Adam Anderson was clearly on the fast track to Monster Jam's pinnacle from his first days on the circuit, but it was on the European tour two years ago that the Taz driver broke through as a consistent winner, finding tremendous success on the Monster Jam World Tour. From there Double A carried that momentum back to the states, culminating in his first World Championship last March in Las Vegas.

Less than a month after Anderson wrapped up that wildly successful 2006 run in Europe former Supercross star Damon Bradshaw made his Monster Jam debut at the Metrodome in Minneapolis driving the Air Force Afterburner, a season that saw Bradshaw make an immediate impact in Monster Jam that ended with him earning Rookie of the Year honors. Now in 2008 it is Bradshaw that may be taking that next step toward the top of the sport by emerging as a big winner on this year's European circuit.

Bradshaw has been steadily rising up the Monster Jam ranks into elite status very quickly and now he is taking major breakthrough steps in European action. Taking advantage of an opportunity to gain so much invaluable seat time across the pond, competing in the El Toro Loco machine, Bradshaw has already stepped on to the winner's stage twice with a pair of big stadium freestyle event victories.

When you look at all of this month's European event results Bradshaw's wins stand out even more considering this appears to be one of those years when the biggest names in the game are dominating. The bottom line so far is that every 2008 Euro racing bracket and every European frestyle competition this year have been won by either Maximum Destuction (5 event trophies so far) or Grave Digger (2 event wins), the only exceptions to the dominance of the big two: Bradshaw's El Toro Loco wins and Alex Blackwell's freestyle triumph aboard Monster Mutt in Cardiff, Wales.

There is one more event in Europe before the tour takes a two month break, returning this fall. That event is at a new venue for Monster Jam Europe, a big stadium event in Brussels. I will have the pleasure of being there live for that one and I'm really looking forward to seeing how excited the Belgian fans are for this mega show. I've seen how enthusiastic they were the past three years at sold out, thrilling arena events in Antwerp and I'm expecting them to be louder than ever when they witness a huge stadium event for the first time in that beautiful country.

I am also going to be looking closely at Damon Bradshaw's performances, especially watching to see if, like Adam Anderson before, Damon is able to become a consistent winner on the European stage. That was a part of the formula that saw Anderson break through to the top of the game faster than almost anyone expected. Now with even more stadiums on the Monster Jam Europe Tour, the annual trek across the Atlantic is providing more opportunities than ever before for the sport's emerging young stars to gain incredible experience on huge floors, fast race courses, big freestyle obstacles, and to perform constantly in front of sold out houses full of Monster Jam's newest fervant fans.