This Week in Monster Truck Racing - July 1-7, 2026

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

* Tyler Menninga wins World Finals Racing Championship

** Triton Robbins wins Last Chance Qualifier

*** Thomas Borders wins twice with Full Throttle Tour

CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://tinyurl.com/mtroc260707

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

===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR JULY 1^st – JULY 7^th, 2026 =====

Three-time Open Champion Tyler Menninga won the biggest World Finals of all time, earning 600 points in the Open rankings and taking sole possession of first place. He has an insane 300-points-per-race. Runner-up Tristan England gained two spots after his narrow loss to Menninga in the championship final, but was able to leave Salt Lake City with the freestyle championship after successfully landing another “kahuna” front flip! Triton Robbins beat Alex Bardin in an exciting Last Chance Qualifier on Friday and continued that strong run by making it to the Saturday night finals where he lost to Menninga. Robbins won the bronze medal race over Fernando Martinez, who had posted the upset of the weekend on Friday night when he came from behind in the final turn to beat top qualifier Ryan Anderson in the quarter-finals.

While the World Finals were easily the biggest event of the weekend, they were not the only ones! Thomas Borders added two more wins on the Full Throttle Tour and now has won 5 of his last 6 races on tour.

Tyler Groth beat brother Travis on the All Star Tour in California. Bill Payne picked up his 22^nd win in British Columbia. We also saw Ryan Como score his first win of the year in Owen Sound.

Coming up this weekend, the Outlaw Drags are back in Canfield while the 4-Wheel Jamboree returns to Bloomsburg. Plus the Full Throttle Tour continues their busy summer fair schedule and Throwdown travels to South Bend and Maple Park for three big events.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us with reporting events this week: J.r Rouse, Brandon Gallie, Preston Perez, Dallas Glenn-Rogers, Stanley Hernandez, Pat Paquet, Bryan Wagner, Nicholas Kraemer, and everyone who posted videos and photos online!

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

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

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1 ) Tyler Menninga - 8265/306.11 : 6+1=7 : 27/13

2 ) Coty Saucier - 9654/205.4 : 4+5=9 : 47/18

3 ) Jon Zimmer Jr - 12223/188.05 : 1+8=9 : 65/24

4 ) Ryan Anderson - 5841/224.65 : 13+3=16 : 26/5

5 ) Blake Granger - 11411/158.49 : 2+15=17 : 72/23

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6 ) Bill Payne - 8151/181.13 : 7+11=18 : 45/22

7 ) David Olfert - 5696/189.87 : 15+6=21 : 30/16

8 ) Donald Epidendio - 5205/226.3 : 20+2=22 : 23/14

9 ) Zack Garner - 5811/187.45 : 14+9=23 : 31/4

10) Weston Anderson - 5888/178.42 : 12+12=24 : 33/14

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11) Armando Castro - 9009/143.00 : 5+19=24 : 63/18

12) Camden Murphy - 5170/206.8 : 21+4=25 : 25/8

13) Alex Bardin - 9943/130.83 : 3+22=25 : 76/15

14) Adam Anderson - 5645/182.1 : 16+10=26 : 31/7

15) Triton Robbins - 7909/138.75 : 8+20=28 : 57/9

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16) Tristan England - 5107/189.15 : 23+7=30 : 27/4

17) Colt Stephens - 5283/170.42 : 18+13=31 : 31/7

18) Dalton Widner - 5431/155.17 : 17+17=34 : 35/3

19) Jimmy Creten - 4911/169.34 : 24+14=38 : 29/19

20) Matt Cody - 7238/111.35 : 9+30=39 : 65/10

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

+5 - Fernando Martinez (El Toro Loco) – 32^nd 

+5 - Brandan Tulachka (Zombie) – 68^th 

+3 - Mikeal Christensen (Vendetta) – 27^th 

+2 - Tristan England (JCB DIGatron) – 16^th 

+2 - Travis Groth (The Veteran) – 43^rd 

+2 - Gavin Sell (Mixed Up) -50^th 

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

(none this week)

===== BECKLEY, WV =====

7/4 Sat Ngt: DANIEL DONNELLY [Illuminator] defeated Cory Snyder [Toxic]

Daniel Donnelly won the bracket on a short drag racing track in Beckley. Problems with the starting system dampened some of the excitement of his 5^th win of the season. The Renegade Tour will be in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania next.

