Dustin Hart AM

On 10/12/2018 at 7:09 PM, maxdman said:

Something nuts that happened this past weekend in Glendale is Ryan Anderson literally ripped the cradle in half.  There's a ton of work to be done on that chassis before the next show.  It was posted on his instagram story so I don't have anything to show

It's already been patched up and repaired. He's put that chassis through hell though this year.

2 hours ago, Outlawed said:

@NitroMenace Hardwired is the original Randy Barton built Stinger that Zane ran, Benji Wilmore owns it now. Monkey after looking at some photos is the original gen 1 PEI that Simms owned (Steven ran it as a mud truck a couple of times like the old Mopar Magic)

You're correct on Race Monkey being the original Stone Crusher PEI chassis. That truck started its life as Backdraft originally before becoming Stone Crusher in late 2004. Sims had that as his main chassis until the fall of 2010. Darren Migues ran the original truck as a second Stone Crusher for part of 2011 before it eventually changed over to the Mopar/Monster Magic name and eventually out of full time service in 2012. It made a couple one off appearances in 2013 before not running again until it was sold over to the new owner in Spain. Steve has run his current chassis since its debut in 2011, although it's been modified a bit over the years after some damage. I think most of the work done to it was in the rear with updated bracing around the shock towers and to straighten some things out. The team's other chassis was debuted as a second Stone Crusher campaigned by Morgan Kane in 2012 up until May of that year. Since then that chassis has mostly run as Hooked except for this past first quarter and a few other one off name appearances.

On 8/4/2018 at 4:34 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

Also, racing is sometimes swayed. There have been multiple times where their clocks for both trucks are off. There have been multiple instances where a truck has OBVIOUSLY won, and the "timing system" comes back backwards. How do they time that? Invisible censors? Cameras? BS. They pull it our of their butts.

Monster Jam uses the industry standard photo finish camera system that NASCAR, Indy Car and other major motorsports as well as track and field competitions use. It's the best system available and aside from possible human error, it's almost perfect. For every close race I've ever called, there's been concrete proof in the form of the timing system images to back it up. The system doesn't lie. Remember when you're seeing footage or photos from close races, they're never directly in line with the finish no matter how close you may think they are. The smallest distance off can make a huge difference in perspectives. Say what you will about how Monster Jam operates or other aspects of the event, they cared enough to invest some serious time and money into getting a system that works better than anything before and far better than anything else used in monster trucks.

On 4/19/2018 at 5:31 PM, TheRetroStyle said:

Monster Jam will be heading to Chorzow, Poland for the first time on September 22.

They did Chorzow at least once before back in 2009.

On 3/15/2018 at 6:17 PM, Brad Kerlin said:

13. Brad Allen- Another debut. He hasn't run the course yet and is more known for his freestyles.

Brad has been down the track at least twice if memory serves correct. He and Cory both took passes back in 2015 during practice. Maybe again in 2016? They're long days so details start to run together.

On 3/15/2018 at 9:30 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

6- Grave Digger/Adam Anderson - While he's not the best racer, he's pretty quick, and a vet on this course. He could potentially capitalize on some of the top guys' mistakes.

Not the best racer? He won 6 of the 10 races on his tour this season. Nevermind the fact that he's won in Vegas twice already and is regularly one of the fastest down the track there.

On 3/15/2018 at 9:30 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

12- Gas Monkey Garage/ B.J. Johnson - Pretty good racer, but won't make it past round two. This truck has continuous shock issues Linsey Hilgandorf can't seem to get knacked down.

Lindsey hasn't crewed on BJ's truck at all this year. She's been a pit party coordinator. I don't really recall BJ's truck having shock issues but I do remember they fought some front steering issues when the truck was first built.

On 3/15/2018 at 9:30 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

20- Dragon/Jon Zimmer - This guy is not very strong in racing. This is a trend among many of the qualifiers this year. The freestyle competition will be wild though.

You clearly don't watch Zimmer very much.

On 3/15/2018 at 9:30 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

23- Monster Mutt/Cynthia Gautier - More fit to be in Double Down Showdown.Just too new to compete on the big stage, but has been fast all year. This spot should've been Kevin Crockers'.

This is just a silly statement. Cynthia has shown up on the big stages when given a chance. She made rounds when she filled in for Brianna. She also had an average freestyle finish of 2.67 in her three stadium freestyles this year. Kevin is a good driver, but Cynthia was the better fit for this.

On 3/15/2018 at 9:30 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

24- Scooby Doo/Steven Sims - Better freestyler than racer, his races feel very effortless and lackluster.

The word lackluster has no business being near Steven's name. He might be inconsistent and a little reckless, but he is certainly not lackluster. Also worth noting he's been to the semi-finals in the showdown multiple times and has cut low 16 second times in the past. Also picked up a racing win just a couple weeks ago.

On 3/15/2018 at 9:30 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

25- FS1 Cleatus/Marc McDonald - As much as you all love him, I just see a washed out cowboy in a sponsor truck. He's a nice dude though.

One of the dumbest statements in the bunch. McDonald is one of the most underrated talents in the business. Dude just finished second on his tour and ended with a double down.

