Buckeye Monster Trucks

2008-05-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some teaser shots from this past weekend's Lima 4-Wheel Jamboree. Results and coverage will come soon along with full photo galleries!

BuckeyeMT teams with AllMonster.com!

2008-03-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that BuckeyeMT has teamed up with AllMonster.com to host the Buckeye Monster Truck photo galleries. Galleries are now up on AllMonster.com of the Cleveland Monster Nationals and Cincinnati Monster Jam. Be sure to check them out!

Cleveland Monster Nationals
Cincinnati Monster Jam

There is more to come soon including the Dayton Thunder Nationals, Cleveland Monster Jam, and Columbus Monster Nationals!

Patrick, Noelke Dominate in Columbus

2008-03-30T12:50:00.001-07:00

Dan Patrick put on a spectacular show for his hometown crowd as the Monster Nationals stopped at the Value City Arena on the Ohio State University campus for one big show Saturday March 29. Six of the top trucks were brought in to compete:

Beast- Bobby Holman
Big Dawg- Dale Gerding
Ironman- Shane Smith
Lil' Miss Dangerous- Jocelyn Perrin
Samson- Dan Patrick
TailGator- Doug Noelke

The evening started off with 3 trucks competing in a wheelie contest. Samson set the bar high by powering the truck clear across the cars.
Ironman and TailGator would both have solid attempts, but the fans sided with the hometown hero, Patrick.
Beast and Lil' Miss Dangerous would face off in the donut contest. Bobby Holman was up first and pulled off a couple of nice sets of donuts.
Jocelyn Perrin had some trouble getting the truck to spin, and it looked a few times like she might end up on her lid. After a few close calls, she was finally able to get the truck to spin, capping it off with a blast from the confetti cannon. The fans would vote Perrin the winner.
Shane Smith in Ironman hit the track first, kicking things off with several wheelies.

Second out was Lil' Miss Dangerous. Perrin got the fans going with a solid run highlighted by a reverser.

Dale Gerding skied out the Big Dawg machine.
Following his teammate, Doug Noelke was fourth out and set the place ablaze with huge air, great momentum and some insane donuts.
Dan Patrick would follow Noelke with one of the best indoor freestyles I have seen. He made full use of his truck's power clearing the cars on nearly every jump and smoking his tires with an awesome set of donuts.
Last out was Holman's Beast who put on a great run with some nice air.
In a cheer off between TailGator, Lil Miss Dangerous, and Samson, Dan Patrick was named winner.

Next, the trucks qualified. The results were as follows (sorry, no times).

Samson
Tail Gator
Big Dawg
Beast
Lil Miss Dangerous
Ironman

In racing, it came down to another battle of Samson vs. TailGator, and this time Doug Noelke would finally steal a win away from Samson for the first time this evening.
Racing Brackets:
---Round 1---
Big Dawg def. Beast
Samson def. Ironman
TailGator def. Lil Miss Dangerous
---Round 2---
TailGator def. Big Dawg
Samson def. Lil Miss Dangerous
---Finals---
TailGator def. Samson

Thanks to George Eisenhart, the Monster Nationals crew, and all the teams for a great show!

Cleveland Monster Jam- Saturday Afternoon

2008-02-25T18:02:00.001-08:00

The Monster Jam circuit returned to Cleveland with one of the best 8-truck lineups ever. Several former World Finals competitors plus some of the strongest independents in the business made for an exciting weekend. Participating this weekend:

Grave Digger- Chad Tingler
Pastrana 199- Norm Miller
Avenger- Jim Koehler
Brutus- Chris Bergeron
Aftershock- Bob Robbins
Rap Attack- Dave Rappach
Bad Habit- Joe Sylvester
Full Boar- Ed Eckert

The show started off with what will probably be one of the best all-around wheelie contests of the year.

The second truck up, Full Boar, set the bar high by launching the truck vertical scoring a 25.

Rap Attack, known for spectacular wheelies, stood the truck straight up and down and began to walk the truck over the cars. However, Rappach got a bit tripped up and the truck took a soft roll onto the side of the FMX hill, suffering minor body damage. The judges were unimpressed, giving Rappach an extremely low 15.

Jim Koehler in Avenger took the lead with a 27 by walking the '57 Chevy clear across the cars and down the ramp.

Chad Tingler sent Grave Digger vertical, but couldn't match Avenger scoring a 25.

Racing was exciting as the 8-truck bracket meant no fast losers and the qualifying was determined by a random number draw before the show.

Friday night's finals match-up, Grave Digger and Avenger, met in the first round and Jim Koehler took the fan favorite out of competition early.

In an extremely close semi-final race, Bob Robbins in Aftershock, knocked out Avenger and Jim Koehler, who built the Aftershock chassis.

The finals saw Aftershock meet up with Brutus. In an extremely close race, it took several replays on the Quicken Loans Arena scoreboard before the call was made that Aftershock took the win.

The strong lineup made for a memorable freestyle.

Joe Sylvester put on a show in front of his friends and family who had made the short trip from the Youngstown area.

Chris Bergeron put together a fine show mixing high speed, big air, and capping with a set of donuts.

Avenger scored only an 18 due to some steering issues, but still put together some impressive moves during his run.

