=== This Week in Monster Truck Racing ===
* Tristan England ends Ryan Anderson’s undefeated streak
** Fernando Martinez and Montana Robbins earn first wins and rocket up the board
*** Jerry Beck leaves Loveland with 2 wins and a Top 20 ranking
CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://tinyurl.com/yck6e6xj
===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR JANUARY 24th – 26th, 2025 =====
This weekend saw some big upsets and some noteworthy wins. Jim Koehler upset world #1 Tyler Menninga head-to-head in San Antonio. Tristan England ended Ryan Anderson’s undefeated streak in 2025. Jacob Ladwig beat RJ Turner in Springfield to increase his winning streak to 4 races but Turner then brought it to an end in the first round the following day. And Bret Falvey finally got his first win with his new team as he put The Haymaker into victory lane with the All Stars in Brookville.
The Arena Central tour made the biggest impact. Fernando Martinez and Montana Robbins each had their first series wins and moved up 34 and 13 spots respectively. On the Toughest Tour, defending series champion Jerry Beck won twice and joins the rankings in 16th.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us with reporting events this week: Bryan Wagner, Preston Perez, Brian Manson, John Darnell, Kory Kinal, Bk Moody, Aaron Basl, Ben Wimp,
Nate Bay, Brock Thomas, 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 ) Tyler Menninga - 3546/253.29 : 2+1=3 : 14/9
2 ) Coty Saucier - 5506/220.24 : 1+2=3 : 25/16
3 ) Jon Zimmer Jr - 2990/199.33 : 3+3=6 : 15/6
4 ) Ryan Anderson - 2478/165.2 : 6+7=13 : 15/4
5 ) Weston Anderson - 2295/153.00 : 8+8=16 : 15/4
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6 ) Dalton Widner - 2280/152.00 : 9+9=18 : 15/4
7 ) Jimmy Creten - 2185/145.67 : 11+11=22 : 15/11
8 ) Bari Musawwir - 2265/141.56 : 10+14=24 : 16/0
9 ) Colt Stephens - 2718/129.43 : 5+19=24 : 21/2
10) Tristan England - 1556/172.89 : 20+5=25 : 9/3
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11) Matt Cody - 2846/123.74 : 4+21=25 : 23/5
12) Tyler Groth - 1954/139.57 : 13+15=28 : 14/2
13) Preston Pérez - 1700/141.67 : 17+13=30 : 12/7
14) Armando Castro - 2298/120.95 : 7+23=30 : 19/1
15) Camden Murphy - 1575/143.18 : 19+12=31 : 11/1
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16) Jerry Beck - 1349/192.71 : 29+4=33 : 7/3
17) Rob Poutre - 1845/131.79 : 15+18=33 : 14/9
18) Zack Garner - 1473/133.91 : 22+17=39 : 11/2
19) Cole Venard - 1016/169.33 : 35+6=41 : 6/1
20) Daron Basl - 1035/147.86 : 33+10=43 : 7/2
===== BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS =====
+34 – Fernando Martinez (El Toro Loco) – 29th
+13 – Montana Robbins (Plane Krazy) – 40th
+12 – Jim Koehler (Avenger) – 42nd
+8 – Bari Musawwir (Zombie) – 8th
+6 – Tyler Groth (The Veteran) – 12th
===== NEW THIS WEEK =====
16th – Jerry Beck (Dirt Crew)
19th – Cole Venard (Black Pearl)
20th – Daron Basl (Blockhead)
37th – Bryce Kenny (Monster Mutt)
45th – Tim Jones (Tailgator)
82nd – Kylie Kent (Frostbite)
86th – Logan Tweedy (Roarin’ Rex)
87th – Matt Pagliarulo (Jester)
===== BATTLE CREEK, MI =====
1/25 Sat Aft: KALEY ENGSTROM [Shark Attack] defeated Aaron Basl [T-Rex]
1/25 Sat Ngt: AARON BASL [T-Rex] defeated Kaley Engstrom [Shark Attack]
For the fourth time in a row Aaron Basl and Kaley Engstrom met in the finals on the Monster Truck Wars tour. Kaley won the first match-up but Basl took the win later that night, improving his record to 3-1 against Engstrom this season.
