BEST OF MONSTER JAM EUROPE 2007

With the new Monster Jam season starting this coming Saturday night at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, let’s take one more look back at the just completed Monster Jam tour of Europe in 2007 with one announcer’s opinion as to the best of the Euro circuit this year, not just on the track, but also saluting some of the experiences away from the competition that make the entire overseas adventure so special for all of us who have been fortunate to be a part of it. So here is my list of the “Best of Monster Jam Europe 2007”:

BEST DRIVER (RACING) – DAN EVANS: Air Man Dan was the winningest driver on the circuit taking six overall event racing victories behind the wheel of the Jetix sponsored piece. Evans won on the big stadium courses and added smaller arena victories as well to his impressive European resume.

BEST DRIVER (FREESTYLE) – CHAD TINGLER: The Grave Digger driver totally dominated the freestyle competitions in Europe, grabbing 11 event freestyle wins while showing fans all over that continent how Team Grave Digger has led the way in freestyling for a quarter of a century.

BEST EUROPE ROOKIE – NEIL ELLIOTT: Making his first trip ever overseas, Elliott didn’t join the tour until the last two weekends, but he sure did not need much time to adjust. Neil jumped into his Maximum Destruction truck on fire and stayed on a roll, coming up with 2 event racing wins and 3 freestyle competition victories to go along with 5 wheelie contest wins and 4 donut contest triumphs in his two weekends competing in Stockholm and Helsinki.

BEST FREESTYLE – TOM MEENTS, GOTHENBURG: The finale of the two-event day in Gothenburg was special. The fans had witnessed amazing performances throughout both the afternoon and evening events on the huge soccer floor in Ullevi Stadium, then Meents capped the record setting day off with a Maximum Destruction freestyle for the ages. It’s awesome that the Speed TV cameras were there so fans here at home have been able to witness Meents’ incredible performance as well. This freestyle had everything, including our next “Best Of” award winner……

BEST FREESTYLE MOVE – TOM MEENTS, BACK FLIP: Unquestionably the most talked about one moment of the entire Monster Jam World Tour in 2007 was Meents taking Max-D on a climb up the facing of the freestyle Motocross landing ramp, elevating into the air over the top of the ramp, then rotating backwards, the truck hitting the roof and then flipping back over on to its wheels to complete the backwards 360, a Monster Jam first.

BEST HANGTIME – GEORGE BALHAN, GOTHENBURG: Before Meents’ amazing back flip it was actually Balhan who climbed the facing of that ramp in Sweden first. When George got his Escalade to the apex of the jump it felt like he was suspended in mid air for a moment, then he landed Escalade on the top of the ramp, sticking the landing in a way that would have gotten big scores from a judge in a gymnastics competition!

BIGGEST UPSET – FRANK KRMEL, GOTHENBURG: Krmel is one of the real emerging talents in Monster Jam, so while this was not a real shocker, you have to consider it an upset in Gothenburg when Krmel drove El Toro Loco to the Saturday afternoon racing event win over a star-studded field that included the likes of seven-time World Champion Meents, Tingler’s awesome Grave Digger, reigning World Racing Champion John Seasock in Batman, Adam Anderson (who had dominated past Euro tours in Taz), the red-hot Evans, Balhan, and more.

BEST SAVE - DON FRANKISH, CARDIFF: This incredible save in Wales led Frankish to one of the biggest wins of his career as he beat some of the best freestylers in the game to win in Millennium Stadium. At the end of a huge leap Frankish had Jurassic Attack so far over onto the side of the tires that there appeared to be no way to keep the truck from rolling over, but Frankish did just that, wowing the Welch crowd and claiming the Cardiff victory.

BEST EUROPEAN DRIVER – ANDERS FLOGARD: The Swede drove his Thor truck into the Championship Race on two different occasions and did a great job as a newcomer going up against some of the most accomplished racers in the sport. A quick learner, Flogard soaked up advice from many of the experienced Monster Jam veterans in the pits at the European events and proved he can compete on a stage with the world’s best.

BEST CREW CHIEF – R. L. ARACE: With all due respect to all of the hard working crew members who kept the Monster Jam machines running for the entire tour, special recognition goes to R. L., who coordinated the entire mechanical effort; was the first man in the pits and the last to go back to the hotel everyday; and headed up several high intensity thrashing efforts to fix broken machines during events and get them back onto the track to the delight of the European fans.

