Monster Jam | XORRA: Round 1

Monster Jam | XORRA: Semi-Final

Monster Jam | XORRA: Final

First, I have to confess.  The last time I went to a monster truck show was way back in the mid 1980s.  If memory serves me right, Bigfoot was the truck to beat back in those days.  Now fast forward 25 years and you will find that monster trucks take part in one of the biggest live motorsports events of all time.  Feld Entertainment’s Monster Jam is said to pull in more than 2.5 million people each year.  Vehicles like “Grave Digger” & “Monster Mutt” have literally become household names.  Come to think of it, my 4 year old son has a Monster Jam Xbox 360 game. Yes, they’re everywhere.

Now let’s jump to our end of the market.  The Weaver’s, who manage the XRRA rock racing circuit under the umbrella company XORRA, have talked about running a separate stadium type series for years now.  Nearly overnight, this concept of “arena rock racing” just got one step closer to reality. XORRA, with the help of XRRA driver Dan McDonald, struck a deal with Monster Jam to run one small arena rock racing competition during a live Monster Jam show.  The idea was to treat this first show as an exhibition or pilot in hopes the audience would like what they saw.  If they did, maybe arena rock racing had a future with Monster Jam.

With literally no prize money at stake (aside from any contingencies) and only two weeks before King of the Hammers, six XRRA drivers hauled out to Angles Stadium in Anaheim, CA to put it all on the line in front of nearly 50,000 spectators.  In the end, I think they put on one heck of a show!  Yes the courses were short and yes the XORRA portion went very fast.  However, all the XRRA drivers showed the highest level of professionalism anyone could ask for.  Just as important, the audience really seemed to enjoy the show.  Only time will tell if something comes out of all of this, but hats off to everyone involved for making it a true success.