To no one’s surprise the busy first quarter of 2007, the main portion of the Monster Jam season culminating with World Finals 8, was the greatest and most spectacular season in the sport’s history. So let’s stop and look back at the competitors and moments that made the 06-07 winter Monster Jam season so special with my annual look at the best I’ve seen during the campaign. (Drum Roll inserted here) Now it’s time to name the winner’s of the 2007 Scotty Awards. As in years past I have so many categories that we will do this in two separate columns here at Monster Jam Online. So, without further adieu, here is part one of my 2007 Scotty Awards:

DRIVER OF THE YEAR – RACING

Winner: JOHN SEASOCK – The new World Racing Champion reached the top of the Monster Jam mountain at Sam Boyd Stadium by showing all of us how to take a fast truck and keep it under control in difficult conditions. When the track got slick and tripped up many of the best racers in the business it was Seasock who kept putting in the winning runs to roll through the bracket and John eventually beat the defending champion, Dennis Anderson and Grave Digger, for his first World Championship. The title capped off Seasock’s greatest racing year ever that also included a huge triumph on Speed TV, when he drove Batman to the racing event victory at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Runner-up: TOM MEENTS – 2007 was one of Meents’ best racing season’s ever, maybe his best leading up to the World Finals. Even though like many he had trouble with the Vegas track conditions at the finals he was nearly flawless the rest of the season, leading all Monster Jam drivers by far with five televised event wins and an amazing round racing record on Speed this season of 20 wins and only 1 loss leading up to World Finals 8. Maximum Destruction spread the defeats out all around the industry as Meents defeated 16 different trucks/drivers during the season in amassing that impressive winning percentage.

DRIVER OF THE YEAR - FREESTYLE

Winner: PABLO HUFFAKER – Capping off another outstanding freestyle season by winning his first World Freestyle Championship, Pablo Huffaker not only grabbed the top prize piloting his new Captain’s Curse truck, he also had another stellar year behind the wheel of his Team Grave Digger machine. One of the sport’s innovators both on the track and in the shop, Huffaker also grabbed the big freestyle trophy when he tied Meents for the win in St. Louis. Like Seasock, Huffaker is a deserving and popular champion.

Runner-up:  ADAM ANDERSON – The pressure on this 21-year old was huge, and unexpected. Adam was supposed to be a real player in 2007 aboard his Taz truck, but due to his father’s injury the young Anderson found himself in the seat of the world’s most famous and popular truck, and having to carry the Grave Digger flag for the highly anticipated 25th anniversary tour no less.  Adam was spectacular, especially in freestyle, all season long and did his Dad and millions of Grave Digger fans proud.

CREW CHIEF OF THE YEAR

Winner: DUSTIN BROWN – Having to wrench on the highest profile truck in the industry brings along with it huge expectations and pressures every year, but this year Brown also had to deal with Dennis Anderson’s injury while helping to keep Grave Digger XX at the top. First adapting the truck so that Chad Tingler could jump in and freestyle it to please the Digger fans after Dennis had been injured during the racing part of the Minneapolis event, then going through the entire first quarter and instantly bonding with Adam Anderson and helping the younger Anderson look like his Dad week after week with spectacular runs, then getting the Digger 100% ready for Dennis to return as impressively as he did in Las Vegas, it was a busy and sometimes trying season for Brown. Week after week Dustin proved to be up to the challenge.

Runner-up:  STEVE KOEHLER – This guy is amazing. As the Crew Chief for both Avenger and Brutus, Steve spends the entire first quarter knowing one thing for certain: each and every week he has two trucks that will be coming back to him in pieces. Jim Koehler and Chris Bergeron go out every weekend and put on wild performances that the fans love. They hold nothing back. The end of a major stadium show consistently finds Steve Koehler taking an inventory on what’s torn up and formulating a plan to get both pieces put back together for the next show. And week after week, no matter what his driver’s do to the machines, Steve and his team have both Avenger and Brutus back and ready for more carnage the following weekend.

