Monster Jam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show created by Live Nation (formerly Clear Channel Entertainment). The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) and takes place primarily in the United States. Although individual event formats can vary greatly based on the "intermission" entertainment, the main attraction is always the racing and freestyle competitions by monster trucks.
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[edit] Live events
Although Monster Jam events are held year round, the traditional competitive season (when televised shows are taped) runs from January to March, with a few events to start off the season in November. During the winter run, it is not unusual for up to 10 events to be run in different areas on the same weekend, with one or two major stadium events with 10-16 trucks, and a group of smaller arena events with 4-8 trucks. The season culminates in the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas in late March. There is also a Monster Jam Europe tour in the summer and autumn, as well as a domestic series of summer events known as Monster Jam Summer Heat.[1]
According to the USHRA in 2004 season more than 2.5 million people attended these events.[2]
Because of the large number of events and massive popularity of the series, the list of trucks competing in the series is the longest of any promoter. The most popular trucks, which are usually featured on the television show, come from three primary groups: Trucks (or names) which are owned by Live Nation (such as Grave Digger and Batman), independents or "privateers" (such as Gun Slinger and Avenger), and "corporate privateers" which are independently owned but sponsored by major companies (such as Bounty Hunter, sponsored by CSK Auto, and T-Maxx, sponsored by Traxxas). Live Nation's ownership of several of the most popular trucks often leads to allegations of favoritism, although they maintain that events are run fairly.
[edit] Television Show
The hour-long Monster Jam television show has aired on Speed Channel since 2004. Previously, the show was aired on TNN, and in a half-hour clip show format as "Inside Monster Jam" on ESPN2. In the United Kingdom, the show is currently viewed on Bravo 2 and occasionally Channel 4.
[edit] World Finals Champions
| Year | Racing | Freestyle |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Tom Meents - Goldberg | Dennis Anderson - Grave Digger |
| 2001 | Tom Meents - Goldberg | Tom Meents - Goldberg |
| 2002 | Tom Meents - Team Meents | Tom Meents - Team Meents |
| 2003 | Brian Barthel - Wolverine | Jim Koehler - Avenger' |
| 2004 | Dennis Anderson - Grave Digger | (tie) Tom Meents - Maximum Destruction, Debra Miceli - Madusa, and Lupe Sosa - El Toro Loco |
| 2005 | Debra Miceli - Madusa | Jimmy Creten - Bounty Hunter |
| 2006 | Dennis Anderson - Grave Digger | Tom Meents - Maximum Destruction |
| 2007 | John Seasock - Batman | Pablo Huffaker - Captain's Curse |
| 2008 | John Seasock - Batman | Adam Anderson - Taz |
[edit] Licensing
Mattel's Hot Wheels brand produces officially licensed toy versions of monster trucks under the Monster Jam name. They also sponsor an actual truck which competes in the series.
Three officially licensed Monster Jam video games have been produced. The first two, Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction, a vehicular combat game, and Monster 4x4: Masters of Metal, an arcade racing game, were published by Ubisoft. The third, titled simply Monster Jam, was released by Activision on November 13, 2007.
The Monster Jam license is also held by Kurt Adler [3], American Greetings, Birthday Express [4]
