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1/26/09 - George Eisenhart Funeral Arrangements 1/25/09 - George Eisenhart Passes Away After Event Accident - MTRA Statement 1/24/09 - TMB TV Season 2 Episode 2 - Grand Island, NE!! - Gerding, Payne Take Friday Night Wins In Cape Girardeau!! 1/23/09
- MEGA Monster Truck Tour Returns to 1/22/09
- Team Scream 1/21/09 - Sebastian Hizey Memorial Fund Info 1/18/09 - Tacoma, WA Accident News - Wild Saturday In Grand Island!! 1/17/09 - 2 Fans Injured at Tacoma, WA Event - Rock Star Sweeps Friday Night In Grand Island, NE!! 1/16/09 - The Monster Blog Weekend Update!! 1/14/09 - Gold Coast Monsters Tour of Destruction Photo Gallery!! - Introducing TMB's '09 Results Tracker!! 1/12/09 - Monster Jam Toys at Burger King All Through January!! - Obsession Racing Press Release!! - Tournament of Destruction 2009 Dates Announced!! 1/11/09 - Winston-Salem and Charlotte Photos!! - Columbus and Cincinnati Photos!! - EMTN Auburn Hills Photo Gallery!! - Monster Blog Update!! - First Look at High Maintenance!! - New Looks for Wildfire Motorsports Trucks!! - HPI Savage Ride Truck Gets New Wrap!! - Sneek Peek at New Xtreme Eagle Paint!! - KSR Motorsports Unveils New Website!! - Truk Wurks Announces MTRA Sponsorship!! 1/07/09 - TMB TV Season 2 Premiere from CFP's North Carolina Opening Weekend!! 1/04/09 - Larry Swim & Bigfoot Bad Boy Take Big Wins In Charlotte Saturday!! 1/03/09 - Runte, Zimmer Take Wins In Winston-Salem Friday Night!! 1/01/09 - TheMonsterBlog.com Opening Weekend!!
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George Eisenhart Funeral Arrangements:
(From the Burr Funeral Home) A Mass of Christian Burial will
be held Thursday at 10:00 am at The Church of St. Mary, located at 401
North Street in Chardon, OH. Reverend Thomas Gilles of the Church will
officiate. A visitation will also be held Wednesday from 1:00PM to 4:00PM
and 6:00PM to 9:00PM at the Burr Funeral Home, located at 116 South St.
(on St. Rt. 44, 500’ south of Rt. 6/Chardon Square) in Chardon, OH. George Eisenhart Passes Away After Event Accident: All of us at TheMonsterBlog.com offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of our friend George Eisenhart, who was fatally injured at Saturday night's event in Madison, WI. This tragic accident has taken one of our industry's best and brightest, a man committed to providing fun, family entertainment in the safest manner possible. The contributions George made to this industry are too many to list and he will be sorely missed by all those who were privileged enough to call him a friend. Those who knew him loved him, and those who only knew of him respected him. May he rest in peace.
