TheRetroStyle

Major Update regarding Australia:

• Blue Thunder will have alternating drivers; Randy Brown will drive it in Melbourne and Sydney, while Chad Fortune will drive it in Brisbane.
• Dragon will now be driven by Jon Zimmer.
• Earth Shaker will now be driven by Bari Musawwir.
• No Perth show is scheduled for this year.
• Brisbane will take place on October 7, with Melbourne happening on October 14 and Sydney happening on October 21.

All trucks/drivers not mentioned remain the same as they were before.

A huge load of updates for Monster Jam:

Glendale - Devastator (Mark Schroeder), Obsessed (Eric Swanson), and Wonder Woman (Linsey Read) have been added to the lineup. Additionally, Soldier Fortune will be driven by Tony Ochs, while Grave Digger will be driven by Charlie Pauken and Max-D will be driven by Tom Meents.

Mexico City - Zombie (Tyler Groth), Megalodon (Justin Sipes) and New Earth Authority (Travis Groth) have been added to the lineup.

Indianapolis - Wonder Woman (Linsey Read) and Zombie (Devin Jones) have been added to the lineup. Additionally, Max-D will be driven by Tom Meents while Soldier Fortune will be driven by Tony Ochs.

Houston - Wonder Woman (Linsey Read), Zombie (Devin Jones), and Rod Ryan (Brad Allen) have been added to the lineup. Additionally, Max-D will be driven by Tom Meents while Soldier Fortune will be driven by Tony Ochs.

San Juan - Zombie (Tyler Groth), Megalodon (Justin Sipes) and New Earth Authority (Travis Groth) have been added to the lineup.

Stockholm, Sweden - Bauhaus (Alx Danielsson) has been added to the lineup. It was also confirmed that Pirate's Curse will now be driven by Nic Granlund.

2 hours ago, Swegliner849 said:

Lineup for Santiago, Chile!

 Grave Digger® (Morgan Kane), Max-D™ (Chuck Werner), El Toro Loco® (Mark List), Scooby-Doo™ (Brianna Mahon), Monster Mutt® Dalmatian (Cynthia Gauthier) y Alien Invasion (Chad Tingler).

Im going to be honest, i like it more than last years lineup

https://www.monsterjam.com/es-CL/events/santiago-chile

Chuck Werner in Max-D......

......i'm more interested in this arena event lineup than any other arena event lineup this year

(TBH it'a not just chuck in max-d that has me interested, but the entire lineup is one of the best this year in terms of arenas)

Triple Threat Central Prediction:

• Grave Digger - Krysten Anderson
• Megalodon - Justin Sipes
• El Toro Loco - Armando Castro
• Blue Thunder - Matt Cody
• Zombie - Ami Houde
• Alien Invasion - Bernard Lyght
• Pirate's Curse - Camden Murphy
• New Truck - ???

Triple Threat East Prediction:

• Grave Digger - Tyler Menninga
• Max-D - Colton Eichelberger
• Scooby-Doo - Bailey Shea
• Earth Shaker - Tristan England
• Zombie - Bari Musawwir
• El Toro Loco - Kayla Blood
• Monster Mutt Dalmatian - Cynthia Gauthier
• Monster Mutt Rottweiler - Cory Snyder

This'll be the last of my predictions for a while, but I'm just interested to see what FELD will do with tours like these for next year.

FS1 East Prediction:

• Grave Digger - Charlie Pauken or Chad Tingler
• Max-D - Tom Meents
• Lucas Oil Crusader - Linsey Weenk
• El Toro Loco - Chuck Werner
• Gas Monkey Garage - BJ Johnson
• Scooby-Doo - Brianna Mahon
• Wonder Woman - Linsey Read
• Fluffy - Kevin King
• Stone Crusher - Steve Sims
• Hooked - Bryan Wright
• Saigon Shaker - Ryan Disharoon
• Slinger - Scott Hartsock
• Dragon - Scott Liddycoat
• New Truck - ???

If Charlie Pauken drives Grave Digger, chances are Kevin Crocker may get a lucky pass into the World Finals driving Monster Mutt.

Triple Threat West Prediction:

• Grave Digger - Morgan Kane
• Max-D - Jared Eichelberger
• Great Clips Mohawk Warrior - Bryce Kenny
• El Toro Loco - Mark List
• Zombie - Tyler Groth
• New Earth Authority - Travis Groth
• Scooby-Doo - Myranda Cozad
• New Truck - ???

