Nick Migues

Brandon Vinson joins Tristan England, Tyler Menninga and Todd LeDuc in the World Finals 20 lineup after winning Triple Threat Central. The next champion to be crowned will be Stadium tour 2 in Philly on April 20th of which Adam Anderson has a slight lead on Neil Elliott. Stadium tour 1, which Tom Meents currently leads, has 2 stops left, ending on April 27th in Denver. And Arena Tour 4 is the last to end, ending on May 5th in Manchester, Randy Brown currently leads there. 

How is that fair to the drivers to group them all together like that? Or to take them out of the truck they won in? If you earn your spot you should get to drive your truck. Besides Charlie didn’t win his tour so he’ll more than likely be in Mutt not Digger this year. And how’s the points ruining MJ? I think they’re awesome. It’s added so much more competition and something to truly keep up with as a fan on who’s winning what, I think the points series is great. And before anyone says it’s rigged, it’s not. The Digger on my tour finished in 4th place. Stinger Unleashed (indie) is in second place and has had the lead over Digger a few times. I think the points is helping MJ, not hurting.

Note that ATV, Speedster and 2 wheels are all based on wins and averages in those competitions, so being that Jared did one triple threat show this year he won’t be in st all. 

Kristen is taking Wolfs Head over as the permanent driver next weekend in Syracuse. Also she won her first overall last night here in Southaven in ICM!

edit: Todd LeDuc joins Tyler Menninga and Tristan England in World Finals XX as the stadium tour 3 champion! Next champion to be crowned will be Triple Threat Central next weekend In Columbus,OH

Brad Allen will be behind the wheel of Team Screams B Team Monster Mutt truck this weekend in Huntsville, AL

Lots of shakeups this weekend. Kristen becomes the first female driver of Ice Cream Man this weekend in Toledo. Jared Eichelberger will be driving Tristan England’s Earth Shaker this weekend in Toledo and from now on as Tristan heals up from a fractured ankle. Becky McDonough is in Soldier Fortune this weekend for Kayla Blood in Raleigh, NC and lastly Roger Stidell is going to be behind the wheel of Steve Thompsons Earth Shaker in Vancouver BC

6 hours ago, Chazzymp said:

 

Dang how many SYP threads have I missed?! Took a short(long)break learning to be a crew cheif. But made it a goal to return to the community(instead of just lurking) and work on trucks at the same time. Stay tuned!

Thanks to @Chris B for screenshot because I couldn't take one on the road 

Looks awesome! Is it hard to make trucks on the road? I’ve been wanting to learn but last time I tried I couldn’t get blender to work on my computer lol 

Another thing to remember with a new truck is it’ll take time to tune it in the way you want it, especially as you’re learning 

On 2/14/2019 at 9:27 PM, CarCrusher said:

I’ve already decided to go with him. Money is no issue with me. I want the best, and I’ve been to enough MJ events to know that those engines are downright amazing. They sound strong and powerful, and like you said, built for longevity and reliability. I will almost certainly go with Cohen’s chassis too.

Midgette said his 540 chevys spec at 1400 hp at 10% overdrive (which I guess is what you’re limited to?). That sounds like one killer big block Chevy to me! I think with the Cohen chassis putting that power to the ground and the right setup that’s probably a lethal combination.

Yeah you’re only allowed to run 10% on the super chargers which with MTs is plenty, and so is 1400 HP lol

5 hours ago, leggster said:

38 is pretty stout for a motor. Steve Schmidt has a blown 540 for around 31. Not sure what changes would need to be made in order for the motor to run as long and as hard as the monster jam guys do, considering Schmidt is a drag racing engine builder.

That’s the thing about Midgette that I think really sets him apart. He builds motors for MTs, and longevity. I actually had the chance to meet and work with Richard himself this week while we were at Diggers, and he is excellent. He builds great motors, and is an awesome person to work with and really cares about his customers and is basically the only one out there building motors to do what MTs do, so honestly it is probably the best bet if you ask me. 

6 hours ago, CarCrusher said:

Thanks @NitroMenace. 

Okay, one more question and I’ll let this thread rest a while. Does anyone have any contact info on Paul Cohen or this Eddy Makija guy? Do they have actual businesses or businesses emails/phone? Thanks.

That I don’t know of, you’d just have to do some research on that one. 

There’s not many Racesource trucks out there, really none of them are competing much these days that I know of. There’s not many Concussion trucks either- Bigfoot 21, Monster Patrol, Wild Thang, the new Bear Foot, and Midnight Rider are the only ones I know of. They are good trucks, but high motor/highCG. The new gen PEIs- Stinger Unleashed, Pretty Wicked, and the new Jester- are lower CG but still not quite as low as the others I don’t think. Personally design wise I like the new CRDs/Cohens/Edys the best, and that’s probably what I would buy and they’re all basically the same truck,  not sure the price difference tho. The new PEIs are pretty stout too, Zane rolled his like 100 times last year and it still looked to be in good shape 

