Ryan Anderson ushers in a new era of Monster Jam

By Jason D Searcy

December 10, 2016

Dennis Anderson driving Grave Digger has been the King of Monster Jam throughout the entire Metrodome era.  That era is over and his son, Son-Uva Digger driver Ryan Anderson, has taken over the crown in a very non-traditional way at the new US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (MN), he is just as much as an acrobat as a driver.

Ryan Anderson (above on right) absolutely thrilled the sold-out crowd with a display of two-wheeling tricks and totally intentional near wrecks.  The moves Anderson displayed looked more like something a BMX biker or a Freestyle Motocross racer would attempt.  He rode the corner on his two side wheels and even clipped a jump just with with his rear tire to create another unexpected move.  He won the Freestyle and nobody in the crowd even noticed he never attempted the back-flip.

Freestyle Judging Results:

Son-Uva Digger       36
Lucas Oil Crusader  35
FS1 Cleatus             34
Max D                     32
Hot Wheels              29
Monster Energy       28
Grave Digger           28
Mad Scientist          26
Scooby Doo            26
Zombie                    24
El Toro Loco            24
Thunder 4x4             21
Mohawk Warrior      15
Black OPS               12

While many of the drivers stuck to the conventional but Ryan Anderson just took Monster Jam to the next level in Freestyle a new era fitting for the new billion dollar stadium in Minnesota.  Linsey Weenk (below) in Lucas Oil Crusader almost swept the night, he did a great job in freestyle and stood up the truck after doing the back-flip.

Linsey Weenk in Lucas Oil Crusader won racing over Damon Bradshaw in Monster Energy by a mark of 18.629 to 18.831.

Becky McDonough (above) from Brainerd (MN) driving El Toro Loco did a great job in winning the Wheelie Contest after standing her truck up on the tailgate, shoving the truck in reverse and making a great save.

 Veteran driver Madusa (above), also originally from Minnesota, spoke on camera before the event, she was injured and unable to race this weekend but she thanked the crowd and hoped that her career has inspired some young female racers.

A founding father of the sport, Everett Jasmer from Ham Lake (MN) was also in attendance, he was introduced to the crowd and displayed his USA-1 Monster Truck, one of the first Monster Trucks to catch the eye of the public back in the 1980's.

The event started at 7:11pm and ended at 9:26pm.

Another Monster Jam show will be held Sunday afternoon at 3:30pm, tickets are still available.

It was also announced that another Monster Jam show will be held at US Bank Stadium on Saturday night February 11th, 2017.

*El Toro Loco photo courtesy of Shane Carlson

Digger wins Monster Jam MPLS

Jason D Searcy (http://www.speedtalkon1360.com/)

Dennis Anderson driving Grave Digger swept the trophys at the Metrodome on a snowy night in Minneapolis (MN) on Saturday Nov 13th.

Grave Digger sent home the crowd happy, ripping up his truck and scoring a 30 to win the "Free Style" competition.  Here is a you-tube link to his winning run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQmEkHg2-4

Lupe Soza in Grinder never slowed down, even after blowing both tires on the same side of his truck, he finished second with 27pts.  Here is a link to that run  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYdKksW_33c  Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction had an awesome run cut short with mechanical problems, he scored 26.  Jeremy Slifko in Backdraft was the second truck to hit the track, he scored a 25 and held the lead for much of the night.

The racing portion of the night saw Grave Digger as the fast qualifier (18.60), just edging Blue Thunder (18.72), Captains Curse (18.78) and Air Force Afterburner (18.84).

Grave Digger defeated Mohawk Warrior, Grinder and Air Force Afterburner to advance to the finals.  Maximum Destruction beat Brutus, Avenger and Blue Thunder on his way to the end of the bracket.

The "Greatest rivalry in Motorsports" saw Grave Digger edge Maximum Destruction in the racing finals. 

Here is the SPEED Channel broadcast schedule for the Metrodome show.  (All times CENTRAL time zone) Dec 5 11pm-1am.  Dec 10 6am (racing).  Dec 13 6am (freestyle).  Dec 27 4pm (racing).  Dec 28 4pm (freestyle).  Jan 18th 6am (racing).  Jan 19th 6am (freestyle).

Unofficial Free Style results:

Grave Digger                30
Grinder                         27
Maximum Destruction   26
Backdraft                     25
Air Force Afterburner   23
Captains Curse             21
Blue Thunder                20
Mohawk Warrior         19
Brutus                          18
Avenger                       16

Monster Jam returns to the Metrodome on Saturday night January 22nd 2011
http://www.monsterjam.com/Tickets/2011/01/22/Minneapolis,_MN/

Monster Jam coming to MN

10-31-10

Jason D Searcy http://www.speedtalkon1360.com/

The Monster Jam is coming to the Metrodome in Minneapolis MN on Saturday Nov 13th.

Dennis Anderson driving Grave Digger, Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction, Linsey Weenk in Blue Thunder and Damon Bradshaw in Airforce Afterburner are all scheduled to compete that night.  The show begins at 7:30pm

Last time the Monster Jam came to the Metrodome, 16 trucks competed.  Max D won the racing, and Avenger won the Free-Style with an awesome backflip twice!  Here is a you-tube video of that run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ez8alDf62Y

Unofficial results from January 2010:

Avenger 32

Max Destruction 31

Grave Digger 30

Here is a link to the Official Monster Jam website Minneapolis information http://www.monsterjam.com/Tickets/2010/11/13/Minneapolis,_MN/

Monster trucks in Minnesota on Sat January 23rd

Monster Jam is coming to the Minneapolis Metrodome on Saturday January 23rd. You can see the huge mega-star trucks "Maximum Destruction" and "Grave Digger."

Two great Minnesota drivers will have a chance to thrill the 50,000 fans at the dome too.

Jim Bendzick from Faribault MN driver of "Rolling Thunder," who is the KING of the cyclones, a monster truck version of the donut.

Paul Strong from Albany MN drives Martial Law. Two top-notch Minnesota drivers to watch if you are going to the dome this weekend.

Monster Jam is Saturday night (January 23rd) doors open at 5:30pm, show begins at 7pm.

http://www.monsterjamonline.com/