Tribute Video: If one person would be able to make a fitting tribute video for the late George Eisenhart, there is no doubt it would be our friend Elliott Miller with Michigan Monster Trucks. Elliott was George's tour videographer, but more importantly he was George's friend. He has requested that we post his tribute video so that all can have just a glimpse of the man that George was, and the joy he brought to so many. We can't imagine how tough this was to make Elliott, it couldn't have been done better... (01/25/09)
Monster Truck Racing Association Statement:
(St. Louis, MO) It is with heavy hearts that we must announce
that we have lost a member of our MTRA family. George Eisenhart was
injured in a non-racing accident at an event in Wisconsin. He received
immediate attention from the medical team on site and was then transported
to the University of Wisconsin hospital in Madison. We received word from
the hospital early Sunday morning that George did not survive his
injuries. TMB TV Season 2 Episode 2 - CFP Grand Island, NE!!: Season Two of The Monster Blog's TMB TV comes to you from the Checkered Flag Productions Monster Truck Winter Nationals at the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island, Nebraska!! This episode features three full shows of action and great features including an interview with monster truck veteran Mark Wheeler of Terraduster fame. Trucks featured include the new CFP themed Bigfoot Bad Boy, Bill Payne's Rock Star, Public Disturbance, and more!! Ross Bonar and Colby Marshall keep the new season rolling with another great episode. A big thanks to Ed and Zane with CFP for bringing us out to Grand Island and putting on one heck of a show!! Click the link below to watch all the action!! (01/24/09)
WATCH TMB TV SEASON 2 EPISODE 2 FROM CFP GRAND ISLAND, NE!! Gerding, Payne Take Friday Night Wins In Cape!!: The MEGA Monster Truck Tour opened its 2009 season at Cape Girardeau, MO's Show Me Center Friday night, and it was Big Dawg and Rock Star taking the big wins. The racing competition would come down to Dale Gerding in Big Dawg and Bill Payne in Rock Star, and when the green light flashed, Gerding launched Big Dawg off the line and never looked back taking the win in front of the home-state fans.
Freestyle would see solid efforts from Teri Olson in Miss Behavin, David Brown in Monster Patrol and Gerding in Big Dawg, but they were no match for Bill Payne and Rock Star.
Payne tore around the track with huge wheelies, lots of air and tons of momentum. When the truck came to a stop, the crowd went wild and there was no doubt that Rock Star was the freestyle winner. The MEGA Monster Truck Tour is back in action tonight at the Show Me Center, stay tuned for more results!! (01/24/09)
MEGA Monster Truck Tour Returns to Cape
Girardeau, MO!!:
The MEGA Monster Truck Tour is returning to
the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, MO this Friday and Saturday!!
Bill
Team Scream Banner Contest!!: Team Scream is proud to announce their 2009 Banner Contest!! If you are a fan of a Team Scream truck, be it Avenger, Brutus, Spike or Wrecking Crew, and you will be at a Monster Jam event the team is attending during first quarter 2009, make a banner to show us your support and send us a photo!! We will give prizes to the most creative banners. All pictures must be received by April 10th, 2009, and you must include all necessary information with your photo including: name, age, address, phone # and email. For more information, check out www.AvengerRacing.com!! (01/22/09)
Monster X Games Asheville, NC Booking Opportunities!!: The Monster X Games is coming to the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Asheville, NC February 27th-28th, and Monster Truck Entertainment currently has two open spots available. Teams interested in participating in this event are encouraged to contact MTE's Danny Torgersen at 480-773-6822 or through email at danny@monstertruckent.com. For more information on the Monster X Games, check out www.MonsterTruckEnt.com!! (01/22/09) Sebastian D. Hizey Memorial Fund: (From www.TheNewsTribune.com) Donations to help the family may be made at any branch of US Bank, Krista Carlson (spokeswoman for the Bethel School District) said in a news release Tuesday. Contributions should be made to the Sebastian D. Hizey Memorial Fund, a business account at the bank. (01/21/09) Feld Motor Sports Statement: (Vienna, VA) All of us at Feld Motor Sports are saddened by the accident that occurred Friday, January 16th at the Monster Jam show in Tacoma, WA when two of our customers were seriously injured. As has been reported, an adult and child were hit by debris. Although they were immediately treated by onsite medical personnel and taken to an area hospital, the child did not survive his injuries. The adult is currently under treatment at the hospital. Feld Motorsports is looking into this tragic accident as the safety of all our customers is our top priority and this type of incident has never happened before in the history of Monster Jam events. All of us at Feld Motor Sports and all the Monster Jam drivers and crew extend our deepest sympathies to the families involved. We will continue to investigate this incident and will provide additional information as it becomes available. (01/18/09) Tacoma, WA Accident News: One fan was killed and another injured at the Monster Jam event in Tacoma, WA Friday night after debris from a truck entered the stands. All of us at TheMonsterBlog.com have those injured and their families in our thoughts and prayers wishing them comfort in this time of tragedy. All indications are that this was a freak accident and we urge our felllow fans to join us in supporting the driver and team involved, as they are no doubt struggling to deal with the tragedy. For those seeking the full story of what happened, we refer you to the following KOMO News Story: Text Article - Click Here | Video Report - Click Here. (01/18/09) Wild Saturday In Grand Island!!: Two action-packed shows are in the books as the Monster Truck Winter Nationals rocked Grand Island, Nebraska's Heartland Events Center for the second day in a row!! There are far too many highlights to be able to pack into one recap for the main page, so we'll run through the winners and big moments but it cannot be said enough what a great job all of the teams and drivers did this weekend. Bill Payne carried big momentum in the Saturday afternoon show after sweeping Friday, and he kept it going, taking the wheelie contest win with an outstanding walking wheelie off the cars and down the arena floor.
