Monster Mutt Dalmatian and Candice Jolly Enjoy Hometown Support

By Scott Douglass
Apr 17, 2012

  Florida fans have proven for decades to be among the most loyal and fervent supporters of Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam^®, and it’s clear that many of them take that support to the highest level for the superstars who call the Sunshine State home year round. This past weekend that love was really on display as the large crowds that packed into the Florida Sports Park were thrilled by some of the sport’s most popular trucks and talented drivers and while all of them enjoyed great backing from the southwest Florida fans there is no doubt that the loudest cheers and some of the longest autograph lines were for the hometown girl, Naples’ Candice Jolly and her Monster Mutt^® Dalmatian. 

It was a true monster homecoming for Jolly at the annual event held in the world famous swamp buggy facility. Due to scheduling conflicts in recent years Jolly had been only a spectator at this annual event, so with the Monster Mutt Dalmatian back in the line-up for the first time in some five years there was an extra layer of excitement among the locals who turned out to be thrilled by the Summer Heat action this past weekend. Every time the spotted mutt rolled onto the track the cheers were long and loud, and the number of floppy eared Monster Mutt Dalmatian caps being sported by the youngsters in the crowd was impressive. That hometown support clearly inspired Jolly throughout the three events and she had several of the weekend’s most crowd pleasing performances in front of her longtime fans. That group of fans included her biggest supporters, including her family along with her fiancée, fellow Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam World Finals^SM XIII presented by NGK Spark Plugs competitor Neil Elliott and her sister Courtney, a former Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam driver herself. As popular as Candice and her Dalmatian were at times it seemed like her son Chase was an even bigger celebrity as the youngster was a big hit with the fans in Naples at all three events, even helping out when the drivers drew their numbers for their spot in the racing brackets at the first two events on the weekend schedule. 

On the track the wins were split among several drivers in this balanced field over the course of three days. The only team to grab multiple wins: George Balhan and the Mohawk Warrior^SM team won two freestyle competitions and a pair of wheelie contests. The “Mohawk Nation” was in evidence big time at each event with so many kids sporting their own Mohawk haircuts and Balhan brought his “A game” to southwest Florida, thrilling that group of vocal fans all weekend. Balhan borrowed Metal Mulisha Crew Chief Landon Wells for the weekend and it was obvious that those two found an instant rapport, with Balhan praising Wells and the pit crew work in keeping Mohawk Warrior 100% ready and to George’s liking all weekend. Balhan made sure to acknowledge the hometown hero when he got his victories as well. Balhan and Jolly were teammates in past years and remain great friends (Candice’s son Chase even calls him “Uncle George”), and every time Balhan was talking to the crowd after one of his triumphs he told the fans that he was thrilled to get the win against such an incredible line-up of Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam superstars, but he also said each time that he would not have minded finishing second as long as the only truck outscoring him was Monster Mutt Dalmatian. That is exactly what happened in Saturday night’s wheelie contest where Candice and George stole that part of the show. First the Mohawk Warrior brought the crowd to its feet with a pair of amazing sky wheelies that Balhan was able to land just perfectly and immediately pop the truck back up and into impressive, lengthy sky wheelies. During that Saturday event Monster Mutt Dalmatian was the only truck to beat Mohawk Warrior in a wheelie contest all weekend and Candice gave George lots of credit for her win. Admitting that she learned how to successfully perform that style of sky wheelie-slap wheelie combination while watching Balhan thrill crowds with those moves during their time as teammates, Jolly had Monster Mutt Dalmatian with just a little more air on the sky wheelies than Mohawk Warrior had Saturday night and rode her slap wheelies just a little longer, and she too had the crowd standing and cheering as the hometown girl grabbed the popular win for the Monster Mutt Dalmatian team Saturday night. 

Another Floridian also was pumped up by the loud support of those home state fans, as Scott Hartsock, who has been thrilling his native state fans for 20 years in Gunslinger was another superstar that had the fans roaring every time he was introduced. Naples has a special place in the Bushnell, Florida resident’s heart and Hartsock reminded the fans that his monster journey actually began there in the Florida Sports Park, the facility where he debuted Gunslinger in 1992. So it turned out to be a really sweet moment for both Hartsock and so many of his longtime fans when in the Championship Round of racing on Saturday night in Naples he was able to hammer the throttle on the powerful Gunslinger and turn in one of the fastest laps of the weekend when Gunslinger edged Grave Digger^® in a thrilling finale. Over the years at many events contested in Florida Gunslinger and Grave Digger have battled for the racing title, so it was even that much more enjoyable for Hartsock that the win he recorded this past weekend on one of the longest and fastest tracks anywhere in the sport was a victory that he claimed over Chad Tingler and Grave Digger. 

As noted above it is hard to find fans anywhere that are more loyal or supportive than those who have packed so many large venues for so many years all over the state of Florida to cheer for their heroes in Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam competition. And this past weekend was another example of that. It also was evidence just how much the Florida fans love their hometown and home state heroes, as Candice Jolly and the Monster Mutt Dalmatian and Scott Hartsock and Gunslinger basked in that Sunshine State love all weekend. And for both there is sure to be more of that to come as the Florida portion of the 2012 Summer Heat tour rolls four hours north up I-75 to Bubba Raceway Park, where more awesome thrills are in store for the fans in central Florida with four competitions scheduled in Ocala this Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon.