Over the past few seasons we've seen some almost meteoric rises in the Monster Jam ranks. Adam Anderson, Damon Bradshaw, and Madusa come to mind in this crop of natural talents that seemed to succeed as soon as they jumped behind the wheel of one of these 10,000 pound machines. That trio remains the exception rather than the rule. More often it's the drivers who have worked their way up the ladder for years, starting at the bottom and working on their craft to improve every time out who finally break into the sport's elite. John Seasock and Pablo Huffaker are a couple who fit into that category. Now you can add another name to the latter list: Daron Basl.

Still relatively young as Monster Jam drivers go, Basl is a seasoned veteran with several years under his belt as both a mechanic and driver, the past few seasons piloting El Matador. Basl has been a shoe that we've noticed on a steady upward climb in recent years, and the Oregon native finally broke through with the biggest win of his career when he took the racing trophy at the Speed TV event in front of a sold out Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Sure lots of things fell into place for him, but you can say that about almost any winner at a major event. Everyone needs some breaks to go there way, and the key is to take advantage of them and take care of business, which Basl did victoriously in the Gateway City. Did it help his run to triumph when fast qualifier Tom Meents watched his Maximum Destruction engine go up in smoke? Of course. Did teammate David Smith lend a hand by driving King Krunch to an upset victory over Charlie Pauken and Grave Digger in the second round? Absolutely. But the bottom line is that Basl earned his first championship trophy by being better that his opponent in each round, winning every race by being fast and consistent. He wasn't handed anything, he won each round in route to the biggest celebration of his emerging career as a driver.

The Championship Race deserves special praise for both Basl and his opponent, Brutus driver Chris Bergeron. So often when drivers get their first shot at a major event trophy they succumb to the pressure, making a mistake that costs them a win and chalking that moment up as a valuable learning experience. Not the case this time. Both Basl and Bergeron ran great races to delight the capacity crowd with an exciting Championship Race.

We've watched Basl develop in recent years to where his St. Louis win may rate as a surprise, but it's not a stunner. Daron consistently qualifies well and rarely beats himself by over driving the course, so he has become a bigger threat to the established superstars each time out. The same in freestyle where we've gotten used to El Matador coming out early in the draw and setting the bar high, spending lots of time in the hot seat as he forced more established superstars to go even bigger to defeat him. Now Daron's rise takes a major step up with his St. Louis race triumph.

One driver who is no doubt thrilled about Daron's win is his brother, TMN Turtle driver Aaron. I'm sure he's thrilled for his sibling but I'll bet he's itching for his next chance to duplicate Daron's break through win.

The rest of this week's column will be the transcript of the final part of the lengthy interview we did in Edmonton where World Champion John Seasock asked me the questions:

John: Let's talk more about where you think the sport is going to go.

Scott; Again I think freestyle is developing into more of a creative and technical thing. Racing is what it is. These trucks are going to keep getting faster because that's the nature of motorsports. And I love the racing part of Monster Jam. You guys have made it so competitive in racing. Think about last year's World Finals. Those races were just breathtaking, especially at the finish line. Round one may have been the best round of racing I've ever seen and you weren't even in it.

John: Yeah, I agree.

Scott: I mean how many photo finishes did we have in that one round of racing? And it happened because it means so much to everyone, the trucks and the drivers are so good. And because of the success you and some others have had every body in that field believes that they can win, and they so badly want to win. So I think we're still at the beginning in terms of the development of this sport.

John: As a driver I sit in my truck waiting and I hear you talking to the judges. I hear you tell them things like this isn't a popularity contest, it doesn't matter what color the truck is, or what somebody's name is, judge on how you think they did on this night. From a driver's standpoint I appreciate that. Years ago I was in Baltimore and the judges scored me with a 10, 10, and a 2.

Scott: I've seen some weird scoring but I don't think that I've ever seen that one before.

John: I was there with Dennis, he blew a transmission, didn't finish the run and got a 30. But that has really changed over the years. I think that's because of people like you who make it clear that we are out here in an actual competition and judges can't just give it to their favorite truck.

Scott: It has changed and in all fairness it has been Dennis as much as anybody, really all the Grave Digger guys because they are such competitors, they don't want you to give them anything. They want to earn their scores. They come out there to win. And I've seen Dennis more than anybody embarrassed when it's happened in the past that he was given scores he didn't think he deserved. That's happened less of late. Another reason for that is you other drivers. I can think of 50 names right now, George Balhan is the first one that comes to mind, but it's the other competitors elevating their games, so you guys are forcing the scoring to be fair. Now John, I'm sorry, but there was a day years ago when I've been at many shows and Dennis was the whole show. Everyone else was just feeling their way through to make their stuff stay together and Dennis came out and didn't care if he tore his truck up he was going to give the fans a show. Back in those days those were many no doubt about it wins for Dennis. There are no more "no doubters" out there now because of the parity and the way everyone else has stepped their games up.

John: How do you feel about the Feld people who own the company now?

Scott: Great. I love the fact that this is a company owned by one man, one family. Kenneth Feld has been to a bunch of events, I met him at our Atlanta event, and he loves this sport and wants to see it continue to grow. And because of the other successful businesses he owns he has, I think, the ability to open many more doors for Monster Jam. I think we are truly becoming a global sport and that process I expect will expand greatly under the Feld Motor Sports banner. When you think about it there are very few sports with true global popularity. You can call F1 global, but it's not very popular in the U S. You can call soccer global but it struggles for popularity in the U S. It's tough to do. Our big American sports are really American sports. The NBA may be more of a global sport mostly because of Yao Ming and the good European players. But I think we have a chance for Monster Jam to be popular everywhere on this globe. And that's exciting.

John; I remember riding a bicycle in Holland and just stopping to enjoy that morning, the scenery, and just being amazed I was there. 19 years ago I could have never imagined being a World Champion or driving a monster truck in Europe. How do you feel about all that?

Scott: I am constantly amazed at all the things being a part of Monster Jam has brought into my life. The things I've been able to see and be a part of. You almost pinch yourself every day to make sure it's real. God has blessed me in a way that's different from most other folks, He has put me on a path that is so unique. I get to meet so many neat people, to see so many awesome things, and I just hope that I properly appreciate it. I think that I do. Especially when fans come up to me and tell me how lucky I am and that they wish that they had my job. I've had them ask to trade me jobs! Sorry, but I'm not trading. I've got the greatest job in the world.

John: Unfortunately we have work to do. I can sit here all day and talk Monster Jam with you. This interview was as much for me as for the fans who will read it. I think fans want to hear what you have to say. So now we have to go rock Edmonton.