NOTES FROM THE MONSTER JAM ROAD – EURO STYLE

News and notes from the Monster Jam World Tour heading into the 2007 finale this weekend in Helsinki, Finland…..

Monster Jam in Europe continues to explode in popularity, nowhere more so than in Sweden. Last June Monster Jam’s first ever appearance at Ullevi Stadium set a new Monster Jam Europe one day attendance record, then last weekend the Swedish fans were back out in force at the Globe in Stockholm where capacity crowds were on hand for all four arena events. It was especially satisfying to see how many fans in the Globe had also been in attendance at the June stadium events in Gothenburg. Tickets are already on sale for the 2008 events in Sweden, with Monster Jam returning to Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg next June, then back to the Globe in Stockholm in November of ’08.

The ability of the Monster Jam drivers and crews to adapt to almost any difficult situation so far from home continues to amaze me. Watching everyone pitch in to get the engine completely changed in Dan Evans’
Jetix truck between the afternoon and evening events last Saturday was the perfect example, and when Dan was able to rock the house Saturday night it was clear that all of the repairs had been made to get Jetix all the way back to 100 percent. It was almost as stunning to see the crews fix a four link bar and drive shaft after Evans made an incredible save during qualifying. Not just that they were able to fix the truck, but they made the repairs so quickly Jetix was back on the track for the first round of racing.

The Team Meents camp loves a challenge, and when the other drivers were telling Neil Elliott his Maximum Destruction truck would not be able to do any good sky wheelies because the engine is in the front of the truck, not to mention that the truck is seven years old, Elliott responded big time. All weekend long Elliott amazed the crowd, as well as his fellow competitors, not to mention one announcer who has seen his share of wheelies. Elliott dominated those contests all weekend, topped off Sunday afternoon when he flew the truck completely over the car stack and landed perfectly on the tail, the truck literally planted into the dirt ramp with the nose pointed toward the sky. After that the crews did not need to make any repairs, but they did have to get out shovels and brooms because when the truck was pulled back down to the ground Elliott had packed at least a cubic yard of tacky clay into the rear frame of the truck, so much that it shoved in the safety switch on the rear of the truck that is designed to shut off the truck in an emergency. Once all of that clay and dirt was removed Elliott was still at the top of his game, going on to win both racing and freestyle for a Euro version of a double down.

With television ratings for the European Monster Jam TV series at an all time high the Swedes clearly took a cue from the American audiences with their creative signs in support of their favorites, and Chad Tingler was getting lots of love for his performances in Grave Digger. A home made, huge, Grave Digger top hat and an oversized skull and cross bones flag that had to be six to eight feet long were a couple that stood out.

As I pointed out recently in this column, the seat time that new drivers can get when they compete in Europe is invaluable. Rookie Candice Jolly flipped her Monster Mutt Dalmatian twice in Stockholm, but after each roll she went back to the pits and spent her time talking with her Crew Chief, Ben “Bobo” Winslow, along with the veteran drivers and other crew chiefs on hand about what she can do differently in each of those situations. You can talk all you want about how to handle certain situations but there is no substitute for actually doing it and then being able to immediately get expert advice on how to handle these situations better in the future. Candice is benefiting greatly from all of this seat time overseas and I expect it will pay big dividends for her in the first quarter of 2008.

Anders Flogard has been really strong in the Thor truck, and it would not surprise me if in the near future he tries his hand in some American events.
While Monster Jam is still in its infancy in Europe as far as Europe based trucks go, Thor is obviously one that is already competitive with the American machines and Flogard has learned lots from his American counterparts, developing very quickly into a top notch Monster Jam talent. I know that he has earned lots of respect from the Monster Jam regulars that he has competed against this year.

Back to Dan Evans, he is not only having a great fall driving Jetix, he is chomping at the bit to get home and hop back into his new Destroyer truck. I’ve known Dan for a long time and I don’t think I have ever seen him this excited about heading into a new season. His confidence is sky high and 2008 may just be a huge year for one of the most respected and well liked drivers in the sport.

Finally, there apparently is nothing like winning a World Championship and having a cool concept body to get everyone’s attention. John Seasock has been one of the most popular competitors with fans and media throughout Europe. The kids especially love the Batman machine in all of the European events he has competed in, so he’s used to long lines to get his autograph at the pit parties and lots of Batman t-shirts and pennants in every crowd. And when the media arrives one of the first interviews they want to get is one with the reigning World Racing Champion, and John’s always happy to oblige. It adds up to Seasock now being one of the most popular and well known Monster Jam personalities outside of the US as well as at home.