The countdown is on to the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas, now literally just days away, so it's a good time to devote this space to some analysis of the most spectacular and difficult freestyle competition of the year. But first, one quick follow-up note now that we've been able to dry out after a waterlogged night of incredible action in the Super Bowl city of Jacksonville, FL.

If you go to a horse racing track on a rainy day and grab a racing form to determine which pony you want to bet on, the best thing to do is look for horses that are referred to as "mudders". Those are the horses that perform best in wet and muddy conditions, and often can beat a better horse that they would surely lose to on a dry track. In the Monster Jam world we now officially have our own version of a "mudder": the Reptoid and driver Jim Jack. Once again in Jacksonville Reptoid was the truck and Jack the driver that handled a steady rain and sloppy conditions best, making it all the way to the racing finals where Dennis Anderson and Grave Digger found a way to nose out a win over Reptoid for the event championship.

Anderson knew what to expect when the rain started during the pit party in the middle of the afternoon, telling the Speed Channel cameras that if it continued he was certain Jim Jack would have Reptoid in the finals. The rains started, never stopping throughout the event, and Anderson was right on the money with his prediction as Jack mowed through his side of the bracket, including a victory over six-time World Champion Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction to make it into the finals and an eventual runner-up finish in the event. To date the biggest win of Jack's career came last season in Orlando on an especially muddy, sloppy track, where Reptoid again handled the conditions best and beat the biggest names in the sport for the win. So after watching Jack handle the adverse conditions brilliantly, again, this time in Alltel Stadium, it is clear to me that Jim Jack and the Reptoid are this sport's version of the premier "mudder" in competition today.

Now let's peek ahead to the Monster Jam World Finals freestyle coming up March 19th at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The 20 trucks that will compete in biggest freestyle competition in history have been announced (you can check the entire line-up on the home page here at USHRA.com) and as you'd expect it is the ultimate line-up of high-flying superstars. The roster for Vegas is packed full of champions at the top of their game and an impressive list of young guns, some who will be taking on these unbelievable obstacles for the first time.

You want the World Finals in freestyle to be the ultimate test. There is no doubt that again the Las Vegas battle will be just that. More, bigger, tougher. That's how I describe the obstacles that will be created on the floor of Sam Boyd Stadium. For a driver who has never competed in the World Finals, and there are a few this year's in the field, it will be an experience unlike any other they have ever had. Talking with drivers who have competed in Vegas before they all agree that nowhere else in the industry is there a freestyle track set-up to prepare a driver for Las Vegas. It's the most challenging floor ever designed, which is why we often see trucks, especially those competing in Vegas for the first time, not able to use the full clock, flipping or damaging their trucks early on. Pacing has become one of the biggest keys in the World Finals. Another factor that will be especially tough on those without previous Vegas experience is the number of obstacles on the floor. Nowhere else will a driver find so many huge things on the course, and in many cases, there's very little room to recover after a spectacular move. A driver who understands combinations, the ability to land one move and immediately start the next, has a huge advantage in Vegas. Madusa is one of the best at combos, which is why she is back as a defending champion. Anderson and Meents wrote the book on combination moves, and they should be the favorites heading into the freestyle war in Las Vegas.

What last year's three-way tie for the title showed is that maybe at Vegas more than anywhere else that one spectacular move, what I call on Speed Channel the "WOW" moment, can catapult a competitor to the top. It's such a star studded and accomplished field in Las Vegas that each driver is well aware that they'll have to find something to separate themselves from the pack in the judges' eyes. It has proven in recent years to be that one incredible stunt that no one else is able to equal that scores best. The other factor the veterans realize is critical and that the newcomers will have to get a handle on quickly is that previously mentioned pacing issue. It may not seem like adding 30 seconds to the time clock would be that big of a deal, having to fill two minutes instead of the 90 seconds time frame in play the rest of the season. But it is. When you are looking at a floor that may include a huge pile of boulders, maybe an airplane, campers on flat bed trailers, even seed containers that are virtually indestructible, that extra 30 seconds can feel like an eternity. If a driver can fill the two minutes with a well paced run, not loafing but not using the truck up early either, and then end the performance with that WOW moment, he or she is likely to head to the stage to collect the World Championship trophy.

I'm not privy to any inside information, but I have been hearing through the rumor mill that the USHRA is putting the finishing touches on a tiebreaker should we again get multiple scores at the top of the ledger. As I've written in this space before, I think that is a great idea. While there is nothing wrong with sharing the title, I think everyone would like to see the finals settled with one undisputed champion. Expanding the field to 20, with a line-up of the best freestylers in the world on the toughest course ever created; separating the best and determining the winner this year will be tougher than ever.