TheMonsterBlog.com 2007 Preview Series begins as we sit down with Image Promotions

CEO George Eisenhart for a look ahead to the Monster Nationals 2007 season.

TheMonsterBlog: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us George. Let’s start by seeing what’s new for the Monster Nationals in 2007.

George: We’re really excited about the upcoming year. We’ll be working with Brian Sharenow’s FMG Events to bring in some FMX action, including the “backflip” and some other exciting stunts. Mike West’s Megasaurus has a new look for ’07 and will be featured at some of the shows, as well as the American Thunder Jet powered Jeep and the Cra-Z-Boy Jet powered recliner.
     We’re calling this year the “Monster Nationals American Thunder Tour 2007”, going for a real pro-America, support the troops, red, white, & blue theme. This will be featured in a lot of our advertising and in our merchandise for the upcoming season.

TheMonsterBlog: Sounds very patriotic, I like it. We’ve also noticed a couple of new events on the schedule for 2007.

George: Yes, Huntington, WV in the winter and Connersville, IN in the summer. It’s our first time doing a show in West Virginia—It’s a good blue collar area, smaller town, but I think I actually like those the best. With the smaller markets, you’re a big deal coming into town, whereas with some of the larger cities, they get so much entertainment, its harder to impress them. We certainly do our best.

TheMonsterBlog: Anything else in the works that hasn’t been announced yet?

George: We’re looking at a couple of outdoor possibilities for the summer, in addition to the new Connersville show. Possibly one in Minnesota, maybe one in Wisconsin.

TheMonsterBlog: So who can we expect to see running the full schedule and gunning for the championship in 2007?

George: It will be the same faces, but with a couple twists. Raminator, Rammunition, and Lil’ Miss Dangerous will be back, and so will Doug Noelke and Andy Hoffman, but with some new identities. Doug will be running the Tail Gator, and Andy the War Wagon.

TheMonsterBlog: As we understand it, you played some role in the coming together of these new identities?

George: Well, we try to keep things fresh on the Monster Nationals tour, and Big Dawg and Nitemare had both been with us for 2-3 years now. It was time for a change, but I really like Andy and Doug and wanted to keep them, so we started discussing the possibilities of creating some new identities.

TheMonsterBlog: So tell us more about how War Wagon came about.

George: War Wagon was an old favorite of mine. Jeff Cook and I were really good friends and War Wagon was a staple on the tour throughout the 90’s. But when Jeff’s Wildfire Manufacturing business really started to take off, I think it was hard for him to find the time, or even the desire to run the truck. After Jeff had taken about 2-3 years off, I was really bugging him to get the truck back on tour because it was always such a fan favorite.
     This deal with Andy came together and it just seemed like a perfect fit. I really don’t think Jeff would have let anyone other than Andy run his identity. War Wagon has such a great image and presence; it is really going to be something to see when Andy has that 1955 Sedan Delivery flying over cars in reverse!

TheMonsterBlog: That it will! We’ll have to get with Andy and Lana and see if we can get some shots of the truck, because I know they have been working hard on getting it ready for the new season.

George: Yeah, they’ve taken the old steel body and created a new fiberglass mold off of it. As I understand it, Andy is working up a new paint scheme too—black, with flames. I always wanted to see what War Wagon would look like in black. In fact, one of the things discussed was even updating to a Dodge Magnum body.

TheMonsterBlog: A Magnum?

George: Yeah, someone just has to do it. They looked into it, but the price to have a mold done was much too expensive. It would make a sharp monster truck though.

TheMonsterBlog: You know, I don’t think I had ever thought of the idea of a Magnum-bodied monster truck, but you’re right—someone has to do it!

George: Definitely.

TheMonsterBlog: Ok, so how about the Tail Gator?

George: With Doug, once the idea of a new identity was brought up, him and Brenda and the crew went to work and came up with Tail Gator. That really is such a perfect name for Doug to be running, I mean, he’s so well known for his wheelies now, and him and Brenda are such big football fans, always tailgating at Rams games.
     The merchandising for the truck is going to be great, fans are going to love it. In fact, I can just see the future of the Monster Nationals—such a fun, festival, family atmosphere. You’ll have “Tread Head” Ted (Monster Nationals) and Tail Gator mascot’s running around hanging with all the kids…

TheMonsterBlog: It does sound like a lot of fun. Well, we’ve talked about the teams with championship hopes, but you have a couple conflicting weekends on the tour this year. Can you tell us any of the other trucks we might see in the mix?

