- Monster Jam World Finals
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The Monster Jam World Finals is an annual monster truck event held in late March at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV. It is the championship event of the USHRA Monster Jam series. It consists of racing and freestyle segments, and the winner of each is considered the series champion in that division for the coming year. It is the highest profile monster truck event in the country and draws tremendous media attention as well as criticism from those who dislike its destructive reputation.
Originally only 16 trucks were invited to compete in the event, however 20 were selected in 2005, and since 2006, 24 have been invited annually. Trucks and drivers are selected based on their performances over the winter season, which runs from January into early March. When multiple drivers for the same team or truck are selected, they are typically placed into other trucks which travel with their primary vehicle (Grave Digger drivers Charlie Pauken, Chad Tingler, and Randy Brown have competed in the World Finals in Monster Mutt, Monster Mutt Dalmatian, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle respectively, and teammate Pablo Huffaker won the 2007 Freestyle Championship driving Captain's Curse). Many more trucks are invited to be displayed during the "Pit Party" festivities in the days prior to the event.
The stature of the event leads to extremes in both competitions. The racing track starts in the parking lot behind the locker rooms of the stadium, and features a long straightaway with speeds reaching over 70 MPH. The freestyle track layout is typically the most extreme all season, with several large and unique obstacles, often producing a multitude of crashes. The scoring system is also modified for the event, with seven judges (1 for bonus points) and the lowest and highest scores dropped and up to 5 bonus points for a maximum possible score of 45 (not including tiebreakers), as opposed to three judges and a maximum score of 30 for the regular season.
It is sometimes debated between the die-hard fans that the Monster Jam World Finals is illegitimate, or unfair, as the event is an "INVITE ONLY", and there is no points series to determine who is entitled to compete. Another controversy is that the parent company, FELD Motorsports, owns a majority of the trucks that are initially invited to participate in the event. One last factor is that the competitors are not from around the world, with most of the drivers being based out of the United States. However, this is often countered by the fact that Monster Jam participates in a world tour(which consists of the United States, Canada, and Europe).
History
World Finals 1 (2000)
Event Date: March 26, 2000
Truck Driver Freestyle Score Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 40 Wrenchead.com Lyle Hancock 39 nWo Rob Knell 37 Goldberg Tom Meents 37 Madusa Madusa 34 Gunslinger Scott Hartsock 34 Predator Allen Pezo 29 Sting Sky Hartley 28 Sudden Impact John Seasock 26 Avenger Jim Koehler 26 Bulldozer Guy Wood 26 Prowler Dave Pezo 20 Nitro Machine Charlie Pauken 19 Reptoid Jim Jack 4 King Krunch Scott Stephens Broke Airborne Ranger Joe Cypher Broke Black Stallion Michael Vaters [1] Racing:
First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final 1 Goldberg 16 WCW Nitro Goldberg Predator 8 Predator 9 Bulldozer Goldberg Wrenchead.com 5 Wrenchead.com 12 Sudden Impact Wrenchead.com Sting 4 Sting 13 nWo Goldberg Gunslinger 6 Madusa 11 Airborne Ranger Madusa Gunslinger 3 Gunslinger 14 Reptoid Gunslinger King Krunch 7 King Krunch 10 Avenger King Krunch Grave Digger 2 Grave Digger 15 Prowler World Finals 2 (2001)
Event Date: March 24, 2001
Racing:
First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final 1 Wolverine 16 Black Stallion Wolverine Predator 8 Predator 9 Madusa Wolverine Blue Thunder 5 Black Smith 12 Grave Digger Black Smith (won but flipped into dumpsters) Blue Thunder 4 Blue Thunder 13 Wrenchead.com Blue Thunder Goldberg 6 Gunslinger 11 Destroyer Destroyer Spider-Man 3 Avenger 14 Spider-Man Destroyer Goldberg 7 Bulldozer 10 Sudden Impact Bulldozer Goldberg 2 Goldberg 15 Sting