===== BLENHEIM, NEW ZEALAND =====
This Kiwi Steel Rodeo event included some heat races but did not meet the minimum number of four trucks for points. However, we can report that David Haycock in Taurus 2 beat out Rangi Cornfoot in Kiwi Thunder in the old-school leaf-sprung grudge matches.
===== BROOKSVILLE, FL =====
1/25 Sat Aft: CORY SNYDER [Illuminator] defeated Brett Falvey [The Haymaker]
1/26 Sun Aft: BRETT FALVEY [The Haymaker] defeated Kylie Kent [Frostbite]
Preston Perez came into the weekend as the points leader on the All Star Monster Mashers point series and had won the first 3 racing events. But Saturday he was knocked out of racing with a broken oil pump and then lost the engine during Skills on Sunday, which kept him out of the bracket entirely.
Teammate Cory Snyder was running fast on Saturday, though, and laid down a very fast qualifying run. He beat out the rest of the All Stars and scored the final round win when Brett Falvey in Haymaker missed the final jump. Falvey was a strong racer for Triple B Motorsports last year and looks to be finding his groove in the new machine as he returned to the finals on Sunday and collected his first win of the season. He’s been runner-up an additional 5 times so far.
===== CEDAR RAPIDS, IA =====
1/25 Sat Aft: BYRON CADIGAN [Bear Foot] defeated Paul Craighead [Bearly Tame]
1/25 Sat Ngt: PAUL CRAIGHEAD [Bearly Tame] defeated Travis Schweizer [Carolina Crusher]
The Nitro Tour drivers had a tough concrete J-hook track to contest with in Cedar Rapids. The tight turns on concrete caused problems in several heats with trucks having to reverse to line-up for the final set. Paul Craighead had the best time of it, posting a win and runner-up finish in Bearly Tame. Byron Cardigan’s afternoon win came via the loser’s bracket which forced him to win 3 consecutive heats to seal the win. These were the 4th wins of the season for both Cadigan and Craighead.
===== GOSFORD, AUSTRALIA =====
This Monster Truck Promotions Australia event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL =====
This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== LAKE CITY, FL =====
1/25 Sat Aft: JIMMY CRETEN [Bounty Hunter] defeated Logan Tweedy [Roarin' Rex]
1/25 Sat Ngt: JIMMY CRETEN [Bounty Hunter] defeated Kory Kinal [Jekyll & Hyde]
Jimmy Creten dominates the racing in Lake City and maintains his 7th place ranking. He’s won 11 of his 15 events.
===== LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND =====
This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== LOVELAND, CO =====
1/24 Fri Ngt: TIM JONES [Tailgator] defeated Daron Basl [Block Head]
1/25 Sat Aft: JERRY BECK [Dirt Crew] defeated Tyler Groth [The Veteran]
1/25 Sat Ngt: JERRY BECK [Dirt Crew] defeated Tyler Groth [The Veteran]
Defending series champion Jerry Beck won twice on Saturday in Loveland with the Toughest Tour and he joins the rankings in 16th place. That’s 4 spots ahead of Friday’s runner-up Daron Basl in Blockhead who joins in 20th. Tyler Groth has been in the rankings already, but his 2 runner-up finishes gained him 6 spots and has the veteran driver in 12th overall. Tim Jones also picked up his 1st win of the season in his first final round appearance.
