Cole Venard and Jamey Garner led the way in monster truck racing this month with big wins at big events and their highest rankings of the season in the Open Championship. Adam Anderson, Neil Elliot, and Mat Dishman ran fewer events but never lost and were in the Top 5 for this month. There were a number of events this month that did not include side-by-side racing which left a lot of points on the table.
With this being the end of June, that means were are 3/4th of the way through our inaugural season. The next big event will be Monster Jam in San Antonio, Texas where Jimmy Creten and Tyler Menninga will go head-to-head. Later, Menninga and Colton Eichelberger will have a long weekend in Los Angeles. Mat Dishman swept the opening rounds of the Jamboree and still has 6 more events to go including Bloomsburg next weekend. And top runners Adam Anderson, Neil Elliot, and Camden Murphy will have opportunities for big points at historic West Lebanon Speedway later this month. The 2018-2019 season will end on September 30th as Monster Jam wraps up a 5-race weekend in Rosemont, Illinois.
THANK YOU SUPPORTERS!
Thank you to all of the monster truck racing enthusiasts who helped report event results last month!
Austin Dahlgren, Bryan Wagner, Cameron Becker, Dallas Glenn-Rogers, Daniel Clark, David Rife, Dustin Parks, Garrett Hanson, Kevin Burgess, Kirk Nagy, Logan Rubemeyer, Mason Runkel, Mikeal Christensen, Morgan Cornog, Nicholas Marglese, Nick Migues, Nick Wishard, Paul Jensen, Phil Vicinanza, Ricky Fowler, Ross Bonar, Sly Chevalier, Stephen Mayfield, Trace Jordon and the folks at Jester Monster Truck Race Team, Monster X Tour, and Monster Jam.
BEST MONSTER TRUCK RACERS IN JUNE 2019
- Cole Venard – Black Pearl – 1168 / 292.00
- Adam Anderson – Grave Digger – 784 / 392.00
- Jamey Garner – Over Bored – 1748 / 249.71
- Mat Dishman – Rammunition – 828 / 276.00
- Neil Elliot – Maximum Destruction – 664 / 332.00
- Darren Migues – Nitro Menace – 1029 / 205.80
- Mikeal Christensen – Vendetta – 752 / 250.67
- Justin Murphy – Prime Time – 850 / 212.50
- Tyler Menninga – Grave Digger – 748 / 249.33
- Christian Norman – Bigfoot – 1116 / 186.00
Cole Venard won 3 times in 4 races on the MAP O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals tour including one win at the big 14-truck drag race in Miami. His only loss was to teammate Jamey Garner in the semi-finals in Miami. Those three wins gained him 13 spots in the Open Championship standings.
Adam Anderson won both of his races in June, capturing the Monster Jam Stadium wins in Kansas City and in Nashville. He had 8 heat wins, including 2 each over Dave Sparks and Scott Buetow.
Jamey Garner advanced to the final round in all seven of his June events and won three of them. He had wins over 15 different drivers including handing Cole Venard his only loss of the month. Three of his four heat loses were to Venard and one to Jim Koehler in the finals in Medina. Garner’s 1748 points was the most by any driver in the month and gained him 24 spots in the Open Championship.
Mat Dishman swept the first leg of the 4-Wheel Jamboree tour as he went 3-for-3 in Lima, Ohio. He gained 3 spots in the standings and was undefeated through 9 heats.
Neil Elliot won both of his international races in June. First he won the 8-truck race in Coventry, England defeating Mark List in the finals. He then finished off the month with a 10-truck win in Gothenburg, Sweden where he defeated Alex Blackwell in the finals.
Darren Migues picked up wins in Hampton, Virginia and Greenwood, Nebraska and was runner-up at the big Outlaw Nationals event in Miami, Oklahoma.
Mikeal Christensen won all three events in which he competed, taking wins in Las Vegas, Nevada; Hurricane, Utah; and Missoula, Montana. Travel delays kept the Vendetta team out of the bracket for night one in Missoula and his final three events did not have side-by-side racing.
Justin Murphy had all five of his events in the same week on the Monster X Tour and won three of them, which gained him 8 spots in the Open Championship standings.
