Grave Digger® Tops Maximum Destruction® in Racing World Championship as Monster Mutt Fetches First-Ever Freestyle World Championship at Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam® NGK Spark Plugs World Finals
LAS VEGAS (March 27, 2010) – Before a sold out crowd at the 11th Annual Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam® NGK Spark Plugs World Finals, icon Dennis Anderson, driving Grave Digger®, claimed his third Monster Jam World Finals Racing Championship and Charlie Pauken, driving Monster Mutt®, captured the first Freestyle Championship of his career at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium.
Anderson earned a first-round bye in tonight’s racing championship before he knocked off Jim Koehler, driving Avenger, and Jon Zimmer, driving Shock Therapy. Anderson then rocketed his way to the finals after launching Grave Digger past Marc McDonald, driving El Toro Loco®, setting the stage for an epic main event against arch nemesis Maximum Destruction®.
Like Anderson, Tom Meents, driving Max-D, earned a first round bye. Meents made quick work of Jim Creten, driving Bounty Hunter, and used an epic come-from-behind win over Damon Bradshaw, driving the U.S. Air Force Afterburner®. In the semi-finals, Meents carried the momentum past Linsey Weenk, driving Blue Thunder®.
A better script could not have been written for the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam® NGK Spark Plugs World Finals Racing main event. For the first time in history, Grave Digger and Maximum Destruction squared off in the racing finals. As Anderson blazed down Thunder Alley℠, he hugged the inside and rode to the fourth Monster Jam World Finals title of his career, besting Meents, who is the all-time winningest Monster Jam World Finals Champion.
“I was sitting here tonight thinking about all of the old times I have had here,” said Anderson. “Tom (Meents) is one tough guy to beat. He and I have battled for a long time, and if there is one guy that I like to beat, it is Tom. I love you fans for supporting me through thick and thin.”
Adam Anderson, driving the Taz monster truck, flipped his way to victory in the second round but was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a mechanical failure.
In the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam® NGK Spark Plugs World Finals Freestyle Chad Fortune, driving the Superman™ monster truck, held off the first five competitors before George Balhan, driving an Escalade, removed Fortune from the Advance Auto Parts Hot Seat with an impressive, well-rounded run. Balhan manned the Advance Auto Parts Hot Seat through the next nine rounds of competition with a 31.
Pauken bounced Balhan from the Advance Auto Parts Hot Seat with a commanding 39-point run. Pauken’s performance held off the runs of former freestyle world champions Taz, Grave Digger and Maximum Destruction as he claimed the victory.
“It feels great to pull this off,” said Pauken. “After all of the years of trying to do this, I finally accomplished it, and I am so happy to do it here with my family and kids in the stands. This is the highlight of my life.”
Defending Monster Jam World Finals Freestyle Champion Damon Bradshaw, driving the U.S. Air Force Afterburner, finished third overall.
Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam® NGK Spark Plugs World Finals Freestyle Scores
MONSTER TRUCKS DRIVERS Score
1. Monster Mutt® Charlie Pauken 39
2. An Escalade George Balhan 31
3. U.S. Air Force Afterburner® Damon Bradshaw 31
4. Stone Crusher Steve Sims 28
5. AAP Grinder™ Lupe Soza 28
6. Maximum Destruction® Tom Meents 28
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle™ Pablo Huffaker 26
8. Bounty Hunter Jim Creten 26
9. Iron Man™ Lee O’Donnell 25
10. Avenger Jim Koehler 25
11. Blue Thunder® Linsey Weenk 25
12. Superman™ monster truck Chad Fortune 15
13. Madusa® Madusa 12
14. Spider-Man™ Chad Tingler 12
15. Grave Digger® Dennis Anderson 11
16. Nitro Circus Cam McQueen 10
17. Captain’s Curse® Alex Blackwell 9
18. Gunslinger Scott Hartsock 8
19. Monster Mutt® dalmatian Candice Jolly 8
20. Shock Therapy Jon Zimmer 4
21. Batman™ monster truck John Seasock 4
22. Taz monster truck Adam Anderson 4
23. El Toro Loco® Marc McDonald DNS
24. King Krunch David Smith DNS
Visit the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals XI Lounge at www.MonsterJam.com<http://www.MonsterJam.com> for event news updates, driver interviews, photos and more information on the 2011 event.
The 2011 Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam World Finals will be March 25-26 at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium. On-sale information and Double Down renewal information can be found at www.MonsterJam.com.
About Feld Motor Sports℠
Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam®, Monster Energy® Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Freestyle Motocross, Nuclear Cowboyz℠ and IHRA® Nitro Jam®. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.
Media Contact: Denny Hartwig
dhartwig@feldinc.com