=== This Week in Monster Truck Racing ===
* Coty Saucier maintains big lead with 2 wins
** Ryan Anderson and Tyler Menninga dominate Stadium Series openers
*** Josh Baumgartner gets Bigfoot’s first win of 2025
CURRENT STANDINGS and WEEKEND RESULTS (PDF): https://tinyurl.com/ymtnkevn
===== WEEKEND RECAP FOR JANUARY 3rd – 5th, 2025 =====
#1 rank Coty Saucier added two more wins to this total and has already reach double-digits for the 2025 season. He has an approximate 1785 point lead right now and he can make that lead grow quite a bit with a 5-race weekend ahead of him in Reno, Nevada.
On the Stadium Series, Ryan Anderson and Tyler Menninga remain dominate as each swept their respective tours. Both had some very tough fights, though. Cole Venard went toe-to-toe with Anderson in the final round both nights, and Menninga escaped a semi-final round scare against Jim Koehler by a mere 0.043 seconds!
On the Arena Tours, the only thing stopping Blake Granger in Greenville was a blown engine on Sunday. He wins 2-of-3 against Hall Brothers Racing. Arena West came in with the #1 and #2 ranked racers, but it was Brianna Mahon breaking through first with a Friday night win in Scooby-Doo. The Arena Central series is looking as evenly-matched as we expected: 3 races and 3 winners with lots of fast competition on a wide but tacky Nashville track.
On the independent scene, Josh Baumgartner gets Bigfoot for their first win of 2025. Snow cancelled the night race so it’s currently their only win until next weekend. Devin Jones had similar bad luck after his win in the Monster Truck Wars opening in Dallas, as mechanical problems kept him out of the night race. And in Chandler, Arizona, Tyler Groth was a surprise driver for the Bounty Hunter team and he collected a win and runner-up on the large off-road drag course.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us with reporting events this week: Gabriel Lee, Preston Perez, Josh Baumgartner, Kelly Ashe, Michael King, 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 ) Coty Saucier - 3387/260.54 : 1+1=2 : 13/10
2 ) Tyler Menninga - 1722/215.25 : 5+2=7 : 8/5
3 ) Rob Poutre - 1602/145.64 : 6+6=12 : 11/8
4 ) Jon Zimmer Jr - 1370/171.25 : 9+4=13 : 8/3
5 ) Ryan Anderson - 1540/140.00 : 7+7=14 : 11/2
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6 ) Armando Castro - 1752/134.77 : 4+11=15 : 13/1
7 ) Jimmy Creten - 1537/139.73 : 8+8=16 : 11/7
8 ) Colt Stephens - 1896/126.4 : 3+14=17 : 15/2
9 ) Matt Cody - 1982/123.88 : 2+16=18 : 16/4
10) Blake Granger - 1369/136.9 : 10+9=19 : 10/5
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11) Adam Anderson - 1015/203.00 : 17+3=20 : 5/1
12) Dalton Widner - 1197/133.00 : 11+12=23 : 9/2
13) Triton Robbins - 916/152.67 : 24+5=29 : 6/2
14) Preston Pérez - 952/136.00 : 22+10=32 : 7/4
15) Tim Hall Jr - 1120/112.00 : 13+20=33 : 10/4
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16) Bill Payne - 1003/125.38 : 19+15=34 : 8/2
17) Mikeal Christensen - 1013/112.56 : 18+19=37 : 9/0
18) Bari Musawwir - 1083/108.3 : 16+22=38 : 10/0
19) Jon Zimmer Sr - 1110/100.91 : 14+24=38 : 11/3
20) Brianna Mahon - 921/115.13 : 23+18=41 : 8/1
===== ANAHEIM, CA =====
1/4 Sat Aft: RYAN ANDERSON [Son-Uva Digger] defeated Cole Venard [Black Pearl]
1/5 Sun Aft: RYAN ANDERSON [Son-Uva Digger] defeated Cole Venard [Black Pearl]
Open Champion Ryan Anderson starts his quest for another back-to-back championship with a sweep of the twin bill in Anaheim. He battle through tough rounds with close wins, including his closest against Bryce Kenny in Monster Mutt (0.195-seconds). He posted the fastest time of the weekend on Sunday with an 18.881 in his quarter-final win over Kayla Blood.
