This weekend at the Indianapolis Jambo has been a wild one. The first show of the weekend saw Bigfoot edge out a win over Raminator. In freestyle Jim Koehler and Avenger put on a wild show and rolled Avenger over. The wreck caused some heavy damage and broke 4 mounts on the chassis. Today’s events saw Raminator take out Bigfoot in a rematch of yesterdays finals. T-Maxx broke an axle shaft on a hard landing during his freestyle but, the highlight of freestyle was Jim Koehler who took the reigns of Brutus while Avenger was being repaired and tore up the freestyle track with huge air and some great sky wheelies. We will have more information after tomorrows events along with photos, so stay tuned to AllMonster for updates.
News from Indy Jambo!
Moline Mayhem!
Two excellent shows went down this weekend in Moline, Illinois on Friday and Saturday, and AllMonster was there to cover it all. The Friday show started off with a bang courtesy of Rod Schmidt, filling in for Chad Tingler in Safe Auto. Schmidt powered into a past-vertical sky wheelie during the wheelie contest, landed on the cars and walked the truck back down, earning a 29 from the judges. Carl VanHorn (Grave Digger XIV) tied Schmidt with another past vertical wheelie and rollover, and was voted the winner by crowd applause. In racing, Schmidt had the field covered on the way to a final round win over Neil Elliott and Maximum Destruction. Freestyle and the donut contest were all VanHorn, with perfect 30’s in each.
Saturday was a clean sweep of the four contests for Grave Digger, although highlight reel runs in freestyle from Schmidt and Elliott were very close. VanHorn powered into a cyclone donut that eventually caught up with him, causing a rough rollover on the concrete to end freestyle. Photos, coverage, and much more will be available soon!
Guess Who’s Coming to Moline?
It will be a star-studded field in Moline, Illinois tonight and tomorrow, and some old and some new faces will be there to make for an exciting two-show, two-day weekend.
First, Rod Schmidt will be driving in Quincy, but will not be in his normal Grave Digger 7. Instead, he takes the wheel of Safe Auto for the weekend while Chad Tingler is in Europe. Carl VanHorn, fresh from his first trip of two on the summer overseas, will be behind the wheel of Grave Digger XIV.
But that’s not all. Neil Elliott will return to driving for Tom Meents’ team this weekend in Maximum Destruction. It is uncertain as to whether or not Elliott is back full-time, but he will be driving both days in Moline. Dan Evans in Destroyer and Jim Bendzick’s Rolling Thunder will also be on hand to compete in the Thunder Nationals-style event. AllMonster will have all the news from Moline as soon as possible; until then, stay tuned!
Surprise Duqoin Update! Bear Foot Loses a Wheel and More!
Josh Rhodes has checked in with us on a surprise update from the Shafer Motorsports show in Duquoin, Illinois this weekend. At the 3:00 show, Bear Foot (driven by Larry Swim) lost a wheel in mid-jump during freestyle at the small arena. The tire bounced off the retaining fence and came down and hit the Monster Patrol ride truck. Everyone was OK, and Bear Foot’s freestyle was easily the strongest of the night.
Other notes from the show include Ozzmonster (driven by Woodcock) rolling in qualifying and Bear Foot winning racing over Captain USA (Rodney Tweedy). A multitude of photos from various summer shows will be online as soon as possible. Enjoy!
Houghton Update
The Houghton County Fair in Michigan played host to an exciting show this weekend featuring Avenger, Brutus, Project X, Devastator, and Lil’ Miss Dangerous. Chris Bergeron and Brutus had a successful weekend that turned upside down during a roll in freestyle (pictured above). Before the roll, however, Bergeron won the wheelie contest in a cheer-off with Jocelyn Perrin’s Lil’ Miss Dangerous, then defeated Perrin again in the racing final. Jim Koehler’s Avenger followed Bergeron’s hard roll in freestyle with an outstanding run that lasted for upwards of four minutes and was filled with slap wheelies and big air throughout. Thanks to the Houghton Fair for their hospitality!
