Nashville, TN - Jan. 5-6 - Bridgestone Arena
Authored by Larry Jewett on January 6, 2019
Hosts: John Saponaro and Abby Baltezar
Truck Lineup: Grave Digger® (Brandon Vinson), Zombie® (Ami Houde), Monster Energy® (Coty Saucier), Soldier FortuneTM (Kayla Blood), El Toro Loco® (Mark List), Blue Thunder® (Matt Cody), Monster Mutt® Rottweiler (Cory Snyder), Pirate’s Curse® (Justin Hicks)
Sunday Afternoon
SEASON STANDINGS
Soldier Fortune 95
Zombie 86
El Toro Loco 85
Grave Digger 83
Monster Energy 82
Pirates Curse 71
Blue Thunder 70
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 33
EVENT POINTS
Zombie 32
Grave Digger 30
Monster Energy 30
Blue Thunder 27
Pirate's Curse 24
El Toro Loco 24
Soldier Fortune 19
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 14
RACING
Round 1
Grave Digger advanced when Pirate’s Curse DNC
Monster Energy defeated Blue Thunder
El Toro Loco defeated Monster Mutt Rottweiler
Zombie defeated Soldier Fortune
Semi-Finals
Monster Energy defeated Grave Digger
El Toro Loco defeated Zombie
Finals
Monster Energy defeated El Toro Loco
ATV RACING
Pirate’s Curse
El Toro Loco
Blue Thunder
Zombie
Monster Energy
Solider Fortune
Monster Mutt Rottweiler
*Grave Digger DNC
2-WHEEL SKILLS CHALLENGE
Zombie 8.707
Soldier Fortune 8.354
Grave Digger 7.743
Pirate’s Curse 6.028
Monster Energy 5.715
Blue Thunder 5.676
El Toro Loco 5.650
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 4.479
DONUTS
Grave Digger 9.376
Monster energy 8.967
Zombie 8.320
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 7.777
Blue Thunder 5.781
Pirate’s Curse 4.747
Soldier Fortune DNC
El Toro Loco DNC
SPEEDSTER OBSTACLE COURSE
Round 1
Soldier Fortune defeated Pirate’s Curse
Grave Digger defeated Monster Mutt Rottweiler
Blue Thunder defeated Monster Energy
El Toro Loco defeated Zombie
Semi-Finals
Soldier Fortune defeated Grave Digger
Blue Thunder defeated El Toro Loco
Finals
Blue Thunder defeated Soldier Fortune
FREESTYLE
Grave Digger 9.664
Zombie 9.177
Pirate’s Curse 8.884
Monster Energy 7.732
Blue Thunder 6.936
El Toro Loco 6.652
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 4.693
Soldier Fortune DNC
EVENT NOTES
Sunday afternoon at the Bridgestone Arena was the third consecutive exciting event in Nashville. It was filled with a lot of firsts for the new season. It opened with Coty Saucier’s first Racing win of 2019 in Monster Energy. It also featured Zombie’s first 2-Wheel Skills win and Blue Thunder’s first Speedster Obstacle Course victory. And the event was punctuated in spectacular fashion with Brandon Vinson and Grave Digger’s first Freestyle win of the year. Elsewhere, Justin Hicks continued his strong start to his Monster Jam career by sweeping the ATV Racing competition for the weekend. He also ended the day with his best Freestyle score to date, 8.884. But the most significant first of the day was Ami Houde and Zombie’s first Overall Event Championship.
