* Zack Garner gains 10 spots with wins in Macon
** Bari Musawwir the king of concrete racing in Birmingham
*** Camden Murphy eyes 3rd place after win in Seattle
CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://tinyurl.com/2t9bsa58
WORLD MAP OF UPCOMING EVENTS (GOOGLE): https://tinyurl.com/yckcxz47
===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR MARCH 29th – 31st, 2024 =====
It was a lighter week for events due to the Easter holiday, but for the drivers that were racing it offered a chance to make up ground in the standings. Zack Garner and Kurt Kraehmer did that the best with each driver picking up 10 spots in the standings.
Camden Murphy kept his 4th place ranking but moved within 132 points of 3rd place which is currently held by Adam Anderson. We also saw two-time Open Championship runner-up Coty Saucier join the rankings in 15th place after picking up a win driving Grave Digger in Lincoln, Nebraska. In England, Bari Musawwir dominated the no-dirt concrete Chicago-style racing on the new Monster Jam Ramped Up tour and moves into 11th place.
Cameron Tweedy swept the Monster X racing in Gastonia. Jerry Furajter had a banner weekend with 2 wins and 3 finals on the Monster Truck Wars tour. Dalton Widner has now won 22 of the 42 racing events on the Monster Jam Arena West tour while Brandan Tulachka picked up his 5th and 6th wins with the Arena Central tour.
This past weekend has fewer events but we’re back to a full schedule for this weekend! Check out the bottom of this post for a full listing of all the events!
Thank you to everyone who reported results to us this weekend: Preston Collins, Cameron Tweedy, 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 ) Ryan Anderson - 9109/337.37 : 1+1=2 : 27/15
2 ) Tyler Menninga - 8613/226.66 : 2+3=5 : 38/23
3 ) Adam Anderson - 4391/243.94 : 9+2=11 : 18/3
4 ) Camden Murphy - 4757/190.28 : 6+5=11 : 25/4
5 ) Tristan England - 4068/226.00 : 11+4=15 : 18/5
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6 ) John Gordon - 3799/189.95 : 12+6=18 : 20/1
7 ) Weston Anderson - 4889/139.69 : 5+14=19 : 35/13
8 ) Dalton Widner - 6818/133.69 : 3+17=20 : 51/22
9 ) Armando Castro - 4757/135.91 : 6+16=22 : 35/7
10) Colt Stephens - 4258/141.93 : 10+13=23 : 30/1
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11) Bari Musawwir - 5133/111.59 : 4+24=28 : 46/8
12) Jon Zimmer Jr - 3340/151.82 : 20+9=29 : 22/12
13) Zack Garner - 3452/143.83 : 17+12=29 : 24/7
14) Mikeal Christensen - 3712/137.48 : 14+15=29 : 27/3
15) Coty Saucier - 2947/184.19 : 27+7=34 : 16/8
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16) Jamie Sullivan - 3715/119.84 : 13+21=34 : 31/7
17) Brandon Vinson - 2974/148.7 : 26+10=36 : 20/10
18) Preston Collins - 4469/106.4 : 8+28=36 : 42/22
19) Bryce Kenny - 2792/164.24 : 31+8=39 : 17/1
20) Jack Brown - 2760/145.26 : 32+11=43 : 19/8
===== BIGGEST GAINS =====
+10 – Zack Garner – Wild Side (13th)
+10 – Kurt Kraehmer – Rammunition (52nd)
+5 – Jerry Furajter – Shark Attack (65th)
+4 – Brandan Tulachka – Jus’ Get-Er-Done (23rd)
+3 – Bari Musawwir – Black Panther (11th)
===== BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND =====
3/29 Fri Ngt: BLAKE GRANGER [El Toro Loco] defeated Charlie Pauken [Megalodon]
3/30 Sat Aft: BARI MUSAWWIR [Black Panther] defeated Matt Cody [Grave Digger]
3/30 Sat Ngt: BARI MUSAWWIR [Black Panther] defeated Bernard Lyght [The Amazing Spider-Man]
3/31 Sun Aft: BARI MUSAWWIR [Black Panther] defeated Bernard Lyght [The Amazing Spider-Man]
Monster Jam debuted their Ramped Up series in Birmingham which featured the new MonsterGon steel pod on a dirtless concrete floor. Now, a concrete floor can make for exciting racing, but the track in Birmingham was super slick and forced the drivers to tiptoe around the turns to stay in control. Blake Granger was the first to figure out the course and picked up the racing and Overall Event win on Friday night. But from there on out it was Bari Musawwir taking control with Black Panther as he wins the remaining three races and moves up to 11th place in the rankings which is his best ranking since being 6th on January 11th.
===== GAINESVILLE, GA =====
3/30 Sat Aft: JERRY FURAJTER [Shark Attack] defeated Devin Jones [T-Rex]
3/30 Sat Ngt: DEVIN JONES [T-Rex] defeated Jerry Furajter [Shark Attack]
3/31 Sun Aft: JERRY FURAJTER [Shark Attack] defeated Alan Fenstermaker [Sheriff]
Preston Collins has 22 wins this season (2nd most of all drivers) but was a surprising no-show in the finals in Gainesville with the Monster Truck Wars eastern tour. Instead it was Jerry Furajter from Pennsylvania’s Xtreme Monster Sports team picking up 2 wins and 3 final rounds in his best weekend of the season. Furajter jumps up 5 spots this week courtesy his big wins. Devin Jones won his 6th of the season to stay within the Top 50.