On 3/15/2018 at 9:30 PM, NtheDiggerfan said:

32- Brianna Mahon/ Whiplash - I don't care about #princessofcarnage. She's sheet on the track. A dumpster fire. I will be surprised if she doesn't crash in round one (Four crashes in Anaheim). Absolute Garbage. Nice girl though.

You can't just gloss over insulting someone by saying their nice at the end. First show might've been a little rough with rollovers but she certainly pulled it around after. Pretty far from a dumpster fire.

12 hours ago, Helvigster said:

does anyone know why cam isn't driving in some venues in canada? looked at BC Place and FirstOntario Centre lineups and he wasn't on either one of them

Cam didn't get any Canada dates on his schedule for first quarter. Also Monster Jam hasn't done BC Place in a few years now. They have been doing shows at a nearby hockey arena for the past two years.

On 1/13/2018 at 8:03 PM, Hagan Moskau said:

Well, if you look a many of the summer shows they had in the US, say Nashville, you could tell ticket sales were going down. If I remember correctly, Nashville only had 3/4 of the stadium filled. And something had to have made them stop, cause they would still be doing it if everything was the ordinary.

Ticket sales for the stadium show were actually way up this year. Believe it or not the stadiums don't have to be completely full in order to turn a pretty good profit. Also keep in mind this is a market where they put on both arena and stadium shows within six months of each other.

22 hours ago, steiale said:

Considering the fact that Diesel Dave and his crew were at the Salt Lake City show this past weekend, I think they just aren't ready with the truck. But that is weird that it isn't ready yet...

Pretty sure the Diesel Brothers have had next to no involvement other than getting their names attached to the project. It's basically co-promotion. Monster Jam provides them with an outlet to draw attention to their business and TV show, the Diesel Brothers bunch gets the same in return.

4 hours ago, Dexter249 said:

Austin Minton will be moving to the Second Bounty Hunter next season

Christian Norman will be in Iron Outlaw.

Yeah, no. Christian isn't driving for Creten. He's got some irons in the fire so we'll see where he ends up in the future.

There was a pretty big pile out back of the Dungeon for years. I think that's slowly getting tossed out or sold off in chunks. The last time I looked there were a plethora of chassis as well out back in the weeds. One of the Patrick's back there was in phenomenal shape considering it was retired. Shame they couldn't have sold it and someone could've gotten some more life out of it.

On 9/22/2017 at 11:17 PM, Jackson B (SUDfan31) said:

Son-Uva Digger 1 has been redone into a brand new machine. Not sure what the future hold's for it but Ryan Anderson has been posting IG Storys of the restoration.

 

The truck that he's been posting is actually the second Son-Uva Digger, not the first. The second truck got stripped down and re-worked after the summer shows. Ryan beats the heck out of his truck so it was very needed. Son-Uva Digger 1 is still together and as far as I know has still been in NC as a test truck for some new motor developments that may be rolling out in the next couple years.

18 hours ago, John Dough said:

Arrested Development Donkey Kong? There's always money in the banana stand

I prefer my concept better.

24 minutes ago, RORMADNESS said:

No Minneapolis shows in 2018. sad.......

It'll probably happen but it probably won't be announced/go on sale until after the December show.

8 hours ago, Pink Guy said:

Part of me wonders if he'll fill in for Steve next week in Charlotte. I feel like Cole on a track like that would be insane

I haven't talked to Steve but the only times I've known him to miss shows are if he's too busy with the stone company or he's had a death in the family. With that being said, I'd love to see Cole run a track like Charlotte as well. He's got a lot of talent behind the wheel and it'd be fun to see what he would do out there.

On 8/5/2017 at 3:51 PM, Greeny said:

Mmmm .. nice.

Anyone know the info on that shock setup? It looks solid as rock, almost like encapsulated coil overs.

If I remember correctly they used some kind of aviation shocks on the previous Mongoose. Cool to see they've finally gotten it done. I saw the truck back in 2013 during my first visit to Michigan.

1 hour ago, Pink Guy said:

In other news Zane Rettew showing why they don't run the scorpion tail as he rolls over Stinger at the Buck Motorsports Park (first time I think this has ever happened there) and still keeps going, proving once again why he's one of the hardest running indies out there today (seriously FELD get him in stadiums next year, he can do work)

It's his hometown show and the fans absolutely love him there so he'll give it a little extra to sell some more merch and keep everyone coming back for more. He's got another show in the area that he's putting on in a couple months so it doesn't hurt either to have everyone looking forward to seeing what Stinger does next time at a bigger place. As for putting him in stadiums, from the little bit of time I've spent talking to him he's not all that interested in doing stadiums. The trucks work great in smaller arenas as they don't have quite the horsepower as others, and he's able to get a schedule running arenas that will keep him closer to home.

15 minutes ago, Pink Guy said:

No prob! Hopefully there's a livestream for Charlotte next month since that is commonly the bigger show (especially since the show has a bigger field, it's Bristol's lineup sans War Wizard but plus Team Anson (Heavy Hitter and Basher) and Saigon Shaker)

I doubt there will be a live stream for Charlotte. The dirt track doesn't have a video board or live in-house video production capabilities that I know of.

