This Week in Monster Truck Racing - May 21-25, 2026

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

* Bill Payne sweeps Bremerton and causes a stir in the standings

** Perry Como wins 2 of 4 in Kamloops

*** Chris Koehler sails to victory in Ottawa

CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://13d5c1f7-9517-4b3e-abd5-476451221c21.usrfiles.com/ugd/13d5c1_40e17b4fe1c148c5959c6d1d8cb9627f.pdf

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

===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR MAY 21^st – 25^th, 2026 =====

The Memorial Day weekend is a time for rest and reflection for Americans who remember their fallen heroes and so this is one of the few times where we saw more monster truck racing outside of the United States than within it! The All Out Tour, Edge Monster Madness, Monster Spectacular, and Monster Truck Mania combined for 11 racing events in Canada and Australia this weekend.

While there was great racing outside of the USA this weekend, two of the events held within United States had the biggest impacts on the standings. Kory Kinal won in Park City and gained 7 spots, which was the biggest improvement of the weekend. And Bill Payne’s two-race sweep in Bremerton gave him enough points to pass Tyler Menninga in Total Points, which had the effect of breaking the first place tie and giving the #1 rank to reigning Open Champion Coty Saucier!

In Kamloops, Perry Como won two of four events in the shadow of Mount Paul. The event also saw the most spectacular crash of the weekend as Jared Vogel wiped out the entire rear assembly racing against eventual-winner Jesse Como. Vogel and team got the truck rebuilt overnight and came back to win racing the following afternoon.

In Ottawa, the Monster Spectacular crew hosted thrilling holeshot racing with 7 of the best taking to the air. Chris and Jim Koehler met for the high-flying final round with Chris in Mayhem taking the win in the Canadian national capital.

In Woodstock, Ontario, the other half of Team Scream was running with the All Out tour and Joe Foley picked up another win in Axe. Breakage at race two left Axe dead at the starting line, giving Jimmy Pigeon the win.

Downunder in Australia, Jack Monkhouse won the opening day of racing in Brisbane for the fourth consecutive year when his opponent MisMayhem died after the first turn. In day two with all the trucks running in top form, Brock Thomas took the fan-favorite Buddy into the winner’s circle over Hayden McLeary in Wicked.

This weekend also saw Michael Vaters Sr clear the stack for the concrete holeshot win in Kingston; Andy Sevier and Stanley Hernandez upset Paul Craighead on the X-Tour; Mat Briand and Brandon Pezo win non-points races; and Rob Poutre sweep the debut weekend for the Epic Monster Truck Tour.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us with reporting events this week: Rob Poutre, Jason Court, Jesse Como, Phil Vicinanza, Brett Mason, Austin Dahlgren, Matthew Arel, Pat Paquet, John Brown, Brock Thomas, Preston Perez, Jack Meredith, and everyone who posted videos and photos online!

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

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

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1 ) Coty Saucier - 9534/207.26 : 3+5=8 : 46/18

2 ) Tyler Menninga - 7229/289.16 : 8+1=9 : 25/11

3 ) Jon Zimmer Jr - 11161/186.02 : 2+8=10 : 60/22

4 ) Ryan Anderson - 5492/228.83 : 13+2=15 : 24/5

5 ) Bill Payne - 7305/182.63 : 6+9=15 : 40/19

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6 ) Blake Granger - 11411/158.49 : 1+16=17 : 72/23

7 ) Donald Epidendio - 5205/226.3 : 15+3=18 : 23/14

8 ) Weston Anderson - 5768/180.25 : 11+10=21 : 32/14

9 ) David Olfert - 4793/208.39 : 20+4=24 : 23/14

10) Camden Murphy - 4930/205.42 : 18+6=24 : 24/8

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11) Armando Castro - 8889/143.37 : 5+19=24 : 62/18

12) Adam Anderson - 5405/180.17 : 14+11=25 : 30/7

13) Alex Bardin - 9290/136.62 : 4+21=25 : 68/14

14) Zack Garner - 4910/196.4 : 19+7=26 : 25/2

15) Colt Stephens - 4953/170.79 : 17+13=30 : 29/6

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16) Triton Robbins - 6527/127.98 : 9+23=32 : 51/7

17) Tristan England - 4627/177.96 : 21+12=33 : 26/4

18) Dalton Widner - 4610/170.74 : 22+14=36 : 27/2

19) Brandon Arthur - 4997/138.81 : 16+20=36 : 36/12

20) Matt Cody - 7238/113.09 : 7+29=36 : 64/10

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

+7 - Kory Kinal - Jekyll & Hyde (39^th)

+3 - Nick Jones - Spitfire (35^th)

+2 - Bill Payne - Rock Star (5^th)

+2 - Dalton Widner - Jurassic Attack (18^th)

+2 - Joe Briggs - Elbows Up (77^th)

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

(none this week)

20 races are needed to join the rankings.