TEAM OF THE YEAR – RACING

Winner: TEAM MEENTS – The only thing this team did not accomplish in ’07 was adding another World Racing Championship. Tom Meents, as noted above, was dominant in racing throughout the ’07 season. Neil Elliot drove the second Maximum Destruction truck and racked up win after win throughout the season. Team Meents may not have been unbeatable in racing, but a loss for either Meents or Elliot was extremely rare during the 06-07 tour.
.
Runner-up: TEAM BATMAN/BLUE THUNDER – Considered as a team here because they traveled together and worked together as a unit all season, the combo of Batman and Blue Thunder was outstanding. Both John Seasock and Tony Farrell won over 70% of the televised round races that they competed in, and only Meents could boast a higher percentage. The drivers really gelled with their Crew Chiefs, Coty Saucier turning the wrenches for Seasock’s Batman and Bill Easterly Jr. under the hood of Farrell’s Blue Thunder. This team found the winner’s stage at some of Monster Jam’s biggest racing events in 2007: Atlanta (Seasock/Batman), Detroit (Farrell/Blue Thunder), and of course, Las Vegas (Seasock/Batman).

TEAM OF THE YEAR – FREESTYLE

Winner: TEAM GRAVE DIGGER  - The return of Dennis Anderson in Las Vegas after missing most of the season with injuries capped off an incredible season of high-flying performances for each member of the team that represents the deepest pool of driver talent ever assembled. Adding the young rising superstar Adam Anderson for this one season to complement a unit of freestyle greats that includes not only the icon, Dennis Anderson, but World Champion Pablo Huffaker as well as the amazing talents of Charlie Pauken, Randy Brown, Gary Porter, Chad Tingler, and Rod Schmidt, it’s easy to see why, especially on the 25th anniversary tour, Team Grave Digger remains at the head of the freestyle class.

Runner-up: TEAM MEENTS – Even though neither Team Grave Digger nor Team Meents added to their World Championship total in 2007, both units were again consistently amazing on a weekly basis in this year’s freestyle competitions. Those competitions really became wars when Maximum Destruction and Grave Digger were in the same building, and the fans were the winners as the teams constantly tried to out-do each other. Just like in racing both Meents and Elliot were phenomenal and added a host of new event freestyle winner trophies to the collection they’ve taken back to their Paxton, IL, shop year after year.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Winner: DAMON BRADSHAW – Clearly one of the most impressive rookies that Monster Jam has ever seen. The former Supercross legend came out of his motorsports retirement to debut in Minneapolis and looked like, well, a rookie. From that point on Bradshaw proved to be one of the quickest learners we’ve seen, soaking up counsel from former Air Force Afterburner driver Paul Cohen as well as the likes of Anderson and Meents. By late in his rookie season Bradshaw was a contender at every competition and closed the winter with a strong performance at his World Finals debut, putting the Air Force Afterburner near the top of the greatest freestyle competition on the planet. His winning mentality transfers nicely from two wheels to four wheels and most feel that Damon Bradshaw is going to be a top contender for world titles for years to come.

Runner-up: BOBBY PARR – Another rookie to Monster Jam that’s not a rookie in motorsports. A former Pikes Peak champion, the off-road and quad racing expert graduated from a Suzuki quad to a Suzuki sponsored 10,000 pound monster and was right at home. Already a threat to win any race he lines up for Parr was also surprisingly good right off the bat in freestyle and like Bradshaw, the upside on Bobby Parr in the future is huge.

BREAKTHROUGH WIN OF THE YEAR

Winner: JOHN SEASOCK IN BATMAN WINS RACING, Georgia Dome, Atlanta  – The veteran has had lots of success in his long career, but that career stepped up to an even higher level when Seasock bested an all-star line-up to win one of the season’s biggest events, the annual sold out affair at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. As it turns out this was a sign of even bigger things to come as Seasock went on to win the 2007 World Racing Championship.

