Louisville, KY - Freedom Hall

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Trucks: USHRA Monster Trucks including Maximum Destruction® driven by Kreg Christensen, Samson driven by Dan Patrick, Raminator driven by Mark Hall, Rammunition driven by Mat Dishman, Full Boar driven by Ed Eckert, Mechanical Mischief driven by Jim Burns, Heavy Hitter driven by Deric Anson, and Wolverine driven by Alex Blackwell!


Friday Night

For the first time in over a decade, dirt filled the floor of Freedom Hall for the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam brought to you by of 1-800-ASK-GARY. It was also a treat to have an amazing eight truck field, another first in quite some time.
The night kicked off with the 1-800-ASK-GARY Wheelie competition where each truck came out and bested the other. Raminator and Wolverine were the first trucks to really catch some air until Maximum Destruction hit the floor. The gold and grey machine launched high up in the air, gingerly landing on the rear tires both times to be the clear winner. During his interview, Kreg Christensen reminded the fans that twenty years ago, he was a fan himself and vowed that once he became a driver that he would do everything in his power to tear up the truck or put it on its lid to wow the fans.

In a night full of firsts, another surprise came during racing. Instead of straight line racing, the fans were treated to some roundy round Chicago style racing. Mark Hall showed off his Hemi powered Raminator as well as his slick racing abilities with a smooth looking win in round one over veteran Dan Patrick in Samson. Hall and Raminator would move on to the finals after only a narrow margin of victory over Maximum Destruction in the semi-finals. He would face Alex Blackwell driving Wolverine who had been tough during the competition easily taking out Full Boar and then Heavy Hitter. The UTI Racing Finals proved to be a heated match up with the officials needing to consult the instant replay several times before finally declaring Hall the winner in Raminator.

The excitement kept rolling during Advance Auto Parts Service is Our Best Part Freestyle as each truck hit more obstacles and gained more air. The Mossy Oak covered Rammunition was the first to pull off a slap wheelie on the floor, but would be bested by Louisville native Derick Anson in Heavy Hitter who launched off a car and then after landing stabbed to the throttle to send the truck up on its rear tires almost brushing the tailgate to the dirt. Patrick would come out next in Samson and was the first to hit the huge freestyle ramp for the first big air of the night. But after such a close loss in racing, Blackwell was ready to make it up to the fans in freestyle with a momentum filled performance filled with big air and quick turns. The crowd was pumped not only because of the performance of Wolverine but because they remembered that Christensen had promised to burn it down by the time the night was over. The run was proving to be impressive when upon landing after launching off the race lane, the left rear tire of Maximum Destruction made a huge pop and instantly deflated. Christensen kept the run going until he was abruptly shut off. The crowd was disappointed the run ended early, but were excited at what a thrilling show they witnessed.

1-800-ASK-GARY Wheelie Competition

Rammunition 14
Mechanical Mischief 17
Full Boar 18
Heavy Hitter 19
Samson 22
Raminator 23
Wolverine 23
Maximum Destruction 27

Monster Jam Racing

Round 1: Maximum Destruction def. Rammunition, Raminator def. Samson, Heavy Hitter def. Mechanical Mischief, Wolverine def. Full Boar

Semi-Finals: Raminator def. Maximum Destruction, Wolverine def. Heavy Hitter

UTI Racing Finals: Raminator def. Wolverine

Advance Auto Parts Service is Our Best Part Freestyle

Mechanical Mischief 13
Maximum Destruction 15
Full Boar 16
Rammunition 18
Heavy Hitter 19
Raminator 20
Samson 22
Wolverine 23

By Leslie Mears

Saturday Night

Kreg Christensen piloted Maximum Destruction to a Double Down victory in front of a rowdy sold out crowd in Freedom Hall for the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam brought to you by 1-800-ASK-GARY.

The night kicked off with Maximum Destruction taking a win in the wheelie competition by skying high and lingering longer in the air than any other competitor. This primed Christensen for racing as he and fellow competitor Alex Blackwell (Wolverine) had been plotting a way to place themselves in the UTI Racing Finals since they found out in a blind draw that they would be on opposite ends of the bracket. They both caught a break when an unfortunate mechanical issue plagued Raminator. Mark Hall’s machine launched off the starting line and landed a bit rough causing a hydraulic line to the rear steering pump to come loose. This immediately ended the run for Hall and Raminator eliminating his chance for a repeat win in racing. Blackwell and Christensen then marched into the UTI Racing finals and Maximum Destruction came out on top with a narrow win against Wolverine.

Ed Eckert hit the floor first in Full Boar for Advance Auto Parts Service is Our Best Part Freestyle setting the mark to beat at 18. His run of solid air and wheelies definitely got the crowd pumped. But the night ended early for hometown driver Derick Anson in Heavy Hitter. Anson had the truck on a sweet run until he made a sharp turn that caused a mechanical failure in the drive shaft. The truck was immediately shut down by officials and Heavy Hitter was forced to head back to the pits with 35 seconds remaining on the clock. Things really heated up when Samson hit the floor earning a 22 by hitting all the obstacles on the floor along with a really cool donut to cap off his run. But Blackwell wouldn’t be outdone in freestyle as he followed Patrick’s lead of big air and added in his own Wolverine twists to earn a 23. But Christensen had marching orders from Tom Meents that he was not to come home until he burned it up during Freestyle. And that’s just what he did completing the circle and taking home the Double Down trophy.

1-800-ASK-GARY Wheelies
Full Boar 17
Heavy Hitter 17
Samson 18
Mechanical Mischief 19
Rammunition 19
Raminator 23
Wolverine 24
Maximum Destruction 26

Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam Racing

Round 1: Maximum Destruction def. Full Boar, Mechanical Mischief def. Raminator, Heavy Hitter def. Samson, Wolverine def. Rammunition

Semi-Finals: Maximum Destruction def. Mechanical Mischief, Wolverine def. Heavy Hitter

UTI Racing Finals: Maximum Destruction def. Wolverine

Advance Auto Parts Service is Our Best Part Freestyle
Heavy Hitter 12
Mechanical Mischief 14
Rammunition 17
Full Boar 18
Raminator 20
Samson 22
Wolverine 23
Maximum Destruction 24

By Leslie Mears