again. Weenk calmness was out the
window and he could be heard cursing and howling at Frankish as they
looked over the truck for the source of the problem – including the kill
cable that Frankish had pulled on his truck earlier. The clock counted
down and it was no points for Jurassic.
Would racing be the same outcome? The Maniac team
worked feverishly replacing what turned out to be a faulty starter on
Jurassic as the Sudden Impact team faced off in the first bracket. But now
Duhon’s desire to win got the better of him and he jumped the green light.
Duhon protested to the track officials, but the video replay on the big
screen clearly showed him jumping the light. However, Winslow – ever the
country gentleman – offered to re-run the race. Perhaps it wasn’t the
wisest choice for Winslow, as Cult beat Ground Pounder fair and square.
And it may not have been the best choice for the Sudden Impact team, as it
gave just the extra time the Maniac team needed to be sure both their
trucks were ready to go.
The Monster Racing Final paired up just what the
history books ordered as Duhon sat across from Maniac. Both trucks loaded
up on the throttle as they waited for the light to go green. Like a burst
of dirty thunder, both truck exploded off the line. By the thinnest of
margins, Cult took the checkered flag and had a double down winning streak
for the night.
As always, Monster Freestyle was for the fans. Chris
Arel’s unique format kept the points secret going into the event as he
would do for the entire tour. The variable clock was in play as well, with
the trucks having to aggressively hit the car stacks, van stack and use
the entire arena floor as quickly and aggressively as possible as the
driver did not know how much time he would have on the clock. Winslow
seemed momentarily surprised that time remained during his run, but used
it to his advantage with a smoking cyclone donut to finish his run. Maniac
and Jurassic put in solid runs but both had a shorter clock. Cult had the
best of both worlds with a longer clock that he filled with huge air, sky
wheelies and donuts, while burning the brake rotors to glowing red with
flat track style slide turns in between.
The tour moves east this coming weekend with a two city
weekend in Alberta. Medicine Hat meets Monster Spectacular on Friday night
and then the tour roars across half the province for a matinee show in Red
Deer on Sunday afternoon. Why not grab a ticket for both cities and follow
the caravan across Alberta as the Monster Spectacular Canadian tour
continues for 2010, more info at
www.MonsterSpectacular.com!! (05/11/10)
TMB TV Episode 3.2 - Pontiac Silverdome
"Domination In The Dome"!!:TMB TV is back for our second episode of an all new season
with what may be our biggest coverage ever!! Monster trucks returned
to the Pontiac Silverdome with "Domination In the Dome" featuring sixteen
trucks, a monster truck double backflip attempt and an old school car
crush exhibition and TheMonsterBlog.com was on hand for it all!! We
brought out an incredible FOUR angles of video for this episode of TMB TV
with host Ross Z. Bonar bringing it all to you with incredible editing
work by our own Colby Marshall. A special thanks to Colby, Kaedon Berry,
Chris Parrish and Shane Skinnner for their great video work at this
historic event.
Don't wait any longer, an all new episode of TMB TV is
only a click away, so scroll on down and start enjoying!!
(05/05/10)
Monster Spectacular Tour Update - Regina,
Saskatchewan!!:(Montreal, Quebec) As a freak spring snow
storm blasted across the soon-to-be wheat fields of Saskatchewan, Monster
Spectacular
stormed into the provincial capital for the second stop of the 2010
Canadian tour. While the cold winds blew outside Regina’s Brandt Centre,
the competition heated up inside with teammate rivalries. It is no secret
that Jimmy Creten demands his drivers be at the top of their game every
night. Jimmy always wants to face the very best competition each time he
fires up Bounty Hunter. If that competition is a member of the 2 Extreme
Racing Team then all the better as far as Creten is concerned. But this
time the competition almost got out of hand with Darren Migues driving
Iron Outlaw – so much so that it almost turned Jimmy Creten upside down
before the second show even began.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Here’s the
story that led up to this situation. As the defending Monster Spectacular
Champion, Jimmy Creten knew the target would be painted on his back for
2010. He had beat up Bounty Hunter in his first defense in Montreal two
weeks prior and hadn’t had much of a chance to work on the truck while on
the road. He arrived in Regina after a long haul just in time to begin
wrenching on Bounty. While Migues was right there to help his boss put
Bounty into tip top shape, in the pits the Iron Outlaw driver steadily
needled his boss. While Jimmy gave Darren as good as he was getting, it
seemed more intense than usual between the two teammates.