Runner-up: DAMON BRADSHAW TIES FOR FREESTYLE WIN, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville, FL  - Bradshaw showed just how far he has come in the final pre-World Finals tune-up in Jacksonville. Bradshaw’s big air freestyle had the capacity crowd in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on their feet, then amazed when the truck went into a violent crash as he filled the :90 second time clock, and the truck erupted in flames. Bradshaw was out of the burning Air Force Afterburner in a heartbeat and as the fire was extinguished Bradshaw went up into the crowd to celebrate the run with his fans. Bradshaw tied Meents for the win in freestyle that night and barely missed his first double down trophy, having made it to the racing finals before losing a tough race to Meents in the finale.

THRASH OF THE YEAR AWARD

Winner: NEIL ELLIOT, GARY PORTER AND FRIENDS, Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, RI – This was one of those moments that the fans never see but are the real beneficiaries of. During the Saturday afternoon matinee Elliot blows Maximum Destruction’s engine at the end of a blistering freestyle. That was a little after 4:00 p.m. Doors were set to open for the next event that evening at 6:30 p.m. So tech official Jim Ursini hopped into the loader and Elliot went under Max-D’s hood to start disconnecting the motor so it could be removed. The first person to show up with a wrench in hand to assist was Grave Digger driver Gary Porter. Several others, including John Seasock’s teenage son J.R. all jumped in to help where they could. With Elliot and Porter leading the frantic thrash Max-D’s engine was pulled out, several working parts were pulled off of the bad motor to be added to the back up motor, and the replacement was put in and prepared for the night event. Yes, they had Max-D ready to go with another engine in it when the doors opened again at 6:30!

Runner-up: 2XTREME RACING, Reliant Stadium, Houston  – Jimmy Creten’s team was put to the test and responded to the challenge during Monster Jam’s high profile event last February at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. Creten had been strong from the start of the night and raced Bounty Hunter into a highly anticipated final round showdown against Meents and Max-D. The seven-time world champ came out the winner as the Bounty Hunter’s transmission gave out. Undaunted, the entire 2Xtreme team rolled up their sleeves and proceeded to pull the bad transmission out and put in a new one. Iron Outlaw driver Linsey Weenk and Dawn Creten’s Scarlet Bandit team joined in the thrash to get the boss out for freestyle. Not only did they get the tranny changed so Bounty could freestyle, they had the truck running at 100%, and Jimmy turned in a great performance that saw him finish a close third that night behind Meents and Adam Anderson.

UPSET OF THE YEAR

Winner: LEE O’DONNELL IN TAZ WINS RACING, Citrus Bowl, Orlando – With regular Taz driver Adam Anderson piloting his father’s Grave Digger that same night in Phoenix, road racing veteran O’Donnell was summoned to campaign Taz in the Citrus Bowl and he delivered big time. O’Donnell scored an upset over Randy Brown’s Grave Digger in the semifinals before defeating defending Orlando race winner Steve Reynolds and Cowboy in securing his first Speed televised Monster Jam racing win.    

Runner-up: CHARLIE PAUKEN DRIVES MONSTER MUTT INTO THE SEMIFINAL ROUND AT THE WORLD FINALS, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas  – I have to include Chucky’s run to the final four at Vegas here because very few people thought it was possible for Pauken, even as good we know he is, to drive the chop top Mercury that is so difficult to see out of, and on a very slick track, into the semifinal round on the fastest race course in the industry. Add to that the fact that to get to the elite final four status he had to eliminate two of the pre-race favorites, Farrell in Blue Thunder followed by Meents in Max-D, and you can see why several people were quite surprised to see Charlie Pauken and Monster Mutt in the racing semifinals at World Finals 8.

There are more Scotty Awards to come. So be sure to check this space next week to see my winners in several more categories as we continue to salute the best of 2007 with the Scotty Awards Part II.