After yet another brilliant walking wheelie by Bill Payne in the evening show, Larry Swim in Bigfoot Bad Boy realized he would have to do something wild to break Rock Star's hold on the wheelie contest. Swim went for the van stack, nailed the gas and masterfully planted the tail gate into the top of the van to win the wheelie contest in spectacular fashion.
The racing competition would produce many great match-ups and close finishes, but the final round in both shows came down to Brad Campbell in Public Disturbance and Swim in Bigfoot Bad Boy. The result would also be the same both times as Campbell grabbed a great hole-shot in each and managed to hold off a hard-charging Swim at the line.
With friends and family in attendance, Teri Olson went big in Saturday night's freestyle, catching huge air off the center van stack. The landing produced a hard rebound and despite her best efforts to save it, Miss Behavin went over onto its lid. But Teri wasn't done as, after flipping the truck back over and checking it out, she finished her run with several more hits before losing a motor.
Larry Swim continued to prove that the Bigfoot Bad Boy has a new attitude, most notably with a stellar freestyle Saturday afternoon. Big air, huge sky wheelies and plenty of tailgate destruction were staples of Swim's runs throughout the weekend and he put on a show for the fans before finally ending Saturday night with a myriad of damage to the rear of the truck.
Despite strong performances by the other trucks Saturday, freestyle continued to belong to Bill Payne and Rock Star. Two more runs filled with wheelies, cross-threads, reversers and an unbelievable amount of momentum, both ending with Rock Star on its roof would be enough to clinch the weekend sweep of freestyle for Bill and Rock Star.
TheMonsterBlog.com was also lucky enough to meet one of the sport's original stars, Mark Wheeler of Terraduster fame. Mark, who hails from the Grand Island area, was kind enough to share many photos and some home video footage with us in addition to sitting down for a feature interview for the second episode of TMB TV. A big thanks to Mark for sitting down with us, fans will want to be sure to watch TMB TV to hear stories straight from one of the originals.
And that's all from Grand Island, a huge thanks to Zane and the CFP crew for another outstanding weekend. We saw three of the best small arena shows you could ask for, and a big kudos to all the drivers and teams on their efforts this weekend. So much coverage is coming your way!! A huge photo gallery is on the way, along with what you will all be waiting for -- TMB TV Episode 2 packed with all three shows and great feature interviews - see below for a quick preview. Stay tuned!! (01/18/08)
Rock Star Sweeps Friday Night In Grand Island!!: Night one in Grand Island, NE is in the books, and it was Bill Payne driving Rock Star to a clean sweep!! The night kicked off with a strong wheelie contest that saw great efforts from Brad Campbell in Public Disturbance and Larry Swim in Bigfoot, but there was no doubt that Payne was the winner after he walked a wheelie on the tailgate off the cars and down the track.
Both Bigfoot Bad Boy and Public Disturbance would suffer mechanical difficulty in the first round of racing, but either would have had a hard time with Rock Star. Bill Payne was hooking up great off the line and marched his way to the racing win, defeating Jennifer Campbell in Bombshell in the finals.
