Look anywhere you wish, but you will not find a better arena full of Monster Jam fans to kick off the New Year.  Des Moines rocks!  Tonight, Wells Fargo Arena had what had to be the largest Friday night crowd for the arena in years.  This was easy to see… and even easier to hear. 

The action packed event began with all six monster trucks powering up and over the car stacks in the Wheelie Competition.  Each truck had huge air, but two of the trucks seem to be in a class all their own.  The score totals were:

Bulldozer:  17
Devastator:  16
Turtle:  20
Destroyer:  21
Maximum Destruction:  28

Grave Digger:  29

The trucks, and the scores, just kept getting better as the competition continued. With both Max D and Digger getting incredible air, these judges were put to the test early tonight.  This could have gone either way, but the crowd gave Digger the extra point for his second attempt – clearly the best of the night.

As we started Racing, all eyes were on Max D, and first time driver Kreg Christensen.  By “first time”, I mean his first time behind the wheel of Max D.  As a 16 year veteran driver, he clearly knows his way around a track.  But, Max D is a unique truck, with a unique set up – and there is a learning curve for ANY “first time” driver. 

In the first two races of Round 1, Digger took out Bulldozer, and Devastator took the win from Destroyer after Dan put his truck up on two wheels in the final turn.  In the final race, it was Turtle advancing to the Semi’s after Kreg did a Barrel roll in Max D in only the second turn.  Kreg did it with style, though, as he rolled the truck right back up onto all four tires. 

In the Semi’s, Bulldozer came back as the Fast Loser, and gave Devastator all he could handle.  Track Officials had to go to the video replay twice before it could be clear that the winner was Bulldozer by a nose… literally.  In the second race, teammates Huffaker and Basl squared off in a rematch of two of last year’s races here in Des Moines.  They split those two race Finals – Pablo took this first match-up in 2009.

In the Monster Racing Final, we had a rematch of Round 1 pairing.  Digger was gunning for a win in the first event of the New Year, but so to was Werner in Bulldozer . Chuck was driving hard, knowing that Digger had the advantage after the first lap of the extended, two lap Final.  Chuck hooked up the tires on that final lap, and took his truck out of the competition with the spin out.  Pablo coasted Digger to his first racing win of 2009.

Back again this year are the Street Warrior trucks driven by members of our Club crew, “Make It or Break It 4wd Club”.  This year they brought more trucks, and ran each of them harder that ever before.  In the qualifying round, we had our first truck roll.  Dave Riley showed the crowd how that trick was done.  Chris Menninga had the fastest qualifying time at 22.34, and continued to run strong through each round on his way to the finals.  At 24.56, Andy Stock has his worst time in the qualifying round, but then posted the best time in each round after that – including the finals!  Andy and Chris ran nearly equal throughout the races, but in the end, Chris’s time of 23.13 wasn’t enough to hold off the 22.91 that Andy put up en route to the victory. 

This Des Moines crowd loved FMX nearly as much as the big trucks.  With three of the top riders running through some warm-up passes, the crowd was already raising the roof.  Tim Boca came out strong as the first rider, and put up a Super Can, a Cliff Hanger, and a couple of Double Grabs.  Scott Hanlon was up next on a YZ 250 that he just picked up before the show, but was still able to let loose with a Cordova, a couple of Heart Attacks, and a Rock Solid.  The night, however, clearly went to Cody Cavanaugh.  The Lazy Boy could have been enough to win it – but if not, certainly the two Back Flips were.  On each of the runs, the entire crowd went crazy when Cody turned the bike upside down in mid air.

If this crowd had ‘raised the roof’ during FMX, then, what happened during Monster Jam Freestyle can only be described as blowing the rafters right off of the building.   The wet, tacky track made it difficult for most of the trucks to make sharp turns.  But one truck took that challenge, and turned it into victory.

Turtle:  15
Devastator:  20
Bulldozer:  18
Destroyer:  20
Grave Digger:  27

Maximum Destruction:  30

After Kreg rolled Max D in Racing, you knew that he’d be a bit more careful around that turn during Freestyle.  Or, maybe not.  After a great run with tremendous air off the 12ft tall FMX landing ramp, Kreg took Max D into that same corner, gassed it, and rolled the truck again.  However, this time the truck came to rest with two tires back on solid ground, one tire on the hood of Turtle, and the forth tire wedged into hood and the trademark red headlights of Digger.  This was the point where the crowd just lost it.  With everyone on their feet, the judges had no choice but to post a perfect 30. 

For the moment, all that Pablo could do was watch the Tech Officials pull Max D off of his truck.  As Max D was untangled, we could see that the left front fender with the red headlight was also torn away from Digger.  Given the fact that Pablo still had to run Freestyle, well, you just knew he was going to do whatever it took to match that perfect score.   When the former Freestyle World Champion was able to get on the track, he ripped up every last surviving obstacle in sight.  It was clear that Pablo never took his foot off the pedal, not even as he approached that 12ft ramp.  The run was impressive, the crowd loved it, but the 27 just wasn’t enough to top the crazy ending to the run by Max D. 

Saturday 2pm

Today we got the day started with what looked like a record turnout at the Built Ford Tough Party in the Pits.  By the time the track cleared off, we already had the stands full of fans that were more than ready for Monster Jam.

Today’s Wheelie Competition once again featured increasing scores as we worked our way to the final trucks. Digger once again had the biggest air on both attempts, and it’s easy to see just how much the fans here appreciated it.