===== MIAMI, FL =====
1/25 Sat Ngt: COLE VENARD [Black Pearl] defeated Tristan England [JCB DIGatron]
1/26 Sun Aft: RYAN ANDERSON [Son-Uva Digger] defeated Todd LeDuc [Megalodon]
Tristan England finally broke Ryan Anderson’s undefeated streak in 2025 when he beat the reigning Open Champion in the semi-finals in Miami on Saturday night. Anderson had not lost a head-to-head race since the New Year, but was edged out by England by times of 20.065 to 19.915. In the finals, however, it was another streak being broken as Cole Venard finally got a long-sought after racing win. Venard opened 2025 with back-to-back runner-up finishes to Ryan Anderson in Anaheim. Beyond that, he had 2 runner-up finishes in 2024 (no wins) and his last event win was way back in February 2023 in Minneapolis. Venard stays in the Top 20 with his win, and England moves up into the Top Ten.
On Sunday, Ryan Anderson was right back to his winning ways. He had sub-20-second runs every run (except for his loss to England) and posted wins over El Toro Loco, JCB Digatron, and Megalodon for the win. Anderson is up into 4th place but is still quite a way behind the top three.
===== NEWARK, NJ =====
1/24 Fri Ngt: JON ZIMMER JR [Terminal Velocity] defeated Fernando Martinez [El Toro Loco]
1/25 Sat Aft: FERNANDO MARTINEZ [El Toro Loco] defeated Jon Zimmer Jr [Terminal Velocity]
1/25 Sat Ngt: MONTANA ROBBINS [Plane Krazy] defeated Jamie Sullivan [Sparkle Smash]
1/26 Sun Aft: JON ZIMMER JR [Terminal Velocity] defeated Fernando Martinez [El Toro Loco]
The Arena Central series was back in action after a week off and it yielded fruitful results for Fernando Martinez and Montana Robbins who gained 34 and 13 spots in the rankings, respectively. Martinez scored his first racing win and added two runner-ups to move into the Top 30 in the rankings. Montana Robbins also won his first race on Saturday night, returning to replace the broken Grave Digger and then beating brother Triton in the semis and last year’s most-improved driver Jamie Sullivan in the finals.
Jon Zimmer Jr won half the weekend and had another final round appearance to maintain his solid 3rd place ranking. He is third is both Total Points (2990) and Average Points (199.33).
===== PERRY, GA =====
1/25 Sat Aft: DEVIN JONES [T-Rex] defeated Preston Collins [Shark Attack]
1/25 Sat Ngt: PRESTON COLLINS [Shark Attack] defeated Jerry Furajter [Outlaw]
Preston Collins has been in the finals 5 events in a row and has missed the finals only 3 times in 16 recorded events with the Monster Truck Wars. He keeps himself in the 24th rank with this win and runner-up in Perry.
===== PERTH, AUSTRALIA =====
1/25 Sat Ngt: HAYDEN MCLEARY [Wicked] defeated Jack Monkhouse [Wacky-Doo]
The summer racing series for the Australia portion of the sport is picking up and Monster Trucks Unleashed had 8 trucks competing in their usual best-of-3 Chicago-style races on a big track in Perth. Hayden McLeary beat out Brock Thomas in Blazed, Hayden Francis in Raptor’s Rampage, and Jack Monkhouse in Wacky-Doo to take home the first racing win of the season down under.
===== SACRAMENTO, CA =====
1/24 Fri Ngt: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Weston Anderson [Grave Digger]
1/25 Sat Aft: DEVIN WINFIELD [Velociraptor] defeated (BYE RUN)
1/25 Sat Ngt: NO POINTS; Racing was contested as solo timed runs rather than side-by-side
1/26 Sun Aft: NO POINTS; Racing was contested as solo timed runs rather than side-by-side
Coty Saucier won his 16th event on Friday in Sacramento and maintains the #2 ranking overall.
Saturday afternoon saw Saucier eliminated in the semis by Devin Winfield in Velociraptor. The other semis was chaotic with both Jurassic Attack and Scooby-Doo flipping over in the first turn! Since there was no winner and neither truck would return, Ashley Sanford in Megalodon was brought back in as a replacement, although she came up short to Winfield in the finals.
