Before we roll into a new year of Monster Jam thrills, let’s look back at 2008 with my annual “Scotty Awards”. For several years now I’ve selected my personal list of the year’s top moments and accomplishments and acknowledged the best of the best in this column, but in the past I’ve named the winners in the spring, normally a few weeks after the NGK Spark Plugs World Finals. I’ve decided that since the USHRA hands out its official honors each year in Las Vegas the day after the championships are decided, it’s a little redundant for my picks to come out that close to the big show in Las Vegas, so I’m changing these awards to reflect the best of each calendar year rather than being announced after the busy winter season. So with this change in mind, to now start the Scotty Awards as an end of the year column, these awards this time will actually take into account 13 months of action, from December 2007 through the present , and then in future years I’ll have the Scotty Awards based on each calendar year. With that change in the process explained, let’s get to the winners of the 2008 Scotty Awards.

DRIVER OF THE YEAR (RACING) – John Seasock, Batman: Winning his second consecutive World Racing Championship in 2008 Seasock takes this honor after joining Tom Meents as the only racers ever to go back-to-back at the NGK Spark Plugs World Finals in racing. Seasock was solid throughout the year with lots of round by round wins, making it into several championship races at events in stadiums and arenas alike, but with the magnitude of what the Las Vegas event has become, winning a second straight title earns Seasock D-O-Y accolades.

DRIVER OF THE YEAR (FREESTYLE) – Adam Anderson, Taz: Like Seasock, the magnitude of the finals in Las Vegas pushes the young Anderson over the top as the winner in this category. Adam had an outstanding 2008 all over the globe and collected several freestyle event victories along the way. Then to become the youngest World Champion ever with his incredible run at Sam Boyd Stadium gives Adam the freestyle award.

DRIVER OF THE YEAR (WORLD TOUR EVENTS) – Charlie Pauken, Grave Digger: It was another competitive year outside of the US with a series of phenomenal events and amazing performances. Many drivers wowed thousands of our newest fans throughout the season, none more so than Pauken. At several events in Europe Chucky showed them how he has become one of the most revered freestyle performers in the business and added even more new Grave Digger fans to the largest following in the sport.

TEAM OF THE YEAR – Team Meents: Once again in 2008 Tom Meents and Neil Elliot were the favorites every where they competed, and both drivers kept the Maximum Destruction truck on the winner’s stage on a regular basis. They earn Team of the Year honors as a hard working group for the amazing efforts the entire team puts in to keep the trucks running at a championship level despite what the Team Meents drivers put the equipment through week in and week out, and Tom and Neil get lots of credit for being legitimate threats to win both racing and freestyle wherever they go. And in 2008, despite their disappointment in Las Vegas, again the Max-D team earned a truck load of championship trophies. Along with Meents and Elliot, the outstanding work of Chuck Warner, Kevin Lewis, Brandon Lambert, Tim Missenztis, and others who pitched into this hard working operation came through week after week. Kreg Christensen, a great driver, joins the team in the second Max-D truck for 2009, but he knows he has some big shoes to fill. We’ll miss you, Neil.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Kristy Edge, Jurassic Attack: Here comes the next wave of talented young ladies ready to challenge the big boys. Kristy showed us no fear in her freshman season and came up with several head turning performances. Edge had a strong first season and shows tons of promise to become a major star in the future.

MOST IMPROVED DRIVER – Steve Sims, Stonecrusher: Sims meteoric rise in the Monster Jam ranks continued with his first invitation to the Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals this year, and the personable Virginian did not disappoint. Since he jumped into the sport, first as an owner, then as a driver, Sims has done things the right way. As an owner he hired the best people and bought the best equipment, and as a driver he has done his homework and learned from the best, which paid off with his best year yet in 2008, and I expect even bigger things are coming from Sims’ team.

BEST NEW TRUCK/TEAM – Donkey Kong/Frank Krmel: Right from this team’s debut in Minneapolis in December 2007, Krmel’s piece was popular with fans and he drove the wheels off of it. Krmel has worked his way up the ladder to where he is knocking on the door of the sport’s elite, and it was clear just how much respect he has from his peers when he was voted the Driver of the Year by other drivers and crews at the annual Monster Jam Fleet Summit in November.

BIGGEST AIR AWARD – Dennis Anderson, Grave Digger: Arriving in Minneapolis in December of 2007 freshly fitted with a new Hans Device and some amazing new shock and chassis technology to work with, Anderson started last winter’s season with a leap for the ages. We will probably have technology available in the future that will measure the actual height of the incredible jumps today’s Monster Jam pilots are turning in week after week, but to the naked eye, I have never seen a truck fly higher in the air than Dennis did that night in the Metrodome.

UPSET OF THE YEAR – Nathan Weenk, El Toro Loco: Nathan gets the nod here not for his first racing win, but for his second Speed TV triumph at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Yes, Weenk did shock the field by winning the race bracket at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, and taking nothing away from that accomplishment, he won that event in a downpour where he outlasted a star studded field in a mud bath that changed the entire competition. Weenk backed that win up by going to Orlando, on an awesome new race track design that resembled a mini-Sam Boyd Stadium, and with a win over Grave Digger in the finale surprised everyone by showing that Linsey is not the only talented racer in the Weenk family.

