Paducah, KY - Paducah International Raceway

Trucks: Grave Digger, War Wizard, Stone Crusher, Mopar Magic

Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam Paducah
By: Joe Lowe

Friday Night

When it was announced earlier this spring that the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam was going to make a summertime swing thru Western Kentucky at Paducah International Raceway fans began calling and emailing for information.

The flurry of activity gave officials reason to be happy. There was a ton of interest in Monster Jam and perhaps this dirt track in Kentucky would one day become one of the summer powerhouse stops like Hagerstown, Lebanon Valley N.Y.or Stafford Springs Ct.

If the crowd Friday Night was any indication, it may well be one of the top 5 stops on the tour immediately.

The temperature was in the 90’s and the humidity was close to 80% as the gates opened at 6pm. Many in the crowd arrived before 5pm and patiently waited for opening time. When they arrived it was time to party Monster Style.

The night was full of drama. Scott Hartsock drove Mopar Magic and Carl Van Horn drove Stone Crusher. It seems that Steve Sims and Ricky Ownley both as previous commitments preventing them from driving their regular rides.

Other trucks included The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with Aaron Basil aboard, Randy Moore and his War Wizard truck and veteran driver Pablo Huffaker rounded out the lineup with Grave Digger.

The event featured the Advance Auto Parts Monster Trucks in three events with two  winners. Grave Digger won in the wheelie contest, and in racing, after a controversial call at the end of the UTI race final. Carl Van Horn took the Freestyle win aboard Stone Crusher.

Grave Digger had problems with the truck after winning the Built Ford Tough racing portion of the event and was a doubtful for freestyle. Pablo and his dedicated crew worked hard to get the truck ready for freestyle but the judges ruled Stone Crushers performance was the best with a perfect score of 30 compared to Grave Diggers 28.

Other events featured Quad Wars with Team Kentucky defeating Team Missouri in the main. The night got really crazy with the Democross. Democross is racing hybrid that combines the best of racing with the excitement of demolition derby. Fans loved it and the drivers all said they would be back with another show on Saturday.

Results:
   Wheelie   Freestyle
Mopar Magic  15    14
War Wizard  15    22
Stone Crusher  24    30
Teenage Turtle  17    24
Grave Digger  27    28

Race Results:
Round One Stone Crusher with a bye run
  Mopar Magic beat the Turtle
  Grave Digger over War Wizard
Semi-Finals: Turtle beat Stone Crusher
  Grave Digger beat Mopar Magic
UTI Race Championship Grave Digger over Turtle when turtle did not hit the ramp
with both front tires.

The night ended with the near sellout crowd being treated to an autograph session featuring all drivers. The only question now is,” Who is going to win tomorrow night for the second and final nigh of Monster Jam in Paducah Kentucky.

Saturday Night

The second night of action at Paducah International Raceway began in the afternoon as hundreds of fans came out for the Built Ford Tough Party in the Pits. Most had gone to their local McDonalds to get their pit pass and they came to see the trucks up close and meet the drivers.

With the temps around 95 degrees and humidity just as high it was hot and sticky but that didn’t stop Monster Jam fans from enjoying the party. As one fan noted, “It doesn’t seem so hot and humid on TV”.

A monkey wrench was thrown into Grave Diggers plans to double down Saturday. Pablo said in a pre-race interview that he wanted to win both racing and freestyle after losing freestyle to Carl Van Horn and Stone Crusher Friday night. During his introduction Grave Digger roared over the back stretch wall leaping high in the air. That was his last time on the track. “I felt a vibration when the truck started, I didn’t feel too good about it but there was nothing I could do. When I mashed on the throttle we lost a rod right threw the oil pan. I am afraid Grave Digger is done for the night”.

Pablo did spend most of the night in the flagman’s stand providing color commentary and giving fans a unique insight into what goes on during the event from a drivers point of view.

The night went on with Carl Van Horn dominating with Stone Crusher. Carl won the Wheelie Competition and the Advance Auto Parts Freestyle with perfect 30 scores. Randy Moore came in second driving his War Wizard truck to a score of 25 from the judges. Racing however was another thing as teammate Scott Hartsock beat Stone Crusher to take the win and prevent Van Horn for earning the double down.

Only one point separated the trucks in freestyle. Aaron Basl’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle earned a 29 from the judges but Van Horn’s non-stop run featuring high jumps and track long wheelies was too much to overcome.

Democross, a combination of Autocross and Demolition Derby brought the dirt track fans to their feet several times during the main. The event saw a ton of contact and a rollover in the 10 lap feature.

Quad Wars was controversial with Team Kentucky getting the win and the weekend bragging rights over Team Missouri.

Results:
    Wheelie  Freestyle
Mopar Magic   17   21
War Wizard   25   24
Stone Crusher   30   30
Teenage Turtle   21   29
Grave Digger    out   out

Racing
Round One:
War Wizard beat Teenage Turtle
Stone Crusher over Mopar Magic

Semi-Finals:
Mopar Magic (fast loser) downed War Wizard
Stone Crusher beat Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

UTI Race Final:
Mopar Magic (Scott Hartsock) downed Stone Crusher (Carl Van Horn)

It was a great Father’s Day weekend at PIR with fans staying late to get autographs with many requesting a return of Monster Jam to Paducah in 2011.