Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Well, actually it was Saturday but who cares when were talking monster trucks! This weekend I attended my first Monster Jam event in over a decade. The last time I saw the monsters race Grave Digger and Big Foot shared the same track. That little fact tells you something right there. While the trucks and corporate sponsors have changed over the years the basic show format remains the same with quad wars at the start followed by racing and then the crowd favorite of freestyle. Check out the photos below of the action.
Before this show I would have said it was impossible for a monster truck to sneak up on someone but that is exactly what happened to me when the mystery Doomsday truck roared on to the field. He completely got the drop on me following the close of freestyle and the show. To make matters worse vehicles entering the Carrier Dome field pass through one giant overhead door that must close completely before the next one opens, similar to an airlock. Somehow Doomsday performed this act without me noticing until he was well on the track and doing his first jump. Maybe I lack situational awareness or maybe the driver is that good of showman. I’m sure if I was a little kid I would have lost my mind when a new truck showed up after I thought all was said and done.
Doomsday Monster Truck – Click to Enlarge
No one is quite sure who drives this truck or where it came from. Aliens perhaps? Maybe the Daf Punk robots? Elvis? As soon as the truck left the field crew members quickly covered it with a trap. Mystery and intrigue at a monster truck show? Outrageous! Here is a clip of the truck in action with a near flip over around the 1:30 mark.
Prior to this great save the highlight of the freesytle segment was Max-D driving around on three wheels.
To setup a Monster Jam show you need heavy equipment. No, actually you need lots and lots of heavy equipment. The show field has over a foot of topsoil resting on several thousands sheets of plywood. It seems the local Cat dealer supplied three of everything to help put on the show. Loaders, material handlers, skid steers, excavators, they were all present. I enjoyed watching the equipment work as much the actual show itself. The gallery of photos below back up this statement.
Hanging around to well after the show was done under the pretense of waiting out the traffic I was able to shoot some video of the clean up process. Activity must have went on well into the night as a lacrosse game was scheduled for the next day.
All in all is was a great show that I enjoyed attending with fellow Daily Diesel Dose fans Dan and Kevin.