It doesn't have the strip or endless rows of high rise hotels and casinos, but to many drivers and crews, and yes, to the Dutch fans as well, Monster Jam's annual trip to Arnhem, Holland has become the closest thing to the sport's Las Vegas based World Finals that you'll find on the Monster Jam World Tour.

That was the sentiment that was expressed over and over as 10 premier American superstars of the sport were joined by two of Europe’s best for three thrilling events in the Gelredome. Virtually every driver used terms like “mini-Vegas” or the “closest thing to Vegas” when describing the event and the amazing big time atmosphere that surrounded the weekend in the Netherlands. Two-time World Champion Batman driver John Seasock called it “the Super Bowl of Monster Jam Europe.” This fifth annual trip to Arnhem definitely delivered events at that hyped level.

Beginning with the two pit parties that brought close to ten thousand fans to the floor each day in advance of the action to get up close and personal with their new heroes, and then just surveying the big race course and huge freestyle obstacles that were constructed made it clear instantly that this is a truly special event. And that atmosphere. The fans arrived so excited, and the monster teams clearly feed off of that. The fact that three stadium shows are contested there in just a little more than a 24 hour period makes this one of the toughest weekends of the year for the drivers and especially the pit crews. Add to the actual demands of three high level performances, this time with the Speed TV cameras rolling, the extra media commitments with national press from all over Holland covering the weekend, a huge driving experience for the Spanish media in advance of the sport’s debut in Barcelona this October, and the rock star like fervor that that the drivers are treated like by the fans and you quickly see why the aura surrounding this event would evoke memories of previous Las Vegas endeavors.

Also similar to the World Finals is the amazing number of storylines that unfold every time Monster Jam is back in the Gelredome. Let me just recap a few of them. Dennis Anderson lends his Crew Chief, Dustin Brown, to his Grave Digger teammate Charlie Pauken for the weekend. Then George Balhan suffers a wrist injury during the first event of the weekend, and Brown volunteers to add driving Backwards Bob to his list of Grave Digger Crew Chief duties. Making his debut in competition at an event of this magnitude had to make it even tougher, but Brown showed that he’s learned plenty from his boss over the years. He showed lots of potential and had no fear of hitting the big stuff. He was disgusted at himself when he flipped the truck over in racing, but no one blamed him for the body damage since Tom Meents would later land Maximum Destruction on top of the Backwards Bob truck in freestyle. Brown definitely appears to have the right stuff to drive a monster someday, but that day will have to wait since Anderson has said on more than one occasion that any thoughts Dustin has about moving into a monster drivers seat will wait until the icon retires!

Speaking of that Meents freestyle, there’s another similarity to Vegas. It is one of those runs that has the sport buzzing, similar to the reaction that we see from the best World Finals performances. I’m done trying to rank a Meents performance on a list, like this was the best, or second best, or whatever. It’s impossible. But what he did Sunday afternoon is leave a memory with a sold out, capacity crowd that will last and last. Tom and several other drivers have delivered big time in past Arnhem events, and the great thing about this one is that the American audience will get to see it when the show airs on Speed TV.

It was one of those moments when the last person in Holland you would have wanted to be Sunday afternoon was Charlie Pauken. Sitting in his Grave Digger, getting ready to freestyle, watching Meents go absolutely ballistic, Chucky had to be thinking “how am I’m going to top that?” To Pauken’s credit his performance following Meents was World Finals caliber as well, and fittingly he ended the run by crashing his Digger into Maximum Destruction to give the fans one more reason to let out a roar that could probably be heard in Amsterdam. The fact that only one point separated the big two on the final freestyle scoring chart Sunday shows just how great both performances were.

Those are just a couple of the stories that had everybody talking. There were so many more. Candice Jolly gets a perfect score from the regulation time judges in Monster Mutt on Sunday, a first in a stadium event for the popular Dalmatian driver…..Frank Krmel came back to his Donkey Kong ride for a swan song appearance as he moves into his Blue Thunder ride, and showed the Dutch fans exactly why the Ford team has tapped him to move into that high profile ride…..Madusa proved that a couple years away from the sport only made the fans love her more, sporting some of the longest autograph lines at each pit party…..the improvement of the European drivers was evident. Tony Dixon flipped his Swamp Thing truck and his only regret was that he wanted to go even bigger. And Anders Flogard is a legitimate threat to win in Thor. He finished as high as third in freestyle against some of the sport’s best, and he deserved the scores, no home continent cooking was needed.....there was Dan Evans with his wife and Crew Chief Lorrie, struggling with electrical problems throughout Saturday’s two shows. It was just sheer determination that it would not be that way on Sunday as the Evans’, with lots of help from other crews, worked until 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning to find and correct the problems. A quick nap, back to the stadium, and Dan’s freestyle in the beautiful Disney XD truck was one of many highlights in that phenomenal event.

Two of the biggest stories of the weekend revolved around a couple of Monster Jam’s newest stars, both coming from other motorsports backgrounds. Had it not been for the Meents-Pauken freestyle showdown Sunday the top of the page headline leaving Holland would have been about Damon Bradshaw’s dominating weekend on the track. What a stat sheet the former Supercross legend put together: A double down in the first event of the weekend, then another freestyle victory Saturday night, and a runner-up finish in racing Sunday in a photo finish that has to go down as the weekend’s most thrilling race. Bradshaw was consistently spectacular driving El Toro Loco, which was superbly prepared by former World Champion Crew Chief R. L. Arace. Not only did Bradshaw show the fans in Arnhem how he won this year’s World Freestyle Championship, but in my opinion, also served notice to the rest of the industry that he has not reached his peak with a world title, he’s just getting started, the best is yet to come from him, and clearly Damon has already reached a level where he is a favorite to win every event he competes in.

With all of that going on throughout this huge weekend, another lasting memory takes it back to the competition on the track, that desire that the best have to “just win, baby.” That is the only way I can sum up Lee O’Donnell’s Championship Race battle with Bradshaw Sunday afternoon. With the pair even coming off of the final turn, the off-road racing star summoned up all of his bravado and talent, and slammed his foot almost through the floorboard to give the truck everything it had. That incredible burst to the finish line was breathtaking. He just would not be denied, and eeked out the thrilling win. O’Donnell’s attitude was that there was no way he was going to lose that race, and his wild crash destroying his Nitro Circus truck as he landed way past the finish line proved it.

Five years of thrills like what we witnessed this past weekend have now created a unique tradition in Arnhem, Holland: the crown jewel of the Monster Jam World Tour.