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This Week in Monster Truck Racing - February 20-22, 2026

  • MTROC Staff
  • Feb 27
  • 11 min read

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

* David Olfert sweeps Beaumont

** Adam Anderson stays hot with win in Miami

*** Coty Saucier wins 3 of 5 in Allentown

 

CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://tinyurl.com/mtroc260227

 

===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR FEBRUARY 20th – 22nd, 2026 =====

The MTROC Staff was in Allentown this weekend where Coty Saucier took home 3 of the 5 racing wins and jumps over Terminal Velocity for 2nd place. In Texas, David Olfert swept all three Monster Nation races and how has the 2nd highest average in the sport: an eye-popping 235 which is very high for someone running only 6-truck Arena events. 8 wins in 13 races is how.

 

Adam Anderson had a slow start to the season with 4 first round loses in his first 6 events, but he has been winning a lot more recently and has been in the semi-finals or later in 7 of his last 8 events. In Miami, was and Tristan England split the weekend after meeting in the finals both nights.

 

Nick Pagliarulo continues to lead the All Star Point Series after 2 more wins in Savannah. His only loss was to younger sister Brooke who came back as fast loser on way to earning her 2nd career victory on the choppy drag line course.

 

Bill Payne and Aaron Basl swept their respective weekends with the RAM Spectacular and MAP Outlaw Nationals tour. The Monster Jam Arena West series was anything but a sweep as 3 drivers won over the 3 races: Blake Granger and Alex Bardin (who have won 21 of the 26 tour events) and Tim Hall Jr who won for the 3rd time.

 

Thank you to everyone who has helped us with reporting events this week: Lee Collins, Preston Perez, Roberta Olfert, Amy Basl, Brett Mason, Bryan Wagner, Brandi Schmidt, Stanley Hernandez, Michael Terlaski, Kaden Morris, Dillon Fenley, Tyler Groth, and everyone who posted videos and photos online especially YouTubers AxelTube Racing, lastminute motorsports #1, No Plan Adventures, mushyzachman, Marty Hansen, and Brantley Burford!

 

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

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

-----------------------------------------------------------

1 ) Tyler Menninga - 5060/297.65 : 4+1=5 : 17/8

2 ) Coty Saucier - 5537/212.96 : 3+6=9 : 26/14

3 ) Jon Zimmer Jr - 6172/205.73 : 2+7=9 : 30/13

4 ) Blake Granger - 7712/183.62 : 1+10=11 : 42/18

5 ) Zack Garner - 3538/221.13 : 8+5=13 : 16/0

-----------------------------------------------------------

6 ) Camden Murphy - 3121/222.93 : 10+4=14 : 14/5

7 ) David Olfert - 3060/235.38 : 13+2=15 : 13/8

8 ) Bill Payne - 3981/180.95 : 6+11=17 : 22/11

9 ) Weston Anderson - 3100/193.75 : 11+8=19 : 16/6

10) Ryan Anderson - 3097/193.56 : 12+9=21 : 16/3

-----------------------------------------------------------

11) Alex Bardin - 4882/157.48 : 5+18=23 : 31/9

12) Donald Epidendio - 2325/232.5 : 23+3=26 : 10/6

13) Jimmy Creten - 2527/180.5 : 19+12=31 : 14/10

14) Bari Musawwir - 2886/160.33 : 15+16=31 : 18/1

15) Adam Anderson - 2409/172.07 : 21+14=35 : 14/2

-----------------------------------------------------------

16) Colt Stephens - 2754/153.00 : 17+19=36 : 18/3

17) Brandon Arthur - 3035/131.96 : 14+22=36 : 23/8

18) Dalton Widner - 2522/157.63 : 20+17=37 : 16/0

19) Tristan England - 2113/176.08 : 25+13=38 : 12/1

20) Armando Castro - 3316/110.53 : 9+29=38 : 30/2

 

===== BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS =====

+9 – MJ Solorio (El Toro Loco) – 31st 

+9 – Nick Pagliarulo (Kraken) – 39th 

+8 – Tristan England (JCB DIGatron) – 19th 

+7 – Adam Anderson (Grave Digger) – 15th 

+6 – Zack Garner (Wild Side) – 5th 

+5 – David Olfert (Dirt Crew Dozer) – 7th

+5 – Preston Collins (Jurassic Attack) – 33rd

+5 – Cory Rummell (Ringling Bailey Circuit) – 41st

+5 – Jim Koehler (Avenger) – 56th

 

===== NEWLY RANKED =====

38th - Cole Venard (Black Pearl)

50th - Daron Basl (BlockHead)