World Finals 3 (2002)
Event date: March 23, 2002
Truck Driver Freestyle Score Team Meents Tom Meents 37 Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 36 Black Smith Pablo Huffaker 35 Blue Thunder Lyle Hancock 35 Black Stallion Mike Vaters 32 Wolverine Brian Barthel 30 Sudden Impact John Seasock 24 Firemouth Carl Van Horn 24 Bounty Hunter Jim Creten 22 Predator Allen Pezo 21 Gunslinger Scott Hartsock 20 Madusa Madusa 19 Hot Wheels Eldon DePew 17 Power Forward Chad Fortune 12 Bulldozer Guy Wood 8 Avenger Jim Koehler 8 Racing:
First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final 1 Team Meents (Bye) 16 Blue Thunder (Broke) Team Meents Gunslinger 8 Gunslinger 9 Madusa Team Meents Grave Digger 5 Bulldozer 12 Power Forward Bulldozer Grave Digger 4 Grave Digger 13 Black Stallion Team Meents Bounty Hunter 6 Black Smith 11 Firemouth Black Smith Hot Wheels 3 Hot Wheels 14 Predator Black Smith Bounty Hunter 7 Sudden Impact 10 Avenger Sudden Impact Bounty Hunter 2 Wolverine 15 Bounty Hunter
World Finals 4 (2003)
Event date: March 22, 2003
Truck Driver Freestyle Score Avenger Jim Koehler 37 El Toro Loco Lupe Soza 36 Blue Thunder Lyle Hancock 34 Madusa Madusa 32 Black Stallion Mike Vaters 30 Power Forward Chad Fortune 29 Sudden Impact John Seasock 27 Black Smith Carl Van Horn 24 Sobe Kathy Winston 22 Spider-Man Bobby Z 22 Grave Digger Pablo Huffaker 20 Wolverine Brian Barthel 16 Bounty Hunter Jimmy Creten 14 Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 13 Monster Mutt Todd Frolik 9 Gunslinger Scott Hartsock Broke Racing:
First round Second round Semifinals Finals 1 Bounty Hunter 16 Power Forward Bounty Hunter Madusa 8 Madusa 9 Blue Thunder Bounty Hunter Black Smith 5 Spider-Man 12 SoBe Spider-Man Black Smith 4 Black Smith 13 El Toro Loco Bounty Hunter Wolverine 6 Grave Digger 11 Maximum Destruction Maximum Destruction Gunslinger 3 Gunslinger 14 Black Stallion Gunslinger Wolverine 7 Sudden Impact 10 Monster Mutt Sudden Impact Wolverine 2 Wolverine 15 Avenger World Finals 5 (2004)
Event date: March 20, 2004
Truck Driver Freestyle Score El Toro Loco Lupe Soza 31 Madusa Madusa 31 Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 31 Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 30 Bounty Hunter Jim Creten 30 King Krunch David Smith 27 Black Smith Pablo Huffaker 26 Hot Wheels Neil Elliot 25 Little Tiger Brian Barthel 23 Bulldozer Guy Wood 20 Monster Mutt Bobby Z 19 Power Forward Carl Van Horn 14 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Paul Cohen 11 Blue Thunder Tony Farrell 9 Avenger Jim Koehler 9 Team Suzuki Kathy Winston 9 Racing:
First round Second round Semifinals Finals 1 Maximum Destruction 16 Hot Wheels Maximum Destruction Monster Mutt 8 Monster Mutt 9 Bulldozer Maximum Destruction Black Smith 5 Power Forward 12 Black Smith Black Smith Blue Thunder 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 13 Blue Thunder Black Smith Grave Digger 6 Bounty Hunter 11 Avenger Bounty Hunter Little Tiger 3 Madusa (DNR) Broke 14 Little Tiger Bounty Hunter Grave Digger 7 El Toro Loco 10 King Krunch King Krunch Grave Digger 2 Grave Digger 15 Team Suzuki World Finals 7 (2006)
Event Date: March 25, 2006
Truck Driver Freestyle score Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 37 Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 33 Monster Mutt Charlie Pauken 32 Del Scorcho Frank Krmel 29 King Krunch David Smith 26 Blue Thunder Tony Farrell 24 Superman Chad Fortune 23 Taz Adam Anderson 22 Destroyer Dan Evans 22 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Randy Brown 22 Batman Jason Childress 21 Air Force Afterburner Paul Cohen 20 Escalade George Balhan 20 Safe Auto Minimizer Marc McDonald 18 Predator Allen Pezo 17 Avenger Jim Koehler 17 Pastrana 199 Chad Tingler 16 Team Suzuki Kathy Winston 15 Iron Outlaw Linsey Weenk 14 Bounty Hunter Jim Creten 14 Black Smith Pablo Huffaker 13 El Toro Loco Lupe Soza 11 Brutus Chris Bergeron 10 Hot Wheels Neil Elliot Broke Racing:
First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Grave Digger Maximum Destruction Brutus Maximum Destruction Grave Digger Safe Auto Minimizer Safe Auto Minimizer An Escalade An Escalade King Krunch Grave Digger Hot Wheels Hot Wheels Air Force Afterburner Air Force Afterburner Superman Hot Wheels Pastrana 199 Pastrana 199 El Toro Loco El Toro Loco Avenger Grave Digger Bounty Hunter Iron Outlaw Monster Mutt Monster Mutt Batman Iron Outlaw Black Smith Black Smith Del Scorcho Del Scorcho Team Suzuki Black Smith Bounty Hunter Taz Blue Thunder Taz Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Taz Bounty Hunter Bounty Hunter Predator Predator Destroyer World Finals 8 (2007)
Event Date: March 24, 2007
Truck Driver Freestyle Score Captain’s Curse Pablo Huffaker 34 Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 30 Iron Outlaw Linsey Weenk 29 Safe Auto Minimizer Marc McDonald 29 Air Force Afterburner Damon Bradshaw 29 Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 28 Team Suzuki Bobby Parr/Frank Krmel 26[2] Taz Adam Anderson 26 Scarlet Bandit Dawn Creten 24 Destroyer Dan Evans 23 Superman Chad Fortune 21 Blue Thunder Tony Farrell 21 Monster Mutt Charlie Pauken 21 Pastrana 199 Courtney Jolly 20 Avenger Jim Koehler 20 King Krunch David Smith 19 El Toro Loco Lupe Soza 17 An Escalade George Balhan 16 Brutus Chris Bergeron 12 Monster Mutt Dalmatian Chad Tingler 9[3] Batman John Seasock 8 Bounty Hunter Jimmy Creten 8 Hot Wheels Neil Elliot Broke Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Randy Brown Broke Racing:
First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Bounty Hunter Hot Wheels Hot Wheels Pastrana 199 Hot Wheels Batman Batman Air Force Afterburner Air Force Afterburner Taz Batman Monster Mutt Monster Mutt Blue Thunder Blue Thunder Team Suzuki Monster Mutt Maximum Destruction Maximum Destruction Brutus Brutus Avenger Batman Grave Digger Iron Outlaw Destroyer Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (DNR-broke) Destroyer Iron Outlaw Captain's Curse Captain's Curse Scarlet Bandit Captain's Curse Superman Captain's Curse Grave Digger Grave Digger An Escalade An Escalade King Krunch Grave Digger Safe Auto Minimizer Safe Auto Minimizer Monster Mutt Dalmatian Monster Mutt Dalmatian El Toro Loco
World Finals 9 (2008)
Event Date: March 29, 2008
Truck Driver Qualifying Time Freestyle Score World Finals Appearances (Truck) Taz Adam Anderson DNQ 37 3rd Scarlet Bandit Dawn Creten 16.97 36 3rd Monster Mutt Dalmatian Chad Tingler 17.44 32 2nd Blue Thunder Linsey Weenk 16.66 30 8th Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 17.78 30 9th Captain's Curse Alex Blackwell 16.56 29 2nd [4] El Toro Loco Lupe Soza 17.81 28 6th Monster Mutt Charlie Pauken 16.84 27 6th Donkey Kong Frank Krmel 17.07 26 1st Black Stallion Michael Vaters 17.18 25 5th Stone Crusher Steve Simms DNQ 24 1st Safe Auto Minimizer Marc McDonald 16.70 24 3rd Team Suzuki Bobby Parr 17.54 23 5th Pastrana 199 Cam McQueen 17.50 20 4th An Escalade George Balhan 17.25 18 4th Air Force Afterburner Damon Bradshaw 16.75 18 3rd Avenger Jim Koehler DNQ 17 9th Batman John Seasock 16.62 16 3rd King Krunch David Smith 16.78 13 6th Bounty Hunter Jim Creten 25.75 12 7th Superman Chad Fortune 17.72 8 4th Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 16.13 6 9th Destroyer Dan Evans 18.28 5 5th Iron Outlaw Kreg Christensen 17.29 4 3rd Racing:
First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Maximum Destruction Team Suzuki Team Suzuki Stone Crusher Maximum Destruction Monster Mutt Superman Monster Mutt Scarlet Bandit Superman Maximum Destruction (DNR-Broke) Bounty Hunter An Escalade Safe Auto Minimizer Destroyer An Escalade Safe Auto Minimizer Bounty Hunter Bounty Hunter Blue Thunder Bounty Hunter Iron Outlaw Bounty Hunter Batman Taz Batman Taz Monster Mutt Dalmatian Batman Air Force Afterburner Black Stallion Air Force Afterburner Black Stallion El Toro Loco Batman Captain's Curse Grave Digger King Krunch Donkey Kong Grave Digger King Krunch Captain's Curse Avenger Captain's Curse Pastrana 199 Avenger
