This Week in Monster Truck Racing - April 4-6, 2025

=== This Week in Monster Truck Racing ===

* Preston Perez wins All Star series points championship

** Dalton Widner wins 2nd straight Stadium Series bracket

*** Nick Jones sweeps in Merced

CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://tinyurl.com/ypswjbvw

BLOG POST RECAP: https://www.mtroc.com/blog

===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR APRIL 4th – 6th, 2025 =====

Preston Perez closes out his full-time position with the Toxic team by winning the 2025 All Star points championship! Brett Falvey had the best results in racing with a win and runner-up, including beating Perez in the Saturday night finals, but Perez takes the biggest prize after three months of strong and consistent performance. Some mid-season breakage were a set-back for the team, but Perez battled through the difficult months and made up for them with 9 bracket wins. Congratulations to Preston and the Warped Motorsports team on their championship!

Dalton Widner now has a 2-race winning streak on the Monster Jam Stadium East tour. He bested series points leader Tyler Menninga in the semi-finals and raced past Joe Foley—who was competing in his first final of the season—to take his 8th win of the year.

Nick Jones won both races with the Malicious Tour in Merced to triple his win total for the year. Rob Poutre won only once but that gives him 22 wins this season which is tied for 2nd best in the sport right now and puts him just ahead of his old boss Jimmy Creten in the standings.

The Monster Jam Arena East crew had a non-points weekend in Tupelo, but here at the Open Championship every race counts. MJ Solorio, Brandan Tulachka, and Krysten Anderson each won once in two final-round appearances and each were some of the biggest improvers in the rankings this weekend.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us with reporting events this week: Andrew Thornton, Nick Jones, Trevor Beck, Nick Wishard, Forrest Bernard, Preston Perez, Bryan Wagner, Nate Bay, Brian Manson, Kory Kinal, Sean Green, Mark Werner, Ryan Robinson, Kirk Nagy, Phil Vicinanza, and everyone who posted videos and photos online!

===== CURRENT STANDINGS =====

RANK : DRIVER : PTS/AVG : SCORE : RACES/WINS

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1 ) Coty Saucier - 10669/197.57 : 1+3=4 : 54/26

2 ) Tyler Menninga - 5623/208.26 : 5+1=6 : 27/11

3 ) Ryan Anderson - 5291/203.5 : 6+2=8 : 26/10

4 ) Triton Robbins - 5784/165.26 : 4+8=12 : 35/13

5 ) Jon Zimmer Jr - 6105/165.00 : 3+9=12 : 37/11

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6 ) Weston Anderson - 7331/155.98 : 2+11=13 : 47/18

7 ) Bari Musawwir - 4689/173.67 : 9+5=14 : 27/4

8 ) Dalton Widner - 4751/169.68 : 8+6=14 : 28/8

9 ) Tristan England - 4442/185.08 : 12+4=16 : 24/7

10) Camden Murphy - 4046/168.58 : 14+7=21 : 24/3

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11) Rob Poutre - 4245/151.61 : 13+13=26 : 28/22

12) Jimmy Creten - 4521/141.28 : 11+16=27 : 32/22

13) Armando Castro - 3978/124.31 : 15+18=33 : 32/1

14) Bill Payne - 3412/142.17 : 19+15=34 : 24/9

15) Preston Pérez - 3582/137.77 : 17+17=34 : 26/14

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16) Matt Cody - 4682/106.41 : 10+25=35 : 44/7

17) Devin Winfield - 5184/96.00 : 7+29=36 : 54/7

18) Bryce Kenny - 2657/156.29 : 30+10=40 : 17/1

19) Jerry Beck - 2804/155.78 : 29+12=41 : 18/5

20) Adam Anderson - 3275/121.3 : 21+20=41 : 27/2

 ===== BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS =====

+8 – Krysten Anderson (Grave Digger) – 54th

+8 – Joe Foley (Axe) – 71st

+6 – Brett Falvey (The Haymaker) – 26th

+5 – Tim Jones (Tail Gator) – 41st

+5 – MJ Solorio (El Toro Loco) – 48th 

===== NEW THIS WEEK =====

42nd – Cole Venard (Black Pearl)

74th – Kylie Thurber (Double Trouble)

83rd – Ricky Fowler (Sheriff)

84th – Matt Pagliarulo (Jester)

===== ALBANY, NY =====

This Monster Jam Arena event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded

===== BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND =====

This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded

===== CASPER, WY =====

4/5 Sat Aft: DARON BASL [Block Head] defeated Tim Jones [Tailgator]

Daron Basl is up 3 spots after his 6th win of the season in Casper. The season finale is coming up soon in Grand Forks, North Dakota where Basl will have a good shot at winning the championship. Before then, however, the Toughest Tour will be racing in Wheeling, West Virginia for the second year this weekend.

===== CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA =====

4/5 Sat Aft: KALEY ENGSTROM [Shark Attack] defeated Aaron Basl [T-Rex]

4/5 Sat Ngt: MASON RIFE [Outlaw] defeated Ricky Fowler [Sheriff]

4/6 Sun Aft: AARON BASL [T-Rex] defeated Ricky Fowler [Sheriff]

Three winners in three events for the Monster Truck Wars tour in City of Industry. Kaley Engstrom won the first event on a surprisingly slick track. Her 11 racing wins this season are far-and-away the most for any female driver. Krysten Anderson is next best with 4.

Ricky Fowler got to the finals on Saturday night when Engstrom tripped herself up in the final turn of the semi-finals and rolled over. Fowler fell himself to Mason Rife in the finals, but returned to the championship bout on Sunday making his 3rd final round appearance in 4 races. Aaron Basl picked up that win giving him 9 this season.

===== CLEAR BROOK, VA =====

4/5 Sat Aft: STEVEN THOMPSON [Hurricane Force] defeated Carson Williams [Velociraptor]

The Renegade Tour jumped into their summer schedule with some steep ramps and big air from the five trucks racing on the Chicago-style track in Virginia. Steven Thompson picked up the win giving him 4 wins in 5 races this year. The night event suffered through torrential rains which cancelled the racing bracket.

===== COLUMBUS, OH =====

4/4 Fri Ngt: WESTON ANDERSON [Grave Digger] defeated Cory Rummell [Earth Shaker]

4/5 Sat Aft: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Tim Hall Jr [Jurassic Attack]

4/5 Sat Ngt: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Devin Winfield [Velociraptor]

4/6 Sun Aft: WESTON ANDERSON [Grave Digger] defeated Coty Saucier [Dragon]

World #1 Coty Saucier grabbed another pair of wins in Columbus and is the first driver this season to reach 10,000 points. This is the first time in his MTROC career that he has reached 10,000 with his previous highest being 9,369 in 2023. He was the #1 rank at this time that year, too, but ultimately finished 2nd overall.

Weston Anderson continues to lead the Arena West points series by a lot and added a pair of wins in Columbus. He has 18 wins which is the 4th most of all drivers. Saucier leads with 26 wins.

===== FAYETTEVILLE, NC =====

4/5 Sat Aft: BRANDON DERROW [Bad News Travels Fast] defeated Brittney Aimes [Crime Time]

4/5 Sat Ngt: CLIFF VOWELL [Virginia Giant] defeated Brandon Derrow [Bad News Travels Fast]

The Overdrive Tour returned for the 2025 season with two full events of close drag racing action in Fayetteville. On this tour, only the top 4 trucks from qualifying advance to the racing bracket which makes the competition even more fierce. Brandon Derrow won the afternoon race in his first action since last November. Brittney Aimes was runner-up in her first action since 2019! Cliff Vowell failed to qualify for the afternoon racing but came back strong in the evening and beat out Derrow in a photo-finish for his first win of the season.

===== HOLYOKE, CO =====

4/5 Sat Aft: KORY KINAL [Jekyll & Hyde] defeated Jimmy Creten [Bounty Hunter]

Kory Kinal got back on top of the 2Xtreme team with his drag racing win on Holyoke. He improved his head-to-head record against Jimmy Creten to 6-19 and gained a spot in the standings with his 10th win of the season.

===== MERCED, CA =====

4/5 Sat Ngt: NICK JONES [Spitfire] defeated Bill Payne [Rock Star]

4/6 Sun Aft: NICK JONES [Spitfire] defeated Bill Payne [Rock Star]

Nick Jones sweep the Malicious weekend in Merced. He has 3 wins in his 12 races this year, but Bill Payne continues to lead the way on tour with his 21st final round appearance in 24 races.

===== NEW ORLEANS, LA =====

4/5 Sat Ngt: DALTON WIDNER [Jurassic Attack] defeated Joe Foley [Axe]

Dalton Widner won his 2nd consecutive Monster Jam Stadium East bracket as he dashed pass the competition in New Orleans. He beat out former Open Champion Tyler Menninga in the semi-finals. He is 3-and-5 against Menninga this season. Joe Foley was a surprise finalist. His previous best this season was 5 quarter-final round appearances, but this was his first time in the finals. He gained 8 spots from it.