Cole Venard was right behind Anderson both nights with runner-up finishes each time. He narrowly defeated Mike Pagliarulo in Excaliber on Saturday after Pagliarulo laid down the fastest run of the night (19.340) the round before. The only harder battle was a narrow win over Todd LeDuc in Megalodon on Sunday: 19.375 to 19.397! Leduc finished in the semi-finals both days and collected the 3rd most points on the weekend.
Venard has not yet reached the minimum number of races to be ranked, but Anderson moves up into the Top 5 with his pair of wins. The Stadium Series moves to the arena floor next weekend in Kansas City, Missouri, but neither Anderson nor Venard will be in attendance.
===== CHANDLER, AZ =====
1/4 Sat Aft: TYLER GROTH [Bounty Hunter] defeated Dan Dahlgren [Shark Bite]
1/5 Sun Aft: KORY KINAL [Jekyll & Hyde] defeated Tyler Groth [Bounty Hunter]
Tyler Groth got called upon to drive the legendary Bounty Hunter at the 2Xtreme Tour’s kick off in Chandler, Arizona. He did well, posting a win and runner-up finish on the long drag racing track built atop the large offroad racing course. Kory Kinal beat out Groth on Sunday for his 4th win of the season. The Creten tour moves to Tucson, Arizona this weekend.
===== DALLAS, TX =====
1/4 Sat Aft: DEVIN JONES [T-Rex] defeated Preston Collins [Shark Attack]
1/4 Sat Ngt: PRESTON COLLINS [Shark Attack] defeated Jerry Furajter [Outlaw]
Devin Jones’ bid for a weekend sweep in Dallas with the Monster Truck Wars tour was ended early as mechanical problems kept T-Rex out of competition on Saturday night. Jones did win in the afternoon with an undefeated recorded. In the evening, Preston Collins overcame a first round spin-out and loss to return and beat out Jerry Furajter for his 4th win of the season.
Monster Truck Wars will be in Pensacola, Florida and Mercedes, Texas this weekend.
===== GREENVILLE, SC =====
1/4 Sat Aft: BLAKE GRANGER [Monster Mutt Dalmatian] defeated Mark Hall [Raminator]
1/4 Sat Ngt: BLAKE GRANGER [Monster Mutt Dalmatian] defeated Kurt Kraehmer [Rammunition]
1/5 Sun Aft: MARK HALL [Raminator] defeated Blake Granger [Monster Mutt Dalmatian]
Blake Granger appeared to blown an engine in his final round race against Mark Hall on Sunday which let the 2-time Open Champion Hall pick up his first win of the season. Prior to that, Granger was smokin’ in other ways as he easily bested the Arena East competition with 2 wins on Saturday. Hall Brothers Racing had a great weekend, too, as their team trucks qualified for the finals each event. Tony Ochs also had a pair of semi-final finishes but was forced to sit out Sunday with breakage. The Arena East tour will be in Greensboro, North Carolina this weekend (which is usually a timed event).
===== NASHVILLE, TN =====
1/4 Sat Aft: TRITON ROBBINS [Krazy Train] defeated Jon Zimmer Sr [Zombie]
1/4 Sat Ngt: JAMIE SULLIVAN [Sparkle Smash] defeated Triton Robbins [Krazy Train]
1/5 Sun Aft: JON ZIMMER JR [Terminal Velocity] defeated Jon Zimmer Sr [Zombie]
It has been said many times already but the Arena Central tour is the most-balanced and highest-ranked Arena series this first quarter. The opening weekend in Nashville did not disappoint as we had 3 different winners over the 3 races. Triton Robbins was the man to beat early on with the opening win on Saturday afternoon and a narrow loss to Jamie Sullivan later that night. Robbins rolled the Krazy Train in the first turn of the first round on Sunday in the tacky Tennessee clay.
His brother Montana Robbins was able to take out Jon Zimmer Sr, who advanced after Triton had rolled, but mechanical problems while staging for the finals knocked Montana out. That put Zimmer Sr into his 2nd final of the weekend, but there he faced his son Jon Jr who was on a tear after having to miss the Saturday night races with breakage.
Jon Jr didn’t have the best weekend with 1 first round loss and 1 did-not-compete prior to his win, but the mega amount of points available on this tour lets him gain 2 spots in the standings nonetheless. The Arena Central tour will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this weekend.
===== SALINA, KS =====
1/4 Sat Aft: JOSH BAUMGARTNER [Bigfoot] defeated Colton Kiser [American Scout]
Josh Baumgartner gets Team Bigfoot their first win of 2025 as he defeats each of the other 3 trucks in the bracket on the holeshot course. The Kicker Nationals had two events scheduled for Salina but had to cancel the evening race due to the incoming snow storm.
