FRIDAY -
The superstars of Monster Jam are in Reno for one final Monster Jam before they make their way to Vegas. Lupe and El Toro Loco, Chad and Superman, Alex and Captains Curse, and of course Grave Digger, which will be in Vegas, but the driver here in Reno will be Chad Tingler. Chad will get a much deserved break during the WF week.

With a killer race course set up in the arena, the drivers had their work cut out for them. With Ranger Joe in his home town show, and the rest of the best all trying to get to victory lane. The Minneapolis style racing was some of the best arena racing of the year. The drivers were attacking the course, airing it out and then slamming the turns, using both front and rear steering, then hard on the throttle for the finish line. It is amazing to watch the drivers maintain so much speed and fly so far in the closed course confines of the Reno Livestock and Events Center.

Freestyle gave the fans what they have come to expect from the stars of Monster Jam. The additional obstacles and the amazing talent of the drivers and the mechanical prowess of the trucks is simply unbelievable. For the amount of abuse both the drivers and machines take it blows the mind to think they will go at it this hard for 3 days and 4 shows.

Wheelie Contest Scores:
Time Flys 15
Airborne Ranger 14
El Toro Loco 19
Captains Curse 18
Superman 26
Grave Digger 28

Racing Brackets
Round 1
Captains Curse wins over Time Flys
Superman defeated El Toro
Grave Digger beat Airborne Ranger

Semi Final
Captains Curse was 1st up against the fast loser Airborne Ranger, but an electrical problem kept Joe and Ranger out of action. Replacing Ranger as fast loser was El Toro, who Captains Curse beat to go to the final
Superman beat Digger

Final
Superman and Chad Fortune ran a perfect race to defeat hard charging Alex Blackwell and Captains Curse

Freestyle Scores:
Time Flys 18
Airborne Ranger DNS
El Toro 21
Superman 24
Captains Curse 25
Grave Digger 26

SATURDAY AFTERNOON -
The battle continued in Reno. The drivers are all set for the WF in 2 weeks, and they are showing their stuff here in the Livestock and Events Center. Alex Blackwell has been watching and learning from the best in the business and combined with the amount of seat time he is getting over the past few years have made the kid a contender. After blowing the lead in last night main event, Captains Curse came out with a vengeance today. Knocking Superman out in the semi final of racing, avenging the lose last night and then going on and beating Digger the final. The closest score to the winning freestyle run of Diggers was only 2 points shy of the Black and Green Wrecking Machine, and that was posted by Alex and Curse. The kid is gonna be something someday!

Wheelie Scores:
Time Flys 19
Airborne Ranger 15
El Toro 18
Captains Curse 20
Superman 22
Grave Digger 24

Racing Brackets
Round 1
Supeman defeats Time Flys
El Toro gored Airborne Ranger
Grave Digger beat Captains Curse

Semi Final
Captains Curse returns as fast loser and beat Superman
Grave Digger took out El Toro

Final
In a rematch from round 1, Captains Curse took the victory over Grave Digger

Freestyle Scores
Time Flys 16
Airborne Ranger 15
El Toro Loco 16
Superman 19
Captains Curse 22
Grave Digger 24

If you notice, the top wheelie scores and the top freestyle scores were identical. In nearly 15 years of Monster Jam, we had the SINGLE TOUGHEST JUDGE ever!! That lady did not give more than a 6. Gotta respect her opnion, althought the crowd gave her a piece of their mind!

SATURDAY EVENING -
If it has anything to do with freestyle, Grave Digger is either gonna win or come close, and that remained the story in Reno. The black and green wrecking machine with Chad Tingler in the seat keeps the fans off of theirs. Chad is an amazing driver, keeping the RPM's to maximum and flogging the truck around the track as if it is his last chance to ever drive. I love it and I know the fans definitely appreciate what all of the Digger drivers do, especially Chad.
Lupe and El Toro had some body damage earlier in the day, but the crew had it back together and ready for action by the time the night show started. Chad Fortune is keeping the boys honest. Superman and Chad are a force to not be taken lightly. Chad got a win in Racing on Friday, missed a chance at victory lane on Saturday afternoon, and came close again on Saturday night. All of the drivers are pumped for the WF. And it is showing to the fans in Reno.

Wheelie Scores:
Time Flys 20
Airborne Ranger 20
El Toro 22
Captains Curse 23
Superman 23
Grave Digger 25

Racing Bracket
Round 1
Time Flys lost to Grave Digger
El Toro came up short against Curse
AirBorne ranger defeated Superman

Semi Final
Superman returns as fast loser and wins his way to final by beating Grave Digger
Captains Curse put AirBorne Ranger out

Final
Captains Curse got his revenge from the loss on Friday night by beating Superman

Freestyle Scores
Time Flys 23
AirBorne Ranger 20
El Toro 26
Superman 23
Captains Curse 25
Grave Digger 27

SUNDAY -
The final show of the weekend, and the final event for most of the trucks in Reno before heading to the MJWF. Lupe tore up his Vegas body, Chad Fortune got some last weekend turning course practice in, Alex Blackwell increased his confidence after winning multiple events over the weekend. So, of the 3 dudes headed for Vegas, Lupe was the only one who came out on the short end of the stick. The other 2 drivers and teams went away with their heads high, while the El Toro team knew they had work to do.

Talked with Howie Dalton, crew chief for Captains Curse. The other 23 trucks at the finals had better bring their A game. Howie has been tuning the truck to run down the big dogs. Howie brings a wealth of information and experience from the IHRA Nitro Jam series, and has been slowly implementing the changes over the last few weeks. If you remember, Alex and Curse were the 2nd quick qualifier in Vegas last year and went on to the semi final, only losing to the current Monster Jam World Finals Champion, John Seasock and Batman. And speaking of that, think there might be a story line there. Both Seasock and Blackwell are from the same small town of Frackville, PA. Seasock beat Alex at the final, Seasock gets all of the love in their hometown and Alex is a VERY, VERY competitive guy. Good luck to all at the MJWF!!

Lupe Sosa is headed for Vegas with a double down victory in Reno. The only driver to win freestyle and racing in the same day here in Reno.

Wheelie Scores:
Time Flys 20
Airborne Ranger 15
El Toro 17
Captains Curse 23
Superman 23
Grave Digger 24

Racing Brackets
Round 1
Time Flys beat Airborne Ranger
El Toro defeated Grave Digger
Captains Curse beat Superman

Semi Final
Grave Digger came back as fast loser and beat Time Flys
El Toro kept on winning by beating Captains Curse

Final
Digger and El Toro had a photo finish with the nod going to El Toro

Freestyle Scores:
Time Flys 20
Airborne Ranger 11
El Toro Loco 24
Superman 23
Captains Curse 22
Grave Digger 22