Freestyle would see solid efforts from Drew Haygood in Dream Catcher and Teri Olson in Miss Behavin to start the competition, but it was Jennifer Campbell who kicked it up a notch. Going after the car stack, Bombshell took a weird bounce sending the truck over and onto its side for Campbell's very first rollover.
After a solid effort from Brad Campbell in Public Disturbance, Larry Swim drove to the track in Bigfoot Bad Boy as a man on a mission. With huge sky wheelies and big air, Swim fired up the Grand Island crowd in a BIG way. Swim ended his run by making a nice little save, and received a score of 29 from the judges.
With a tough run to beat having just been made from Swim, Bill Payne roared to the track in Rock Star. Payne began to slam the obstacles in Rock Star, keeping up incredible momentum. To finish the run, Bill lined up for a big reverse sky wheelie, hit the stack just off center and flipped onto his side. The run would be enough to get a score of 30 and take the sweep!
A big thanks to Zane Rettew and the CFP staff for their hospitality this weekend, lots more coverage coming your way from this weekend's Monster Truck Winter Nationals!! (01/17/09) TheMonsterBlog.com Weekend Update!!: The Monster Blog is back out on the road this weekend, with Ross Z. Bonar and Colby Marshall bringing you Episode #2 of TMB TV from the Monster Truck Winter Nationals in Grand Island, NE!! With a strong lineup including Bigfoot Bad Boy, Rock Star, Miss Behavin, Public Disturbance, Bombshell and Dream Catcher, TMB TV will take you behind the scenes of the three shows in two days weekend!!
Paul Harry will be checking out the TNT Monsters event in Dayton, OH Friday night which will feature Ghost Ryder, Geter Done, Havoc and Project X before heading to Detroit for the Ford Field Monster Jam Saturday. Tons of great coverage coming your way this weekend, stay tuned!! (01/16/09) Gold Coast Monsters Tour of Destruction Photo Gallery!!: The 2009 Australian Monsters Tour of Destruction kicked off the year Saturday, January 3rd at Parklands Showgrounds in Gold Coast, Queensland!! Six trucks were on hand for exhibition freestyle including Outback Thunda, Batman, Sony PS3 Motorstorm, Batman, Aussie Predator and Monster Patrol. Our good friend Darryl Smith was on hand for all the action and took some outstanding photos from the event. Darryl was kind enough to share the photos with us once again, and we thank him greatly for his contributions. Check out the photos at the link below, and for more information on the Monsters Tour of Destruction, head on over to www.KCsFireworks.com!! Enjoy!! (01/03/09)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DARRYL SMITH'S GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND PHOTOS!!
Introducing TMB's '09 Results Tracker!!:
TheMonsterBlog.com is proud to introduce an
all-new feature this year, our '09 Results Tracker!! Every weekend
there are monster truck events
Monster Jam Toys at Burger King All Through January!!: (Aurora, IL) January is Monster Jam month at Burger King! Stop by one of the over 8,500 Burger King locations in North America in addition to Burger King locations in over 30 international territories in Europe, Central America, South America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific and collect all 6 of the Monster Jam toys including Monster Jam favorites Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction, Captains Curse, Scarlet Bandit, Avenger, and a BK-branded truck as well. Go to www.ClubBK.com to learn more!! For more info on Monster Jam, check out www.MonsterJamOnline.com!! (01/12/09)
Obsession Racing Debuts New Truck!!: (Menifee, CA) Obsession Racing has been very busy over the past two months building our new truck. Due to the repairs we had on the original Obsession and the amount of time it would take to finish the Obsessed truck, we elected that putting Obsessed together was going to be the best way to go.
Rick is really looking forward to having a new truck again. Son Eric is hoping Dad will work out all the bugs, but still keep it in one piece. After two months of a lot of hard work and many hours invested, we are happy to say it is complete. We would like to give a special thanks to Jeff Jones and Tom Read for dedicating their time and patience in getting the truck put together in time for the race this past weekend in Anaheim, California.
