A fun Monster Jam on Father’s Day weekend

By Rafael C. Ang June 26,2016
The author with Pirate's Curse driver Steven Sims.

The author with Pirate’s Curse driver Steven Sims.

MONSTER Jam is a show where monster trucks pop up and do stunts like racing, wheelies and freestyle competition. 

The racing event is one where monster trucks race about the stadium. Their goal in racing is to reach the white finish line first. Whoever gets there first wins the round.

In the doughnut event, the Monster Jam trucks spin around in circles, accelerating and trying to do the circles as fast they can.

There is a time limit, and they have to spin as many times as they can. In Freestyle, the monster trucks do stunts like wheelies, or going up on their rear wheels, and driving up on a mound in the middle of the stadium.

This year, there were seven Monster Jam trucks, one more than last year. Pirate’s Curse has a dagger between its teeth, just like how a pirate would invade a ship.

HotWheels Firestorm has terrifying fangs on its front.

Monster Mutt Dalmatian has a red tongue sticking out from its hood. The side has razor-sharp teeth. It does look a bit cute, not considering the fangs.

The Scooby-Doo Monster Jam truck looks like the famous TV character, and is a dog with a tongue sticking out on its right side. Its driver for this weekend is a lady called Brianna Mahon. I got to meet her during the Pit Party before the show.

Alien Invasion has dancing green lights all over it, which are supposed to be like tiny aliens darting around.

Grave Digger looks like a classic hot-rod. Its paint design has green flames, a mysterious house and the graves of its fellow Monster Jam trucks.

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Max-D flies high while doing a wheelie

Max-D is another famous truck. It has an odd but unique design, with spikes on the bodywork and sometimes, a flag on the back.

On the Saturday when we watched, HotWheels Firestorm tried to do a wild stunt on the mound but failed to land properly. The monster truck flipped over and crashed, and the bodywork cracked. 

We noticed that one of the truck’s fangs was chipped by the crash. A tractor drove up and used its ropes to pull the monster truck back on four wheels. The driver was fine after the crash, because each truck has a strong roll cage.

Monster Jam trucks are ear-shatteringly loud with their 1500-hp engines. Almost everyone was wearing earplugs.

Alien Invasion with its little green lights, roars out of the pits

Alien Invasion with its little green lights, roars out of the pits

The most exciting part of the show was the freestyle contest, and it was also the loudest. In the Freestyle, the trucks do stunts by jumping up on the mound and doing doughnuts. The judges raise their score pads to decide who wins.

It was a close battle between Grave Digger, Dragon, Max-D, and Alien Invasion. Grave Digger, driven by Adam Anderson, won in the end. 

The crowd cheered during the entire show. The show was extra special because it was on Father’s Day weekend. It was my day with my dad.

I liked the part where HotWheels Firestorm recovered from its crash. I enjoyed the show because of the close match, awesome stunts, and of course the powerful Monster Jam trucks.

(The author is the seven-year-old son of Inquirer Motoring writer Jason Ang.)

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