I'm really hoping some of the trucks seen in the World Finals Racing Encore this year compete next year, such as Reptoid, Monster Patrol, and especially BKT as a new truck.

As for lineups, I got my prediction for FS1 West:

• Grave Digger - Adam Anderson
• Max-D - Neil Elliott
• Monster Energy - Todd LeDuc
• El Toro Loco - Marc McDonald
• Team Hot Wheels Firestorm - Scott Buetow
• Bounty Hunter - Jim Creten
• Scarlet Bandit - Dawn Creten
• Time Flys - Kelvin Ramer
• Wild Flower - Rosalee Ramer
• Obsession - Rick Swanson
• Obsessed - Eric Swanson
• Avenger - Jim Koehler
• Brutus - Brad Allen
• BKT - ???

It is without any doubt that something huge is gonna happen next year with Max-D's 15th. Here's what else I can think of so far:

1. 2 FS1 Tours (East and West, 14 trucks including this year's champions on the same tour)
2. 3 Triple Threat Series (East, Central, and West, 8 trucks including this year's Central and East champions with Morgan Kane likely filling in for Cole Venard, putting Charlie Pauken or Chad Tingler on FS1 East), as well as 2-4 additional arena tours
3. At least 2 new trucks (BKT?)
4. New paint schemes or last year's paint schemes returning for Max-D to commemorate the 15th anniversary
5. FINAL YEAR for Team Hot Wheels Firestorm due to Hot Wheels sponsorship expiring in 2019
6.  Max-D encore at World Finals 19 with possible frontflip attempt

Shark Week, eh? In that case I suppose I'll just make a thread dedicated to the truck that's all about Shark Week.

Thoughts of Stafford (Saturday Afternoon):

Racing:

SCOTT BUETOW MADE IT TO THE RACING FINALS. I AM DEAD SERIOUS. Anyhoo, he would lose to Gary, but OH BOY just imagine what it would've been had he won. WOW. Other than that huge shocker, it all pretty much went as expected; Pablo, Gary, and Zane all advanced to the Semis.

Donuts;

Unsurprisingly, Pablo took the win in this one. Paul sadly couldn't get a true donut going, while Zane also struggled. The other 5 were very close in scores, all in the 8 area, but it was Kevin who got the upper hand out of the five, taking second.

Wheelies:

Not only did Gary take the win here, but what may be surprising is that Pablo struggled. Paul got last in this one, while Zane and Scott pulled off OK runs. I honestly thought Steven should've won this, but Gary winning is also fine by me.

Freestyle:

Here's where we get to the controversy; some think that Kayla should've won, while others say the win should've gone to either Steven or Scott. Though they all pulled off great runs, I actually believe Steven should've taken it over Pablo. Reasons being that he had bigger air, more highlights, and overall just a slightly better run. Kayla and Pablo both gave awesome runs, but in the end, I think Steven ultimately had the better run of the three.

It was a great Saturday afternoon. Won't be recapping all shows because then that'd be considered spam. Can't wait to see what happens with Hagerstown, and hopefully Gary is able to take a few more wins.

Wednesday Update for West Leb:

Racing:

Sadly, Bryce lost in the Semis to Chuck . Neil would take out the bull in the Finals that was never done on Monday. Adam would take a surprising defeat to Chuck in Round 1, while the same three competitors who have lost in Round 1 in the past three shows (Candice, Buddy, and J.R.) lost once again. Overall a good final bracket in West Leb.

Freestyle:

I'll start off by saying that this week proved to be a nightmare for Buddy; for the second time, he was out for Freestyle due to mechanical problems. Those that did Freestyle, however, were all able to lay down a great run. In the end, Adam completed the pack with his fourth and final Freestyle win at West Leb.

It was an amazing week of action, and I can't wait to find out what Stafford Springs has in store for us all this year. I'm just curious to know if Scott will run his World Finals body again...

Tuesday went normal at West Leb. Bryce made it to the Finals again, beating out Adam in the Semis (Yep, you read that right.) Neil would take him out in the Finals, while, for the third time in a row, Adam won Freestyle.

I'll flip out if Bryce caps it off with a win tonight.