On January 6th we had the opportunity to test jump the truck for a couple of tries. We tested on a dirt lot and didn’t want to disturb neighbors so we didn’t run for long. Rick was very pleased on how it handled but needed some adjustments and time to get used to a couple of the new setups. We are planning to have the original Obsession completely rebuilt and race ready by mid summer. Eric will be glad when Rick returns to his Obsession so Eric can get Obsessed! For more information on the team, check out www.ObsessionRacing.com!! (01/12/09) Tournament of Destruction 2009 Dates Announced!!: (Tucson, AZ) M80 Promotions is ready to bring another year of monster trucks and mayhem to the Tucson Rodeo Grounds and the 2009 Tournament of Destruction dates are now online!! The events will take place April 3rd-4th, June 19th-20th and September 5th-6th. M80 Promotions has limited booking opportunities for these dates available, interested teams should contact promoter Dale Penn through email at m80promotions@cox.net. Check out www.TournamentofDestruction.net for more information on the 2009 Tournament of Destruction events!! (01/12/09)
Checkered Flag Productions Opening Weekend Photo Galleries!!: You've seen the season premiere of TMB TV from CFP's opening weekend in North Carolina, now see huge photos galleries from Friday night in Winston-Salem and Saturday in Charlotte!! Click the links below to see over 250 of Ross Z. Bonar's photos featuring the new Bigfoot Bad Boy, Equalizer, Amsoil Shock Therapy, Hot Tamale and more!! Enjoy!! (01/11/09)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ROSS Z. BONAR'S CFP WINSTON-SALEM, NC PHOTOS!!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ROSS Z. BONAR'S CFP CHARLOTTE, NC PHOTOS!! Paul Harry's Opening Weekend Photo Galleries From Ohio!!: We've talked plenty about CFP's opening weekend in North Carolina, but Monster Jam kicked off 2009 with two shows in Ohio and Monster Blog Staff Member Paul M. Harry has photos from each available now!! Friday night in Columbus saw Marc MacDonald in Safe Auto Minimizer take the wheelie and freestyle wins, while Cam McQueen won racing in Pastrana 199 over Ricky Ownley in Mopar Magic. Saturday would be all Charlie Pauken as he drove Grave Digger to the wheelie, racing and freestyle wins to complete the evening sweep. Click the links below to see all the action, a huge thanks to Paul for the great shots!! (01/11/09)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAUL HARRY'S COLUMBUS, OH MONSTER JAM PHOTOS!!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAUL HARRY'S CINCINNATI, OH MONSTER JAM PHOTOS!! Extreme Monster Truck Nationals Auburn Hills Photos!!: Back in early December, the Extreme Monster Truck Nationals made their annual stop at The Palace of Auburn Hills for two big shows in one day, and Staff Member Paul M. Harry was there for all the action!! See Ghost Ryder, Bigfoot, Equalizer, Hot Tamale and Shell Camino in action by clicking the link below. Thanks & Enjoy!! (01/11/09)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAUL M. HARRY'S AUBURN HILLS, MI PHOTO GALLERY!! Monster Blog Update!!: TheMonsterBlog.com is proud to unveil a new look for the site, and we've got many exciting plans for 2009!! Work and other projects caused us to fall behind for the latter part of 2008, but we're back on track in a big way for the start of this year. You've already seen some evidence of that with the stellar season premiere of TMB TV, and we continue with the site's sharp new facelift. Below we catch up on some of the news items of the last couple weeks, and be watching for much more good stuff as the year progresses. Monster Blog T-shirts and stickers will be available soon, stay tuned!! Thanks to all of our loyal viewers for sticking with us, and we look forward to continuing to bring you the best monster truck coverage you'll find anywhere in 2009!! (01/11/09) First Look at High Maintenance!!: Perrin Motorsports is unveiling a brand new name and look for 2009, High Maintenance!! Jocelyn will be defending her 2008 Monster Nationals Freestyle Championship this year and it all started this weekend in Huntington, WV. Thanks to Jeff and Jocelyn for the team photo with the hot new ride!! (01/11/09)