World Finals 10 (2009)
Event Date: March 28, 2009
Truck Driver Qualifying Time Freestyle Score World Finals Appearances (Truck) Air Force Afterburner Damon Bradshaw 17.13 36 4th Bounty Hunter Jimmy Creten 16.53 32 8th Brutus Chris Bergeron 17.25 29 4th Blue Thunder Linsey Weenk 16.90 28 9th Pastrana 199/Nitro Circus[5] Cam McQueen/Travis Pastrana 16.97 26 5th Stone Crusher Steve Simms DNQ 26 2nd Monster Mutt Charlie Pauken 16.66 26 7th Taz Adam Anderson/Chad Tingler[6] 16.56 25 4th Monster Mutt Dalmatian Candice Jolly 17.35 24 3rd King Krunch David Smith 17.65 23 7th Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 17.66 23 10th Batman John Seasock 17.65 21 7th Donkey Kong Frank Krmel 16.50 21 2nd El Toro Loco Lupe Soza 17.00 21 7th War Wizard Randy Moore 18.15 19 1st Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 16.63 19 7th Destroyer Dan Evans 17.72 17 6th Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pablo Huffaker 16.56 17 4th Madusa Madusa 17.34 16 7th Safe Auto Minimizer Marc McDonald 16.94 13 4th Superman Chad Fortune 17.40 8 5th Escalade George Balhan 17.07 8 5th Avenger Jim Koehler 17.66 4 10th Captain's Curse Alex Blackwell 17.28 DNF 3rd Racing:
First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Donkey Kong Madusa Madusa Stone Crusher Madusa Safe Auto Minimizer Safe Auto Minimizer Pastrana 199 Pastrana 199 Superman Safe Auto Minimizer Maximum Destruction Maximum Destruction Air Force Afterburner Grave Digger Air Force Afterburner Maximum Destruction Brutus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Brutus Avenger Brutus Maximum Destruction Captain's Curse Taz Captain's Curse Destroyer Captain's Curse Captain's Curse Monster Mutt Monster Mutt Escalade Escalade King Krunch Captain's Curse Blue Thunder Blue Thunder El Toro Loco El Toro Loco Batman Blue Thunder Bounty Hunter Bounty Hunter War Wizard Monster Mutt Dalmatian War Wizard
World Finals 11 (2010)
Event Date: March 27, 2010
Results:
Top Qualifying Time: Marc McDonald in El Toro Loco with a time of 16:00.
Racing Champion: Dennis Anderson in Grave Digger.
Freestyle Champion: Charlie Pauken in Monster Mutt with super high score of 39!Truck Driver Qualifying Time Freestyle Score Monster Mutt Charlie Pauken 16.88 39 Escalade George Balhan 16.88 31 Air Force Afterburner Damon Bradshaw 16.32 31 Stone Crusher Steve Sims 18.25 28 Grinder Lupe Soza 17.84 28 Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 16.00 28 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pablo Huffaker 16.66 26 Bounty Hunter Jim Creten DNQ 26 Iron Man Lee O'Donnell 16.50 25 Avenger Jim Koehler 17.87 25 Blue Thunder Linsey Weenk 16.19 25 Superman Chad Fortune 17.16 15 Madusa Madusa 16.72 12 Spider-Man Chad Tingler DNQ 12 Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 16.03 11 Nitro Circus Cam McQueen 16.87 10 Captain's Curse Alex Blackwell 16.78 9 Gunslinger Scott Hartsock 21.43 8 Monster Mutt Dalmatian Candice Jolly 16.44 8 Batman John Seasock 16.63 4 Taz Adam Anderson 16.00 4 Shock Therapy Jon Zimmer 16.03 4 King Krunch David Smith 16.93 DNR El Toro Loco Marc McDonald 16. 00 DNR Racing:
First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals El Toro Loco Spider-Man An Escalade Spider-Man El Toro Loco King Krunch Monster Mutt Dalmatian King Krunch King Krunch Iron Man El Toro Loco Grave Digger Grave Digger Avenger Madusa Avenger Grave Digger Shock Therapy Shock Therapy Stone Crusher Captain's Curse Stone Crusher Grave Digger Maximum Destruction Taz (DNR-Broke) Gunslinger Nitro Circus Gunslinger Gunslinger Blue Thunder Blue Thunder Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Grinder Blue Thunder Maximum Destruction Air Force Afterburner Batman Batman Superman Air Force Afterburner Maximum Destruction Maximum Destruction Bounty Hunter Monster Mutt Bounty Hunter
World Finals 12 (2011)
World Finals 12 took place March 25 & March 26.