Saturday Evening
SEASON STANDINGS
Soldier Fortune 76
El Toro Loco 63
Zombie 54
Grave Digger 53
Monster Energy 52
Pirate’s Curse 47
Blue Thunder 43
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 19
EVENT POINTS
Soldier Fortune 39
Zombie 30
Monster Energy 29
Grave Digger 28
Pirate’s Curse 25
El Toro Loco 23
Blue Thunder 20
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 9
RACING
Round 1
Monster Energy defeated Pirate’s Curse
Solider Fortune defeated Monster Mutt Rottweiler
Grave Digger defeated Zombie
El Toro Loco defeated Blue Thunder
Semi-Finals
Monster Energy defeated Soldier Fortune
Grave Digger defeated El Toro Loco
Finals
Grave Digger defeated Monster Energy
ATV RACING
Pirate’s Curse
Solider Fortune
El Toro Loco
Zombie
Blue Thunder
Monster Energy
Monster Mutt Rottweiler
*Grave Digger DNC
2-WHEEL SKILLS CHALLENGE
Soldier Fortune 8.545
Monster Energy 8.404
Blue Thunder 7.879
Grave Digger 7.552
Zombie 6.651
El Toro Loco 6.538
Pirate’s Curse 5.016
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 3.244
DONUTS
Soldier Fortune 9.428
Monster Energy 9.392
Zombie 9.304
Pirate’s Curse 8.810
Grave Digger 7.460
El Toro Loco 5.386
Blue Thunder 4.604
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 3.683
SPEEDSTER OBSTACLE COURSE
Round 1
Blue Thunder defeated El Toro Loco
Grave Digger defeated Monster Mutt Rottweiler
Zombie defeated Monster Energy
Soldier Fortune defeated Pirate’s Curse
Semi-Finals
Grave Digger defeated Blue Thunder
Zombie defeated Soldier Fortune
Finals
Grave Digger defeated Zombie
FREESTYLE
Soldier Fortune 9.022
Zombie 8.668
Pirate’s Curse 8.411
El Toro Loco 7.462
Monster Energy 7.378
Grave Digger 7.186
Blue Thunder 6.862
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 5.697
EVENT NOTES
Saturday Night in Nashville belonged to Kayla Blood in Soldier Fortune. She was able to capture the Overall Event Championship, after falling just a few points short in the afternoon. Kayla won the 2-Wheel Skills Challenge, Donuts and Freestyle while also finishing in second place in ATV Racing and making the semis in both Monster Racing and the Speedster Obstacle Course. The semi-final matchup that pitted her against team Zombie’s Ami Houde ended in spectacular fashion. Both athletes went back-and-forth, until their speedsters bumped in mid-air, causing Zombie to front flip off the pod. Fortunately for Ami Houde, she landed back on all four tires, remained in first place and eventually took the win — preventing Soldier Fortune from sweeping the second half. Justin Hicks of Pirate’s Curse also picked up his second ATV Racing win in as many tries.
Saturday Afternoon
EVENT POINTS
El Toro Loco 40
Soldier Fortune 37
Grave Digger 25
Zombie 24
Blue Thunder 23
Monster Energy 23
Pirate’s Curse 22
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 10
RACING
Round 1
El Toro Loco defeated Grave Digger
Monster Energy defeated Pirate’s Curse
Solider Fortune defeated Monster Mutt Rottweiler
Zombie defeated Blue Thunder
Semi-Finals
El Toro Loco defeated Monster Energy
Zombie defeated Soldier Fortune
Finals
El Toro Loco defeated Zombie
ATV
Pirate’s Curse
Solider Fortune
Blue Thunder
El Toro Loco
Zombie
Monster Energy
Monster Mutt Rottweiler
Grave Digger
2-WHEEL SKILLS CHALLENGE
Soldier Fortune 9.235
El Toro Loco 8.383
Grave Digger 8.252
Blue Thunder 8.049
Monster Energy 6.743
Pirate’s Curse 6.589
Zombie 5.038
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 3.512
DONUTS
Grave Digger 9.748
Monster Energy 8.710
Soldier Fortune 8.397
El Toro Loco 7.794
Zombie 7.352
Pirate’s Curse 7.015
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 6.505
Blue Thunder 6.134
SPEEDSTER OBSTACLE COURSE
Round 1
Blue Thunder defeated Zombie
El Toro Loco defeated Pirate’s Curse
Soldier Fortune defeated Monster Energy
Grave Digger defeated Monster Mutt Rottweiler
Semi-Finals
El Toro Loco defeated Blue Thunder
Grave Digger defeated Soldier
Finals
El Toro Loco defeated Grave Digger
FREESTYLE
Soldier Fortune 8.953
El Toro Loco 8.273
Zombie 7.113
Blue Thunder 7.058
Pirate’s Curse 7.037
Monster Energy 7.004
Grave Digger 6.090
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 4.863
EVENT NOTES
If Saturday afternoon in Nashville was any indication of what’s to come for the Triple Threat Series Central — fans can expect a ton of action throughout the season. The competition started with an El Toro Loco Racing win, which set the tone for Mark List all day. Justin Hicks of Pirate’s Curse wasted little time capturing his first career Monster Jam win by blowing away the competition in ATV Racing. Then Kayla Blood wowed the crowd with her 2-Wheels Skills performance, which included not one, but two excellent saves. In the second half, Grave Digger’s Brandon Vinson went full cyclone to take the Donut competition victory. He then made it all the way to the Speedster Obstacle Course Finals before losing out to Mark List and El Toro Loco. Start to finish, that competition was definitely the best of the day, with all of athletes holding nothing back on the track. Entering Freestyle, it was down to El Toro Loco and Soldier Fortune for the Overall Event Win. And although Kayla Blood won her second competition of the day, Mark List was able to put El Toro Loco in second place, giving him the edge and the first Overall Event Championship of 2019.