Correct, most MTs use a single MSD Pro billet mag and points box rather than the standard distributor system because the mags generate a lot more power. I wasn’t trying to take anything away from you, was just trying to show ya the best thing I would think to do for your engines, and wasn’t sure what you knew lol. Personal I recommend Dart blocks or Merlin’s and the internals is really up to you but it’s not hard to find parts there are tons of manufacturers making performance parts. Main point being you want to find the best parts you can and while it takes a lot of money use the best parts you can or you’ll spend hours chasing constantly broken parts 

59 minutes ago, CarCrusher said:

Again, forgive my ignorance, but I’m the type of guy who likes to “cut the Gordian knot” so to speak. What I mean by that is I like to find shortcuts and easier routes to get what I want rather than spen so much time and energy doing it the hard way. So with that said, when it comes to engines, why couldn’t I just order something like this from Summit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mll-ps5401ct/make/chevrolet and then send it to a performance shop to have the mods and horsepower put into it? 

The engines have to run off methanol right? Is there a particular type of motor I’m looking for?

Well the problem with that motor right there is that it’s only rated for 670 HP. Yes the trucks run off methanol, and super chargers. A super charger basically shoves more air into the engine so you need to build an engine with internals(crankshaft, pistons, etc.) that can handle 1300+HP  and honestly you’d probably spend more money rebuilding that crate motor than you would having someone just build the correct motor to begin with 

@Outlawed Ah, okay. Thanks for the info! Always good to learn

2 hours ago, CarCrusher said:

@Jon Cannon Sweet! Is that a PEI?

I don’t mean to browbeat y’all with questions, but I do have a few more.

As far as engines, who builds them? Where are they purchased? Forgive me for being ignorant.

When it comes to the various professional chassis out there (PEI, Concussion, Cohen, CRD, etc.), what seems to be the best handling chassis for more of a racing-oriented truck? One that handles, jumps/lands well, and puts the power to the ground better? I know shocks are a big part, but I’m definitely looking to build a truck that races better than it freestyles. I’m much more interested in tuning, setup, running tons of test runs, and getting the truck dialed for handling and speed than I am hitting slap-wheelies and such. 

 

 

 

 

If you’re wanting something for racing, a CRD or a David Smith chassis would probably be best, they sit low and run well, but there’s a lot more that goes into it, shock angle, your shock tuning, etc. It’s hard to give you a definite answer for a hypothetical truck lol. And engines for most People is just a somewhat local race engine shop, definitely want a place good with blower motors. Usually you order the parts you want, and they build it. Also on a chassis you do want to be careful on how you set it up, the lower you set it up it can make the truck harder to jump. A good example I use is my uncle, Darren owns 2 old gen high motor PEIs, and because the CG is so high they get off the ground with a lot less effort, vs the CRD Bounty Hunter he built when he worked for Creten, which sat much lower, he said you had to drive the truck a lot harder to make it jump the way you wanted. Also, tuning the truck in the way you want it exactly takes a lot of time and small adjustments, because there’s no telling what shocks will do. When I worked for Darren we set Jailbird and Nitro Menace at the same ride height, same pressures in the shocks, same shocks and same valving inside of the shocks. Nitro Menace drove and landed like a dream, while Jailbird just bounced off the ground like the shocks weren’t even moving when the truck hit the ground. Hopefully this is makes some sense lol. Oh and no that Storm Damage is a J&B chassis, dont believe they are doing them anymore that I know of. They built that storm Damage, the silver chassis that was Earth shaker/Hurricane Force last year and is now Fire Zombie/Storm damage, and they also built the green Stinger chassis and the Master of Disaster chassis.

So while a lot of those trucks resemble Cohens, they are actually built by Edy Majaka (idk if that’s how you spell it) I’m not sure if he works for Cohen or what, but I know Edy built both Overbored/Black Pearl and Hurricane Force. Edy is also currently crew chief for Team Overbored. As far as building the truck yourself it’d probably be around the same price as buying turn key, but I guess personally building the truck yourself gives you the option to build the truck exactly how you want it- which when you have a lot of experience in this business like I do, you know all kinds of little things you’d want to do but I think the biggest thing as someone new is that you have to learn the truck so you should just built it yourself. Plus it helps you to learn what all parts you need, and where to get them as well. Chassis wise it varies by price but I think a bare PEI chassis with shock mounts, lexan tabs, 4 link tabs and all the cages/guards that fit that chassis is around 15-17 I believe or maybe a little more now. CRD has a pretty cool deal, you can actually purchase a lot of basically the chassis but not built, and instructions on how and where to put each bar and such. Of course you’d want to be a good welder if you’re going to take that route. When it comes to monsters there’s a million and one different little things you can do to your truck, and honestly it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what you’re wanting to know without knowing what it is that you want to build. Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the new Bad Company is also one of those Edy/Cohen chassis. 

49 minutes ago, CarCrusher said:

I would likely not be doing the lion’s share of the mechanical work, at least not in the sense of diagnosing issues and knowing what to do on them. Turning wrenches, of course. But I would hire a good crew chief who knows what he’s doing to help direct the rest of us. 

I wonder if Dan Patrick builds his own engines? I also wonder how you go about placing an order for a truck. Does he have like an order form for how you want the truck built, what components and features you want?

