Monster Jam World Finals
Each year in March, monster trucks gather with devoted fans at Sam Boyd Stadium, which is located in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Monster Jam World Finals. This event is the most celebrated competition in the Monster Jam series, an event sanctioned by the USHRA.
During the Monster Jam World Finals, monster truck drivers participate in freestyle and racing competitions. Each event winner is acknowledged as a Monster Jam series division champion throughout the next racing year. This is the most well-known event in the series and the most criticized by those who disapprove of monster truck racing.
Bounty Hunter - Driver: Jimmy Creten
When the Monster Jam series began, just sixteen trucks were entered at the Monster Jam World Finals. By 2005 the number grew to 20. This year’s 2010 event will feature 24 trucks. Additional trucks will be display at the “Pit Party” celebrations held before the competitive events.
During the regular racing season (held from January to March) race officials choose outstanding trucks and drivers to participate in the World Finals, sometimes including more than one driver from a team or truck.
An example of multiple drivers from the same team participating in the event includes Grave Digger, where Charlie Pauken, Pablo Huffaker, Randy Brown, and Chad Tingler were chosen to compete and entered varying events using team trucks, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Monster Mutt, Captain’s Curse, and Monster Mutt Dalmatian.
The invitation-only nature of the event draws heavy criticism because no cumulative point total determines the finalists; the entries are chosen solely at the discretion of the racing officials. Furthermore, Feld Motorsports, the event sponsor, owns a significant number of the trucks invited to the race.
The Monster Jam World Finals have a reputation for being extreme. Trucks begin the race behind stadium in a parking lot. Straightways on the route entering the stadium allow trucks to reach speeds of 70 miles per hour. The freestyle track is also more extreme than traditional events offering sizable obstacles resulting in spectacular crashes.
A modified scoring system is used for the World Finals. Each event is evaluated by seven judges. Each truck’s highest and lowest score is discarded and each driver can be awarded a maximum of five bonus points. The highest possible score for an event is 45 points. In Monster Jam Series races each truck can score a maximum of 30 points which are awarded by three judges.
Champion Racers in the Monster Jam World Finals
The first three Monster Jam World Finals racing championships were won by Tom Meents while driving Goldberg (2000 and 2001) and Team Meents (2002). In 2003, Brian Barthel captured the title driving Wolverine. Dennis Anderson wrestled the title away in 2004, but was defeated in the 2005 finals by Debra Miceli with Madusa.
Anderson managed to regain the racing title in 2006, but lost again the following year to John Seasock. Seasock drove Batman to win in both 2007 and 2008. Tom Meents regained the championship in 2009, and holds that title until the 2010 victor is decided.
Dennis Anderson also won a freestyle championship in 2000, being the only driver in Series history to manage a perfect score of 40. Tom Meents competed in Goldberg and Team Meents, winning the freestyle in 2001 and 2002. Jim Koehler broke Meents’s hold on the title in 2003 driving Avenger.
Monster Jam World Finals history was made in 2004 with a three-way tie involving Tom Meents (driving Maximum Destruction), Debra Miceli (Madusa), and Lupe Soza (El Toro Loco). Ms. Miceli was the first female to win a World Finals championship title. A new winner, Jimmy Creten, appeared on the championship scene in 2005 with Bounty Hunter.
Tom Meents set another record in 2006, winning his seventh championship title with Maximum Destruction. Pablo Huffaker in Captain’s Curse took the title in 2007. The freestyle event winner in 2008, Adam Anderson, driving Taz, became the first family member of a World Finals winner to win a title. Damon Bradshaw holds the 2009 title, driving Air Force Afterburner, scoring 36 points to win.