===== GASTONIA, NC =====
3/30 Sat Aft: CAMERON TWEEDY [Carolina Crusher] defeated Rodney Tweedy [USA-1]
3/30 Sat Ngt: CAMERON TWEEDY [Carolina Crusher] defeated Tommy Varilone [Rampage]
3/31 Sun Aft: CAMERON TWEEDY [Carolina Crusher] defeated James Owens [Quad Chaos]
Thankfully we got results in for the Monster X Tour this week! Cameron Tweedy takes all 3 wins in Carolina Crusher. He has 6 wins in his 13 recorded races and need 2 more reports to make the rankings. (Our current minimum is 15 and will be increased to 20 before the end of the season)
===== GRASS VALLEY, CA =====
3/30 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this event
3/30 Sat Ngt: We do not have results from this event
3/31 Sun Aft: AARON BASL [T-Rex] defeated Kaley Engstrom [Shark Attack]
We know it was incredibly muddy in Grass Valley this weekend but that’s about all we know. We still need racing results from the two Saturday events. We’ve got Aaron Basl down for his 16th win of the season on Sunday.
===== LINCOLN, NE =====
3/29 Fri Ngt: DALTON WIDNER [Jurassic Attack] defeated Devin Winfield [Velociraptor]
3/30 Sat Aft: COTY SAUCIER [Grave Digger] defeated Ashley Sanford [Megalodon]
3/30 Sat Ngt: DALTON WIDNER [Jurassic Attack] defeated Coty Saucier [Grave Digger]
Dalton Widner is having himself another great season. Two years removed from his Toughest Monster Truck Tour Championship, Widner is making a bid for the Monster Jam Arena West Championship and if they only counted racing he’d be on his way. He has won 22 of the 42 bracket events on tour this year which is obviously the most since it’s over half! That’s also tied for the 2nd most of all drivers and only 1 win behind Tyler Menninga. He has a tough road to rise in the standings, however. He already has the 3rd most points so to make up ground he needs to improve on his 17th place ranking in Average. It can be done, but it will take a lot of consistent final round appearances.
Coty Saucier joins the rankings in 15th with 8 wins in 16 events. He drove Grave Digger for the first time this weekend and picked up 1 win in 2 final round appearances. Saucier will soon be making the move to drive Max-D in place of the injured Tom Meents. That will bring tougher competition on the Stadium Series but also the possibility for bigger point wins. Saucier has been a consistent winner on the Stadium Tour in the past and might be able to make some big moves if he can regain his stride quickly.
===== LOUISVILLE, KY =====
3/30 Sat Aft: BRANDAN TULACHKA [Just Get-Er-Done] defeated Jamie Sullivan [Monster Mutt Dalmation]
3/30 Sat Ngt: BRANDAN TULACHKA [Just Get-Er-Done] defeated Matt Cody [Grave Digger]
Both nights in the finals Brandan Tulachka was looking fast and pushed his opponents to make mistakes as Jamie Sullivan and Matt Cody each bicycled in the final turns. Tulachka gains 4 spots to join the Top 25. Through the 31 races on the Monster Jam Arena Central tour this year, only Weston Anderson (once) has managed to win 3 races in a row. Tulachka will attempt to duplicate that feat next weekend in Columbia, South Carolina.
===== MACON, GA =====
3/29 Fri Ngt: ZACK GARNER [Wild Side] defeated Kurt Kraehmer [Hotsy]
3/30 Sat Aft: ARMANDO CASTRO [El Toro Loco] defeated Kurt Kraehmer [Hotsy]
3/30 Sat Ngt: ARMANDO CASTRO [El Toro Loco] defeated Zack Garner [Wild Side]
3/31 Sun Aft: ZACK GARNER [Wild Side] defeated Kurt Kraehmer [Hotsy]
Tourmates Zack Garner and Kurt Kraehmer were both the biggest movers this weekend with each driver gaining 10 spots in the standings. Garner moves up to 13th with 2 wins and 3 finals. He’s won 4 of his past 7 events and is trying to make up ground following 2 weeks of non-points scoring timed racing. Kurt Kraehmer picked up his first Arena series racing win last weekend and added three final round appearances this year. Over the past month Kraehmer has made up 38 positions in the standings to tie his best rank of the calendar year in 52nd.
===== ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS =====
This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded.
===== SEATTLE, WA =====
3/30 Sat Ngt: CAMDEN MURPHY [Bakugan Dragonoid] defeated Cory Rummell [Megalodon]
Last but not least we saw some incredible racing live on YouTube as the Monster Jam Stadium Series raced in Seattle. Camden Murphy won his 4th event of the season after cleanly eliminating both Tyler Menninga and Ryan Anderson on the crazy-8 course. Murphy is now only 132 points away from Adam Anderson’s 3rd place spot. The event saw a number of drivers cheat too early into the turns and roll their trucks, and sadly that’s what happened to Cory Rummell in the final round against Murphy. But overall it was still a good showing for Rummell who ended a 5-race drought without a heat win.
===== EVENTS THIS WEEKEND =====
Abilene, TX (Monster Truck Nitro Tour)
Arcadia, FL (2X Monster Trucks Tour)
Casper, WY (Toughest Monster Truck Tour)
City of Industry, CA (Monster Truck Wars)
Clear Brook, VA (Renegade Monster Truck Tour)
Columbia, SC (Monster Jam Arena Championship Central)
Corinth, MS (Monster Trucks Unleashed)
Farmington, NM (Monster Truck Nitro Tour)
Green Bay, WI (Monster Jam Arena Championship West)
Greenville, SC (Monster Jam Arena Championship East)
Hamburg, Germany (Monster Jam International)
Hanford, CA (Malicious Monster Truck Tour)
Kingsport, TN (Monster X Tour)
Nampa, ID (Monster Jam Stadium Championship West)
Norman Park, GA (All Star Monster Truck Tour)
State College, PA (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party Arena Event)
Syracuse, NY (Monster Jam Stadium Championship East)
Texarkana, AR (Monster Mash)