===== COLFAX, WA =====

This Monster X Tour event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded

===== DEL MAR, CA =====

This Full Contact Racing event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded

===== OWEN SOUND, ON =====

7/4 Sat Aft: RYAN COMO [Rat Nasty] defeated Pat Paquet [Psycho Pat]

Ryan Como beat out Pat Paquet on the head-to-head holeshot track in Owen Sound. That is his first win of the season.

===== PENTICTON, BC =====

7/4 Sat Ngt: BILL PAYNE [Rock Star] defeated Gavin Sell [Mixed Up]

7/5 Sun Ngt: BILL PAYNE [Rock Star] defeated Marc Simonin [Spitfire]

Bill Payne won both days of Crazy-8 style racing with the Malicious Tour in Penticton, British Columbia. He is now up to 22 wins, putting him just 2 back from Jon Zimmer Jr who still leads with 24. Gavin Sell’s runner-up on Saturday night was his 10^th time in the final round and gave him enough points to bump up back into the Top 50.

===== PRINCETON, IN =====

7/6 Mon Ngt: THOMAS BORDERS [Monkey Business] defeated Tommy Varilone [Dirt Crew]

Thomas Borders continued his strong summer showing with this 3^rd consecutive win on the Full Throttle Tour. He beat out Tommy Varilone in a close Chicago-style race in Princeton to earn his 8^th win in his 12 races so far this season.

===== SALT LAKE CITY, UT =====

7/2 Thu Ngt: TRITON ROBBINS [Krazy Train] defeated Alex Bardin [Earth Shaker]

7/4 Sat Ngt: TYLER MENNINGA [Grave Digger] defeated Tristan England [JCB DIGatron]

The 25^th Monster Jam World Finals coincided with the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and brought big fireworks both on the track and off. Tristan England won the freestyle championship with an incredible intentional “kahuna” front-flip which he landed cleanly and combed into a power wheelie. Brandan Tulachka strung together a series of standing reverse slap wheelies and one-wheel balancing to capture the Skills championship. And Zack Garner won the high jump championship with a leap of 27.248-feet.

Once again this year, however, it was the racing competition that was the true highlight of the weekend. The track once again featured a giant banked turn extending into the seating bowl, but this year the starting lane was a steep step-up style ramp followed by a tight banked turn which really tested the driver’s skills. This was followed by a traditional St Louis style set-up that allowed for fast speeds and full-throttle corners. The weather was dry and the track was loose and even which really let the drivers skill be on display.

Triton Robbins was the fast qualifier from the Last Chance Qualifier as he and 11 other drivers competed for the chance to advance into the main field. Robbins was fast and smooth all night long to win the bracket in front of an excited crowd. Tim Hall Jr qualified last due to engine fueling problems, but his team got those resolved for racing and he advanced to the semi-finals where he lost a close finish to Alex Bardin in Earth Shaker. While Bardin lost to Robbins in the racing final, he was gifted a spot in the main field when Jon Zimmer Jr was disqualified from the field for undisclosed reasons which are believed to be related to a safety violation in the pits after the Friday night qualifying.

On Friday night, the first half of the main field racing bracket picked up where the LCQ left off with even faster racing in front of a huge crowd. Reigning Open Champion Coty Saucier stumbled out of the 2^nd turn and fell behind Adam Anderson who built a big lead and held it for the rest of the race. Fernando Martinez was the big story of the night driving El Toro Loco Stars & Stripes. Coming from the Arena series, he proved his worth on the biggest track of the year, first taking on Jamie Sullivan and then Armando Castro. In the Friday night semis, he took on fast qualifier Ryan Anderson and kept even with the 3-time Open Champion until the hill turn. Anderson built a truck-and-a-half length lead down the backstretch, but Martinez was smoother through the final turn and built enough momentum to fly past Anderson over the final and score the biggest upset of the weekend! In the finals, though, it was former World Finals Racing Champion Tristan England in JCB DIGatron using lane choice to take the left lane and race past Martinez to advance to the championship final.