Bulldozer:  16

Devastator:  17

Turtle:  17

Destroyer:  20

Max D:  23

Grave Digger:  26

In Round One of Racing, Bulldozer edged out Devastator, Destroyer took out a struggling Max D, and Digger won this round of the rivalry with Turtle.  Turtle had a second chance when he came back as the fast loser, but was quickly put back in the pits by Bulldozer.  The second race in the Semi’s saw Digger struggle against Destroyer.  It looked like Evans might have had the win, but on the final turn, Pablo was able to recover and pull off the win.  The stage was now set for the Monster Truck Racing Final, and featured a rematch of last nights finals.  Digger and Dozer ran tight throughout the first 1.5 rounds.  It was Digger that was able to capitalize on the one extra round added for the final.  Werner had trouble getting his truck around the first turn on the final round.  This was all that Pablo needed to take a decisive win, and score his second straight win to start 2009.

The drivers in Street Warriors ramped it up for today’s shows with the lowest times of the weekend.  In today’s show, we had four trucks make it to the Finals.   Rick Morelock posted a 23.91, Chris Menninga was just a bit better at 22.90, with Ron George coming through even better at 22.78.  It was the first truck to run in the final round Pat McClurg that had set the pace… a pace that could not be equaled. Pat’s 22.41 was enough to secure his first win on the weekend.

No question about just how much crowds love FMX.  We saw more tricks today by opening it up to the three riders to hit the ramp six times in the first round.  Scott and Cody again advanced to the final round of three tricks.  Scott kept it close, until Cody threw down his secret weapon.  The crowd was treated with great Cliff Hangers and Heart Attacks, but in the end it was Cody’s Back Flip that would get the crowd to cheer for him as today’s winner.

In Monster Freestyle, today, we added a boat.  Yes, a boat!  The Monster were all ready to inflict damage, with Turtle leading the way.

Turtle:  17

Devastator:  18

Bulldozer:  15

Destroyer:  17

Max D:  21

Grave Digger:  28

Kreg managed to keep Max D on all four tires for the entire show, and still amaze the crowd.  He was the only driver to take a stack backwards – the signature move of Dan Evans in Destroyer.  Dan didn’t do the Reverser today, but did put up some of the biggest air of the weekend.  Devastator again pulled off a couple of his signature wheelies by cross threading the track in between the obstacles.  Today, it was again the unrelenting style of Pablo’s freestyle that won the crowd over.  It’s clear that he doesn’t like to take his foot off of the gas.  Or, maybe he just knows that these fans really like. 

Thousands of loyal Monster Jam fans braved the cold and ice tonight to make the final show of the weekend a huge success.  In show of appreciation to all of the fans that joined us this weekend here in Des Moines every competitor in the show was dedicated to leaving it all on the track tonight.

The Wheelie Competition was likely the best of the weekend.  Just as in the first two shows, the scores just kept getting better throughout the competition.  It was again Max D and Digger squaring off at the end to post the two top scores, and fight it out for the victory.  In the end it was Pablo taking his third straight win.

Bulldozer:  16
Devastator:  16
Turtle:  19
Destroyer:  22
Max D:  25

Grave Digger:  26

In the first round of Monster Truck racing, Destroyer took down Bulldozer with his best run of the weekend.  In the second race we saw Kreg finally put  it all together, and score a perfect run to beat Devastator.  In the final race of the round, it was Pablo again taking out his teammate Aaron Basl.  Fortunately for Bulldozer, his time was the fastest losing time, allowing him to advance to the Semi’s.  Werner was looking for get to the finals for a third straight time this weekend, and get that first win.  But, it wasn’t meant to be as he faced the truck that beat him in both of this two race finals.  With the win, Digger would again go to the finals.  In the second Semi, Max D took out a tough Destroyer to set up Monster Jam’s ultimate rivalry… Digger vs Max D.

The crowd knew that they were in for an exciting Monster Truck Racing Final -- and these guys were not going to hold anything back.  Digger had the lead going into the final turn, but Max D was not going to just give the race away.  Kreg punched it as he approached the final car stack and launched the truck into the air just a bit off center.  When he landed, he hit the side of the FMX dirt landing ramp, and was thrown sideways into a roll that stopped abruptly on the side of the track.  It was impressive, and the crowd certainly loved the carnage.  The crowd also gave a huge roar in appreciation for Pablo’s third Racing win of the weekend in Digger.

A good local club crew is often times the key to a smooth running track, and in Des Moines, we have one of the very best clubs in the country.  Make It or Break It 4wd Club not only worked the floor, but also entertained the crowd as the competitors in Street Warriors.  And in tonight’s racing, they again topped their earlier performance with the addition of an even larger jump that saw each truck launched into the air on every run.  In the Finals, Dave Riley broke a driveshaft that left him with a time of 41.94, while Ron George cruised to a time of 24.47 finishing just behind Rick Morelock at 24.32.   The big story was Pat McClurg posting his best time of the night at 23.46 and taking his second straight victory.

FMX continued to impress the fans, and keep them screaming for more.  Cody again pulled out the Back Flip to take his third straight win of the weekend.

In Monster Truck Freestyle, it was clear that every truck was gunning for the victory.  Turtle kicked it off by standing up his truck on top of the van stack, and then crushing the remainder of the stack on his next pass.  And, it only got better from that point. 

Turtle:  15
Devastator:  17
Bulldozer:  19
Destroyer:  19
Max D:  23

Grave Digger:  27

From the moment the former World Freestyle Champion took the track, it was clear that Pablo wanted a clean sweep with Digger to kick off 2009.  With not one, but two jumps from the 12ft FMX ramp, Pablo was just barely able to stop Digger from leaving the track on the opposite side after the landing.  The crowd cheered wildly, and judges gave Digger his third Freestyle win.