Drivers with 19 reported races: none

Drivers with 18 reported races: Caden Morris, Johnny Davenport, Myles Parker, Cole Venard

Drivers with 17 reported races: Daron Basl, Rylan Hawkins, Chris Whatley, Zach Winchenbach

===== BREMERTON, WA =====

5/23 Sat Ngt: BILL PAYNE [Rock Star] defeated Donald Epidendio [Titan]

5/24 Sun Ngt: BILL PAYNE [Rock Star] defeated Donald Epidendio [Titan]

The Malicious Tour racing in Bremerton had a big influence on the standings this week. Bill Payne was smooth and fast through all his heats on the cyclone-style Chicago racing and swept both events over Donald Epidendio in Titan. The two runner-up finishes moved Epidendio up 1 spot into 7^th place, but more importantly Bill Payne gained 2 spots to join the Top 5 and increased his Total Points to 7305, which put him ahead of Tyler Menninga’s 7229. The result is that Menninga lost one point from his rank score which broke the tie with Coty Saucier and put out reigning champion Saucier back into the #1 spot for the first time in January!

===== BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA =====

5/23 Sat Aft: JACK MONKHOUSE [Wacky-Doo] defeated Michael Stratte [MisMayhem]

5/24 Sun Aft: BROCK THOMAS [Buddy] defeated Hayden McLeary [Wicked]

Jack Monkhouse took an easy win at the Monster Truck Mania event on Saturday afternoon as MisMayhem broke down after the first turn of heat one. The Australian’s traditionally run a best-of-three series for each round, so Monkhouse is recorded as having won the second heat with a bye. Michael Stratte in MisMayhem had qualified for the finals when his semi-final round opponent—Brock Thomas in Blazed—also broke down during their second heat, which gave Stratte the direct pass into the finals. This is the fourth consecutive year that Jack Monkhouse has won the Saturday race in Brisbane.

On Sunday afternoon, all the trucks were running strong and we saw two of the Australian favorites meet up in the finals. Brock Thomas swept both heats in Buddy to pick up his 2^nd win of the year.

===== DRESSER, WI =====

The Go-4 Wheelers annual event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded.

===== GLOBE, AZ =====

The brand-new Epic Monster Truck Tour held their inaugural event in Globe, Arizona with Rob Poutre in Geronimo taking both wins. With only three trucks scheduled to compete, however, this one did not count for points. Observant fans might recall that this event was originally listed as a CFP No Limits event, but Ed Beckley and the crew transferred the event management for this one over to the Epic crew.

===== KAMLOOPS, BC =====

5/23 Sat Aft: JESSE COMO [Anger Management] defeated Perry Como [Loud & Dirty]

5/23 Sat Ngt: PERRY COMO [Loud & Dirty] defeated Jason Court [Roughneck]

5/24 Sun Aft: JARED VOGEL [Crude Behavior] defeated Perry Como [Loud & Dirty]

5/24 Sun Ngt: PERRY COMO [Loud & Dirty] defeated Kristal Carey [Sabotage]

In front of the beautiful backdrop of Mounts Paul and Peter in British Columbia, the Edge Monster Madness tour brought the locals four racing brackets over two days.

The weekend started off poorly for Jared Vogel in Crude Behavior as he fully-sent his truck over the car stack in the opening round of holeshot racing against Jesse Como in Anger Management. He landed on the rear tires and collapsed the entire rear assemble, putting him out for the day. The teams thrashed to build new shocks, new Heim joints, new link bars, new sway bar, and new brake lines overnight. Vogel was able to return for Sunday and with the newly built rear end beat out Perry Como for his 2^nd win of the season—and rip off the steering mounts in the process.

Jesse Como would go on to win the Saturday afternoon bracket, but engine problems beginning on Saturday night would prevent him from going for a second win on the weekend.

Perry Como had a nicer time in race, winning twice in four trips to the final round. He lost a close race to Jesse Como on Saturday afternoon and to Vogel on Sunday afternoon, but won against Jason Court and Kristal Carey as all 5 of the drivers got at least one shot in the finals.

===== KINGSTON, ON =====

5/24 Sun Aft: MICHAEL VATERS I [Black Stallion] defeated Chris DeHoyos [Higher Education]

The day after the big Ottawa race, Monster Spectacular moved to Kingston to close out the weekend. Mikey Vaters advanced past his father into the final round but could not return due to breakage. That let the old Thunder Nationals pro in Black Stallion come back (he raced in 4 of the 6 heats!) and beat out Chris DeHoyos with a stack-clearing leap to pick up his 2^nd win of the season.

