This Week in Monster Truck Racing - September 24-27, 2026
=== This Week in Monster Truck Racing ===
* Jon Zimmer Jr wins the 2026 Open Championship!
** Tripp Jones figures out Figure-8 track in Wisconsin
*** David Olfert zooms to Z-Course win in Oregon
CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://tinyurl.com/mtroc260930
BLOG POST RECAP: https://www.mtroc.com/blog
===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR SEPTEMBER 24th – 27th, 2026 =====
The end of September brings about the end of the 2026 Open Championship season and independent driver Jon Zimmer Jr is the champion for the first time! He finishes the year with the most Total Points (14774) out of the 253 active drivers in the sport. He also had the 6th highest Average (194.39), the 4th most Races (76), the 3rd-most wins (30), and tied for the most heat wins (129).
This weekend saw a few drivers make big gains at the last second, with Tripp Jones and David Tucker each gaining 11 spots thanks to wins on Saturday. Donald Epidendio jumped ahead of Bill Payne by sweeping the races in Placerville. David Olfert secured his second consecutive Top Ten finish with a win on the Z-course in Oregon. And Kaley Engstrom won her 26th race of the year and finishes as the top-ranked woman driver in the sport.
We will have more stats and recap from the 2026 season of the next week. We are still accepting late results from events and will finalize the 2026 standings sometime next week.
Remember, we have no off-season in the MTROC (as exhausting as that is) so this weekend is both the first races in October and the first races in the 2027 Open Championship, which will be out 9th season!
We had a great year with 94% of events being reported! We received 1807 reports from the 1917 total events, of which 1152 were scored for points. There were 253 drivers who competed in at least 1 racing event and 127 drivers who finished within the rankings with the minimum 20 reported events.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us with reporting events this week: Nick Jones, Bryan Wagner, Nate Bay, J.r. Rouse, Rob Poutre, Pat Paquet, John Brown, Phil Vicinanza, Paul Craighead, Brett Mason, Kory Kinal, Nick Jones, Kaley Engstrom, Nick Kraemer, Dillon Fenley, David Rife, Preston Perez, Shane Grunseth, and everyone who posted videos and photos online!
===== UNOFFICIAL FINAL STANDINGS =====
RANK : DRIVER : PTS/AVG : SCORE : RACES/WINS
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1 ) Jon Zimmer Jr - 14774/194.39 : 1+6=7 : 76/30
2 ) Tyler Menninga - 9007/290.55 : 10+1=11 : 31/14
3 ) Coty Saucier - 9654/205.4 : 6+5=11 : 47/18
4 ) Donald Epidendio - 7712/233.7 : 12+2=14 : 33/22
5 ) Bill Payne - 10973/171.45 : 4+11=15 : 64/31
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6 ) Blake Granger - 11411/158.49 : 3+15=18 : 72/23
7 ) Camden Murphy - 6312/225.43 : 18+3=21 : 28/11
8 ) Alex Bardin - 12951/139.26 : 2+20=22 : 93/22
9 ) David Olfert - 7696/174.91 : 13+10=23 : 44/22
10) Armando Castro - 10095/140.21 : 5+19=24 : 72/20
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11) Weston Anderson - 7673/170.51 : 14+12=26 : 45/17
12) Ryan Anderson - 5841/224.65 : 24+4=28 : 26/5
13) Tristan England - 6096/179.29 : 20+8=28 : 34/5
14) Adam Anderson - 5969/186.53 : 22+7=29 : 32/7
15) Jimmy Creten - 6347/167.03 : 16+14=30 : 38/23
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16) Montana Robbins - 9542/128.95 : 7+23=30 : 74/17
17) Triton Robbins - 9116/132.12 : 9+22=31 : 69/9
18) Zack Garner - 5811/176.09 : 25+9=34 : 33/4
19) Dalton Widner - 6289/157.23 : 19+16=35 : 40/5
20) Colt Stephens - 5283/170.42 : 27+13=40 : 31/7
===== BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS =====
+11 - Tripp Jones (Twisted Addiction) – 73rd
+11 - David Tucker (T-Maxx) – 105th
+5 - Rob Poutre (Dragon Slayer) – 46th
+5 - Jeremiah Paras (King Sling) – 65th
+4 - Dalton VanSkyock (Stomper) – 106th
===== BOLTON, ON =====
9/25 Fri Ngt: RYAN COMO [Rat Nasty] defeated Pat Paquet [Psycho Pat]
9/26 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this event
The Monster Madness drivers were full-throttle on the short holeshot track at the Bolton Fair in Ontario. Ryan Como in Rat Nasty won the Friday night race over Pat Paquet. We do not have results for the afternoon race.
===== BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA =====
This Australian event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== CULLMAN, AL =====
9/26 Sat Mrn: GABE MONTOYA [T-Rex] defeated Jeff Murphy [Shark Attack]
9/26 Sat Aft: We do not have results from this event
9/26 Sat Eve: JUSTIN MURPHY [Loco Motive] defeated Gabe Montoya [T-Rex]
A long day of three events for the Monster Truck Wars tour in Alabama. Roger Gauger joined the tour for the first time with County Mounty, but regulars Jeff Murphy, Justin Murphy, and new arrival Gabe Montoya took the wins for the events we have reports from.
===== DENTON, TX =====
9/26 Sat Aft: DEVIN JONES [T-Rex] defeated Kaley Engstrom [Shark Attack]
9/26 Sat Ngt: DEVIN JONES [T-Rex] defeated Kaley Engstrom [Shark Attack]
9/27 Sun Aft: KALEY ENGSTROM [Shark Attack] defeated John Sweeney [Outlaw]
Kaley Engstrom ends the 2026 Open season as the top-ranked woman driver in 31st place with 26 wins to her name. Devin Jones finished with 25 wins, but 50 final rounds in his 61 races and ends the year ranked 27th. The two split wins this weekend. Jones missed out on the Sunday final when steering issues knocked him out in the semi-finals.
===== ELKO, NV =====
9/25 Fri Ngt: ROB POUTRE [Farmageddon] defeated David Tucker [T-Maxx]
9/26 Sat Ngt: DAVID TUCKER [T-Maxx] defeated Rob Poutre [Farmageddon]
Rob Poutre took Farmageddon to the winner’s circle for the first time as he and David Tucker split the weekend with the Insanity Tour in Elko. Farmageddon is the fourth different truck that Poutre has won in this season.
===== FARMINGTON, ME =====
This Farmington Fair event did not meet the minimum of 4 trucks scheduled to compete
===== GREENSBORO, NC =====
This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== LAWRENCEBURG, TN =====
9/26 Sat Ngt: DALE WALDRON [Sykotic] defeated Josh Holman [Rescue Racer]
Dale Waldron won his first and only event of the season in Lawrenceburg. He replaced Godzilla in the finals and was scored the winner against Rescue Racer. It was only his 2nd bracket of the year, and he was runner-up in the other one.
===== LIMA, OH =====
9/25 Fri Ngt: DALTON VANSKYOCK [Stomper] defeated JR Seasock [Play'n' Hookie]
The Full Throttle Tour’s final event of the 2026 Open season was at the famous Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio on a long Chicago-style course. Dalton VanSkyock won a photo finish over JR Seasock in their first head-to-head meeting of the season. That was his 3rd win of the season and gained him 4 spots in the rankings.
===== NEW RICHMOND, WI =====
9/26 Sat Ngt: LOGAN VESSELS [Dirt Crew] defeated Jared Smith [Maximus]
Logan Vessels ends the 2026 Open season with 5 consecutive final rounds and wins in 2 of his last 3. He won the bracket with the Nitro Tour in New Richmond over Jared Smith in their 3rd head-to-head race of the season. It was his first win over Smith this year.
===== NIAGARA FALLS, ON =====
9/26 Sat Mrn: JIM KOEHLER [Avenger] defeated Jon Koehler [Roboshark]
9/26 Sat Aft: JIM KOEHLER [Avenger] defeated Jon Koehler [Roboshark]
Team Scream headlined the All Out Tour at a scenic Niagara Falls event this weekend. Jim and Jon both made the finals of holeshot racing both events, with the patriarch taking the win both times.
===== OWENSBORO, KY =====
9/25 Fri Ngt: KYLIE KENT [Frostbite] defeated Charlie Pauken III [The Haymaker]
9/26 Sat Ngt: CHARLIE PAUKEN III [The Haymaker] defeated Steven Thompson [Hurricane Force]
Kylie Kent pushed teammate Chuckie Pauken hard in the final round and took advantage of Pauken’s oversteer in the final turn of the Chicago-style final to claim her 2nd win over Pauken this year and 2nd bracket win of the season. Pauken was back in the finals the next night and picked up his 10th win to finish the year inside the Top 40.
===== PLACERVILLE, CA =====
9/25 Fri Ngt: DONALD EPIDENDIO [Titan] defeated Bill Payne [Rock Star]
9/26 Sat Ngt: DONALD EPIDENDIO [Titan] defeated Nick Jones [Spitfire]
Donald Epidendio has been dominate on the Malicious Tour this year and he concludes the 2026 Open season with 2 more wins, bringing his total to 22 wins and 32 finals in 33 races this year. The final wins gave him enough points to jump ahead of Bill Payne in the Open rankings to finish in 4th place overall, while Payne is now in 5th.
===== POPLAR BLUFF, MO =====
9/26 Sat Ngt: DILLON FENLEY [King Krunch] defeated David Smith [Crazy Heifer]
Dillon Fenley picked up another win on the roundy-round course with Monster Trucks Maniac as he took out David Smith in Crazy Heifer in Poplar Bluff.
===== RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL =====
This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== SALINAS, CA =====
This Full Contact Racing event at the California International Airshow did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== SAN DIEGO, CA =====
This Hot Wheels Live event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== SCORESBY, AUSTRALIA =====
This Australian event did not include side-by-side racing and so points were not awarded
===== SLINGER, WI =====
9/26 Sat Aft: TRIPP JONES [Smashosaurus] defeated Athena Kozel [Lil' Miss Madness]
One of the exciting courses this weekend was the annual Figure-8 racing from Throwdown at Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin. Athena Kozel had a great day with 2 wins, including an impressive upset over Chris Koehler in the first round that saw Kozel bicycle her truck as she entered the final turn, but stayed in the throttle and in control to build a lead and advance to the next round. In the finals, however, it was Tripp Jones staying fast and aggressive on the high banks to beat Kozel for the 2nd time this season. He was one of our biggest improvers of the week, gaining 11 spots with his 5th win of the season.
===== SWEETWATER, TN =====
9/26 Sat Aft: JEREMIAH PARAS [King Sling] defeated Kory Kinal [Jekyll & Hyde]
9/26 Sat Ngt: JEREMIAH PARAS [King Sling] defeated Kory Kinal [Jekyll & Hyde]
Jeremiah Paras finished the 2026 Open season with 3 consecutive wins on the 2X Live tour. Kory Kinal actually beat Paras in the opening round on Saturday afternoon, but Paras was able to return with King Sling due to breakage on the other trucks. He used the 2nd chance to beat Kinal for the win.
===== TRINIDAD, CO =====
This Monster Trucks Maniac event did not meet the minimum of 4 trucks scheduled to compete.
===== WHITE CITY, OR =====
9/26 Sat Ngt: DAVID OLFERT [Velociraptor] defeated Preston Collins [Shell Shock'ed]
While a lot of attention was on Throwdown for their Figure-8 course in Slinger, not many folks noticed the fantastic Z-course at Southern Oregon Speedway. Six trucks took to the track with exciting heats, but it was David Olfert coming out on top, winning out of both lanes, and claiming his 22nd win of the season. For Preston Collins, his runner-up finish was his 20th trip to the finals this year.
===== YUMA, AZ =====
9/26 Sat Ngt: PAUL CRAIGHEAD [Hammer Down] defeated James Owens [Werewolf]
Paul Craighead finishes the 2026 Open season with his 24th win of the season and his 4th in a row. James Owens took Werewolf to the finals as Stanley Hernandez was off this weekend. The afternoon event in Yuma was cancelled due to extreme heat.
===== EVENTS THIS WEEKEND =====
This upcoming weekend will begin the 2027 Open Championship season.
Arlington, TX (Monster Jam Stadium Series)
Austin, TX (Monster Truck Wars)
Dayton, PA (Monster Truck Invasion)
Eldon, MO (Full Throttle Monster Trucks)
Hillsdale, MI (Monster Truck Bash)
Huntington, QC (Monster Trucks All Out Tour)
Kansas City, MO (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-n-Fire Event)
Lancaster, CA (Monster X Tour)
Lancaster, CA (Monster X Tour)
Long Beach, CA (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-n-Fire Event)
Melbourne, Australia (Monster Jam International)
Mexico City, Mexico (Monster Jam International)
Milton, FL (2X Monster Trucks Live)
North Haven, CT (Monster Truck Wars)
Quarryville, PA (Monster Truck Fall Bash)
Scoresby, Australia (South Coast Monster Trucks)
Sophia, NC (All Star Monster Truck Tour)
Stockton, CA (Malicious Monster Truck Tour)
Troy, AL (Mayhem Monster Trucks)
Tyler, TX (Monster X Tour)
Winston-Salem, NC (All Star Monster Truck Tour)
Yakima, WA (Monster X Tour)
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