Team Grave Digger's Mission Accomplished in Grand Rapids

If you know anything about Cole Venard, you know that he is driven. When he got the assignment to drive for Team Grave Digger® in the East Tour for 2016 Monster Jam® featuring the AMSOIL Series, he set his sights on a championship. This weekend, his mission was accomplished.

With a seven-point lead going into the series final four events in Grand Rapids, Venard could not let down his guard. The pursuit was coming from 2012 Young Guns Shootout^TM champion Bari Musawwir in Team Zombie^TM, a team that could score points in bunches. The lead stretched Friday night with Venard claiming the overall event win. He repeated it on Saturday afternoon, putting him in position to win it all on Saturday night. Despite losing the overall event title to Brianna Mahon and Team Scooby-Doo!^TM, Venard had enough to claim the title with one performance remaining. For good measure, Team Grave Digger took the overall event title on Sunday to close out the series with conviction.

Despite the championship claim, there was still drama on Sunday. Mahon held a slight lead over Jared Eichelberger and Team Max-D^TM in a clash for third place. The half-point margin disappeared early and Eichelberger was able to move up into third position.

With this championship, Venard now becomes a rookie driver in the Monster Jam World Finals® XVII. His past experience was turning wrenches for Adam Anderson, so he already knows the feeling of a world championship. Now, he would like to win one on his terms.