===== MANASSAS, VA =====

This Monster Truck Bash event did not include side-by-side racing and so points could not be awarded.

===== OTTAWA, ON =====

5/23 Sat Aft: CHRIS KOEHLER [Mayhem] defeated Jim Koehler [Avenger]

Chris Arel’s Monster Spectacular is one of the longest-running monster truck tours in the world and consistently produces some of the most exciting racing in the sport. In particular, the concrete holeshot racing in Ottawa is always exciting. This year was no different with concrete experts Michael Vaters Sr and Jr both in attendance, but it was a different father-son duo taking honors this year as Chris Koehler flies past father Jim in the finals to pick up the racing win before a sold out house in the nation’s capital.

===== PARK CITY, KS =====

5/23 Sat Aft: DAN DAHLGREN [Shark Bite] defeated Kory Kinal [Jekyll & Hyde]

5/23 Sat Ngt: KORY KINAL [Jekyll & Hyde] defeated Jimmy Creten [Bounty Hunter]

Just like last week, Dan Dahlgren and Kory Kinal split the racing weekend with the 2X Live tour in Park City. Compared to last week’s big track in Kokomo, this week’s front-stretch Chicago-style track was much tighter. Jimmy Creten was out Saturday afternoon with breakage, but advanced to the finals for the 21^st time this season later that night. But it was Kory Kinal taking the win, beat Creten for only the 3^rd time in 14 tries this season. Kinal was our biggest improver this weekend as he gained 7 spots in the Open rankings.

===== PHENIX CITY, AL =====

The Monster X Tour had an eclectic group of trucks at East Alabama Motor Speedway with 2 trucks from Team Throttle Monster, the Pezos running Harper’s Outlaw body, and Sykotic and Feeling Froggy who compete in by a handful of events each year. Racing was contested in timed trials with the fastest two advancing directly to the finals, so we could not score this one, but we can report that it was Brandon Pezo in Outlaw picking up the win on the long two-jump drag track over Preston Collins in Jurassic Attack.

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

5/21 Thu Ngt: PAUL CRAIGHEAD [Bear Foot] defeated Stanley Hernandez [Werewolf]

5/22 Fri Ngt: ANDY SEIVER [Hammer Down] defeated Paul Craighead [Bear Foot]

5/25 Mon Aft: STANLEY HERNANDEZ [Werewolf] defeated Paul Craighead [Bear Foot]

Paul Craighead was once again in all the finals on the Monster X Tour but he faced tough competition this weekend in Sacramento and only grabbed 1 of the 3 wins. He beat out tour rival Stanley Hernandez on Thursday night. On Friday, Andy Seiver in Hammer Down came out of nowhere to knock off both Hernandez and Craighead to capture his first racing win of the season. After a couple days off for other fair events, Stanley Hernandez came out with a vengeance and finished off the weekend with his 5^th racing win of the season in his 20^th trip to the final round.

===== SAULT STE MARIE, ON =====

Mat Briand beat out Pat Paquet on a short concrete holeshot track in Sault Ste Marie. With only 3 trucks scheduled to compete, however, this one did not count for points. Per Open Championship rules, 4 trucks is the minimum scoreable bracket so there must be at least 4 trucks scheduled to compete in order for an event to be eligible for points.

===== WOODSTOCK, ON =====

5/23 Sat Mrn: JOE FOLEY [Axe] defeated Mike Worsley [T-Rex]

5/23 Sat Aft: JIM PIGEON [Outfoxed] defeated Joe Foley [Axe]

Joe Foley was looking for a sweep in Woodstock and 4-out-of-5 with the All Out Tour but his Axe truck died on the line in Saturday afternoon’s final, giving Jimmy Pigeon the win—his 2^nd of the year. Foley did win earlier that morning, however, and has picked up enough points to gain a spot in the rankings.

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

Baltimore, MD (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-n-Fire Event)

Berea, OH (Renegade Monster Truck Tour)

Bozeman, MT (Monsters of Destruction)

Brady, TX (Monster Trucks Maniac)

Burnside, KY (Full Throttle Monster Trucks)

C'oeur d'Alene, ID (Monster Truck Insanity Tour)

Everett, WA (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-n-Fire Event)

Harrisonburg, VA (Monster Truck Bash)

Humboldt, KS (2X Monster Trucks Live)

London, ON (Monster Madness & FMX World Tour)

Melbourne, Australia (Monster Truck Mania Live 2026)

Portage, WI (Monster X Tour)

Quebec, QC (Monster Spectacular)

Roseburg, OR (Malicious Monster Truck Tour)

Show Low, AZ (Monster X Tour)

Wilmot, WI (Monster Truck Throwdown)