Jimmy Creten was the top monster truck racer in the month of May. His four-win month was highlighted by his long-sought racing victory at the Monster Jam World Finals. John Gordon won the King of the Beach title in Virginia and made the list of Top Ten drivers, as well. The sport’s women drivers are also well-represented in our stats as Rosalee Ramer, Dawn Creten, Cynthia Gauthier, and Kaylyn Migues are among the most-improved drivers this month.
A special thanks to all of the people who helped us gather results this month: Austin Dahlgren, Bryan Wagner, Sly Chevalier, Mikeal Christensen, Dallas Glenn-Rogers, Damon Mackedanz, Jeff Bursey, Matt Looker, Nick Migues, Phil Vicinanza, Ross Bonar, Stephen Mayfield, Tim Howard, Trace Jordan, Eireann Moore, Jennifer Naquila, Charles Presnell, Lindsey Nape, Nicholas Marglese, Crude Behavior Race Team, Jester Race Team, and USMT.
BEST MONSTER TRUCK RACERS IN MAY 2019
- Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter – 1135 / 283.75
- Jon Zimmer – Dragon Ice – 792 / 264.00
- Paul Jensen – Kamikaze – 1346 / 168.25
- John Gordon – Bad Company – 892 / 223.00
- Jeff Bainter – Captain USA – 710 / 236.67
- Rick Swanson – Obsessed – 1000 / 166.67
- Todd Leduc – Monster Energy – 760 / 190.00
- Bill Payne – Rock Star – 1095 / 136.88
- Steve Sims – Stone Crusher – 676 / 169.00
- Dwight Mathews – Identity Theft – 925 / 115.63
Jimmy Creten finally won the Monster Jam World Finals Racing Championship this season and then added three more wins on tour to remain undefeated in the month and claim the title as best monster truck racer in May 2019. He was 12-0 in heat races and earned racing wins in Regina, Saskatchewan; Orlando, Florida; Quebec City, Quebec; and Beloit, Kansas.
Jon Zimmer won both events in Manchester, England on what proved to be a very challenging concrete Chicago-style track. The no-dirt, no-car layout used concrete traffic dividers for ramps which proved a challenging obstacle. Zimmer finished the weekend undefeated and also advanced to the quarter-finals in Orlando.
Paul Jensen kicked off the month with a three-race sweep in Santa Rosa, California before a short cold streak in Turlock and Bakersfield. The Kamikaze driver returned to form with a runner-up effort in Sacramento and a win in Las Vegas to keep himself in the Top 15.
John Gordon claimed the King of the Beach crown in Virginia Beach this month. He earned points in all four weekend events, including a runner-up on Friday and racing wins on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
Veteran Jeff Bainter won three times on the Monster Truck Insanity Tour, picking up a victory in Tremonton, Utah and two in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Rick Swanson had two wins in Turlock with WGAS Motorsports and a runner-up effort in Santa Rosa.
Todd Leduc had a wild travel schedule last month as he competed first in Manchester, England, then came back to Orlando for the world finals, before returning to England for Monster Jam in Cardiff. Leduc earned points in all four events, and was runner-up in Manchester and a winner in Cardiff.
Steve Sims won the first two events at Virginia Beach, Virginia, which were also his first two wins of the season
Straight Up Racing teammates Bill Payne and Dwight Mathews spent much of the month racing each other and Bill came out slightly on top. Payne earned wins in Merced, Yakima, and Victoria, British Columbia. Mathews was a winner in Merced, Medicine Hat, and Victoria.
MOST POINTS IN MAY 2019
1346 – Paul Jensen – Kamikaze
1135 – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter
1095 – Bill Payne – Rock Star
1000 – Rick Swanson – Obsessed
925 – Dwight Mathews – Identity Theft
Paul Jensen raced his was to the most points of any driver this month and earned points with 4 different tours: WGAS Motorsports, All Star Monster Trucks, Toughest Monster Trucks, and the Monster Truck Insanity Tour. Jimmy Creten picked up 480-points at the World Finals in Orlando, which was the largest points event of the season. Bill Payne and Dwight Mathews had stops in 5 different cities this month as the Malicious Tour kicks into top gear, and Rick Swanson was a regular with WGAS Motorsports while earning a solid 1000 points in the month.
BEST AVERAGE IN MAY 2019 (Minimum 2 races)
283.75 – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter
264.00 – Jon Zimmer – Dragon Ice
236.67 – Jeff Bainter – Captain USA
223.00 – John Gordon – Bad Company
192.00 – Bari Musawwir – Zombie
With 480 points awarded to the winner in Orlando, it’s not much of a surprise that Jimmy Creten had the best average this month. Jon Zimmer won twice in the 8-truck fields in Manchester to keep his average high, as well. Jeff Bainter and John Gordon earned points in all of their events this month and managed averages above the 200-point mark. Bari Musawwir had a pointless first-round loss in Johannesburg to start the month, but was the runner-up in Orlando and scored 384 points to set his average at 192.
