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Grave Digger Has Become a Name Associated With Championships

Authored by Monster Jam on November 11, 2022

With more than 30 years on the circuit, Grave Digger® has become a name associated with championships, but the years past pale when compared to the accomplishments so far in 2016.

For starters, Grave Digger, with Adam Anderson at the wheel, captured the FS1 Championship Series in dominant fashion. Winning six of the nine racing events, Anderson secured the title before the final event at Syracuse. The accomplishment was significant because it carried an automatic bid to Monster Jam World Finals® XVII, giving the three-time champion a ticket to continue his successes.

Team Grave Digger then turned attention to the Monster Jam® featuring the AMSOIL Series East and West tours. Each tour had a Grave Digger truck right in the thick of the points battle that went to the final weekend events in Reno and Grand Rapids before a champion could be crowned. In the East Series, newcomer Cole Venard had to catch up to ZombieTM and veteran Bari Musawwir, then slip by with enough points for the championship. In the West, Morgan Kane, now in Grave Digger after a championship run in 2015 in Max-D™, had to fight off rival Colton Eichelberger once again. Kane got the job done to claim the title. This turn of events brought two more Grave Digger trucks to the “big show”. With four-time champion Dennis Anderson qualified on merit, there would be an unprecedented four Grave Diggers coming to Las Vegas.

Thursday’s qualifying rounds allowed Grave Digger to make an immediate impact. Kane was second fastest and Adam Anderson was fourth on the standings when the clock stopped for the field.

When the Friday competition hit the track, it was one and done for Venard, but the remaining three moved into the next round. Dennis Anderson had his work cut out for him, facing Tom Meents in Max-D. Both had a wild ride to the finish with Meents crossing the line first, marking the first time since 2003 that Dennis had lost to Tom in World Finals. Adam and Morgan were able to advance to the quarterfinals. Morgan would dispatch Monster Jam World Finals rookie BJ Johnson and Gas Monkey GarageTM in the third round while Adam would fall victim to defending champion Todd LeDuc in Metal MulishaTM. This turn of events left Morgan Kane as the standard bearer and a tough test with Ryan Anderson and Son-Uva Digger® next up. Both ran in fewer than 16 seconds, but Kane was quicker and advanced to the finals. Metal Mulisha would provide the opposition. In the fastest round in Monster Jam World Finals history, Kane (15.721) beat LeDuc (15.843) to add a World Racing Championship to his AMSOIL Series crown.

Not one to sit on their laurels, Team Grave Digger will be ready for the challenges ahead in the Monster Jam summer events and international competition. For now, Grave Digger domination serves as incentive for the rest of the field, setting the stage for great competition in the weeks to come.