New Looks for Wildfire Motorsports Trucks!!: The Wildfire Motorsports team is sporting two new looks for 2009 including a new paint scheme for Twisted Dragon and a new name for the second truck, the Dragonfly!! Rob French will be driving Twisted Dragon as one of the lead stars of the 2009 AMP Monster Truck Thunder Slam series, along with teammate Kelley Carrington at the wheel of the new Dragonfly machine. Check the team out at www.WildfireMotorsports.com and watch for them on the 2009 AMP Tour!! (01/11/09)
Extreme Team 4x4 Gets New Look for the HPI Savage Ride Truck!!: Extreme Team 4x4 has lots of exciting new things in store for fans in 2009, and one of those is a sharp new wrap for the HPI Savage ride truck!! Mac Plecker will be driving the team's race truck as Bearfoot in 2009, and the ride truck will be making many appearances as well. Head on over to the team's website at www.ExtremeTeam4x4.com for more info on the team's 2009 plans!! (01/11/09)
Sneek Peek at the New Xtreme Eagle Paint Scheme!!: Our good friend Josh Kirscher recently got a preview of the new paint scheme for Jon Anderson's Xtreme Eagle and was kind enough to share with us. Check out www.AMTRacing.com for more information on the Xtreme Eagle monster truck, thanks again to Josh!! (01/11/09)
KSR Motorsports Opens New Website!!: KSR is proud to announce its new online home has been completed! A total redesign of the site that has been months in the making has finally come to fruition. KSR's Ron Ergott and DC Photowerx's Dave Collard have been working non stop to ensure this site is a smashing success for 2009 and beyond!!
Be sure to check back periodically for future updates about the exciting 2009 "Night of Fire and Destruction" tour that will be coming to fairs and speedways across the eastern seaboard this coming summer! With names such as Grave Digger, Bigfoot, Bad Habit, War Wizard, and Little Miss Dangerous joining the fray it's sure to be a rocking 2009 for the KSR Motorsports crew! Check out www.KSR-Motorsports.com for more information!! (01/11/09)
Truk Wurks Announces MTRA Sponsorship,
Monster Discount Program!!:
(Greencastle, IN)
Truk Wurks LLC of Greencastle,
IN is proud to announce their 2009 sponsorship of the
TMB TV Season 2 Premiere - CFP North Carolina Opening Weekend!!: The Monster Blog's major event coverage series is back for another season, and the premiere of TMB TV comes to you from the Checkered Flag Productions Monster Truck Winter Nationals season openers in North Carolina!! This episode features two full shows, one from Winston-Salem's Lawrence-Joel Coliseum and the other from Charlotte's Bojangles Coliseum. Trucks featured include the new CFP themed Bigfoot Bad Boy, Mike Hawkins in Equalizer, Jon Zimmer's new Amsoil Shock Therapy machine, Dan Runte with Summit Bigfoot and many more!! Ross Bonar kicks off the new season hosting for the first time paired with video master Colby Marshall!! A big thanks to Ed and Zane with CFP for bringing us out to North Carolina to start off 2009 in style, click the link below to watch all the action!! Enjoy!! (01/07/09)
WATCH TMB TV SEASON 2 PREMIERE FROM CFP'S NORTH CAROLINA OPENER!! Larry Swim & Bigfoot Bad Boy Take Big Wins In Charlotte Saturday!!: After a strong show in Winston-Salem Friday night, the TMB crew was off to Charlotte for more of the CFP Monster Truck Winter Nationals opening weekend!! Six trucks including the new Checkered Flag Productions themed Bigfoot Bad Boy, Equalizer, Hot Tamale, Public Disturbance, Bomb Shell and War Eagle were rock to rock'n roll inside the newly re-named Bojangles Coliseum. The show kicked off with a great wheelie contest that saw all trucks turn in strong efforts. It came down to two efforts in which both trucks cleared the cars and spiked the tailgate into the dirt--in the end, the fans couldn't pick between them and a tie was declared between Brad Campbell in Public Disturbance and Isiah Morales in Hot Tamale.
