Weekend of Competition in Reno

Last year, Morgan Kane showed his talent to the world by capturing the first Arena Tour title. This year, he backed that up by winning the West Tour for the 2016 Monster Jam® featuring the AMSOIL Series in Team Grave Digger®.

While Colton Eichelberger was the principal rival for Kane in both 2015 and 2016, there were some twists in the plot for this season. In the off-season the drivers switched rides and Kane would now be in Grave Digger, a natural fit since he grew up around the team in North Carolina. Kane held the lead after 19 events and could not be caught, eventually winning the title by 17.5 points. The championship carries an automatic bid to Monster Jam World Finals® XVII.

Carrying a lead of a little more than 10 points in the final weekend of competition in Reno, Kane added to the lead on Friday night, helped in part by points gained with a Freestyle win. Eichelberger and Team Max-D^TM captured the Saturday afternoon overall event championship and gained slight ground, but time was running out. The effort by Kane on Saturday was enough to clinch the title and gain the return visit to Las Vegas.

Seven teams were able to accumulate points in the final competitions, indicating the parity that was beginning to show as new athletes gained valuable experience. The nine weeks of competition created friendships and rivalries, joy and heartbreak, but the end result was the intense competition Monster Jam is known to create.