57th - Kevin Crocker (Megalodon)

65th - Jared Smith (Maximus)

67th - Eric Swanson (Obsessed)

68th - Preston Pérez (Velociraptor)

73rd - Matt Pagliarulo (Jester)

 

===== ALLENTOWN, PA =====

2/20 Fri Ngt: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Triton Robbins [Krazy Train]

2/21 Sat Aft: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Jon Zimmer Sr [Megalodon]

2/21 Sat Ngt: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Jon Zimmer Jr [Terminal Velocity]

2/22 Sun Aft: MJ SOLORIO [El Toro Loco] defeated Coty Saucier [Dragon]

2/22 Sun Ngt: MONTANA ROBBINS [Plane Krazy] defeated Jon Zimmer Jr [Terminal Velocity]

 

MTROC staff visited the Monster Jam Arena East series in Allentown this weekend and got to spend time with reigning Open Champion Coty Saucier! The Dragon burned through the first 3 brackets with an undefeated streak, giving Saucier his 2nd three-race winning streak of the season. It wasn’t until the final round on Sunday afternoon on the tacky Pocono clay that MJ Solorio was finally able to get past Saucier. He is now 3-5 against Saucier this season.

Jon Zimmer Jr had a surprisingly rough weekend, making the final round only twice in 5 events. On Sunday night, Montana Robbins flew into the winner’s circle for the first time this season and got his first head-to-head win against Zimmer in 8 tries this year.

The wins from Saucier and loses from Zimmer caused a switch in our rankings as Saucier now moves back into the #2 spot with Zimmer down to third.

 

===== ANAHEIM, CA =====

2/21 Sat Aft: TYLER MENNINGA [Grave Digger] defeated Zack Garner [Wild Side]

2/22 Sun Aft: TYLER MENNINGA [Grave Digger] defeated John Gordon [Megalodon]

 

There was some great racing this weekend as Monster Jam welcomed their 200,000th fan into Angel Stadium as they conclude their 6th racing event in the past 2 months in Anaheim. The slick turns caused some massive overshoots in the right lane, but one guy who was cool and confident all weekend was 3-time Open Champion Tyler Menninga who swept the weekend and increased his lead as the #1 rank in the world. That’s now 3 wins in a row for Menninga.

  

Zack Garner raced in his 3rd consecutive final round on Saturday but spun out in the first turn and had to settle for runner-up for the 7th time this season. He is still chasing his first racing win, but the 2nd place points have at least been adding up as Garner jumps up 6 spots into the Top 5.

 

===== BEAUMONT, TX =====

2/20 Fri Ngt: DAVID OLFERT [Dirt Crew Dozer] defeated Preston Collins [Jurassic Attack]

2/21 Sat Aft: DAVID OLFERT [Dirt Crew Dozer] defeated Preston Pérez [Velociraptor]

2/21 Sat Ngt: DAVID OLFERT [Dirt Crew Dozer] defeated Daron Basl [Block Head]

 

The Monster Nation Chaos Crew put together another great event in Beaumont, and just as he has been doing on the Toughest Tour, David Olfert bulldozed his way through the racing competition with three consecutive victories. Preston Collins, Preston Perez, and Daron Basl all challenged Olfert but could not beat him, and Olfert did it the hard way with no bye runs and no fast loser recalls. With now 8 wins on tour and a 235.38 Average (which is not only the 2nd best in the sport but also wildly high for a driver running on 6-truck arena events), he has moved up to 7th place overall is a slim 40 points outside of the Top 5.

 

===== BUFFALO, NY =====

This Monster Jam Arena Series event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not scored. This was the first time for Monster Jam inside the KeyBank Center.

 

===== DU QUOIN, IL =====

2/20 Fri Ngt: STEVEN THOMPSON [Hurricane Force] defeated Michael Vaters I [Black Stallion]

2/21 Sat Ngt: STEVEN THOMPSON [Hurricane Force] defeated Brad Shippert [Against The Grain]

2/22 Sun Aft: BRAD SHIPPERT [Against The Grain] defeated Chris DeHoyos [Higher Education]

 

The MOD Tour went back to Du Quoin for another three-race weekend. Steven Thompson started the weekend undefeated as he took the opening two wins. On Sunday, however, he lost both his first round race and fast-loser race to prevent him from taking the weekend sweep. Brad Shippert qualified for the finals on Friday but could not return due to breakage. He got back in on Saturday night but lost to Thompson, before finally scoring his first win of the season on Sunday over Chris DeHoyos in Higher Education.