Migues can get away with his good natured digs, as he has earned Creten’s
respect as one of the top drivers in the business. So much so that Darren
often drives the second Bounty Hunter truck because he can play at the
same level as his boss. But it seemed that Migues was bent on proving that
he could beat Creten in all three disciplines of monster competition
during the weekend. He had set up Iron Outlaw with newly sculpted terra
tires and had tuned the monster to be ready to perform on the ragged edge.
Another team was intent on defeating Creten as well.
The Sudden Impact duo of Sean Duhon and Ben “BoBo” Winslow were in Regina
for the first time with their trucks, Cult and Ground Pounder. While they
had a common goal, these two drivers couldn’t be more different. Duhon,
often dubbed the “Ragin’ Cajun” or the “Cajun Kid”, had a seven year stint
as a New Orleans police officer before coming into the monster truck
business as a driver seven years ago. Winslow in his rookie year as a
monster driver, holds two degrees in agricultural science and has a
background as a rodeo bullfighter clown.
There was going to be no clowning around for the only
Canadian driver at the show. Barry Parkin felt he was driving Western
Renegade for a hometown crowd as he makes his home one province further
west in Golden Valley, Alberta. But he knew he might be outmatched in
experience by the other drivers in the tight confines of a hockey arena
concrete show, so he was at the top of his game and had his H2 Hummer
monster truck gleaming and ready to go.
Friday saw Creten take the monster truck Wheelie Contest in a cheer off
that was very close. Racing through the brackets showed the gap in
experience, not only for Parkin, but for Winslow as well. Duhon was the
more experienced driver, but Migues took him out in the semi-finals to
create the dream racing matchup from a rivalry perspective.
Iron Outlaw sat across the track from Bounty Hunter in
the Racing Final. After the remote ignition interrupter test, the crowd
quieted as the announcer set up the story behind the final. Just under the
amplified voice of the announcer, Migues and Creten could be heard
shouting back and forth to each other as they awaited the track officials
go ahead to start up the trucks and be staged to the line.
When the light went green, the roar from both trucks
shook the very foundation of the building as both drivers hammered on all
1800 horsepower at their disposal. The finish was too close to call and
the track officials debated for a few moments as the trucks eased back
into the pits under the seating and were hidden from view.
The moment that Bounty Hunter was announced as the
winner, a truck roared to life and shot out of the pits. It was Iron
Outlaw who launched onto the track and leaped onto one of the car stacks.
Migues charged out of the truck and straight to the microphone. He smiled
knowingly as the announcer stammered and stumbled to set up the interview.
Migues made it clear that it wasn’t over yet and he laid down the gauntlet
to Creten for Freestyle.
While
all the trucks pulled out huge freestyle runs, there was no clear
decision. Chris Arel runs a most unique Monster Truck Freestyle
Competition in Monster Spectacular. The points are kept secret throughout
the entire tour so that every truck needs to perform at the top of their
game every night. The overall Freestyle points winner is only announced at
the end of the tour so there is no night off and every truck could be the
leader at anytime. Further, the variable clock means that there is no
holding back. The trucks must come out and aggressively hit every obstacle
possible as quickly as possible as the time could be short for them to
score points. On the other hand, the drivers must be ready to be very
creative if there is extra time remaining on the clock.
On Saturday the tension was as thick as the snow that
blew sideways across the city. Yet Creten was nowhere to be seen during
the day. Eventually he was spotted at a local gym, pumping iron furiously
like the former competitive body builder that he is. Perhaps he knew he
had to be in top shape himself for the final show in Regina that night.