George: Yeah, well, there's that and we’re bringing in a sixth truck for some of the larger market shows as well. You can expect to see Bigfoot coming back this year for a couple shows, Cleveland being one of them as the sixth truck. Joe Sylvestor’s Bad Habit will be with us for a couple shows as well—he’ll be the sixth truck in Madison and Columbus.
     As for the conflicting weekends, the first one is Champaign and East Lansing. For Champaign, we’re having Andy bring both War Wagon and Nitemare. East Lansing is neat because not only will that show also feature Bigfoot and Bad Habit, but we will be having two women drivers at that show.

TheMonsterBlog: Two? We could probably figure Jocelyn Perrin as one, but who will be the other?

George: Dawn Creten with Scarlet Bandit. It will be pretty neat having them both there, as they are both incredible drivers. We’re also looking at having Team CSK run with us on the other conflicting weekend in the summer, out at the Nebraska show.

TheMonsterBlog: Wow, seeing Team CSK making an appearance on the Monster Nationals circuit will be great. Fans are gonna love it. So how about the Mansfield side of that weekend?

George: I’m thinking we’ll have Dan Patrick with Samson, maybe bring back the Sudden Impact boys. That second conflicting weekend is a little bit far off, still working on a lot of those details.

TheMonsterBlog: I’m sure it will be an excellent show, we had a blast at Mansfield this past year.

George: Yeah, thankfully Mansfield turned out pretty good for us, all things considered. All that rain on Friday night was terrible. That was the first time in all our years of doing this that we had to cancel a show—in all honesty, we weren’t really prepared for that, and it was made that much tougher with me being at the Nebraska show that weekend. We made a few mistakes, but we did our best to please everyone. Even though Friday night was rough, Saturday turned out great and we really drew an amazing crowd Saturday night.

TheMonsterBlog: While we’re on the topic, how did the weather treat you this year? Seemed like you dealt with a lot of snow in 2005.

George: The weather hit us pretty hard in ’05, but ’06 was ok. We did get some snow at the East Lansing show about an hour before start time, but we still managed to grow the show for the third year in a row.

TheMonsterBlog: As long as we’re looking back, what were some of your favorite moments from the 2006 season?

George: The first thing that came to mind when you asked that was Andy’s save in Battle Creek. It was during the Wheelie contest, and it looked like Nitemare was going over, but he pulled it out.
We had some great attendance success in Cleveland, OH, growing that show for the fourth year in a row. That was the only time I can remember that the 1PM show outdrew the 8PM show.
The Hall Brothers Racing team’s tire change in between rounds was impressive also. Raminator cut a tire while winning in the Semi’s at one of the shows, and the team managed to have a tire off Rammunition, replace the cut tire, and still make it to the line in time to race.

TheMonsterBlog: Looking back a little further, tell us a bit about how you got started working in the monster truck industry.

George: I’ve been in the business since 1994. I was a year out of college, working for an insurance company when a friend of mine, Aaron Polburn, pulled me in. My father had gotten him into the business, and I guess it was time for him to “re-pay the favor” by getting me involved. Aaron was doing the Thunder Nationals series at the time.
     I started out with four events—Madison, Champaign, Erie, and Mansfield—and went about learning the business throughout the 90’s. There was one year after LiveNation fully acquired the Thunder Nationals from Aaron that we were allowed to continue using the name “Thunder Nationals”. However the next year, when we started picking up additional venues, that ended and that is when I came up with the “Monster Nationals” identity that we use today.

TheMonsterBlog: Now how many years have you officially crowned a champion in your series?

George: Well, let’s see…Mark Hall is going for his fifth Monster Nationals racing championship this year, so that would be four years now, we’ve crowned a champion. The first two years we just did an overall format, and Mark won both of those years. Last year, we split the award by adding a Freestyle championship, and Mark ended up winning both the Free Style and Racing Championship that year too.
     This past season saw a great battle between Mark and Doug for the title, but Doug had some problems in Bloomington that really hurt his chances. In Freestyle, Andy dominated. He had done reversers in past years, but this year was doing them bigger and higher, and the fans ate it up.

TheMonsterBlog: Shifting gears a little bit, this was your first year as member of the MTRA Board of Directors. What were some of your impressions?

