There were so many great stories and incredible accomplishments at the 2007 Monster Jam World Finals that this column is designed to just touch on some of those great moments, in no particular order…..first and foremost I begin with my personal congratulations to Monster Jam’s two new World Champions, John Seasock and Pablo Huffaker. I think many fans and observers thought that this might be a year when one or two of the amazing newcomers in the sport might break through and grab a title, or that the most decorated champs, Tom Meents and/or Dennis Anderson, would add to their world title count. But it turned out to be a year for veterans who have paid their dues. Seasock and Huffaker are two of the most popular men in the sport, not only among fans, but among their peers. Both Anderson and Meents told me that if they couldn’t win John and Pablo were two drivers who deserved the championships, and they were thrilled for both of them.

Seasock’s racing title is truly a testament to his driving style, one where he used his head as well as his foot. The Sam Boyd Stadium track had been record setting fast in Friday night’s qualifying only to change drastically for Saturday’s racing, becoming extremely slick and throwing a curve ball at even the most seasoned veterans. Seasock found a way to negotiate his Batman truck through the chicane carefully, created just enough speed down Thunder Alley to have a shot at the win, and then mastered the tricky turns round after round, culminating with his straight up win over defending champ Anderson and Grave Digger in the World Championship race. A popular and fitting World Racing Champion is John Seasock. As emotional as his first world title was to him on Saturday, the emotions went through the roof at Sunday night’s Awards Banquet in Las Vegas’ Hard Rock. Live Nation Motorsports execs and officials were aware that John’s sons, J.R. and Kyle, had not been able to make the trip to Las Vegas and were at home in Pennsylvania. Almost as soon as Seasock got his hands on the trophy some of the behind the scenes crew were already at work, making arrangements to get John’s sons on a plane to be a part of the Sunday night celebration. They kept the young men hidden from John until the banquet, when Vice President of Operations Roy Janson was on stage, about to present officially the World Championship trophy to John. Before bringing John to the stage Roy asked for Ford Trucks Marketing Manager Todd Eckert to join him on stage and when the door was lifted to reveal Eckert, Seasock’s sons were standing with him. Understandably John was overcome, and it made for one of the most emotional scenes I’ve ever witnessed in covering this sport.

As for Huffaker, before the 2007 World Finals it was being said that Pablo was the sport’s greatest driver never to have won a world title. Certainly he had come closer to a championship more often than any other competitor without winning one. Well all that talk is history now. As many times as Huffaker has been inches a way from a championship, finally the stars were in alignment and Huffaker debuted his new Captain’s Curse body style with a brilliant run that filled the clock and saw the Racesource team, as great of an operation as there is in Monster Jam, take home the most coveted piece of hardware that the sport has to offer. Personally I will be honored to be able to introduce John Seasock and Pablo Huffaker as World Champions at every event I work with them from now on.

My odds were ripped to shreds throughout the night, which happens. As I explained when I wrote the pre-World Finals handicapping column my odds are not predictions, but rankings on how the results should come out based on previous trends. Some years, like in 2006, the chalk is control and the odds are pretty much on the money. This was a year for the dark horses, not really long shots, but drivers who had a little longer odds than the winners the last couple of years have had. And that’s great for the sport. Every other competitor should look at Seasock and Huffaker and realize that if you work hard at your craft, learn something new every chance you get, and give everything you have to the Monster Jam fans in each race and performance that eventually the top prize in the sport is attainable.

Speaking of my annual odds for the World Finals, I always enjoy the reactions I get from the drivers to that column, good or bad. Some like them, some don’t (not surprisingly it’s normally the drivers with the longer odds who take exception to them). This year though I really appreciate the comments I heard after the event from Iron Outlaw driver Linsey Weenk. The young Canadian viewed the odds as they are intended, as mainly a pre-race ranking of where each driver stands based on previous performance. Linsey told me he did not like where I had him ranked in freestyle, but he wasn’t necessarily disagreeing with me. He just intended to earn a higher ranking. So he used those odds as motivation to improve his freestyle game, and went out and turned in what I think was the best freestyle of his brief but impressive career. His score of 29 kept him in the Hot Wheels Hot Seat as the co-leader throughout most of the event until Huffaker turned in his championship run. If you like “what if” games, then try this one out. Iron Outlaw’s 29 ended up as the third best score behind only Captain’s Curse and Grave Digger. So here’s your “what if”: What if Pablo and Dennis’s scores had been lower and 29 was the top score? We would have had a three-way tie between Weenk, Damon Bradshaw’s Air Force Afterburner, and Marc McDonald’s Safe Auto Minimizer. The three young guns would have each had the best score, but the first tie breaker, adding back in the highest score that was thrown out from the six judge panel, would have gone to Iron Outlaw, who came on to the floor second in the 24 truck field. Linsey Weenk was that close to a World Championship, and like his boss (Jimmy Creten who drove Bounty Hunter to the freestyle title in 2005), it would have come not in racing where we almost expect it, but in freestyle. I’m extremely impressed with the way Weenk looked at the odds, then looked in the mirror, and motivated himself to turn in his best performance ever.

There were so many memorable moments at this year’s World Finals, and I know that some will stand the test of time and become truly unforgettable. The first has to be Chad Fortune’s end to his freestyle run in Superman, with the truck defying gravity, planted into the dirt and suspended in the air, straight on the nose of the big Ford. While we were all shocked that he climbed out of the truck while in that precarious state, Chad told me he actually shook the truck several times as hard as he could before deciding to unbuckle, get out, and appreciate the standing ovation he received from the capacity crowd of Monster Jam fans who this year again came from all 50 states, 8 Canadian Provinces, and 12 foreign countries. I think the other moment that any one in attendance will never forget was the encore after all the competition had ended, a celebration of 25 years of Dennis Anderson and the Grave Digger. As the icon approvingly watched from the seats, five team Grave Digger drivers brought their trucks onto the floor and freestyled at the same time! It’s something we may never see again, something that every person in Sam Boyd Stadium was standing and screaming for start to finish.

After all, that’s what the World Finals are all about. Crowning the sport’s champions on a night that features the most spectacular performances in Monster Jam history!