===== SALT LAKE CITY, UT =====
1/3 Fri Ngt: BRIANNA MAHON [Scooby Doo] defeated Weston Anderson [Grave Digger]
1/4 Sat Aft: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Alex Bardin [Earth Shaker]
1/4 Sat Ngt: COTY SAUCIER [Dragon] defeated Weston Anderson [Grave Digger]
1/5 Sun Aft: WESTON ANDERSON [Grave Digger] defeated Berto Trevino [Monster Mutt Rottweiler]
The Arena West tour entered 2025 with the two top-ranked racers in the sport: Coty Saucier and Tim Hall Jr. But it was Brianna Mahon in Scooby Doo who came out of the gates the fastest as she picks up the opening night win. That’s a great outcome after having not raced since May of last year.
Saturday was the day of the Dragon, though, as Coty Saucier burned his way through the field both events. He eliminated Mahon twice, and defeated rival Weston Anderson on Saturday night. It was Anderson who gave Saucier his first round loss on Friday.
Alex Bardin posted a runner-up finish on Saturday afternoon, which was his 4th Arena Series final round since joining the tour last year. An injury kept him on the sidelines after that event, however, so Carson Williams filled in for the final two races.
Weston Anderson came close to winning twice in Salt Lake City but it took until Sunday afternoon for him to finally break through. Berto Trevino beat out #1 Coty Saucier in the first round when Saucier got squirrely after the first turn. Trevino then beat Williams in Earth Shaker and put up a strong fight against Anderson.
Most of the drivers on this tour are still below the 5-race minimum to make the rankings, but we should see them join after next weekends’ 5-race extravaganza in Reno. Coty Saucier continues to hold the #1 ranking and with more than 1300 points available next weekend he’s got a great chance to continue building his lead.
===== SAN DIEGO, CA =====
1/4 Sat Aft: TYLER MENNINGA [Grave Digger] defeated Bari Musawwir [Zombie]
1/5 Sun Aft: TYLER MENNINGA [Grave Digger] defeated Colt Stephens [ThunderROARus]
Last but not least we have three-time Open Champion Tyler Menninga sweeping in San Diego and he did in the hard way with wins out of the slower gray lane. The blue lane seemed to be the place to be this weekend, as drivers were having a hard time maintaining leads through the final turn on the gray side. Menninga nearly lost out to Jim Koehler in the semi-finals on Sunday (20.857 vs 20.900) which was a combination of Koehler having a great race and also the gray lane eating away at the lead Menninga had built. For Grave Digger fans, it all worked out in the end as Tyler picked up his 4th and 5th wins of the season and moves into 2nd place in the Open Championship.
Both Mayhem (Chris Koehler) and Classroom Crusher (Camden Murphy) debuted at this event, but sadly only managed 1 heat win amongst the two of them, that being Koehler’s win over Lucas Stabilizer on Sunday.
Veteran Bari Musawwir had the 3rd and 4th fastest times of the night on Saturday on way to his 3rd final of the year. On Sunday, Tony Ochs in ThunderROARus squeeked by a hard-charging Armando Castro in the quarter-finals, winning 21.313 to 21.417! Ochs made the finals for the 2nd time this season and moved up 2 spots.
San Diego also saw a strong showing from Mike Christensen in Vendetta who finished in the semi-finals both brackets. Christensen is looking competitive this year and moves up 3 spots into 17th. The Stadium East tour stays put (and surprisingly west) next weekend as they continue with 2 more races in San Diego.
====== EVENTS THIS WEEKEND =====
Greensboro, NC (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series East)
Kansas City, MO (Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series West)
Knoxville, TN (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party Arena Event)
Lebanon, MO (Monster Truck Insanity Next Level Tour)
Lexington, KY (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow Party Arena Event)
London, England (Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live International Tour: Glow Party Arena Event)
Mercedes, TX (Monster Truck Wars)
Milwaukee, WI (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series Central)
Montgomery, AL (Monster Truck Nitro Tour)
Naples, FL (All Star Monster Truck Tour)
Penrith, Australia (Monster Trucks Tour of Destruction)
Pensacola, FL (Monster Truck Wars)
Reno, NV (Monster Jam Arena Championship Series West)
Rio Rancho, NM (Toughest Monster Truck Tour)
San Diego, CA (Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series East)
Tucson, AZ (Monster Truck Chaos)
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