Big crowds attended last weekend, with another date scheduled for July.
Monster Jam is a huge deal in Nashville, Tennessee. Monster Jam is a truck show with a strong following and is like no other! The series began in 1992 and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Each Monster Truck weighs about 12,000 pounds and is packed with big personalities. The truck bodies are custom-built and constructed of fiberglass and must be transported in special trailers that often have spare parts as these vehicles take a beating during competitions.
In Nashville, three events occurred last weekend at the Bridgestone Arena. The show will return to Music City on July 1 at Nissan Stadium for what is being billed as Monster Jam World Finals XXII. In addition to their North American run, the trucks will be heading overseas on several dates proving that the series has widespread international appeal.
We were some of the big kids in attendance on Saturday night, but there were plenty of excited youngsters in the crowd with many sporting headphones as Monster Trucks with engines that generate 1,500 horsepower are loud. If the sound and visuals are insufficient, Monster Jam allows their fans to provide the scores for several competitions at each event. During the Skills Challenge, Donut, and/or Freestyle Competitions, folks are encouraged to use their mobile device and log into JudgesZone.com and assign points.
After the National Anthem, the big trucks contending in Nashville were introduced. Monster Jam has many more designs and drivers, but a queue of eight kept the evening moving at a good pace. Fan favorite Grave Digger was joined by fun ones such as Jurassic Attack, which looked like a dinosaur, and Megalodon, which mimicked a shark. Racing was the first challenge of the night. The trucks circled the arena in pairs. Then, the winners advanced until only two remained, with the final run determining the champion. On Saturday night, El Toro bulldozed his way to the top for 8 points.
El Toro
Next, the Skills Challenge gave the drivers multiple opportunities to stage their best stunts to bring at least two wheels into the air. Grave Digger prevailed with what looked like a two-wheeled headstand, but the whimsical Scooby-Doo and Earth Shaker, who pays homage to hard-working people, also performed several impressive tricks. Head-stands are not as easy as Grave Digger made it seem, as El Toro, in his attempt, ended up with some mechanical and cosmetic damage. His crew worked hard to repair him, but the beast missed the next event.
At half time, four motorcycle riders from FMX completed several freestyle jumps that culminated in a death-defying Train in which the bikes followed each other in quick succession while doing a ramp trick. But soon, it was back to Monster Jam, and Donuts had the monsters work in designated flat areas to rotate the vehicle as many times and as quickly as possible. In Nashville, there was some debate that one side of the track was tackier, but that is part of the sport. Grave Digger ate up the competition on this one.
Freestyle, as the name implies, allowed the drivers to execute stunts throughout the floor area with the clock ticking. Several trucks did flips which is the hardest trick. Grave Digger presented several high jumps but ended up rolling over and not using all his time. Thus, the battered El Toro, missing his hood, prevailed with a flip paired with impressive jumps. Perhaps, if the bull had participated in Donuts, he could have prevented Grave Digger from winning the Overall End Points on Saturday night. But, the most famous truck on the souped-up circuit won again on Saturday evening in Nashville just as it did last year. The only difference was that this time the likable Weston Anderson was behind the wheel of the much-touted truck.
An extra special bonus this year was delivered by Bernard Lyght who was driving Megalodon but was also doing double duty as the evening’s entertaining and athletic emcee. When not manning the controls of his custom-built shark-themed car, the charismatic Bernard was doing back flips, working hard to get the most out of the big Bridgestone crowd and leading several rounds of the wave, including slow-motion and sped-up varieties. Lyght was a bright spot this night and a real Monster Jam star in the making.
Monster Jam was a big deal in Nashville, Tennessee, and will be back July 01, 2023, with more action from drivers and trucks with big personalities.
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Article republished by request, MusicCityNashville.net.