===== RINGGOLD, GA =====

4/5 Sat Aft: CORY SNYDER [Illuminator] defeated Brett Falvey [The Haymaker]

4/5 Sat Ngt: BRETT FALVEY [The Haymaker] defeated Preston Pérez [Toxic]

Sunday’s All Star Tour race in Ringgold was cancelled due to weather, but that did not sour the celebrations from Preston Perez and his Warped Motorsports teammates as he and the Toxic truck were crowned the All Star points champion for 2025!

Teammate Cory Snyder grabbed the racing win and gained 3 spots to move into the Top 30. Brett Falvey moved up 6 spots with his runner-up finish in Race 1 and his win over eventual-champion Perez in the finals on Saturday night. He’s been in the finals 14 times in his 20 races this year.

The Toxic and Illuminator team will now enter a semi-retirement, although we’ll still see these fan favorites running a limited schedule later this year. Preston Perez, fresh off his championship, will move to the Culture Shock team and will look to continue his successful career with them.

===== SACRAMENTO, CA =====

4/5 Sat Aft: SHANE PLATO [Skull Krusher] defeated Rob Poutre [USA-1]

4/5 Sat Ngt: ROB POUTRE [USA-1] defeated Stanley Hernandez [Lone Wolf]

Rob Poutre tied Jimmy Creten for the 2nd-most wins in the sport with 22 and moves ahead of his old boss Jimmy Creten in the Open standings. Shane Plato was the winner in the afternoon Chicago-style racing but was unable to compete in the nightcap.

===== SAN JUAN, PR =====

This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded

===== SEATTLE, WA =====

4/5 Sat Aft: RYAN ANDERSON [Son-Uva Digger] defeated Michael Pagliarulo [Excaliber]

Ryan Anderson continues to be the most dominate racer in the sport. Since the new year, he has never finished lower than 4th in a 12-truck bracket and has not gone more than 3 events without a racing win. His win over Mike Pagliarulo in Excaliber in Seattle was his 10th of the season and solidified his 3rd place ranking. For Pagliarulo it was his first time racing the famous Excaliber truck in the final round this season. He was neck-and-neck with Anderson until clipping the final turning mound and somersaulting across the finish line.

===== STATE COLLEGE, PA =====

This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded

===== STURGIS, KY =====

4/5 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this Monster Truck Wars event

4/5 Sat Ngt: We do not have results from this Monster Truck Wars event

===== TEXARKANA, AR =====

4/4 Fri Ngt: MICHAEL VATERS II [Overkill Evolution] defeated RJ Turner [War Wizard]

Five consecutive final rounds for Michael Vaters II now as he beats out RJ Turner at the AMMP Monster Mash in Texarkana.

===== TUPELO, MS =====

4/5 Sat Aft: BRANDAN TULACHKA [Just Get Er Done II] defeated MJ Solorio [El Toro Loco]

4/5 Sat Ngt: KRYSTEN ANDERSON [Grave Digger] defeated Brandan Tulachka [Just Get Er Done II]

4/6 Sun Aft: MJ SOLORIO [El Toro Loco] defeated Krysten Anderson [Grave Digger]

Krysten Anderson, MJ Solorio, and Brandan Tulachka split the weekend with each driver taking a win and runner-up finish. They each had some of the biggest improvement in the standings this week with increases of 8, 5, and 4 spots, respectively. These three are neck-and-neck in the Open Championship, too, with Solorio leading in 47th, following by Tulachka in 50th, and Anderson now up to 54th.

===== WICHITA FALLS, TX =====

4/4 Fri Ngt: BRANDON PEZO [Predator] defeated Dillon Fenley [King Krunch]

4/6 Sun Aft: DILLON FENLEY [King Krunch] defeated Brandon Pezo [Predator]

Two classic names in the sport of monster trucks met up to continue their decades-old rivalry in Wichita Falls. Dillon Fenley and Brandon Pezo split the weekend on a cold and messy outdoor track. This was Pezo’s 2nd win in his young career.

====== EVENTS THIS WEEKEND =====

Albany, NY (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series Central)

Atlanta, GA (Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series West)

Bakersfield, CA (Monster Truck Wars)

Calhan, CO (Monster Truck Chaos)

Crosby, TX (Monster Truck Wars)

Des Moines, IA (Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series West)

Fort Pierce, FL (All Star Monster Truck Tour)

Foxborough, MA (Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series East)

Gaithersburg, MD (Renegade Monster Truck Tour)

Gastonia, NC (Monster Truckz Chaos Tour)

Glasgow, Scotland (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live)

Hampton, VA (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series Central)

Hugo, OK (Monster Trucks Maniac)

Leesville, LA (Mayhem Monster Trucks Thrill Show)

North Charleston, SC (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series West)

Paducah, KY (Monster Truck Bash)

Wheeling, WV (Toughest Monster Truck Tour)