enjoyingorc6742 Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 taken from facebook "August 31, 2018 Official Statement An incident occurred on August 30, 2018 during a performance in Paris, Ontario involving Michael Vaters II and Overkill Evolution which resulted in a near miss with a handful of spectators. The vehicle was maneuvered in the direction of these spectators while performing a high speed turn onto wet grass which allowed the vehicle to slide perilously close to the fence where the spectators stood. Regardless of circumstance the MTRA cannot stress enough the gravity of this situation and must vehemently condemn this action. This situation illustrates exactly that which the the Board of Directors has been emphasizing, that being that the implementation of all mandated safety equipment does not insure protection against bad judgement or a lack of proper safety protocol. In light of the preceding facts, the MTRA must admonish the Overkill Evolution team and without reservation suspend them from the organization. This is an unfortunate course of action but one which must be performed to uphold the standard of conduct so required of all members without exception. This action serves to illustrate the power of individuals in documenting and highlighting situations where a lack of safety is evident. In summation, as I will not allow my connection to the Overkill Evolution team to in any way reflect negatively on the MTRA, I relinquish my position on the Board of Directors effective immediately as I contemplate the ultimate fate of the team. I do this with great pain and the upmost respect for the organization and its Board members who donate their time and resources selflessly placing their feet to the fire to protect the industry which we so love. It has been an honor to serve you. Respectfully, Marty Garza" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxdman Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Interesting, not to speculate and start rumors, but this was the only video of that event that I could find. It COULD be at 11:01, but again this is all my speculation. I don't want to spread false truths or things that are incorrect so again, this is my speculation. Also having worked a few events in the past, safety can't be stressed enough at any event. I see some promoters who are either not as familiar with how these trucks handle, how bad their sight lines are or are just ignorant to the necessary safety precautions and it could be detrimental to the entire industry god forbid something happens at ANY monster truck event.. After having been around trucks moving in the pits, performing and on the floor after a run, there is no amount of safety that is too much. I used to question FELD and their decisions to be trigger happy with the RII after parts breakage or a flat tire or something else, it's never a bad idea to shut trucks off for safety reasons. These machines are designed to be as safe as possible, but things happen, parts break and can become unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swegliner849 Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Not gonna lie, this is scary to see. (taken from stimson122's instagram story) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steiale Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Can anyone provide some insightful thoughts as to how Mikey and Evo could be at fault? I'm struggling to understand the justification of the decision because of the wet grass and obvious lapse in safety knowledge of the promoter. I think I have some idea as to how, but I'd like to hear from the community on this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRetroStyle Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 My guess is that he probably went into that turn way too hard. Probably should've stepped on the brakes and backed it up but kept tapping the throttle while turning and swung it into the fence instead. But yeah, I don't see how Mikey's really at fault for this either. Honestly I'd say the event organizers are at fault for this and for obvious reason (They literally allowed people to stand behind the fence at ground level......seriously?). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagan Moskau Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 1 hour ago, steiale said: Can anyone provide some insightful thoughts as to how Mikey and Evo could be at fault? I'm struggling to understand the justification of the decision because of the wet grass and obvious lapse in safety knowledge of the promoter. I think I have some idea as to how, but I'd like to hear from the community on this one. He should not have been driving that erratically in a small venue like that. He should of known better than to be hitting the gas in tight quarters. I like Mikey, but I think he really hurt himself with this. He really needs to stop treating these small venue like its a Monster Jam stadium event. That's not being professional. A part of the blame goes to these small promoters. They really need to stop treating these incidents as something small and not a problem that can be dealt with. It's lazy and very unprofessional, and someone is going to get hurt or even killed with this behavior. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NtheDiggerfan Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 25 minutes ago, Hagan Moskau said: He should not have been driving that erratically in a small venue like that. He should of known better than to be hitting the gas in tight quarters. I like Mikey, but I think he really hurt himself with this. He really needs to stop treating these small venue like its a Monster Jam stadium event. That's not being professional. A part of the blame goes to these small promoters. They really need to stop treating these incidents as something small and not a problem that can be dealt with. It's lazy and very unprofessional, and someone is going to get hurt or even killed with this behavior. Took the words out of my mouth. Both are really at fault here a bit. Mikey has enough years under his belt to know that in those conditions there is no way to make a turn like that, ESPECIALLY that close to a crowd. I think he needs to pump the breaks a little in the indy shows. The promoter should've seen the conditions and called it, or moved the seating area there. No one should be sitting there no matter what condition. Also, never should've run on wet grass. A disaster on both sides, and unfair to the OE team anand Mikey. Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Migues Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 I’d say it’s on both like everyone else, Mikey should’ve known where he was at and taken precaution, as the from the one video I saw (haven’t watched anything here as the links don’t work on my phone) it seemed like he had plenty of other areas to take that turn rather than right there. It also seems there really shouldn’t have been people there, but the video I saw it looked like the person in front of the camera was wearing a headset so maybe that was the crew area? I could be wrong as like I said I’ve only seen one video so it’s hard to tell and it was dark so please correct me if I’m wrong there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Politeness Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Ron Bachmann, 30+ year member of Team Bigfoot, sadly passed away yesterday. Thoughts are with the Bachmann family and the Bigfoot crew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJKBarn Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 4 hours ago, NitroMenace said: I’d say it’s on both like everyone else, Mikey should’ve known where he was at and taken precaution, as the from the one video I saw (haven’t watched anything here as the links don’t work on my phone) it seemed like he had plenty of other areas to take that turn rather than right there. It also seems there really shouldn’t have been people there, but the video I saw it looked like the person in front of the camera was wearing a headset so maybe that was the crew area? I could be wrong as like I said I’ve only seen one video so it’s hard to tell and it was dark so please correct me if I’m wrong there Pretty sure that was a kid wearing a green hoodie with long hair. So I'm not too sure it was some type of crew area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enjoyingorc6742 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 again, from facebook "Let me start by expressing my heartfelt thanks for the outpouring of support I have received from my many friends and the monster truck community. I am truly blessed and your kind words are very much appreciated. Now that cooler heads have prevailed I feel that I owe everyone a less formal and frank explanation of the thought process which resulted in my official statement yesterday. Earlier in the week I was forced to confront what I contend was a completely unjustified attack on both the MTRA and I, orchestrated by someone operating under an alias with a long-standing personal agenda against the organization. Their purposely incendiary comments fueled a frenzy of far less than objective or constructive criticism which completely ignored years-worth of previous performances which in my opinion should have raised far more concern. Be that as it may I responded with my personal opinion of the stated concerns with heavy emphasis on the word “opinion”. Everyone has opinions, however not all opinions carry equal weight. Qualification, experience, expertise, and reputation should factor into the overall value of stated opinions/observations. Based on my 35 years of direct involvement in the monster truck industry, I stand by the validity of my assessment that contrary to claims made otherwise, neither Mikey or any of the other drivers present did anything wrong what so ever. Shortly after this at approximately 10 pm on Thursday I witness a 12-second video clip which appeared to show EVO narrowly missing a couple of spectators standing very near the performance area. Even though this took place nearly 2,000 miles from where I stood, at an event I wasn’t even aware took place, within minutes the personal attacks on the MTRA and I once again resumed proclaiming the unruly nature of the performance. However, this time, the video did appear to illustrate legitimate cause for concern, and I immediately stated as such. I spent the entire night contemplating the issue and came to the determination that this would incessantly be used by some to unfairly discredit MTRA. I simply would not allow that to happen. Therefore, by 3:00 am I made the unilateral decision to suspend my team and step down from the Board of Directors. I advised and discussed my decision with other board members by 4:30 am and counter to their request for time to review the available evidence, I chose to submit MY official statement at 6:00 am. So, I gave the indignant mob exactly what they wanted. Only a sacrifice at the altar of their self-righteousness was going to appease them. However, was this an objectively fair assessment and outcome? And more importantly, was the greater good served? That is for each of you to decide. But I will say this, yesterday more video surfaced which illustrates that the performance was not on the ragged edge as had been claimed by so many based on the 12-second clip. I also know that Mikey refused to run until the seating on the far end of the track was cleared of spectators. What I see from the full video is an unfortunate situation which resulted from the truck sliding on wet grass. And, it was Mikey’s incredible talent which salvaged the situation from the grip of disaster. But that is just my opinion. It is now in the hands of the Board of Directors of the MTRA to determine if there should be any official reprimand or action. I trust that they will use complete objectivity in their assessment, and I will stand by Mikey regardless of their decision. Marty Garza" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Migues Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 10 hours ago, DJKBarn said: Pretty sure that was a kid wearing a green hoodie with long hair. So I'm not too sure it was some type of crew area. Ah I see that now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJKBarn Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 In all honestly, my views on this is that poo happens, human error is bound to happen. If an NBA player can jump into the crows with little to no repercussions, then why drop the hammer on Mike. A slap on the wrist is fine, it's a good way of saying don't do it again, but I've seen spoilers on drift cars almost take peoples hands off just because they were resting on the barrier. All in all, if no real harm was done then I don't see why MTRA or Mike deserves this much negativity, it's just people trying to claw at others throats, like the James Gunn incident. Until people stop using mistakes, errors and/or past topics to fuel their own agenda, this poo will continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernBurn Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Titan showing off a new wrap today in Winnemucca, Nevada Can't lie, those two old school bodies look amazing sitting beside each other. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swegliner849 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 2 things for Chile, new lineup Grave Digger® (Randy Brown), Max-D™ (Chuck Werner), El Toro Loco® (Armando Castro), Megalodon (Chad Tingler), Monster Energy (Steven Sims) y Zombie (Ami Houde). And its going to be for the first time ever with dirt, no more concrete with crush cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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