Birch Run Photos Online
AllMonster is still catching up on a multitude of summer photos. Two shows we have attended recently are Columbus, Nebraska and Birch Run, Michigan. Enjoy the galleries from Birch Run below:
Summer Sizzlin’ in Birch Run and Monster Jam Europe News!
It was a wild weekend in Birch Run, Michigan at the Dixie Motor Speedway. The two day event featured Randy Brown in Grave Digger, Jim Koehler in Avenger, Chris Bergeron in Brutus, Dan Evans in Destroyer and Andy Slifko in Eradicator. Chris Bergeron took the first wheelie contest of the weekend by standing the pooch on the tailgate, planting it in the end of the set of cars. In racing it was a course a little different from the norm in a V-shape. Koehler was the early favorite as he took the fastest qualifying spot. He and Brown would both advance to the final where Brown took the win by a truck length. In freestyle the high-flying antics and a long, walking slap wheelie earned Koehler a 27 and the Saturday night win; just getting past Randy Brown, who scored a 25. Sunday afternoon saw Jim Koehler take the wheelie contest by 1 point over Dan Evans in Destroyer after clearing all the cars and pulling up a slap wheelie that earned him a 28. Freestyle was wild with Randy Brown once again taking the win with some wild launches off of the van stack and some insane cyclone donuts on the concrete surface. In racing it was all Randy Brown as he took the fastest qualifier spot and went to the finals, where he would again face Jim Koehler with similar results as he swept the racing weekend.
In Manchester, England the monsters rolled into the M.E.N Arena for a four-show weekend and what a weekend it was. The events were in Thunder Nationals format and made for some great action. Clear Channel Entertainment sent six trucks-Carl VanHorn in Grave Digger, Madusa, George Balhan’s Escalade, Lupe Soza in El Toro Loco, Bobby Zee in Monster Mutt, and Chad Fortune in Superman. The Friday night event saw Carl VanHorn take the wheelie contest earlier in the evening and win racing over Madusa. Chad Fortune spun the Superman into a 29 which gave him the donut contest win. In freestyle Bobby Zee would take the win with a 26 after a crowd cheer-off between he and VanHorn. The Saturday afternoon event saw Carl VanHorn dominate as he took the donut and freestyle contest, then won the racing portion of the event over Chad Fortune. Lupe Soza disrupted VanHorn’s chances of a sweep by taking a wheelie contest win with a 26. Later that evening the third event of the weekend took place and VanHorn once again took three of the four events with wins in the donut contest, freestyle and racing. He took a close win in the finals over a hard-charging George Balhan. Chad Fortune racked up his 2nd donut contest win of the weekend as well. Sunday’s wheelie contest saw VanHorn rack up his third wheelie win for the weekend. In racing it came down to Soza and VanHorn with VanHorn taking the win. The donut was also taken by VanHorn but mechanical difficulties sidelined him for the rest of the night. In freestyle it was Lupe Sosa who stepped up and took the win in a cheer off between he and Madusa. The tour continues this weekend in Birmingham, England. For more information visit www.monsterjameurope.com/
New Sponsor – Sudden Impact Racing
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Stafford Springs – The Driver Shuffle
It will be a wild weekend in Stafford Springs, Connecticut this weekend when Monster Jam comes to town. Grave Digger (Dennis Anderson) and Maximum Destruction (Tom Meents) will be present, but some old faces will be there with new rides for the Stafford show only.
Rob Knell will be driving Meents’ Hot Wheels at the event, and Carl VanHorn will jump behind the wheel of Blue Thunder subbing for Tony Farrell. Add Charlie Pauken to the mix in the Taz truck, and Stafford Springs will be an unusual show. Eradicator, Thrasher, and Destroyer will also be on hand. For the first time in years, team Grave Digger will have three of its current drivers face each other in competition.
What’s Up With Randy Brown?
AllMonster had the chance to sit down with Grave Digger 18’s Randy Brown and discuss the future of Randy Brown Motorsports, what it’s like to drive Grave Digger, and much more. We thank Randy for his time and support; click the link below for AllMonster’s newest Monster Profile!
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