MOST RACES IN MAY 2019
9 – Mikeal Christensen – Vendetta
8 – Paul Jensen – Kamikaze
8 – Bill Payne – Rock Star
8 – Dwight Mathews – Identity Theft
7 – Nick Pagliarulo – Kraken
7 – James Zyski – Honda Generators High Voltage
Team Throttle Monster spent time with four different touring companies this month which allowed Mikeal Christensen and Paul Jensen to rack up plenty of events and points. The Malicious Tour was also busy with 5 stops in 2 countries which put Bill Payne, Dwight Mathews, and James Zyski on this list. Nick Pagliarulo spent half of his month on the sands of Virginia Beach, but was also a semi-finalist at the World Finals Showdown in Orlando and a double-winner at the Monster Truck Throwdown in Lee, New Hampshire.
MOST WINS IN MAY 2019
4 – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter
4 – Paul Jensen – Kamikaze
4 – Bill Payne – Rock Star
3 – Dwight Mathews – Identity Theft
3 – Jeff Bainter – Captain USA
Jimmy Creten was 4 for 4 in the month. Either Bill Payne or Dwight Mathews were in all but one final round on the Malicious Monster Truck Tour. Paul Jensen swept three events in Santa Rosa, California, while Jeff Bainter earned three wins on the Insanity Tour.
MOST FINALS IN MAY 2019
6 – Bill Payne – Rock Star
5 – Paul Jensen – Kamikaze
5 – Dwight Mathews – Identity Theft
4 – Jimmy Creten – Bounty Hunter
3 – (several)
BIGGEST MOVERS IN MAY 2019
+34 – John Gordon – Bad Company (106th to 72nd)
+21 – Nick Pagliarulo – Kraken (90th to 69th)
+21 – Eric Swanson – Obsessed (98th to 77th)
+20 – Matt Pagliarulo – Jester (55th to 34th)
+17 – Rosalee Ramer – Wildflower (97th to 80th)
+15 – Dawn Creten – Scarlet Bandit (94th to 79th)
+13 – Cynthia Gauthier – Monster Mutt Dalmation Ice (100th to 87th)
+13 – Kaylyn Migues – Jailbird (73rd to 60th)
+12 – Kreg Christensen – Dragon Slayer (49th to 37th)
John Gordon’s championship weekend in Virginia Beach scored him enough points for a 34-spot jump in the standings. Nick Pagliarulo had a pair of wins and moved himself up 21 spots, as did Eric Swanson who had a win in San Bernardino, California. Matt Pagliarulo was runner-up in three events this month and earned points in all the event in which he raced to break into the Top 50 and then some.
Four ladies are amongst the top ten mover this month, as well. Rosalee Ramer was a runner-up to world #1 Tyler Menninga in Salinas, California and moved up 17 spots. Dawn Creten had a pair of runner-up efforts in Quebec and Beloit. Cynthia Gauthier earned points at the World Finals to move up 13 spots. Kaylyn Migues was a runner-up in Idaho Falls and also moved up 13 spots.
Last but not least, Kreg Christensen was a winner in Tremonton and a runner-up in San Bernardino as well as a semi-finalist in Bakersfield which gave him enough points for a 12-spot improvement into the Top 40.
RIVALRIES
The Malicious Tour was busy this month with events in Merced, California; Medicine Hat, Alberta; Yakima, Washington; Victoria, British Columbia; and Twin Falls, Idaho. That gave Straight Up Racing plenty of chances to get to know each other on the track, and no two drivers raced each other more this month than Bill Payne and Dwight Mathews. It was a lopsided affair, however, as the boss Bill Payne won 5 of the 6 meetings. Mathews also faced off against James Zyski 4 times and won all four encounters.
EVENT STATISTICS
Finally, here is a look at some general event statistics from May. There were 71 total events of which 68 were scored and only 3 (4%) were not reported. That means we have reports for 96% of the events from this past month! Thank you to everyone who had helped us make every race count!