To Creten’s surprise, when he arrived at the arena he
found the intro had changed. Now Iron Outlaw and Bounty Hunter were to
drive out and end up facing nose to nose. Migues came out first and slide
Iron Outlaw past the centre position on his introduction. There was not
much room for Creten to place Bounty Hunter into position after his intro
lap. Creten had to crank the wheel hard as well as max out his rear
steering to turn the truck into his designated spot. But the tires had
picked up some of the sticky solution laid down on the arena floor for the
sport bike stunt riders. As the tires grabbed, Bounty lurched up onto the
passenger side two wheels and was instantly in trouble. Stomping the
throttle, Creten managed to straighten Bounty out, then had to use all the
power in his iron pumped legs to push the brake pedal through the floor to
avoid ramming into Cult. The crowd went wild at what will have to go down
as the wildest entrance Bounty Hunter has ever made in a Monster
Spectacular show.
While this situation might rattle other drivers, it
seemed to only spur on Creten. Again he took the Wheelie contest, this
time more decisively as Migues broke an axle on his first pass. All the
drivers put aside their rivalries and worked together during intermission
to repair Iron Outlaw so that Migues could make his qualifying Racing run.
Again, the Racing final featured Migues and Creten and again by the width
of a monster tire tread, Bounty won racing.
Freestyle was everything you would expect and more.
Migues stopped with a few seconds left on the green light and appeared to
make it an easy opportunity for Bounty Hunter. Perhaps it was Cretens’ way
of payback for all the shots he took from Migues in the pits, as Bounty
Hunter stopped just short of the red light as well. The fans had lots to
talk about during the special VIP Monster Garage version of the post show
VIP Pit Party when the fans were escorted into the pits to visit the
drivers and crews.
The Monster Spectacular tour splits the country east
and west next weekend, with the western event taking place in Penticton,
British Columbia and the eastern show in Quebec City. No matter where you
are in the great white north, there is a Monster Spectacular show coming
to a town near you and you get more info at
www.MonsterSpectacular.com!! (05/04/10)
Springfield, MO Monster Truck Thunder Drags
Recap & Photos!!:The 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals season
kicked off this past weekend as always in Springfield, Missouri!!
This event was made even more special by the debut of the new Retro
Bigfoot and the new Ms. Bigfoot, along with new paint schemes from
Raminator and Rammunition. The weekend saw incredible racing as Dan Runte
in "Retro-Foot" and Mark Hall in Raminator matched up in the finals in all
three final rounds. Despite Hall Brothers Racing's over a decade long
streak of Monster Truck Thunder Drags championships, it was Team Bigfoot
getting the edge in points after the first weekend, as Runte took two big
wins versus one for Hall. Freestyle was owned by Team Scream as Jim
Koehler in Avenger dominated the first event and Chris Bergeron in General
Tire was tops on Saturday night and Sunday. Amber Walker in Ms. Bigfoot
had an impressive debut, with some strong racing passes and solid
freestyles, rolling it over after a wild slap wheelie in the first show.
It was a great weekend overall in Springfield, a big thanks to Family
Events for their hospitality and to all the teams for their efforts. Watch
for this event in an upcoming episode of TMB TV, but for now enjoy Ross Z.
Bonar's 300+ picture photo gallery!!
(05/03/10)
Patrick Enterprises Open House Photo
Gallery!!:TMB Super Photographer Paul M. Harry
traveled to Circleville, Ohio this past Saturday for a very special
occasion, Patrick Enterprises' 25 Anniversary Open House Celebration!!
It was a great event with lots of Samson and Dan Patrick memorabilia with
a great turnout and everyone having a fun time. Click the link below to
check out the photos, big thanks to Paul for the coverage and to the
Patrick's for a great event!! (05/03/10)
TMB TV Trackside Silverdome Pre-Show
Episode!!:TMB TV from the Silverdome is coming up
this Wednesday night, May 5th at 8:30PM Eastern, but there was so much to
cover, so many personalities to talk to, we have put together a very
special pre-show episode of TMB TV Trackside. Watch below for lots of
behind the scenes footage and interviews from Domination In The Dome and
be sure to tune in this Wednesday for TMB TV from the Silverdome!!
(05/01/10)