 

===== EDINBURG, TX =====

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

 

===== KENANSVILLE, NC =====

2/21 Sat Mrn: We do not have results from this event

2/21 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this event

2/21 Sat Ngt: We do not have results from this event

2/22 Sun Aft: KALEY ENGSTROM [Shark Attack] defeated Michael Hawkins [Outlaw]

 

The Monster Truck Wars group was very busy this weekend. Not only did they run 3 tours, but the folks in Kenansville had a 3-show Saturday. Sadly, we were not able to find any results from those 3 events, so all we can report is that Kaley Engstrom took the win on Sunday afternoon after a very busy weekend.

 

===== KNOXVILLE, TN =====

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

 

===== LEXINGTON, KY =====

2/21 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this event

2/21 Sat Ngt: We do not have results from this event

 

===== MIAMI, FL =====

2/21 Sat Ngt: ADAM ANDERSON [Grave Digger] defeated Tristan England [JCB DIGatron]

2/22 Sun Aft: TRISTAN ENGLAND [JCB DIGatron] defeated Adam Anderson [Grave Digger]

 

Adam Anderson had a slow start to the season with 4 first round loses in his first 6 races, but since then he has 2 wins, 3 runner-ups, and 2 semi-final appearances in his last 8 events including a win and runner-up this weekend in Miami. Former World Finals Racing Champion Tristan England has been a bit more consistent, but it took until Sunday—and his second try against Anderson—to claim his first racing win of the season. England gained 8 spots in the rankings this week and Anderson is up 7.

 

===== ODESSA, TX =====

2/20 Fri Ngt: AARON BASL [Night Life] defeated RJ Turner [War Wizard]

2/21 Sat Ngt: AARON BASL [Night Life] defeated Jordan Fisher [Wild Side]

 

Aaron Basl took home the racing both nights on the tight Chicago-style racing in Odessa with the MAP Outlaw Nationals. After a busy year last year with the Monster Truck Wars tour, these two were the first races of the year for Basl and the beautiful Night Life truck.

 

===== PENRITH, AUSTRALIA =====

This Aussie event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded

 

===== PINE BLUFF, AR =====

2/21 Sat Ngt: DILLON FENLEY [King Krunch] defeated Larry Overman [Nitro Hornet]

 

Monster Trucks Maniac raced on a tight and dusty concrete roundy-round course in Pine Bluff with Dillon Fenley once again coming out on top. He has won 5-in-a-row now. The city was very happy with the event as their local newspaper touted the 3300 tickets sold as the best ticket sales for an event at their arena in years.

 

===== RALEIGH, NC =====

This Monster Jam Arena Tour event did not include side-by-side racing and so points could not be scored. This was an unusual event as it was not part of the one of the regular touring groups and was made up of an assembly of some of Monster Jam’s veterans like Charlie Pauken and Mikey Vaters as well as younger drivers like Ryan Vargas and Chelsea VanCleave. This was the 6th city that Monster Jam held an event in this weekend.

 

===== REDMOND, OR =====

2/21 Sat Aft: CADEN MORRIS [Dragon Slayer] defeated Kreg Christensen [Farmageddon]

2/21 Sat Ngt: STANLEY HERNANDEZ [Werewolf] defeated Rob Poutre [Carolina Crusher]

 

The Monster X Tour was back in Redmond for another year with the usual Chicago-style course. All four of the competing trucks made the finals at least once, although the Saturday night race was plagued with a lot of breakage. Caden Morris picked up his first ever Open Championship bracket win in the afternoon, taking out veteran Kreg Christensen in the new Farmageddon. The X-Tour regulars then took the podium spots later that night with Stanley Hernandez winning for the 3rd time this season.

 

===== SALINA, KS =====

2/21 Sat Ngt: TRAVIS GROTH [Double Trouble] defeated Johnny Davenport [Girl Power]

 

The Monster Trucks Havoc tour was in Salina on a dusty Chicago-style track. Johnny Davenport pulled double-duty in Ghost Ryder and Girl Power and got back Anthony Brunner and The Veteran in the first round, but could not take out Brunner’s teammate Travis Groth in the finals.

 

===== SANTA MARIA, CA =====

2/21 Sat Aft: AUSTIN MINTON [Brutal] defeated Eric Swanson [Obsessed]

2/22 Sun Aft: ERIC SWANSON [Obsessed] defeated Kory Kinal [Jekyll & Hyde]

 

The 2X Live crew had a wide Chicago-style track to race on in Santa Maria and Eric Swanson was the one who ran it the best, picking up a runner-up and first place finish on the weekend.