Results:
Fastest Qualifying Time: Dennis Anderson in Grave Digger with a time of 15:69.
Racing Champion: Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction defeated Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter.
Freestyle Champion: Jim "Rollover" Koehler in Avenger wins after a tiebreaker against Cam McQueen in Nitro Circus with a score of 32.
Encores:
All 3 Advanced Auto Parts Grinder drivers in the their trucks. (Lupe Soza, John Seasock, Frank Krmel)
All 3 Maximum Destruction drivers in their trucks. (Tom Meents, Neil Elliott, Kreg Christensen)
And last but not least, Ryan Anderson in Son-uva Digger.Truck Driver Qualifying Time Qualifying Place Freestyle Score Avenger Jim Koehler DNF (Rollover) 24th 32 Nitro Circus Cam McQueen 16.72 14th 32 U.S. Air Force Afterburner Damon Bradshaw 16.63 13th 30 Iron Man Lee O'Donnell DNF 22nd 28 Bounty Hunter Jimmy Creten 16.44 9th 28 Mohawk Warrior George Balhan 17.03 17th 28 El Toro Loco Marc McDonald 16.34 6th 27 Lucas Oil Crusader Linsey Weenk 16.13 3rd 27 Monster Mutt Dalmatian Candice Jolly 16.28 5th 25 Stone Crusher Steve Sims 16.62 12th 24 Madusa Madusa 17.50 18th 22 Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 15.69 1st 21 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pablo Huffaker 16.23 4th 20 Superman Chad Fortune 16.41 8th 19 Shock Therapy Jon Zimmer 18.69 20th 19 Batman Norm Miller¤ 16.94 16th 18 Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 15.70 2nd 16 Brutus Chris Bergeron 21.50 21st 13 Grave Digger The Legend Adam Anderson DNF (Rollover) 23rd 13 Backdraft Jeremy Slifko¤ 17.78 19th 11 Captain's Curse Alex Blackwell 16.73 15th 10 Monster Mutt Charlie Pauken 16.37 7th 9 Grinder Frank Krmel/Lupe Soza[7] 16.60 11th 8 Spider-Man Chad Tingler 16.45 10th 4 - ¤Denotes Monster Jam World Finals rookie drivers.
Racing:
First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Grave Digger Batman Batman Avenger Grave Digger Bounty Hunter Superman Bounty Hunter Bounty Hunter Mohawk Warrior Bounty Hunter Mohawk Warrior Monster Mutt Dalmation Mohawk Warrior Shock Therapy Stone Crusher Mohawk Warrior TMN Turtle TMN Turtle Air Force Afterburner Brutus Air Force Afterburner Bounty Hunter Maximum Destruction Lucas Oil Crusader Nitro Circus Iron Man Nitro Circus Lucas Oil Crusader El Toro Loco El Toro Loco Grinder (Rolled) Grinder Backdraft Lucas Oil Crusader (Rolled) Maximum Destruction Monster Mutt Spider-Man Madusa Spider-Man Spider-Man Maximum Destruction Maximum Destruction Captain's Curse Captain's Curse Grave Digger The Legend
World Finals 13 (2012)
World Finals 13 will take place on March 24, 2012.
Qualified Truck Driver World Finals Appearances (Truck) Venue Qualified SPEED 1st Maximum Destruction Tom Meents 10th Philadelphia Yes 2nd Avenger Jim Koehler 13th Baltimore Yes 3rd Grave Digger Dennis Anderson 13th Cincinnati No 4th December 10th, 2011 Minneapolis Yes 5th January 7th, 2012 Houston 6th January 14th, 2012 Atlanta Yes References
- ^ Black Stallion was chosen by popular vote from the Thunder National series to attend the World Finals. However, due to prior bookings it was unable to attend.
- ^ Bobby Parr drove the truck in racing while Frank Krmel drove it in freestyle.
- ^ The original Monster Mutt and its Dalmatian variant competed as separate trucks for this event, the first time two trucks with the same name have competed in the World Finals.
- ^ Pablo Huffaker won the 2007 World Finals Freestyle Championship in this truck the previous year, and Alex Blackwell drove it during the regular season.
- ^ Pastrana 199 ran in racing while Nitro Circus ran in freestyle, and Travis Pastrana freestyled the new Nitro Circus truck.
- ^ Adam Anderson had what could be one of the most violent crashes anyone could ever see in racing and could not return, so Chad Tingler substituted for him in freestyle.
- ^ Advanced Auto Parts wanted to give two of their teammates a chance to win a title, so Frank Krmel drove during racing and Lupe Soza performed in freestyle.
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