Saturday - 7:30 PM -

Monster Jam Returns to the SuperDome

By: Joe Lowe

It was great to be back in the SuperDome. Monster Jam fans sold out the Dome early on Saturday for the first event in more than two years. It was clear from the start the Monster Jam competitors brought their "A" game to the event.

Twelve of the top trucks in the world came to compete on one of the largest indoor floors in the world. The track was fast, jumps high, and turns sharp. This is the perfect combination for action and that's what the fans experienced.

Neil Elliot drove Maximum Destruction to the race championship but lost out on the double down when Dennis Anderson drove the wheels off Grave Digger to win Freestyle.

With the field full of the top trucks in the world it was easy to see how anyone could have been victorious but in the end the experience, guts and determination of the two most recognized trucks in the sport dominated. One great equalizer during the Freestyle Competition is the new bonus and superbonus times. If the truck is still running at the end of the regulation 90's the driver has the option to go into a :30 bonus time with a possible 5 points at stake. At the end of the first bonus time a Superbonus comes into play giving the driver the chance to earn up to another 5 points. In short, if the truck can continue running for the full regulation, bonus and superbonus times, a possible 40 points can be earned. This forces the drivers to run hard to earn points from judges but to also keep the action going giving fans a super Monster Jam. Saturday night several trucks made the bonus and superbonus points. Others were not so lucky.

One of the trucks coming out on the short end Saturday was Marc McDonald in Safe Auto. McDonald was awarded his Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals Qualifier flag during opening activities only to roll early in Freestyle. While the score of 7 was not enough to even consider a win. McDonald asked Monster Jam officials to roll the truck back over and came out with a "for the fans Freestyle" that rocked the house.

Other highlights included Candice Jolly's freestyle run in Monster Mutt. The Dalmatian gave fans something to cheer about as she took on all the high jumps, car/van mountains and valleys only to have the truck roll during the first of the :30 bonus rounds. New Orleans' own Sean Duhon drove the hometown T-Maxx truck to a score of 21 earning three points in the bonus round. He was in the lead for a time until Chad Fortune tied the score driving Superman truck to a 19 with 2 point bonus before rolling the truck at the end of the first bonus time.

Neil Elliot's Maximum Destruction brought fans to their feet early in his freestyle. The truck lost a rear tire early and kept on running. The body was gone, motor blown and still somehow he kept running only to crash into a car/van stack ending his run. He scored 25 from the judges. Monster Jam officials decided to leave the remains of Maximum Destruction on the track with only one truck to go. Grave Digger driven by Dennis Anderson roared on the track hitting everything on the track. Digger's nonstop freestyle was picture perfect. Anderson made the 30 foot high jumps look easy. The donuts a piece of cake it was a Monster Jam Fans Heaven. Anderson ended his freestyle by crashing into the remains of Maximum Destruction rolling Digger on its side on top of his long time nemesis. Fans and judges loved it. Grave Digger earned a combination of 30 points including the bonus.

Scores:

Raminator                               18

Viper                                       7

Instigator                                17 (rolled)

Sudden Impact                        broke

T-Maxx                                  21

Safe Auto                               7 (rolled)

Bulldozer                                9 (broke)

Monster Mutt                          17

Superman                              21 (rolled in bonus)

Escalade                                24 (broke in bonus)

Maximum Destruction              25

Grave Digger                          30

The night’s events also featured some wild action in Auto Cross with Justin Alonzo winning his first autocross event. FMX riders Jason Rowe and brothers Gabrial and Javier Villegas gave fans something to cheer about with two ramps of high flying action. Javier won the competition with a backflip.

As the Southern Quality Ford Dealers Monster Jam came to a close there was no doubt, The Monster Jam fans in New Orleans rock.

George Balhan's Escalade looked strong in freestyle until the drive shaft came out of the truck during his bonus time.