Tyler Menninga picked up big wins in Salinas and East Rutherford on the Monster Jam Stadium tour to extend his sizable lead in the Open Championship. He was credited with a first round loss in Foxborough when damage prevented him from continuing.
Christian Norman won both Toughest Monster Truck events in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to pick up 564 points. He was also runner-up once in Lima, Ohio and in Wayne City, Illinois. He advanced to the semi-finals in his other two appearances.
MOST POINTS IN JUNE 2019
1748 – Jamey Garner – Over Bored
1168 – Cole Venard – Black Pearl
1137 – Brandon Derrow – Bad News Travels Fast
1116 – Christian Norman – Bigfoot
1029 – Darren Migues – Nitro Menance
Jamey Garner was head-and-shoulders above the competitors in June when it came to earning points. He advanced to seven consecutive final rounds and won three of them. Teammate Cole Venard had the second most points with 3 event wins. Brandon Derrow had a busy 7-race schedule in June that included a three-race sweep in Berlin, New Jersey and three semi-round appearances in Lima, Ohio. Christian Norman earned points in all six of his events including two wins in Myrtle Beach. Darren Migues had two wins in three final round appearances.
BEST AVERAGE IN JUNE 2019 (Minimum 2 races)
392.00 – Adam Anderson – Grave Digger
332.00 – Neil Elliot – Maximum Destruction
292.00 – Cole Venard – Black Pearl
276.00 – Mat Dishman – Rammunition
250.67 – Mikeal Christensen - Vendetta
Adam Anderson and Neil Elliot both had two wins on the Monster Jam Stadium tour with the big fields and big points pay outs. Cole Venard won three of his four events for the third best average of the month. Mat Dishman and Mikeal Christensen competed in smaller brackets and so had fewer points to work with, but both picked up three wins to make it into the top five based on averages.
MOST RACES IN JUNE 2019
7 – Jamey Garner – Over Bored
7 – Brandon Derrow – Bad News Travels Fast
7 – Tim Missentzis – Quad Chaos
6 – Christian Norman – Bigfoot
6 – Michael Vaters II – Overkill Evolution
Jamey Garner, Brandon Derrow, and Christian Norman all saw action in three states in the month of June. Michael Vaters II traveled to four states (Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois) but Tim Missentzis was the busiest traveler of all as he competed in 7 races in 5 states with 3 different promoters: Throwdown in Michigan and Ohio; All Star in Missouri and Pennsylvania; and Toughest in South Carolina. He picked up two wins and a runner-up in his seven events.
MOST WINS IN JUNE 2019
3 – Cole Venard – Black Pearl
3 – Mat Dishman – Rammunition
3 – Mikeal Christensen – Vendetta
3 – Jamey Garner – Over Bored
3 – Justin Murphy – Prime Time
3 – Bill Payne – Rock Star
3 – Brandon Derrow – Bad News Travels Fast
Lots of drivers managed to record three wins this month. Bill Payne is on the most-wins list for a second month in a row as the Malicious Tour continues to roll through the western US. Mat Dishman and Brandon Derrow claimed their wins via weekend sweeps in Lima and Berlin, respectively.
MOST FINALS IN JUNE 2019
7 – Jamey Garner – Over Bored
4 – Jeff Murphy – Fatal Attraction
4 – Kreg Christensen – Dragon Slayer
4 – Christian Norman – Bigfoot
4 – Dwight Mathews – Identity Theft
4 – Bill Payne – Rock Star
Malicious Tour teammates Bill Payne and Dwight Mathews see a lot of each other in the final rounds and this month was no exceptions with both driver advancing to the finals four times. Jeff Murphy went to the finals 4 times in one week with Monster X but had to settle for runner-up each time. Jamey Garner’s streak of advancing to the finals in seven consecutive races was the big news of the month.
BIGGEST MOVERS IN JUNE 2019
+24 – Jamey Garner – Over Bored (42nd to 18th)
+13 – Brandon Derrow – Bad News Travels Fast (30th to 17th)
+13 – Cole Venard – Black Pearl (24th to 11th)
+13 – Jeff Murphy – Fatal Attraction (65th to 52nd)
+8 – Justin Murphy – Prime Time (38th to 30th)
+7 – Scott Buetow – El Toro Loco Ice (55th to 48th)
+5 – Jim Koehler – Avenger (83rd to 78th)
+5 – Roy Pridgeon – Ice Cream Man (67th to 62nd)
In addition to the drivers we’ve spoken about earlier in this review, Scott Buetow made ground this month thanks to a runner-up effort in Kansas City; Jim Koehler picked up his first event win of the season in Medina; and Roy Pridgeon was the winner of the MTRL event in Radford, Virginia.
