News, notes, and behind the scene happenings from the opening of the 2009 Monster Jam on Speed TV season in Minneapolis last weekend:

We all have moments, dates, maybe even numbers that hold a special, personal meaning in our lives. In Minneapolis last weekend we found out just how special the number 36 is to Jim Koehler. That was the number Mr. Excitement scored to win the Metrodome freestyle competition, and when Speed TV analyst Mark Schroeder and I interviewed him on the Champion’s Stage he reminded us just how special that number is to him. “I won with a 36,” the excited Koehler told the cheering Minneapolis crowd. “The last time I had a 36 was when I won the championship in Las Vegas (in 2003). Now we start this season with that number and we’re going on to try to win the title again!” Certainly Koehler showed us that his brand new Avenger may just be the piece that can finally hold up to his spectacular driving style. I mean, after his incredible freestyle that was, frankly, a no doubt winner in Minny, Jimmy actually drove the Avenger off the track in one piece, something that has happened rarely in the past. Team Scream’s other new truck, the all new Brutus also looked tougher than ever. If the team really has finally figured out how to come up with machines tough enough to take the weekly abuse Koehler and Chris Bergeron put them through, then look out, both will be major players, especially in freestyle, all along the upcoming road to the 10th annual Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals March 28th in Las Vegas.

If you are wondering how Avenger scored a 36 when for years, except in Las Vegas, a 30 was the highest possible score, here’s the answer: a new freestyle scoring system, in my opinion the most elaborate and potentially the fairest system the sport has yet seen. In Minneapolis Monster Jam officials used 8 judges, four on each side of the dome. When they put their scores in the air the high and low scores from each side were eliminated, so every driver received two scores from each side of the building to make up their regulation score. Then if the driver continued on past the 90 second regulation time a 30 second bonus time period was available. For the bonus time yet another judge, this one in the press box, scored up to 5 additional points. You talk about consistency. All eight judges held up scores of 8 after Avenger’s run, so the four 8’s that were counted gave Jim a regulation score of 32, and the bonus judge added 4 points for Koehler’s high energy bonus time run.  Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction actually equaled Koehler’s 32 in regulation, but Max-D flipped with time on the clock and never entered bonus time, so those 4 bonus points secured Koehler the season opening freestyle victory.

Big thumbs up to the Monster Jam officials regarding the new freestyle scoring system. The sport has become so competitive that in the interest of fairness, more judges provide the best chance of making sure the true deserving winner gets the top scores. And I love the fact that they put four judges on each side of the Metrodome. There is no doubt that you can get a different perspective depending on where you are watching from, so the new system takes that into account and forces the drivers to try and make sure they attack all parts of the freestyle floor equally. We’ll never find a perfect system; freestyle judging is always going to be subjective. But the new system, in my opinion, worked better than any we’ve ever had before, and I for one hope it is going o be used at all  of the major events this coming season. The bottom line is that the new system got it absolutely right. Koehler deserved the win, and he got it. As excited as he always is, Koehler is hitting an even higher level of enthusiasm now. He is really, really pumped up for the new season.

Meents won racing and so his second place freestyle finish put him very close to another Double Down trophy on a night that was as emotional for Tom as any I have ever witnessed. On the winner’s stage when Sara Dayley interviewed Meents for the Speed TV broadcast a teary eyed Meents dedicated the win to young fan Ryan Coe, whose funeral had been held earlier that day. Despite battling illness Ryan and his family have always been huge Tom Meents fans, and there was even a special video piece produced a year ago after Advance Auto Parts donated a new engine so that Tom could work with Ryan’s family to fix up an awesome jeep for the young leukemia victim, and despite his illness getting worse, Tom told me that the 15 year old loved learning to drive on the sweet ride that he had been given. During my interview with Meents in front of the live crowd after his racing victory last Saturday night Tom told me that he “took Ryan along for the ride” during his Minneapolis triumph. His Maximum Destruction truck even had “In Memory of Ryan Coe” painted on the door. After Coe passed away last Tuesday Meents said he felt badly that he could not be at the funeral since it was on the same day as the Minny show, but I have to believe that Tom’s special dedication to Ryan will be remembered even longer by the family once Tom’s victorious tribute airs for the entire world to see on Speed. Tom told me that he has some great pictures from Saturday night that Executive Producer Mike McFarlin forwarded to him, and he is framing those and taking them, along with the trophy he won in Minneapolis last Saturday and will give them to Ryan’s family this week.

Suzuki driver Bobby Parr had a smile across his face as big as his native state of Texas, and it had nothing to do with his brand new Suzuki Ford, even though he had every reason to be proud after he opened the freestyle competition with an outstanding run. No, the huge smile came while standing on the wheel of his Suzuki ride with his hand on his heart as the National Anthem was being sung. The singer just happened to be Bobby‘s adorable seven year old daughter Ariel, who did such a wonderful job singing to start the event that the crowd began cheering so wildly on the last verse that you could not hear her sing “home of the brave”. It was a thrilling moment and the Parr’s are rightfully proud parents of one very talented little girl.

Since Pablo Huffaker drove the truck to the 2007 World Freestyle Championship Captain’s Curse has understandably become known as a freestyle contender, but Alex Blackwell is serving notice that you had better watch out for him in racing every time out. The last two times I’ve seen Alex in the Captain he was the second fastest qualifier at the NGK Spark Plugs World Finals last March where he raced into the final four there in the sport’s most challenging race bracket, and then last weekend in Minneapolis he set the fastest time and again made it to the semifinals before losing in a photo finish to two time defending and reigning World Racing Champion John Seasock in Batman.

Also in Minneapolis Dennis Anderson was as excited as a teenager on a first date when looking ahead to the new season. The icon truly is living a dream: his son Adam is the World Freestyle Champion, his son Ryan is about to burst onto the Monster Jam scene, and Dennis himself is still competing at the sport’s highest level. It’s rare for any athlete to compete against his sons or daughters, but even rarer that all of them are championship contenders, which is where we obviously will be for the next few years.

Fans are going to love the start of the new season when it hits Speed TV in early 2009 because the action was just spectacular last weekend. I’ve mentioned some of the highlights, but a few others were turned in by George Balhan, who had one of the best freestyle’s of his career in Escalade; Linsey Weenk, who gets the “Big Air Award” for the night with a huge leap in Blue Thunder; and Damon Bradshaw, who was fantastic in the Air Force Afterburner. Watching Bradshaw blister the Metrodome floor it really is hard to believe that just two years ago, in the same building, the former Supercross legend competed in Monster Jam for the first time.
Really, all I can say is WOW when looking back on the season opening action, and thinking ahead: if this is just the beginning, then get your tickets now fans. The 2009 season leading up to the 10th annual NGK Spark Plugs World finals promises to provide the greatest thrills and most riveting Monster Jam stories that we’ve ever witnessed.