LOUD.ENORMOUS. POWER.That is the world of Monster Jam.And Saturday night, Lincoln Financial Field hosted the greatest monster truck drivers in the world.With tons of dirt covering the stadium grass, a dozen monster trucks dazzled the crowd of 35,000 with 90 foot jumps, flips, an occasional crash, and an incredible display of power.Monster Jam trucks, which stand nearly 15 feet tall, weigh 10,000 pounds, and accelerate to speeds of 100 MPH, absolutely rocked the stadium.
To start the night off, fans were treated to a Pit Party located just outside the stadium where they could stand next to the trucks and meet the drivers racing tonight.Then the real show began!
After the initial races, won by fan favorite, Grave Digger, the bulldozers and lifts reconstructed the dirt mounds adding 30 junk yard cars to the track (and one giant bus) making the jumps higher and longer.And then the Monster Jam trucks went wild!At every high flying jump, thousands of flash bulbs went off – it seriously looked like kickoff of the Super Bowl.Tires went flying, frames were shattered, trucks flipped, the music rocked, and the fans cheered.It was awesome!
Here are some cool Monster Truck facts:
Height – Approximately 12' / 3.6 Meters
Width – Approximately 12' / 3.6 Meters
Length – Approximately 20' / 6 Meters
Weight – 10,000 lbs / 4500 Kilograms
Tire Size – 66""/ 167cm / 1.7 Meters X 43""/ 109cm / 1 meter on a 25"" / 63.5 cm Tall Wheel
Motor Type – Supercharged Fuel Injected Big Block American V8
Motor Size – less than 575 cubic Inches / 9.4 Litres displacement
Horsepower – 1350 – 2000+
Top Speed – 100 MPH/113 KM/H, Monster trucks are equipped with tachometers which measure the working speed of an engine versus speedometers which measure vehicle speed
Suspension Travel – 20-32"" Fully adjustable Nitrogen or Coilovers
Chassis – Custom Steel minimum of 8 points that attached to main chassis
Body – Fiberglass Composite with Lexan Windshield
Fuel Capacity – 22 Gallon/ 83 Litre Fuel Cell
Fuel Type – 99.9% Methanol (Alcohol)
Fuel Economy – 7 Gallons per Mile/17 Litres per Kilometer
Truck Safety
- 50+ point safety inspection before each show
- Remote Ignition Interrupter (RII), Track Officials can shut a truck off at any time
- On Board Fire Extinguisher System
Driver Safety
- 5 Point Racing Harness
- Fire Resistant Suit, Shoes, Gloves and Racing Helmet
Transport Trailer (loaded) – 62,000 lbs / 28,000 Kilograms
ABOUT MONSTER JAM EVENTS
At Monster Jam, monster trucks face off in two different forms of competition -side-by-side racing and freestyle:
- Side-by-side racing – traditional bracket racing, where the first truck, with the least amount of penalties, crosses the finish line is declared the winner.
- Freestyle competition – allows drivers a limited amount of time on the open floor to show off their skills. In this category, the fans serve as the judges.
2007 was the 25 year anniversary for the Grave Digger Team
More than 4 million Monster Jam fans attend events each year worldwide
The World Finals in Las Vegas, NV brings 24 of the top trucks in the world to compete for the World Freestyle and Racing Championships. Competitors are by invitation only.
A monster truck race team will travel 45,000 Miles / 72,400 kilometers a year by land to attend events.
Typical monster trucks cost $600,000 yearly to build, staff, compete, transport and maintain on the Monster Jam tour.
Steel body full-size cars are the vehicles typically crushed during a monster truck event.
Cars, as well as vans, buses, motor homes, airplanes and ambulances, are attained from local junkyards and returned after each event.
Average number of cars crushed per year: 3,000.
The four Monster Jam World Finals championships that Dennis Anderson won were Monster Jam 2000 freestyle champion, Monster Jam 2004 racing champion, Monster Jam 2006 racing champion and Monster Jam 2010 racing champion.
The eight Monster Jam World Finals championships that Tom Meents won were Monster Jam 2000 racing champion, Monster Jam racing 2001 champion, Monster Jam 2001 freestyle champion, Monster Jam 2002 racing champion, Monster Jam 2002 freestyle champion, Monster Jam 2004 freestyle champion, Monster Jam 2006 freestyle champion and Monster Jam 2009 racing champion.