RIVALRIES
The tightly-knit Malicious Tour keeps its drivers in close competition throughout the season. This month, it was Bill Payne and James Zyski who stayed the closest with 5 meetings. Bill won all 5 including the final round in Coos Bay.
Cole Venard and Jamey Garner met each other four times, once on each stop of the MAP O’Reilly Outlaw Nationals. Cole was three-for-three over Jamey in final rounds, but Jamey picked up a win over Cole in the semi-finals in Miami, Oklahoma.
Veteran Kreg Christensen knows how to win races and it’s obvious that he’s passed that knowledge on to his sons, because Mikeal Christensen beat him all four times that the two met. That includes three final round wins in Las Vegas, Hurricane, and Missoula.
EVENT STATISTICS
Finally, here is a look at some general event statistics from June. There were 94 total events of which 61 were scored and only 6 (6%) were not reported. That means we have reports for 94% of the events from this past month! Thank you to everyone who had helped us make every race count!
100 TOTAL EVENTS IN JUNE 2019
United States of America = 86
Canada = 6
United Kingdom = 1
Sweden = 1
30 of 50 States had monster truck racing this month. The states with the most events were:
9 in Ohio
7 in California and Colorado
6 in Missouri
5 in Montana and Pennsylvania
4 in New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington
Here are the promoters with the most number of events this past month:
11 – Monster Jam
9 – Malicious Monster Truck Tour
8 – Monster X Tour
7 – Monster Truck Racing League
6 – All Star Monster Truck Tour
With fair season in full swing, there were some events taking place on weekday nights. There was 1 event each on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night. There were 14 events on Friday, 65 on Saturday, and 12 on Sunday. Here is the breakdown of events by day and time:
1 – Tuesday Night (1%)
1 – Wednesday Night (1%)
1 – Thursday Night (1%)
14 – Friday Night (15%)
19 – Saturday Afternoon (20%)
46 – Saturday Night (49%)
11 – Sunday Afternoon (12%)
1 – Sunday Night (1%)
The average field size for racing brackets was 5.6 trucks.
EVENT RESULTS
2XTREME RACING
Washington, MO - Sat Aft: Jimmy Creten defeated Brandan Tulachka - 4 trucks - Chicago
ALL STAR MOTORSPORTS PRODUCTIONS
Greenwood, NE - Sat Ngt: Darren Migues defeated Ron Nelson - 5 trucks - Drag
Lake Erie, PA - Sat Ngt: Aaron Cain defeated Christopher Sawicki - 6 trucks
Lake Erie, PA - Sun Aft: Christopher Sawicki defeated Tim Missentzis - 6 trucks
Mansfield, OH - Sat Ngt: Larry Swim defeated Rod Schmidt - 8 trucks - Drag
Poplar Bluff, MO - Sat Ngt: Tim Missentzis defeated Doug Noelke - 4 trucks - Chicago
Vernal, UT - Sat Ngt: no racing
BIGFOOT 4X4 OPEN HOUSE
Pacific, MO - Sat Aft: Thomas Borders defeated Alan Fenstermaker - 4 trucks – Exhibition Drag
CHECKERED FLAG PROMOTIONS NO LIMITS!
