Monster Trucks. A motor sport uniquely American. Honestly, could this spectacle take place anywhere else? This past weekend the Carrier Dome played host to Monster Jam and all the madness that comes with it.
Call me old fashioned but I enjoy the period of monster truck history where the trucks looked like trucks. Don’t get me wrong, Monster Mutt with its lapping tongue is adorable and Crushstation with banded claws is humorous but it’s all just fluff. That’s why my favorite truck of the evening was Titan and his retro Chevy look. This truck looked better than it drove as it was the first of what would be many crashes. In fact, the entire evening saw about half of the show field flip in the same corner which really put a damper on freestyle. That being said it wouldn’t be a monster truck show without the crashes. If you think people watch Nascar just for the accidents what do you think people attend Monster Jam?
This year instead of taking still photos I focused more on catching the soaring jumps and bone jarring landings on video. Despite sitting behind some tall people I was able to put together a decent clip show of the best action. Even though the track setup caused a few too many early crashes it did contain one jump, that if hit correctly, allowed the trucks to do a complete back flip. You’ll know it when you see it.
One of the better accidents during freesytle occurred when Madusa took a jump, lost a rear wheel, nearly flip and then momentarily burst into flames. All this took place right in front of my seat. Of course by this time I had turned off my camera. LOL! You see, at the start of her run Madusa broke one of her rear planetaries causing the passenger side wheel to stick. This greatly hampered her speed and jumping ability so I wrote her run off as all but finished. Nope. Lesson learned. It’s not over until the methanol burns. At least I caught a moment of the aftermath.
Being a fan of heavy equipment I always feel like I get twice the show as I am perfectly content watching the setup and cleanup of the track. I think a traveling series of the latest and greatest heavy equipment should hit venues across the country. Take a look at this Massey Ferguson Equipment Expo from the mid 1970’s for inspiration. Much like last year Caterpillar equipment was in full force to build ramps and haul out disabled monsters. Below, a gallery of prime selections.
Just like the trucks, I put together a variety of clips dealing with the support equipment in action.
Come for the monsters! Stay for the heavy equipment!