SETTING THE BAR HIGH AWARD – Chad Tingler, Monster Mutt Dalmatian: Over the years I have gained a great appreciation for drivers who come out early in a freestyle draw, especially those who have to go first, and rock the house. It never fails. Let the first driver come out and turn in a spectacular run, and the fans are treated to some of the best start to finish freestyle shows as each and every following driver has to go all out to try and keep raising the bar. No one set a higher bar than Tingler did, opening the NGK Spark Plug World Finals freestyle in the spotted Mutt with a performance that set the bar so high only a few drivers could get over it. His leap over the three buses set the tone for the event, and Adam Anderson knew he had to at least match that jump in order to win. Adam definitely earned the title, but it was clearly the opening run by Tingler that established what it would take to become the World Champion.

ROLLOVER OF THE YEAR – Dawn Creten, Scarlet Bandit: Same event (Las Vegas), same raising of the bar as Tingler to come oh so close to the world title. Dawn has won freestyle events in major stadiums before and she has turned in many memorable runs, but this was her best ever start to finish performance, highlighted by this barrel rolling pirouette after leaping the aforementioned three bus obstacle. In a night full of memorable moments Creten’s rollover is right at the top of the list.

BEST INTERVIEW OF THE YEAR – (tie) Adam Anderson and Tom Meents: As an announcer and broadcaster, this award goes to the drivers who were able to bring such great emotion to the conversation that they captivated the fans, and made them feel a part of the moment. For me, being able to be standing right there with Adam as Maximum Destruction finished his run at the finals and then grabbing an immediate interview as Adam realized he had won the World Championship and his entire family rushed the stage was an incredible moment. It brought back memories of his father’s first racing championship and that celebration that, to this day, stands out as one of the sport’s defining moments. When the incredulous young champion looked at me with eyes swelled by proud tears and said “what do I do now, Scott?” you could hear the roar of the tens of thousands of fans appreciating what a special moment they were witnessing. Then to wrap up the 2008 calendar year with Meents opening the new season by winning the Minneapolis race event, and having Tom fight through his tears in an interview with Mark Schroder and me to dedicate the race to a young friend who had lost a battle with leukemia earlier that week captivated the crowd and caused many a wet eye in the stadium at that moment.

BEST MECHANICAL MOMENT – European Pit Crew, Arnhem, Holland: Twelve of the world’s best Monster Jam trucks and drivers. The largest total attendance for a weekend on the Monster Jam World Tour. Three sensational events, contested in a huge stadium, all in less than a 28 hour period. Make no mistake about it; while the fans were giving standing ovations to the drivers, the drivers were paying tribute to the European pit crew that kept putting machines back together no matter how much damage was inflicted. After two destruction filled shows on Saturday the crews and drivers thrashed until 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning, went back to the hotel for a shower and an hour of sleep, then returned to the Gelredome and continued their amazing work. The number that stands out to me on that weekend is 36. We came to Holland and started the three shows in two days with 36 freestyle performances scheduled. We walked off the floor Sunday night after a weekend of carnage where the fans had been treated to each and every planned run. 36 freestyles on the schedule, 36 freestyles completed thanks to the incredible pit work in Arnhem.

BEST INNOVATION – This one goes to the USHRA officials who created the new freestyle scoring system that debuted in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. It may not be practical at every event, but for the sport’s highest profile shows the expansion to eight judges, and splitting them up so that four are on one side of the building and the other four are all the way across the floor is in my opinion the best and fairest scoring system ever created for such a subjective competition.

BEST DOME/STADIUM EVENT - Citrus Bowl, Orlando: In this category I don’t consider the World Finals because that event is in a league of its own and would win this every year. So other than Las Vegas, my pick as the best outdoor event is the central Florida city where the fans have sold the building out for years and show up in the wee hours of the morning to tailgate all day long and turn this into one of the traditional highlights on the annual schedule. Then with the creation of the new race track that actually started the truck racing on Church Street outside of the stadium, then roaring into a mini Thunder Alley, gave the Orlando fans the greatest racing bracket they’ve ever seen live, which led into a crowd pleasing night of freestyle action.

BEST ARENA EVENT – Freedom Hall, Louisville: There were so many amazing events in smaller spaces during the year, but in this category I’ll take the fall Fright Night event in Louisville’s Freedom Hall. I’ll admit to personal bias here since I live close to this historic building and have been a part of events here dating back to the late 80’s, but when you take an 8 truck line-up of the sport’s biggest names and cut ‘em loose on a large arena floor you get an event that over delivers for a fan base that includes some of the most loyal fans who have supported Monster Jam for more than two decades.

BEST SUMMER EVENT – Monsters on Main Street, League City/Houston: Ford has in just three short years created a true summer highlight for a sport based on winter action. Monsters on Main Street has become THE event for fans and competitors in the summer, where one of the sport’s greatest sponsors treats fans to the greatest prize a Monster Jam fan could ever hope for: their own Monster Jam event in their hometown. The line-up was all World Finals caliber, and the action was the most spectacular of the summer season.

BEST WOLD TOUR EVENT – Gelredome, Arnhem, Holland: First let me say a special word of tribute to the fans in Stockholm and Helsinki who have made the two longest running stops on the European portion of the tour so amazing year after year, but this award has to go to what has become the highest profile event outside of the U.S. in Arnhem. Three stadium events in two days, with the previously mentioned unprecedented level of excellence on the track and in the pits, and record setting attendance make Arnhem the center of the Monster Jam world in Europe.
So there you have it, one announcer/broadcaster’s opinion on the best of the best in 2008. Now here comes the best part: it’s time to start a brand new year of Monster Jam excitement and I’m sure the picks for the 2009 Scotty Awards will be tougher than ever as every single person in the sport commits to making this the greatest season ever. So let’s get it started!