UPDATE REGARDING YESTERDAY'S PERFORMANCE AT WEST LEB: Apparently the Racing Finals was cancelled due to rain, but Freestyle went on......can somebody explain?

Either way, Racing went down to Chuck and Neil. I'd assume Chuck would get the upper hand. Bryce and Buddy couldn't make it out for Freestyle, and Adam took the win again.

Current Results at West Lebanon, can't say I'm surprised with Freestyle, but as for Racing, I'll be damned:

https://www.monsterjam.com/en-US/results/west-lebanon-ny-july-16-19-lebanon-valley-speedway

(Really though, Bryce has been ON FIRE ever since his 8th place run in the World Finals. If this guy doesn't get "Most Improved Driver" at the end of the year, then I don't know who does.)

Good on Sims finally taking a Freestyle win again. Just shows you why he's such an underrated driver nowadays.

While we're on the topic of international shows, Monster Jam just announced a first time appearance in Beijing, China, home of the 2008 Summer Olympics, on July 29.

Lineup is as follows:

• Grave Digger - Adam Anderson
• Max-D - Neil Elliott
• Dragon - Scott Liddycoat
• Blue Thunder - Randy Brown
• El Toro Loco - Marc McDonald
• Monster Mutt Dalmatian - Candice Jolly
• Monster Energy - Todd LeDuc
• Scooby-Doo - Brianna Mahon
• Megalodon - Alex Blackwell
• Earth Shaker - Jon Zimmer

Very interesting for a first, honestly. Delights me to see that Scott Liddycoat is coming back earlier now, and my hopes are up.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Double Down Showdown for Monster Jam World Finals XIX will take place along with the Friday activities, including Racing. More information here:

https://www.monsterjam.com/en-US/news/2018-monster-jam-world-finals

Looking at the results for Nashville, I can't help but applaud BJ Johnson; he took out BOTH Andersons in Racing, and finished 3rd Overall. One helluva weekend for the guy.

Name: Megalodon

Body: 2017 Custom Shark

Chassis: CRD 2.0

Paint (images of color/graphics): 

Other details: 

France Highlights:

Chad Tingler and Cynthia Gauthier attempted their first backflips; neither came out successful, although Cynthia came close.

Alx Danielsson may be a potential nominee for Crash Madness next year after a wild crash in his freestyle.

Becky McDonough almost repeated her World Finals racing crash in Freestyle. Only difference is that she didn't shred the body the process, and the front end was totaled, but not snapped apart.

Bari Musawwir took the Overall win, which included a Racing victory over Neil Elliott in the finals.

According to a Periscope stream, Zombie wins Racing in France.

2 hours ago, IamStevenMalley said:

Battlefront 2 isn't "the big one." I'm super hyped for Sonic Mania, and as for "the big one" revealed at E3, that goes to Metroid Prime 4.

By "big one" I mean the one that critics are most hyped for, or deem the best of E3, which is the case for IGN. Mario + Rabbids was a no doubter for Best Strategy, while same goes for Mario Odyssey in Best Platform.

Speaking of Mario Odyssey, it lost the People's Choice to SPIDER-MAN...I am without words (Bad way).

10 hours ago, IamStevenMalley said:

Agreed. If not Mario + Rabbids, there are several games that really caught my attention, and one that absolutely captivated me. The games that truly got my attention are huge ones like, Metroid Prime 4, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, Return of Samus, and others. As for what I fell in love with, that honor goes to Super Mario Odyssey.

It's a relief to know that Super Mario Odyssey won't be a repeat of Sonic 06. Sonic Mania and Monster Hunter XX caught my attention, but critics say Star Wars Battlefront 2 was the "big one" out of all games showcased at E3. 

5 hours ago, Vaxen said:

Nintendo won it, period.

Hands down. You know you better be taking notes if a crossover as ridiculous as Mario x Rabbids was deemed one of the TEN BEST GAMES OF E3.

I personally thought E3 was not too bad. Got some good trailers for games like Spider-Man, Sonic Forces/Mania, and South Park TFBO, but the biggest shocker...

...was that after a devastating 2016 for the company, Nintendo actually put Sony AND Microsoft to SHAME...

...BRAVO.

Here's Meents's run with the save I mentioned; he may have just won Save of the Year.