Laramie, WY - Sat Ngt: no racing
Eagle, CO - Sat Aft: no racing
Eagle, CO - Sat Ngt: no racing
Sterling, CO - Sat Ngt: no racing
CHRIS AREL MONSTER SPECTACULAR
Moncton, NB - Sat Ngt: Ed Sanderson defeated Jack Brown - 4 trucks - Concrete Holeshot
Ottawa, ON - Sat Ngt: Jimmy Creten defeated Dawn Creten - 5 trucks - Concrete Holeshot
4-WHEEL JAMBOREE NATIONALS
Lima, OH - Fri Ngt: Mat Dishman defeated Michael Vaters II - 6 trucks - Drag
Lima, OH - Sat Aft: Mat Dishman defeated Christian Norman - 6 trucks - Drag
Lima, OH - Sun Aft: Mat Dishman defeated Michael Vaters II - 6 trucks – Drag
MONSTER NATIONALS
Missoula, MT - Fri Ngt: Kreg Christensen defeated Tyler Groth - 6 trucks - Chicago
Missoula, MT - Sat Ngt: Mikeal Christensen defeated Kreg Christensen - 6 trucks – Chicago
Pleasanton, CA - Fri Ngt: NO REPORT
Pleasanton, CA - Sat Ngt: Eric Swanson defeated Travis Groth - 4 trucks - J-Turn
Pleasanton, CA - Sun Ngt: NO REPORT
FULL THROTTLE MONSTER TRUCKS
Albany, KY - Sat Ngt: Allen Pezo defeated Thomas Borders - 4 trucks - Chicago
Elnora, IN - Fri Ngt: Scott Hartsock defeated Roger Gauger - 6 trucks - Chicago
Rushville, IN - Sat Ngt: CANCELLED
Scottsburg, IN - Thu Ngt: Scott Hartsock defeated Roger Gauger - 5 trucks – Chicago
KSR MOTORSPORTS
Berlin, NJ - Fri Ngt: Brandon Derrow defeated Billy Braukmann - 5 trucks - Drag
Berlin, NJ - Sat Ngt: Brandon Derrow defeated Zach Adams - 5 trucks - Drag
Berlin, NJ - Sun Aft: Brandon Derrow defeated Billy Braukmann - 5 trucks – Drag
MONSTER TRUCK INSANITY TOUR
Las Vegas, NV - Sat Ngt: Mikeal Christensen defeated Kreg Christensen - 6 trucks - Reverse Chicago
Manti, UT - Sat Ngt: Jacob Ladwig defeated Wally Turner - 4 trucks - Chicago
MAIN ATTRACTION PROMOTIONS O’REILLY OUTLAW NATIONALS
Miami, OK - Fri Ngt: Jamey Garner defeated Darren Migues - 14 trucks - Drag
Miami, OK - Sat Ngt: Cole Venard defeated Jamey Garner - 13 trucks - Drag
Springfield, MO - Fri Ngt: Cole Venard defeated Jamey Garner - 8 trucks - Drag
Springfield, MO - Sat Ngt: Cole Venard defeated Jamey Garner - 7 trucks – Drag
MALICIOUS MONSTER TRUCK TOUR
Coos Bay, OR - Fri Ngt: Bill Payne defeated Myles Parker - 5 trucks - Chicago
Coos Bay, OR - Sat Ngt: Bill Payne defeated James Zyski - 4 trucks - Chicago
Twin Falls, ID - Sat Ngt: no racing
Meridian, ID - Fri Ngt: no racing
Meridian, ID - Sun Aft: no racing
Kalispell, MT - Fri Ngt: Bill Payne defeated Dwight Mathews - 4 trucks
Kalispell, MT - Sat Ngt: Dwight Mathews defeated Bill Payne - 4 trucks
Central Point, OR - Sat Ngt: Dwight Mathews defeated James Zyski - 4 trucks
Central Point, OR - Sun Aft: Bill Payne defeated Dwight Mathews - 5 trucks
MEGA PROMOTIONS
Kearney, NE - Sat Ngt: Ricky Fowler defeated Paul Breaud - 4 trucks
Kalispell, MT - Sat Ngt: Paul Breaud defeated Corey Clark - 4 trucks
MONSTER JAM
Kansas City, MO - Sat Ngt: Adam Anderson defeated Scott Buetow - 14 trucks - St Louis
Foxborough, MA - Sat Ngt: Coty Saucier defeated Tom Meents - 14 trucks - St Louis