Per Open Championship rules, the Megalodon replacement was technically not allowed since there was another truck from the semi-finals (Dragon) who should have been recalled for the finals. This is to prevent trucks from skipping rounds. In this case, Megalodon did not compete in the semi-finals. So the on-track final round was Velociraptor over Megalodon; but for the sake of points, that heat is counted as exhibition only. Megalodon gets first place points, and Dragon, Jurassic Attack, and Scooby-Doo each get semi-final points. We are not counting a runner-up in this unusual case.
The final two events were switched to timed racing, and so points were not awarded.
===== SAN ANTONIO, TX =====
1/25 Sat Ngt: DALTON WIDNER [Jurassic Attack] defeated Jim Koehler [Avenger]
1/26 Sun Aft: TYLER MENNINGA [Grave Digger] defeated Bari Musawwir [Zombie]
Jim Koehler had himself a night on Saturday in San Antonio! The veteran driver first took out teammate Kevin Crocker in the first round, but then upset world #1 racer Tyler Menninga in a clean race in the quarter finals. The two had staging troubles which seemed to annoy Menninga and may have thrown him off his game. Neither had their strongest pass (Koehler was slower than in his first round) but it was a huge win of the Avenger none the less. Koehler followed that up with an upset of Bari Musawwir in Zombie. In the finals, however, Dalton Widner’s 20.482 second pass was too fast as Jurassic Attack took the win. Widner had the 3 fastest times of the night; Koehler’s final round pass was 5th fastest.
Menninga and Musawwir are both great racers and did not let the shocking defeats on Saturday influence them for more than a night. Koehler was out in the quarter finals when he rolled over in the second turn racing ThunderROARus. Menninga had to work his way through the first round with wins over Lucas Stabilizer, Jurassic Attack, and ThunderROARus. Musawwir had wins over Mayhem and Classroom Crusher (who rolled in the final turn) to reach his 5th final round of the season. In the finals, Menninga’s 20.307 was better than the 21.747 from Musawwir as the world #1 won his 3rd race of the year. Musawwir is now 0-5 in finals.
===== SPRINGFIELD, MO =====
1/24 Fri Ngt: JACOB LADWIG [Rat Attack] defeated RJ Turner [War Wizard]
1/25 Sat Ngt: MICHAEL VATERS II [Overkill Evolution] defeated Carson Williams [Velociraptor]
The MAP Motorsports crew was inside the Wilson Logistics Arena for a second year and brought some strong racing this year as 4 of the 6 trucks made the finals over the two nights. Jacob Ladwig extended his winning streak to 4 races on Friday night with a win over RJ Turner. Last year, Ladwig had the longest streak of final round appearances with 15-in-a-row and also the second longest winning streak at 8. He’ll have to try again this year, though, as he lost to Turner in the first round on Saturday night. Turner then had a bad hit on the final jump, tumbled on his side, and lost his front wheel after a losing effort to Mike Vaters II in the semi-finals. Vaters went on to win over Carson Williams in Velociraptor for his 2nd win of the season.
===== TRENTON, NJ =====
This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== WASHINGTON, DC =====
This Monster Jam Arena Series event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
====== EVENTS THIS WEEKEND =====
Albany, GA (Monster Truck Nitro Tour)
Amarillo, TX (Kicker Monster Truck Nationals)
Atlanta, GA (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party Arena Event)
Brooklyn, NY (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series Central)
Charleston, WV (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party Arena Event)
Cordova, TN (Monster Truck Wars)
Cottonwood, AL (Monster Truck Chaos)
Fargo, ND (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series West)
Grand Bay, AL (Monster X Tour)
Houston, TX (Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series East)
Lake Charles, LA (Monster Truck Nitro Tour)
Lexington, KY (Monster Truck Wars)
Pensacola, FL (All Star Monster Truck Tour)
Providence, RI (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series East)
Tampa, FL (Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series West)
Vienna, Austria (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live International Tour: Glow Party Arena Event)
Winnipeg, MB (RAM Motorsports Spectacular)
Youngstown, OH (Toughest Monster Truck Tour)
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