71 TOTAL EVENTS IN MAY 2019
United States of America = 55
Canada = 9
United Kingdom = 3
South Africa = 1
21 of 50 States had monster truck racing this month. The states with the most events were:
13 in California
6 in New Hampshire
5 in both Arizona and Virginia
3 in both Idaho and Pennsylvania
Here are the promoters with the most number of events this past month:
10 – Malicious Monster Truck Tour (14%)
9 – Monster Jam (13%) including 4 international events
5 – Monster Truck Insanity Tour (7%)
5 – WGAS Motorsports (7%)
4 – All Star Monster Truck Tour (6%)
4 – Monster X Tour (6%)
There were 16 events on Friday, 41 on Saturday, and 11 on Sunday. Here is the breakdown of events by day and time:
16 – Friday Night (24%)
17 – Saturday Afternoon (25%)
24 – Saturday Night (35%)
10 – Sunday Afternoon (15%)
1 – Sunday Night (1%)
The average field size for racing brackets was 5.7 trucks. The largest field of the year was 24 trucks at the Monster Jam World Finals XX in Orlando.
FINAL ROUND RESULTS FROM MAY 2019
All Star Motorsports Productions
Blue Ridge, GA - Sat Ngt: Scott Hartsock defeated Cory Rummell - 5 trucks - Drag
Bakersfield, CA - Sat Aft: cancelled
Bakersfield, CA - Sun Aft: Michael Miller defeated Jon Morris - 5 trucks - U-Turn
Poplar Bluff, MO - Fri Ngt: Doug Noelke defeated Tim Missentzis - 4 trucks - Chicago
Poplar Bluff, MO - Sat Ngt: Tim Missentzis defeated Doug Noelke - 4 trucks - Chicago
AMMP Monster Mash
Hot Springs, AR - Sat Ngt: Dillon Fenley defeated Ricky Fowler - 5 trucks - Chicago
Checkered Flag Promotions
Laramie, WY - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (too few competitors)
Chris Arel Monster Spectacular
Regina, SK - Sat Ngt: Jim Creten defeated Matthew Brokaw - 5 trucks - C Holeshot
Quebec, QC - Sat Ngt: Jim Creten defeated Dawn Creten - 5 trucks - R C Chicago
Ottawa, ON - Sat Ngt: Jimmy Creten defeated Dawn Creten - 5 trucks - C Holeshot
KSR Motorsports
Troy, PA - Sat Aft: no points awarded (no racing)
Millville, NJ - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
Monster Truck Insanity Tour
Tremonton, UT - Fri Ngt: Kreg Christensen defeated Wally Turner - 4 trucks - Chicago
Tremonton, UT - Sat Ngt: Jeff Bainter defeated Wally Turner - 4 trucks - Chicago
Idaho Falls, ID - Fri Ngt: Jeff Bainter defeated Kaylyn Migues - 6 trucks - X Chicago
Idaho Falls, ID - Sat Ngt: Jeff Bainter defeated Wally Turner - 6 trucks - X Chicago
Las Vegas, NV - Fri Ngt: Paul Jensen defeated Ron Duncombe - 6 trucks - Chicago
Las Vegas, NV - Sat Ngt: Mikeal Christensen defeated Kreg Christensen - 6 trucks - R Chicago
Malicious Monster Truck Tour
Merced, CA - Fri Ngt: Dwight Mathews defeated Myles Parker - 4 trucks - Chicago
Merced, CA - Sun Aft: Bill Payne defeated Dwight Mathews - 4 trucks - Chicago
Medicine Hat, AB - Fri Ngt: Dwight Mathews defeated Bill Payne - 5 trucks - Holeshot
Medicine Hat, AB - Sat Aft: Marvin Anderson defeated Bill Payne - 4 trucks - Holeshot
Yakima, WA - Sat Ngt: Bill Payne defeated Preston Pérez - 5 trucks - n/a
Yakima, WA - Sun Aft: Bill Payne defeated Dwight Mathews - 4 trucks - n/a
Victoria, BC - Fri Ngt: Bill Payne defeated Marvin Anderson - 4 trucks - n/a
Victoria, BC - Sat Ngt: Dwight Mathews defeated James Zyski - 4 trucks - n/a
Victoria, BC - Sun Aft: Marvin Anderson defeated James Zyski - 4 trucks - n/a
Twin Falls, ID - Fri Ngt: no points awarded (timed racing)
Twin Falls, ID - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (timed racing)
Monster Jam
Cardiff, UK - Sat Aft: Todd LeDuc defeated Mark List - 10 trucks - St Louis
Johannesburg, GT - Sat Aft: Steve Sims defeated Candice Jolly - 8 trucks - St Louis
Manchester, UK - Sat Aft: Jon Zimmer defeated Morgan Kane - 6 trucks - C Chicago
Manchester, UK - Sun Aft: Jon Zimmer defeated Todd LeDuc - 6 trucks - C Chicago