11 hours ago, Pink Guy said:

So apparently Scott ISNT retiring according to Ryan LaCosse? Even though he posted an Insta photo that was phrased like he was... okay can we please just have both him and Dennis announce their retirement formally? I love them both but this constant waning them while not announcing an actual retirement is getting annoying

How about we'll let them retire when they're ready and want to actually retire? Everybody is acting like Douglass is some old decrepit man and Dennis is geriatric. Douglass probably won't be doing any full time announcing anytime soon as he's taken a more managerial type role but if given the opportunity I'm sure he'll jump at getting to announce. After so many years and seeing so much he doesn't get excited much, but he was legitimately excited to do the awards at the World Finals this year. As for Ryan's post, I think it was just a sincere dedication to someone who has worked hard and helped him further his career into places he didn't think were possible. I know some of you may not care for his commentary on TV yet, but Ryan is incredibly passionate about monster trucks so for him to be in the roles that he's been given over the last few years is something that he sees as an honor.

15 hours ago, steiale said:

With Steve Sims however, He has definitely lost his touch, but he can still drive fairly decently, and could still probably throw down in a Vegas FS if his truck survives. 

You clearly don't watch Sims on non Monster Jam weekends. Dude can and does beat up on the best on the circuit pretty regularly. It's a different beast when you're running up against a number of company trucks that you know have the freedom to trash a truck to win versus the guy who has to eat the losses if they do a lot of costly damage. Him and Bryan both regularly put down great performances without trashing a truck which is a true sign of talent.

2 hours ago, Outlawed said:

Not as of now, the cab area is done a bit differently then before and with Curse being retired (atleast for shows in north america) I am not entirely sure what happened to that chassis (if it is overseas or got rebodied for another truck currently running).

It's sitting at the Dungeon right now completely stripped. It'll get sandblasted, powdercoated black and then put back into service after first quarter.

2 hours ago, NavySonicShell said:

Really from what I know it was a joke between MJ workers that spread to facebook. I don't think he has ever driven a truck in an event.

A joke between MJ workers? Doubtful. We're totally serious at all times. 100% serious. No jokes. Like ever. Never funny. Monster trucks are serious business.

1 hour ago, LeMaddog said:

isn't cynthia from the canadian province of quebec? "gauthier" sounds like a french canadian name

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Cynthia+Gauthier+Quebec

2 hours ago, steiale said:

Ryan LaCose? Yeah I don't much care for him. Bob Dilner was better than Krmel in my opinion and I hope he's coming back this year

Todd LeDuc will be doing the color commentary while Ryan LaCosse does the lead commentary. Ryan will do well, it will just take some time to get used to for both him and the audience. I haven't watched the recent episodes but he and Morgan did great on the Foxborough episode.

5 minutes ago, monstabubba said:

Am I the only one annoyed by the new announcer for the shows on fox sports 1?

No, he snores when we room together. Totally annoying.

2 hours ago, steiale said:

Honestly why have Zimmer drive at all if you're taking the principal driver out of the truck?

1. Zimmer is a full time employee. He works in the Carolina shop as well as works on the trucks during the week instead of just being a fly in driver.

2. It might seem harsh, but Zimmer is flat out a better driver. He's one of the best in the fleet. I don't mean that in any way against Scott, he's a good dude and has talent, but not many can wheel a truck like Zimmer.

The last thing Zimmer would want to do is take somebody's ride. They planned on second a Dragon earlier this year and Zimmer was tapped to drive that one. It wasn't planned for these trucks to not be back in the states by first quarter, unfortunately that's how things played out.

8 hours ago, Chris B said:

Also, anyone know if they're actually gonna come out with a digital release of Joyride? I know they said something about it. Would much rather watch it on my phone than as a Dvd

When I last talked to Carr about it there was a plan in place, they just had to finalize some things. The last DVD the goal was to get it on iTunes but it was going to cost an absurdly high amount of money to do. This time there's more alternatives to go with that are just as easy, if not easier for the user to purchase from.

Since I'm on a first name basis with Koehler now I can laugh at this and so can others, but the first time I met him was in Virginia Beach in 2008. Saturday night he cartwheeled in either qualifying or round one in spectacular fashion. After the show I brought my video camera over to the trailer to show him footage of the roll. Typical Koehler, he says oh that's cool dude and tells Steve to break off a chunk of whats left of the hood and signs it for me. While doing so I accidentally called him Creten. Once again in typical Koehler fashion he says "Oh I can sign it as Jimmy Creten if you want." and laughed it off. There are few moments where I was more embarrassed in my life. That's the only piece of fiberglass I've ever gotten and really haven't had a desire for any others. Maybe if some cool/rare sentimental pieces ever come up I'd seek them out but otherwise it's not my thing. The Avenger piece still sits on my desk today.

The coolest thing I think I've ever gotten at a show was an original drawing from Tyler Remieres he did of an AllMonster.com truck. I was totally caught off guard and had no idea he was going to give it to me. We bumped into one another at the pit party in Vegas while I was going to get lunch. That also sits on my desk to this day.