Monster Truck Jam: USHRA = WWF on wheels
I recently attended the United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) Monster Truck Jam in Providence, RI. All four events— monster truck racing, monster truck "freestyle", ATV racing and motorcross jumping— were as rigged as a 18th century sailing vessel. "Quad wars" pitted the black-shirts ("Team New York") vs. red, white and blue ("Team New England"), complete with crowd-baiting interviews. Guess who won. And was there ever any doubt that Grave Digger, the Hulk Hogan of monster trucks, would kick monster butt? The only genuine moment came when Thrasher blew up. Serves them right. Click through for more monster insights.
Monster trucks are themed liked Championship Wrestlers. The names tend towards animism (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, El Toro Loco, Monster Mutt, Arachnophobia, Reptoid) and Arnie movies that never were (Avenger, Devastator, Destroyer, Equalizer, Eradicator, Thrasher). My personal favorite is Wild Hair, whose driver has a buzz cut. Post-ironic monster trucks indeed.
You cannot believe the noise these things make at full chat. Its physically painful even if youve got the official $1 foam earplugs jammed into your brain stem. Theres not a Hell of a lot these things can do inside an auditorium (notice the dumpster performing double duty as a crash barrier). Wheelie, aural assault, turn; wheelie, aural assault, turn; etc. Its like Flamenco: after the first ten minutes, youre done. Needless to say, my seven-year-old step-daughter loved it. I just wished I could have brought a member of the Sierra Club with me.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dan 12:26AM (12/19/2005)
WWF? The Monster Truck Jam was like the World Wildlife Fund on wheels? Now that's interesting!
hehe... not that it matters but those wrasslin' guys are WWE (E for Entertainment) now thanks to lawsuit brought by those wildlife guys I mentioned above.
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r rudorf 12:26AM (12/19/2005)
monster trucks could be the first topic banned from autoblog, what do you think?
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David Thomas 12:26AM (12/19/2005)
come on the mental image of Robert F usually behind the wheel of Enzos et al at a monster truck show is amazing. That's why they changed to WWE? that's funny.
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Vexorg 12:26AM (12/19/2005)
Back when the Kingdome was still around to provide an appropriate venue for it here, Monster Jam was actually worth going to, primarily for some of the minor events (Pro Stadium Trucks, where locals bring in their own trucks and compete on a dirt course around the stadium) and the demo derby with which they ended the festivities. Now they don't really have a venue for it in Seattle so they hold the events at the Tacoma Dome, which has a lot less space, and the ones I've been to were pretty boring. Nowdays around here (Seattle area) you get a lot better bang for the buck at the Saturday night races at Evergreen Speedway (http://www.evergreenspeedway.com), especially when they do one of their demo derby nights along with stuff like rollover contests, School Bus Figure 8s, Boat Races (Now those are a sight to behold) and Double-Decker Races.
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