George: The job required a lot more time and attention than I may have expected going in. It’s interesting; a lot more things are happening and going on there than it may seem like.
     It can be frustrating as a member at times, the political process there, but its just like it is with the country—you get a little frustrated, start thinking that your one little vote doesn’t matter, things aren’t getting done, etc.
     But after being involved, the fact is, things do happen, it just takes some time. With an organization like the MTRA you can’t just make changes all the time, you can’t be wishy-washy. You have to consider matters slowly and handle them diligently. And, as it turns out, one or two votes can make a big difference.
     You know its funny—a lot of the MT people I talk to about the MTRA who aren’t involved, the first thing they tell me is that their truck is built to the MTRA rulebook. They usually have been involved at some point, but say they just don’t see a benefit.
     But to me, the simple fact that there is a rulebook out there is a great benefit. The MTRA is a great organization, and the rulebook sets a good, quality base for building a monster truck.
     Being a MTRA Promoter doesn’t result in extra money in my pocket. But by using MTRA Certified trucks with MTRA member owners, I know that I am getting high quality equipment, and owners that care about their truck, care about their haulers, and care about what they look like personally. They aren’t showing up at events working on the trucks—all that has been done during the week before coming to the show. I just feel that our commitment to the MTRA results in better shows in the long run.
     Now having said all that, and this is no secret, I’m not sure I will run for the Board again. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to do this year that I just didn’t have time for, and with me being somewhat of a “one man band” here, I’m not sure I could do the position justice. I guess it will be one of those last minute decisions—we’ll see if the members think I have done a good enough job to be nominated again, and go from there.

TheMonsterBlog: Well, we look forward to seeing you at the banquet in a few weeks. As we start to wrap up here, where do you see monster trucks a few years down the road?

George: I think the big thing will be watching LiveNation continue to take monster trucks global. They’re doing big things with the European tour, and Australia and Asia may be next.
     Its funny, my family, a lot of whom don’t really understand what it is I “do”—especially my in-law’s (they belong to a local yacht club)—they ask me when this monster truck thing is going to “run its course”. I always tell them that as long as we continue to provide good entertainment at a good price, the fans will always be there. I mean, the monster truck “ticket” is still, by far, the cheapest live entertainment you can find anywhere. Concerts, the circus, sporting events, all of these are much more expensive at an average price than, for example our average ticket prices, which are $10-$12.
     What concerns me most about the industry is the size of some of the obstacles now being used at stadium shows and some of the larger outdoor shows—but especially those that are indoor. The size of the air that trucks are starting to get, it just scares me that someone is going to get hurt, whether it be spectators or even the drivers. When you have something as big as a monster truck going that fast, flying that high, with tires that bounce the way that they do—well, you get the picture.

     And where does it end?? What’s next, are they going to haul a 747 into a stadium and jump it too? My concern is just safety for the drivers and for the fans. Because once you’re going down that road, where do you stop…how big can you go?
     Anyway, don’t confuse my safety concern as a dislike for those types of events. Because I think those big stadium shows are wonderful, awesome events.

TheMonsterBlog: Well as long as you’re talking about stadium shows, what are the chances we will ever see Monster Nationals in a big stadium?

George: Well, there are some things in the works where a bigger, outdoor stadium-type venue could be possible. I would definitely have an interest, and I think that we have the resources to pull it off—but that’s all I will say about that. Will you bail me out if I lose money?

TheMonsterBlog: I don’t know about all that! But you can be sure that if you ever do a stadium show, I will be one of the first to buy a ticket!

George: No sponsorship from The Monster Blog?

TheMonsterBlog: I’m sure we could afford to contribute a few bucks. But I don’t mean that as turn a phrase, I mean literally, like $3.

George: Well, ok (laughing).

TheMonsterBlog: In all seriousness though, George, I want to thank you for taking time out of your day as you prepare for the upcoming season to give us a sneak peak at what’s in store for 2007, and to learn a little bit more about the man behind the Monster Nationals. It’s been fun.

George: Thank you.

(Photos featured above courtesy Kyle Doyle, Lana Hoffman, Josh Kirscher, and Elliott Miller (MichiganMonsterTrucks.com).
 

TheMonsterBlog.com 2007 Preview continues soon with interviews including Scott Hart

of AMP Live Events, Mike Moore of Special Events, Rich Schaefer of RSEP, and more!!

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