Racing would once again be hard fought with close finishes. Larry Swim drove Bigfoot Bad Boy to the final by taking down Mike Barnes in War Eagle in the semi-finals, while Brad Campbell in Public Disturbance took down Mike Hawkins in Equalizer in an incredibly close race. In the finals, Swim just edged out a hard-charging Campbell to put the Bigfoot Bad Boy in the winner's circle.
Freestyle was sure to be interesting as CFP officials made the decision to have the drivers draw for the freestyle order in the interest of fairness. Wouldn't you know it, wild man Mike Hawkins picks out #1--bad news for the competition as Equalizer is always a tough act to follow. Hawkins stormed out to the track and proceeded to tear up the track, bringing huge momentum, big air and wild cyclones. When the scores came up, Hawkins had done the nearly impossible, earning a 30 out of 30 as the first truck out.
Mike Barnes was next out in the War Eagle and he was pushing the truck hard working for a good run. After some solid hits, Barnes nailed the throttle trying to spin the truck into a donut, but the rear tires hooked sending the truck up onto the sidewalls. Barnes got into the gas hard and made a great save to bring the truck back down onto all fours as the crowd went wild.
After taking the racing win, Larry Swim was fired up to show the crowd what the new Bigfoot Bad Boy attitude was all about. Swim took to the track with some big sky wheelies and plenty of momentum. Swim tried twice to cut a donut, nearly rolling each time before finally cutting lose into a wild cyclone. He charged to the opposite end of the track and attempted to do the same thing, but the truck hooked hard and went right over onto the roof. The fans went wild for Swim's run and he picked up a perfect 30 to tie Hawkins for the lead.
Next out was the husband and wife team of Brad and Jennifer Campbell running one right after the other. Brad continued his strong showing with several huge sky wheelies. Jennifer turned in a great run considering that she only had rear wheel drive, also grabbing some big time sky wheelies in the sharp new Bomb Shell machine.
The wheelie contest nearly put Hot Tamale out of competition for the night, but with some great work by the Rebel Pride Racing crew, Morales roared back to the track to finish out freestyle. After a strong start and some big moves, Morales experienced some mechanical difficulty that would end his run early.
The crowd was starting to rise from their seats when an engine was heard firing up in the tunnel. A red glow came from the bright new eyes in the Bigfoot Bad Boy as Larry Swim roared back out onto the track for a short encore run. Word from the pits came that after crew chief and monster truck legend Jim Kramer had a chance to look the truck over and re-fill all the fluids, he sent Swim back out to finish what he started. Swim brought several more sky wheelies and big air to the track to the delight of the big crowd on hand.
With the tough choice
between Hawkins and Swim in front of them, three attempts were made to
have the fans choose a winner before they finally settled out Swim and
Bigfoot Bad Boy as the evening's freestyle winner!! Dan Runte, Jon Zimmer Take Wins In Winston-Salem Friday Night!!: The 2009 season kicked off in style Friday night in Winston-Salem, NC as the Checkered Flag Productions Monster Truck Winter Nationals rocked the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum!! New chassis were on debut from Jon Zimmer in Amsoil Shock Therapy and Joe Sylvester in Bad Habit, with John Killenger upgrading to Zimmer's '08 chassis for Excaliber. Dan Runte in Bigfoot, Billy Chapin in Equalizer and Paul Strong in Martial Law rounded out the lineup.
The action got started in a hurry when Strong came out to make his wheelie contest effort. Martial Law came roaring out of the pits and nailed the first car throwing the truck up, way past vertical and then past the point of return resulting in what was likely the very first rollover in 2009. Jon Zimmer kept the excitement going with a couple of great sky wheelies, but it was Dan Runte who pulled off a beautiful walking wheelie down the arena floor to take the win.
