For 10 years Tom Meents has brought his Monster Jam truck to Syracuse to compete and to work with the DARE program in area schools. Tom has made many friends with local law enforcement, education, and business communities. Saturday night Tom was honored for his hard work and went on to dominate the nights Monster Jam winning against some of the top names in the world.

During pre-race activities Deputy Chief Frank Fowler and DARE Officer Anthony Diglio presented Tom with a commendation from the Syracuse Police Dept. “You have always been a supporter of the DARE program as Monster Patrol, Goldberg, Team Meents, and Maximum Destruction. It is people like you who make this important program work. Over 600 classes and thousands of children have better lives because of your unselfish deeds over the years”. Tom told the fans this was the best award he had ever received. It was a great way to begin the night.

Long before the 7:30 start time Monster Jam was sold out. It was a night of champions with three reigning or former World Champions on hand along with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Rich Blackburns Viper trucks. Pablo Huffaker piloted Grave Digger, John Seasock the current racing world champion drove Batman, and Adam Anderson world freestyle champion driving Taz rounded out the 6 trucks. At the end of the night Grave Digger lost a wheel and most of the rear end, Taz rolled destroying the body and Maximum Destruction ended his freestyle run with three wheels and a spectacular fire. Turtle, Batman and Viper were the only three left running.

The night also featured Quad Wars with Team N.Y. winning the first heat and the main against Team Mass. FMX saw three great riders thrill the fans. Shawn Conners, Justin Hicks, and Casey Higgins brought fans to their feet with a series of high flying tricks on their 250cc bikes. In the end Higgins was voted the fans favorite for his long hang time and difficult tricks.

Results:
Truck                                Wheelie                                        Freestyle
Viper                                 13                                                 13
Turtle                                 11                                                 16
Batman                              20                                                 22
Taz                                    21                                                 21
Max D                              22                                                 24
Grave Digger                   16                                                 22

Racing was as follows:
Round One:
Grave Digger over Turtle
Batman downed Max D
Viper had a bye run when Taz broke
Semi Finals
Batman beat Grave Digger
Maximum Destruction over Viper (Max D back as the fastest loser from the Semi Final

Final Resuts:
Maximum Destruction defeated Batman in an extremely close contest.

From beginning to end the event was dominated by the truck and driver Syracuse has loved for a decade, Tom Meents and Maximum Destruction.