 

===== SASKATOON, SK =====

2/21 Sat Aft: BILL PAYNE [Rock Star] defeated Marvin Anderson [Identity Theft]

2/21 Sat Ngt: BILL PAYNE [Rock Star] defeated Jared Vogel [Crude Behavior]

2/22 Sun Aft: BILL PAYNE [Rock Star] defeated Marvin Anderson [Identity Theft]

 

It was all Bill Payne in Saskatoon with the RAM Spectacular. He’s been in the finals in the SaskTel Center 6 times in a row now dating back to last season. He has 11 wins on the season now and is 8th overall. Marvin Anderson—who won the last two races in Saskatoon in 2025—took two runner-up finishes this year on the tight and tall Chicago-style course, with Jared Vogel taking 2nd on Saturday night.

 

===== SAVANNAH, GA =====

2/21 Sat Aft: NICK PAGLIARULO [Kraken] defeated Athena Kozel [Lil' Miss Madness]

2/21 Sat Ngt: BROOKE PAGLIARULO [MissFire] defeated Nick Pagliarulo [Kraken]

2/22 Sun Aft: NICK PAGLIARULO [Kraken] defeated Zach Winchenbach [High Tide]

 

Nick Pagliarulo continues to lead the All Star Monster Mashers series points series and added 2 more wins on the choppy drag racing track in Savannah this weekend. He’s up 9 spots in the rankings. Younger sister Brooke won for the 2nd time in her career, beating brother Nick in the finals once again. He used the fast loser spot and the break rule to get back into the bracket before winning the one that really counted. Nick was back on top Sunday as he bested Zach Winchenbach who was one of 3 different drivers for the High Tide truck this weekend.

 

===== SPRINGFIELD, IL =====

2/21 Sat Aft: KARSON SCHMIDT [Monster Patrol] defeated Byron Cadigan [Bear Foot]

2/21 Sat Ngt: BYRON CADIGAN [Bear Foot] defeated Karson Schmidt [Monster Patrol]

 

The Monster X Tour raced on a wide concrete floor with a no-ramp Chicago-style course over cars. Karson Schmidt and Byron Cadigan were in the finals both events and split the weekend.

 

===== WICHITA, KS =====

2/21 Sat Aft: TIM HALL JR [Jurassic Attack] defeated Cliff Turner [Velociraptor]

2/21 Sat Ngt: BLAKE GRANGER [Monster Mutt Dalmatian] defeated Cliff Turner [Velociraptor]

2/22 Sun Aft: ALEX BARDIN [Earth Shaker] defeated Matt Cody [Grave Digger]

 

Alex Bardin and Blake Granger have won 7 of the last 8 Monster Jam Arena West races, and overall those two have taken 21 of the 26 racing brackets. But on Saturday afternoon in Wichita, Tim Hall Jr broke through with his 3rd win of the tour. Cliff Turner made the finals both times on Saturday, but fell to Hall in the afternoon and then—after eliminating Hall in the night race—lost to Granger in the finals.

A big win for Matt Cody in the Sunday semi-finals as he finally beat Blake Granger after an 0-14 streak against the top racer on tour, but he came up a bit short to Alex Bardin in the final race. Bardin lost ground this weekend in the points but is still highly ranked in 11th place overall.

 

===== WILLIAMSTON, NC =====

2/21 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this event

2/21 Sat Ngt: We do not have results from this event

2/22 Sun Aft: JEFF MURPHY [Shark Attack] defeated Justin Murphy [Loco Motive]

 

We heard that Brandon Pezo won the two Saturday races on the Monster Truck Wars tour in Williamston, but unfortunately the only result we have is from Sunday. Jeff Murphy grabbed his 2nd win of the season and is 3-0 against his brother Justin in the events we have reported.

 

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

Abilene, TX (Monster X Tour)

Buffalo, TX (Monster Trucks Maniac)

Camp Verde, AZ (2X Monster Trucks Live)

Chatham, VA (Monster Truck Wars)

Colorado Springs, CO (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-n-Fire Event)

Edmonton, AB (RAM Motorsports Spectacular)

Gastonia, NC (Monster Truck Wars)

Klamath Falls, OR (Monster Truck Insanity Tour)

Laredo, TX (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-n-Fire Event)

Little Rock, AR (Monster Jam Arena Series East)

Medford, OR (Monster X Tour)

New Orleans, LA (Monster Jam Stadium Series West)

Portland, OR (Monster Jam Arena Series West)

Rosemont, IL (Monster Jam Arena Series Central)

Spartanburg, SC (All Star Monster Truck Tour)

Springfield, MO (MAP O'Reilly Outlaw Nationals)

Tampa, FL (Monster Jam Stadium Series East)

 
 
 

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