Racing would see many races that were decided by a paper-thin margin. The semi-finals would see Runte drive past Zimmer and the new Amsoil Shock Therapy to make his way to the finals, while Paul Strong pulled off a great pass in the returned Martial Law to defeat Bad Habit. In a classic final round race, Dan Runte got the jump at the line and just edged Strong and Martial Law for the win. Paul was coming fast at the finish line and if it had been 5 feet further down the track, he would have had it.
Freestyle would close out the event and it didn't disappoint. John Killenger led off with a solid effort in Excaliber while Joe Sylvester had a strong run going when a power steering belt failed, ending his effort.
Jon Zimmer took to the track and immediately raised the bar way up for those that followed. With great momentum, big air, sky wheelies and a killer donut, Zimmer received a perfect 30 for his efforts.
Paul Strong was out next and continued his strong performance with a run that saw him seemingly determined to run Martial Law into the ground as he pounded the obstacles. He came up just short of the lead, but definitely turned in one of the best overall performances of the night.
Last out was Dan Runte in Bigfoot who managed a solid run working with a lot of smashed-down obstacles. A few nice sky wheelies and some big air over the center stack highlighted Bigfoot's run and it wouldn't be enough to knock off Zimmer, who took the freestyle victory in his first night out with the new machine.
A big thanks to Zane and the crew from CFP for a solid effort Friday in Winston-Salem, we're off to Charlotte for a Saturday night battle featuring Bigfoot Bad Boy, Equalizer, Hot Tamale, Public Disturbance, Bomb Shell and War Eagle!! More coming soon!! (01/03/09) TheMonsterBlog.com Kicks Off 2009 With CFP's Monster Truck Winter Nationals!!: The Monster Blog is kicking off the new year in a big way this weekend, bringing you the season two premiere of TMB TV from North Carolina!! We will be attending the Checkered Flag Productions Monster Truck Winter Nationals events in Winston-Salem and Charlotte Friday and Saturday, respectively, giving all of our loyal fans the opporuntity to see 12 different trucks open the new season in hard-nose racing and freestyle competition.
Friday night in Winston-Salem we will see the debut of brand new chassis for Jon Zimmer's Amsoil Shock Therapy and Joe Sylvester's Bad Habit. They'll be taking on veteran Dan Runte in Bigfoot, Billy Chapin in Equalizer, Jon Killenger in Excaliber and Paul Strong in Martial Law. After what is sure to be a wild night in Winston-Salem, Saturday night in Charlotte we'll see the brand new Checkered Flag Productions-themed Bigfoot Bad Boy piloted by Larry Swim take on Mike Hawkins in Equalizer, Isiah Morales in Hot Tamale, Brad Campbell in Public Disturbance, the new Bomb Shell identity for Jennifer Campbell and Mike Barnes in the War Eagle. Host Ross Z. Bonar and video master Colby Marshall will be bringing you all the action right here on TheMonsterBlog.com, so stay tuned for TMB TV Season 2 Episode 1 from North Carolina along with full photo galleries from each event. For more info on the CFP season opener, check out www.CheckeredFlagProductions.com!! (01/01/09) TheMonsterBlog.com 2008 Highlight Video
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Monster
Truck Racing Association! “Although the Truk Wurks monster truck
team has been a member of the MTRA for several years now, we decided to
use our 4-wheel drive & off-road retail store to help benefit all members
of the MTRA,” said Truk Wurks general manager Greg Adams. So what prompted
the decision to sign the Truk Wurks Off-Road shop up as an MTRA Sponsor
Member? “One of the things that MTRA members always seem to get asked is
‘what does the MTRA do for me?’ or ‘what do I get for joining the MTRA?”
explained Adams. “So what we are trying to do now is not just encourage
people in the industry to join the MTRA, but to reward and support our
existing membership. And we are going to do that by offering members the
ability to purchase thousands of parts and accessories through us via our
network of established distributors at a discounted price. We aim to save
MTRA members an average of 10-20% off the suggested retail price on these
items. In many instances, we can even have the parts drop-shipped straight
to a member’s house or shop!” 