East Rutherford, NJ - Sat Ngt: Tyler Menninga defeated Scott Hartsock - 14 trucks - St Louis
Nashville, TN - Sat Ngt: Adam Anderson defeated Bryan Wright - 14 trucks - St Louis
Coventry, UK - Sat Aft: Neil Elliot defeated Mark List - 8 trucks - St Louis
Salinas, CA - Sun Aft: Tyler Menninga defeated Rosalee Ramer - 9 trucks - Chicago
Toronto, ON - Fri Ngt: no racing
Toronto, ON - Sat Aft: no racing
Toronto, ON - Sat Ngt: no racing
Toronto, ON - Sun Aft: no racing
Gothenburg, VG - Sat Aft: Neil Elliot defeated Alex Blackwell - 10 trucks – Chicago
MONSTER TRUCK RACING LEAGUE
York Haven, PA - Sat Aft: Kevin King defeated Clint Watson - 4 trucks - Chicago
York Haven, PA - Sun Aft: Tyler Wind defeated Kevin King - 4 trucks - Drag
Salida, CO - Sat Aft: no racing
Radford, VA - Sat Ngt: Roy Pridgeon defeated Kevin King - 8 trucks
Proctor, MN - Fri Ngt: NO REPORT
Proctor, MN - Sat Ngt: NO REPORT
Middlebourne, WV - Sat Ngt: no racing
MONSTER TRUCK SUMMER HEAT
Chillicothe, OH - Sat Aft: Rick Steffens defeated Eric Wylie - 4 trucks - Drag
Lucasville, OH - Sat Aft: no racing
MONSTER TRUCK THROWDOWN
London, OH - Sat Ngt: Jamey Garner defeated Rick Steffens - 4 trucks
Medina, OH - Sat Ngt: Jim Koehler defeated Jamey Garner - 8 trucks - Drag
Medina, OH - Sun Aft: Jamey Garner defeated Aaron Cain - 6 trucks - Drag
Copemish, MI - Sat Ngt: Tim Missentzis defeated Jeremy Hosman - 4 trucks - J-Turn
NIGHT OF FIRE AND THRILLS
Moses Lake, WA - Sat Ngt: no racing
Minot, ND - Sat Aft: no racing
Walla Walla, WA - Sat Ngt: no racing
TOUGHEST MONSTER TRUCK TOUR
Myrtle Beach, SC - Fri Ngt: Christian Norman defeated Jack Brown - 7 trucks - Drag
Myrtle Beach, SC - Sat Ngt: Christian Norman defeated Steven Snellen - 6 trucks – Drag
MONSTER X TOUR
Clarksville, TN - Tue Ngt: Justin Murphy defeated Jeff Murphy - 5 trucks
Clarksville, TN - Wed Ngt: CANCELLED
Longview, WA - Sat Aft: no racing
Longview, WA - Sat Ngt: no racing
Grand Junction, CO - Sat Aft: no racing
Grand Junction, CO - Sat Ngt: no racing
Muscle Shoals, AL - Fri Ngt: Justin Murphy defeated Jeff Murphy - 5 trucks
Muscle Shoals, AL - Sat Aft: Justin Murphy defeated Jeff Murphy - 5 trucks
Muscle Shoals, AL - Sat Ngt: Andrzej Frys defeated Jeff Murphy - 5 trucks
VATERS MOTORSPORTS
Canandaigua, NY - Wed Ngt: Michael Vaters II defeated Matt Cody - 4 trucks - Chicago
WGAS MOTORSPORTS
Del Mar, CA - Sat Aft: no racing
Del Mar, CA - Sun Aft: no racing
INDEPENDENT
Dacono, CO - Sun Aft: NO REPORT
Hamburg, NY - Sat Aft: Jeff Bursey defeated Tyler Leicht - 4 trucks – Holeshot
Hampton, VA - Sat Ngt: Darren Migues defeated Kaylyn Migues - 7 trucks – Drag
Hurricane, UT - Sat Ngt: Mikeal Christensen defeated Kreg Christensen - 4 trucks
Imperial, PA - Sat Ngt: Clint Watson defeated Rick Steffens - 4 trucks - J-Turn
Swanzey, NH - Sat Aft: Matt Pagliarulo defeated Nick Pagliarulo - 4 trucks - Chicago
Swanzey, NH - Sun Aft: CANCELLED
Ukiah, CA - Sat Aft: no racing
Wayne City, IL - Sat Ngt: Matt Cody defeated Christian Norman - 6 trucks – Chicago
Woodward, OK - Sat Ngt: NO REPORT