BEST FREESTYLE MOTOCROSS RIDER – NICK DeWIT: The South African led an impressive array of high flying two wheel talent during the tour, always bringing the crowd to its feet with a wide variety of moves, including several crowd pleasing back flip variations.

BEST OUTDOOR EVENT – ULLEVI STADIUM, GOTHENBURG: The June event, as Monster Jam fans have witnessed on Speed, was so full of highlights that this event certainly rivaled some of the best Monster Jam events we see in the first quarter of the year on the North American continent. Great racing and bar raising freestyles, not to mention the back flip, made this an event the Swedish fans will long remember, and it was obviously popular back home as well, coming in as the number two television program of the year when Speed TV polled fans regarding their favorite shows of 2007 for the Thanksgiving weekend Monster Jam marathon.

BEST INDOOR EVENT – THE GLOBE, STOCKHOLM: Four more sold out events in the Globe this past November shows why this great facility is one of the anchors of the Monster Jam World Tour each and every year. And by the way, tickets for next fall’s Monster Jam in The Globe are already on sale.

BEST NEW VENUE – MILLENIUM STADIUM, CARDIFF: An incredibly modern, state-of-the-art stadium built for soccer adapted wonderfully to its first Monster Jam.  Not only did the Cardiff event set an attendance record for a single Monster Jam event in Europe, but the huge floor, similar in size to Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium, allows the Monster Jam track construction team and the Monster Jam officials to build a long, fast racing course and bring in huge obstacles for freestyle. This stadium, I expect, will host major Monster Jam Europe events for many years to come.

BEST BUILDING STAFF – GELREDOME, ARNHEM: The Gelredome in Holland is also an ultra modern facility, and the fans turn out there in phenomenal numbers, once again nearly selling the place out three times on a single weekend. In a dome! One of the best parts of working this facility, though, is the top notch staff employed in that building, including some of the best audio and video people you’ll find anywhere in the world.

BEST CATERING – HARTWALL ARENA, HELSINKI: The catering in the stadiums and arenas this year was the best ever on the tour start to finish, but the Helsinki catering room was like eating in a fine restaurant meal after meal. But what really puts the Helsinki catering over the top is the ice cream. It may be the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten, and the way I love ice cream, this “Best Of” has to go to Helsinki.

BEST RESTAURANT – NASHVILLE STEAKHOUSE, ARNHEM: Many of us enjoy discovering great restaurants that reflect each country’s culture wherever we go to these different destinations, but it is just a comforting feeling to be so far from home and know where to find a great American style steakhouse. This has become the most popular destination for the Monster Jam Tour participants when we get to this city in The Netherlands, with great steaks and fantastic ribs.

BEST HOTEL – GOTHIA TOWERS, GOTHENBURG: Simply put this is a classy facility in a great location with great restaurants, clubs, and amenities. It also doesn’t hurt that the rooms are some of the most comfortable in all of Europe, and the views from the top floor are breathtaking. If you ever get the chance to stay there, making sure you order the shrimp sandwich. You won’t believe it.

BEST TRANSPORTATION – SILJA LINE, STOCKHOLM TO HELSINKI: The 15-hour ferry ride from Sweden to Finland was spectacular on this cruise style ship. A great, fun time with lots of amazing scenery, including an iceberg spotting.

BEST NON-MONSTER JAM EVENT – (tie) GWEN STEFANI CONCERT, ANTWERP, and JOKERIT HOCKEY, HELSINKI: The up side to having to delay the Monster Jam move in because another event is in the building right before us is that often we are able to attend those events the night before Monster Jam and these two were both “nothing but a good time”. Most of us on the tour had never seen Stefani live until her show in Antwerp, and everybody loved it. Then watching Helsinki’s hockey team play gave those of us who follow North American hockey a lesson in how you are so supposed to play the game, with brilliant skating and great playmaking. And no fighting allowed.

So those are my picks as the Best of Europe 2007. This year’s Monster Jam World Tour was the most successful ever and it sets up for even greater years to come for Monster Jam all over the world. But now it’s time to get back to the business of Monster Jam in this country with the Minneapolis event this weekend the official kick off of the new season. So get ready, the march to the next World Finals starts Saturday, and if Europe was any indication, the superstars are ready to continue raising the bar and taking the sport to new heights in 2008.