On Saturday night, independent Triton Robbins got his chance in the main field after winning the LCQ. He beat Excaliber, ThunderROARus, and fast-qualifier Wild Side to reach the Saturday night finals. On the other side of the bracket, Krysten Anderson had a very strong showing this year and pushed Tyler Menninga to a close finish in an all-Grave Digger quarter-final race. Menninga advanced and with a chip on his shoulder because of how his freestyle run had ended the night before. After starting with a big jump over the step-up jump, the front left axle broke clean off upon the landing, giving Menninga a second consecutive year of a one-and-out performance in freestyle.

Menninga took out Camden Murphy—who recently set the world speed record in a Monster Truck—to meet up with Robbins in the finals, which Menninga won in a fast, clean race from both drivers. Robbins went on to win the consolation race over Fernando Martinez and secure a hard-won podium position. In the championship final, Menninga took the left lane and lead over England out of the 2^nd turn. Damage from the freestyle breakage caused oil from the front axle to spit onto the hot from brake rotor, resulting in a white cloud to billow from the truck as he raced down the backstretch each round. Despite the distraction, both Menninga and his Grave Digger truck held it together against the tough competition and he beat out England by a truck length to capture his first Monster Jam World Finals Racing Championship!

This was the BIGGEST racing event in Open Championship history. Not only were there 28 trucks in the bracket, but this was our first ever 600-point event! That beats out last year’s world finals 595-point record. With the win, Tyler Menninga not only breaks the tie for first place in the Open Championship, but he also increased his Average Points to over 300-per-race! That’s an incredible to achieve this late in the season. (Remember, the Open Championship runs October-through-September)

The Open Standings saw changes from the World Finals results. Alex Bardin lost a spot despite making the main field because Camden Murphy’s deeper run gave him enough points to jump ahead of Bardin. Ryan Anderson, Bari Musawwir, Zack Garner, and Tim Hall Jr all gained a spot in the rankings. Mike Christensen gained one spot from his run in the LCQ. Fernando Martinez’s strong performance made the biggest move as he gained 5 spots and is nearing the Top 30.

Overall, this was an excellent World Finals for racing. The track was stable and fast and let the drivers run hard while also being technically challenging. This resulted in there not being many upsets through the field, but also kept the results of the race in doubt until the final turn. It has been announced that next year the World Finals will move to Indianapolis, Indiana.

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

7/4 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this event

7/4 Sat Mrn: JIM PIGEON [Outfoxed] defeated Mike Worsley [T-Rex]

Jim Pigeon took Outfoxed for a big jump over the steep holeshot racing ramps in Saskatoon to grab the morning racing win with the All Out Tour. We still need results from the afternoon race.

===== STANFORD, KY =====

7/4 Sat Ngt: THOMAS BORDERS [Monkey Business] defeated Roger Gauger [Bigfoot]

Thomas Border picked up his 4^th win in 5 races with the Full Throttle Tour as the summer fair schedule continues to heat up. In Stanford, he came from behind in no-man’s land to beat out Roger Gauger, giving him a 3-2 edge in their head-to-head matches this season.

===== YUCAIPA, CA =====

7/4 Sat Aft: TYLER GROTH [Double Trouble] defeated Travis Groth [The Veteran]

Tyler and Travis Groth met up in the All Star final at the 13^th Street Sports Complex on a big roundy-round course. Tyler took the win, improving his record against brother Travis to 6-8 this season.

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

Bloomsburg, PA (Summer 4 Wheel Jamboree Nationals)

Buffalo, NY (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-n-Fire Event)

Canfield, OH (Outlaw Monster Truck Drags)

Cincinnati, OH (Monster Jam Arena Series Central)

Coshocton, OH (Monster Truck Bash)

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

Dumas, TX (Monster Trucks Maniac)

Fraserville, ON (Monster Madness & FMX World Tour)

Greentown, IN (Full Throttle Monster Trucks)

LaGrange, KY (Full Throttle Monster Trucks)

Maple Park, IL (Monster Truck Throwdown)

Nashville, IL (Full Throttle Monster Trucks)

South Bend, IN (Monster Truck Throwdown)

Wenatchee, WA (Malicious Monster Truck Tour)

Westminster, MD (Monster Truck Round-Up)