And So it Begins; Night One of the 2012 Monster Truck Season

(Photo By: Brian Rogers)

The 2012 monster truck season is officially underway, with the first night of action in the books. With several shows taking place across the country, the AllMonster staff was all over, bringing in updates from coast to coast.

We start in Rochester, New York where Steve Parry was covering the Thunder Nationals action at the Blue Cross Arena. Bari Musawwir picked up his first win this season, by taking the wheelie competition in Spiderman. In racing, it was Andy Slifko in the new-look 15th anniversary Eradicator stealing the spotlight, knocking out Tom Meents and Maximum Destruction in the final round. Following the racing loss, Meents went on to take both the donut and freestyle competitions to end night one.

The all new body for Andy Slifko's Eradicator (Photo By: Steve Parry)

(Photo By: Jeremy Puglisi)

From Rochester, it’s on Columbus, Ohio’s Nationwide Arena, where Jeremy Puglisi was on hand to cover the Monster Jam action. Reigning freestyle champion Jim Koehler opened up the festivities with a wheelie contest win. The other half of Team Scream, Brutus, suffered steering issues all night following the wheelie contest and did not return. The final round of racing saw the hometown hero bring home the victory, as Dan Patrick and Samson defeated Batman for the win. Carl VanHorn got his 10th anniversary tour off on the right foot with a freestyle victory in Grave Digger. Be on the lookout for more from Puglisi soon.

Onto Birmingham, where AllMonster new comer Brian Rogers was capturing the night’s events. Birmingham was stuffed to the brim with trucks following the postponement of the Houston Monster Jam, as four more trucks were added to make a ten-truck field. It was also a night of debuts, with the first look at Damon Bradshaw’s Monster Energy, Cam McQueen’s Northern Nightmare, Neil Elliott’s new Maximum Destruction, and Dennis Anderson’s 30th Anniversary Grave Digger body. Elliott wasted no time getting his first wins in the new ride, taking both the wheelie and racing competitions. Anderson pushed the Grave Digger to the limit in freestyle and finished off the run on his lid, scoring a 28 in his victorious run. Check out some awesome teasers from Rogers below:

Finally, it’s off to the left coast. Chris Cleveland was in Stockton, California for the first night of Monster X Tour action. The Straight Up Racing team of Bill Payne’s Rock Star and BJ Johnson in California kid dominated the night’s competition. Payne had a huge wow moment in his winning wheelie contest effort, as he stuck the Rock Star completely vertical on the cars and stayed put. Johnson and the California Kid worked through the brackets to pick up the racing victory, while Payne finished up his freestyle win upside down for his first rollover of the year.

Also, our own Josh Rhodes and Ed Hoormann were in Evansville, Indiana for tonight’s Monster Jam which you can read about here.  That’s all for tonight, but be sure to check back tomorrow here tomorrow for plenty more news and results from around the monster truck industry. Thanks to all out great staff for their hard work.