Just a few years removed from being a place where Monster Jam was still working on building the local fan base Jacksonville has now become a city that hosts one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year.

Last Saturday night's Monster Jam in Jax had an all-star roster fired up from the start thanks to the sold out, standing room only crowd in excess of 70,000 excited fans who roared their approval throughout the beautiful Florida evening. The tricky track surface in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, this year a crushed asphalt mix that was needed to drain heavy rains the night before this year's event, just adds to the intrique. Racing on the cyclone style track last weekend was a true test of a driver's ability to adapt to constantly changing conditions and handle a surface unlike any other they perform on during the year.

Seven-time World Champion Tom Meents, who won the racing portion of the Jacksonville event for the second straight year in Maximum Destruction, is one driver who clearly loves the unique challenges that the north Florida venue provides. As much as we tend to think of Meents as a full throttle all the time racer, Tom showed again last Saturday night that he knows how to race with his head as much as his right foot. Scott Hartsock in Gunslinger pushed Meents to the limit during a pair of close losses to Max-D but Meents found a way to stay in control just enough to avoid the mistakes that cost several other high profile racers and then having enough to go for broke coming off the final turn to edge out Hartsock's powerful Ford.

Meents' opponent in the Championship Race was another superstar who obviously loves Jacksonville. That would be Damon Bradshaw, who made the final race against Maximum Destruction behind the wheel of the Air Force Afterburner for the second straight year. The 2007 Rookie of the Year showed no signs of any sophomore slump when he finished in the runner-up spot in racing and tied for third in freestyle with Linsey Weenk and Blue Thunder, that pair finishing behind only freestyle winner Randy Brown in Grave Digger and Max-D in the event scoring, an outstanding showing in the 14 truck talent laden field.

Driver after driver talked about how special the north Florida fans have made the annual trip to the venue near the St. John's river. Virtually half the field continued their freestyle performances well beyond not just regulation time, but after two additional bonus periods as a thank you to the fans who have been a part of the amazing growth of Monster Jam in Jacksonville.

Every competitor that I know arrives in every city that they are scheduled for, no matter the size of the city or the venue, committed to giving the fans the most exciting night of action possible. With that said. It is still natural for Monster Jam's stars to circle the calendar and get even more pumped up when they are scheduled to compete in the sport's most tradition rich events. Houston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Orlando., Tampa, West Lebanon are a few that fit that bill. Now you can definitely add Jacksonville to that list of Monster Jam's greatest annual events.
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