Manchester, NH - Sat Aft: no points awarded (timed racing)
Manchester, NH - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (timed racing)
Manchester, NH - Sun Aft: no points awarded (timed racing)
Orlando, FL - Fri Aft: Linsey Read defeated Tony Ochs - 8 trucks - Orlando
Orlando, FL - Fri Ngt: Jimmy Creten defeated Bari Musawwir - 24 trucks - Orlando
Salinas, CA - Sun Aft: Tyler Menninga defeated Rosalee Ramer - 9 trucks - Chicago
Monster Truck Summer Heat
Corsicana, TX - Sat Aft: no points awarded (too few competitors)
McAlester, OK - Sat Aft: no points awarded (too few competitors)
Decatur, TX - Sat Aft: no points awarded (too few competitors)
Lore City, OH - Sat Aft: no points awarded (too few competitors)
Lucasville, OH - Sat Aft: no points awarded (too few competitors)
Monster Truck Throwdown
Lee, NH - Sat Aft: Nick Pagliarulo defeated Matt Pagliarulo - 6 trucks - Drag
Lee, NH - Sun Aft: Nick Pagliarulo defeated Matt Pagliarulo - 6 trucks - Drag
London, OH - Sat Ngt: Jamey Garner defeated Rick Steffens - 4 trucks - n/a
Monster Truck Thunder
Mohave Valley, AZ - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
PURE Adrenalin Family Day
Campbellton, NB - Sat Aft: no points awarded (no racing)
Miramichi, NB - Sun Aft: no points awarded (no racing)
Toughest Monster Trucks Tour
Sacramento, CA - Sat Ngt: Mikeal Christensen defeated Paul Jensen - 5 trucks - Holeshot
Tournament of Destruction
Tucson, AZ - Fri Ngt: NO REPORT
Tucson, AZ - Fri Ngt: NO REPORT
Tucson, AZ - Sat Ngt: Gary Ely defeated Murphy McCrorey - 4 trucks - Holeshot
Tucson, AZ - Sat Ngt: Jacob Ladwig defeated Sam Sturges - 4 trucks - Chicago
Monster X Tour
Honolulu, HI - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
Honolulu, HI - Sun Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
Ridgecrest, CA - Fri Aft: no points awarded (no racing)
Ridgecrest, CA - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
Longview, WA - Sat Aft: no points awarded (no racing)
Longview, WA - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
USMT Monsters on the Beach
Virginia Beach, VA - Fri Ngt: Steve Sims defeated John Gordon - 8 trucks - Drag
Virginia Beach, VA - Sat Aft: Steve Sims defeated Larry Swim - 6 trucks - Drag
Virginia Beach, VA - Sat Ngt: John Gordon defeated Matt Pagliarulo - 8 trucks - Drag
Virginia Beach, VA - Sun Aft: John Gordon defeated Larry Swim - 8 trucks - Drag
WGAS Motorsports
Santa Rosa, CA - Fri Aft: Paul Jensen defeated Jeff Souza - 8 trucks - Chicago
Santa Rosa, CA - Sat Aft: Paul Jensen defeated Jeff Souza - 8 trucks - Chicago
Santa Rosa, CA - Sat Ngt: Paul Jensen defeated Rick Swanson - 8 trucks - Chicago
Turlock, CA - Fri Ngt: Rick Swanson defeated Allen Pezo - 8 trucks - R Chicago
Turlock, CA - Sat Ngt: Rick Swanson defeated Allen Pezo - 8 trucks - R Chicago
Independent Events
Beloit, KS - Sun Aft: Jimmy Creten defeated Dawn Creten - 4 trucks
Belmont, NH - Sat Aft: no points awarded (no racing)
Brookville, PA - Sat Aft: Matt Cody defeated Michael Vaters I - 4 trucks - U-Turn
Lancaster, PA - Sat Ngt: R.J. Turner defeated Christian Norman - 4 trucks - F Drag
Hampton, VA - Fri Ngt: Darren Migues defeated Travis Mowery - 6 trucks - Drag
Hampton, VA - Sat Ngt: Darren Migues defeated Kaylyn Migues - 7 trucks - Drag
Pacific, MO - Sat Aft: Thomas Borders defeated Alan Fenstermaker - 4 trucks - Drag*
San Bernardino, CA - Sat Aft: Eric Swanson defeated Kreg Christensen - 8 trucks - Chicago
South Bend, IN - Sat Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
Swanzey, NH - Sat Aft: Matt Pagliarulo defeated Nick Pagliarulo - 4 trucks - Chicago
Swanzey, NH - Sun Aft: cancelled
Ukiah, CA - Fri Ngt: no points awarded (no racing)
Ukiah, CA - Sat Aft: no points awarded (no racing)
* - exhibition event, no points awarded