He does not, he runs the same Hemi motor as the Hall brothers does. And basically just call him up and order a frame and he’ll probably ask what all you want done to it. And honestly you should learn to work on the truck, because to be the best driver you should know and understand how the truck works and what every part is and how everything works basically. A lot of the best drivers out there are former crew chiefs or independents who know the ins and outs of their trucks. 

Facebook group Monster Truck Parts only might have a few and to know that some are for sale you just have to ask, not everyone has them listed just trying to sell them off. Also, you’d be better off building brand new (don’t buy a brand new turn key truck or else you won’t know how to work on it. Build it yourself) because buying a truck, especially in that low of a price range, can be sketchy and sometimes depending on the truck you can end up spending more than a brand new one would cost just to make the truck worthy of running 

1 hour ago, leggster said:

I've actually been looking into stuff like this, I have yet to find out where to buy/prices on some CRD parts such as champagnes and some knuckles and planets etc.

CRD parts run about 1200 a piece for both knuckles and champagnes I think. Buying Clark planets is hard todo these days- the machines they came from are getting scarce so it’s like 2-3 grand for one Clark corner, of which most of the corner isn’t even used anymore because of all the upgraded Clark parts you can buy. 

I mean honestly we all want to win no matter what,  we still care about competing because we all want to be the best, and no it’s not scripted at all 

On 1/25/2019 at 10:40 PM, CarCrusher said:

Got another question. Tried to get it out of Nitro Menace but he wouldn’t get detailed with his responses. How much does your typical independent team get paid by the promoter per event? If that’s too nosey of a question, what is the minimum price that would make it worth it?

Like I said, it varies. Bigger name trucks will charge you more. Most people won’t tell you what they’ll run for unless you are trying to book them, and honestly it’s not info to be out in the public. 

Also Koehler has insanely well built trucks to take the crazy stuff they do, so that’s why they can run so dang hard. Their trucks are tanks 

3 hours ago, CarCrusher said:

I get it. That’s very unfortunate. I guess you’d have to have well-funded teams with good corporate backing. I always kind of figured that was why you see some guys not stepping on it at shows. They just kind of roll over the obstacles and you can tell they’re not putting their foot in it.

I still remain optimistic it can be done. Like someone said earlier, you’d have to find that happy medium. Like have a flat rate rate pay that everyone receives to make it worth while, even the trucks that don’t qualify into the field, then try to get the sponsors to provide a good purse. I still think there’s a way to make a real racing series happen. I will keep working and brainstorming until I come up with a model that works. It’s my dream to make monster trucks a legitimate motorsport with every bit the competition and passion that every other motorsport enjoys.

Hell, the people who race dirt oval stock cars don’t normally make jack squat doing it, but they still go all out for the victory, and its still real, serious racing. I will one day get a momster truck, and I will one day create my own racing series!

Ah see I missed that, if you pay a flat rate, then it’s possible. Teams just need that flat rate to make it worth the trip. Would be cool to see it worked out 

14 hours ago, CarCrusher said:

Yeah, but what about freestyle where guys deliberately break their stuff?

I see your point that there’s no money in monster trucks. Perhaps that’s because it is such a casual sport for casual “fans” and families that bring their young children to see the “big trucks”. There a very few die hards like with NASCAR. That’s why I think it must be developed into a real sport that people (i.e. adults) can really get into and follow. There’s nothing to follow in monster trucks now because there’s no real racing, or points chase or whatever. It’s just canned Disney on Ice shows for the kids.

I think the right start for a racing series would be to start small at first, with one or two really good races per year. Hold it at a nice venue with a 16-20 truck field. Then possibly add more races each year until you’ve got a real series going. I think it’s possible. I believe I myself could successfully organize a great race once per year that would be a large racing-only championship. Get good sponsors on board to put together a good-sized purse. Make tons of phone calls and get the top teams in the nation to come qualify. Advertise it heavily in the local area with a Jan Gabriel-esque voice actor - “The largest monster truck event in the country! TWENTY of the nation’s top monster trucks racing for the championship title! Don’t miss out on the high-flying, car-crushing action!”  or something like that. I think it would draw in the crowds. People would come to see 20 monster trucks.

Thing is, no one destroys their truck on purpose, I promise you. And when we do freestyle and get that flat rate pay, and most people adjust how they’re running based on what their being paid to run that show. It’s very easy to make a small mistake and destroy the truck and that entire show check and then some, so it’s just not worth running the truck hard, even if it’s just in racing show only, if you’re not getting paid and I don’t think MTs will ever get away from that. Yeah it’d be cool, but I don’t think it’s practical and don’t think many people will run their truck for purse money only 

I think the hardest part is, that there isn’t enough money in monster trucks to only run for purse money. Typically sponsors for indies are mainly just products or just good deals on stuff. It’s very expensive to run a monster truck so you have to get that base pay that we get to make it worth even driving to the event and unloading the truck, because there isn’t millions of dollars in the industry. Say you’re racing hard in the semis, you crash and destroy the truck, now you have no money and 17 different parts to replace because you folded up the front end. I just think modern monsters are just to far away from being a legit racing league to ever go back and be successful