Chad Tingler tore up the track in typical Grave Digger fashion, scoring a 29 and taking the win.

Racing Brackets:
---ROUND 1---
Aftershock def. Rap Attack
Avenger def. Grave Digger
Pastrana 199 def. Bad Habit
Brutus def. Full Boar
---ROUND 2---
Aftershock def. Avenger
Brutus def. Pastrana 199
---FINALS---
Aftershock def. Brutus

Cincinnati Monster Jam Recap

2008-02-25T16:57:00.001-08:00

The USHRA Monster Jam returned to the US Bank Arena Feburary 15-16 with an impressive 6-truck lineup. Marc McDonald in Safe Auto and Chad Fortune in Superman headlined along with Andy Hoffman in War Wagon, Lionel Easler in Instigator, Paul Strong in Martial Law and Jim Hochstetter in Freedom Force.

With Martial Law in the lead with a 19, Superman took the lead in the wheelie contest getting the truck vertical and scoring a 26.

McDonald matched Fortune's score with a spectacular move scoring a 26. Using the new Silent Judge system, McDonald was given the win scoring one point higher than Fortune.

Racing had some exciting moments including this controversial call when Superman was declared the winner over Instigator, though many, including the announcer, thought otherwise.

In the racing finals, Superman and Safe Auto faced off, and in a close race, Safe Auto was victorious.

Freestyle started off slow as Freedom Force suffered mechanical trouble and Instigator got high-centered on the van stack.

Martial Law got things going with an exciting run that included some sky wheelies over the van, scoring a 21.

In his only Monster Jam performance of the year, Andy Hoffman capped off a strong performance with his trademark reverser, scoring a 26.

Safe Auto had a strong performance including some big-air moves, but was one point shy of War Wagon with a 25.

The last truck out, Superman, put together a fine performance but could only muster a 23 from the judges, securing the upset win for Andy Hoffman.

Racing Brackets:::
---Round 1---
Safe Auto def. War Wagon
Instigator def. Martial Law
Superman def. Freedom Force
---Round 2---
Safe Auto def. Martial Law (FL)
Superman def. Instigator
---Finals---
Safe Auto def. Superman

Dayton Thunder Nationals Results

2008-02-23T16:49:00.001-08:00

BuckeyeMT was in Dayton for the Saturday afternoon Thunder Nationals. In the largest lineup the Nutter Center has seen, Rap Attack, Bad News, Full Boar, and Gary Porter in Grave Digger all took home wins against stellar competition from Bad Habit, Devastator, Monster Mutt (Whit Carlton), and Thrasher.

Pat Summa started the show off walking Thrasher across the set of cars.

Dave Rappach secured the wheelie contest win by standing the truck upright, walking it across the cars, and then onto the floor in spectacular fashion.

In a Nutter Center first, racing was Chicago-style. The racing was not without its upsets as Ed Eckert knocked off Grave Digger in the second round after Gary Porter blew a turn then hit the cars crooked, ending up near the arena wall.

In the donut contest, two "teams" competed for the win. The first team, Bad News and Full Boar, scored high, largely in part to an absolutely insane set by Eckert in Full Boar that will most likely go down as one of the best of the 2008 season.

Grave Digger and Monster Mutt were the second team up and the contest ended in exciting fashion when the trucks got close and clipped tires while doing the donuts. However, it would not be enough for the win.

Ed Eckert carried the momentum from the donut contest into freestyle- however it may have been a little too much momentum as the truck hooked on a donut attempt, sending Full Boar over to the ground suffering only minor body damage.

Other than Full Boar's roll, freestyle was fairly uneventful due to completely flattened cars, which made it difficult to get much air over. Grave Digger would finally get a win in freestyle with a high-intensity run worthy of Digger reputation.

Racing brackets:
----Round 1----
Bad News def Thrasher
Grave Digger def Bad Habit
Rap Attack def Monster Mutt
Full Boar def Devastator
----Round 2----
Bad News def Monster Mutt*
Full Boar def Grave Digger
----Round 3----
Bad News def Full Boar

*Replacement for Rap Attack, who suffered rear end damage

Cleveland Monster Nationals Recap

2008-01-29T09:59:00.001-08:00

The Monster Nationals tour roared back to the Wolstein Center on January 12- though it almost didn't happen. Originally, the date wasn't on the 2008 schedule, however a cancellation by another event opened up the date. Despite the limited planning time, George Eisenhart and Image Promotions did a great job putting together another top-notch show for the dedicated Cleveland fans. With another event taking place in West Virginia, the lineup was a bit different from the core group that runs the circuit. Monster Nationals powerhouse Doug Noelke was in attendance with TailGator and team truck Big Dawg piloted by Dale Gerding. The Bigfoot team made a return to the circuit with Dan Runte in the beautiful new Summit Racing body, who had participated in the West Virginia show the night before filling in for Samson. Making their Monster Nationals debut were Storm Damage and Killer Bee driven by Tim Mente and Tim Bee respectively.

In the wheelie contest we saw Killer Bee face off against TailGator. Bee made two attempts on the cars, but neither were enough to outdo Noelke, who powered a wheelie across the set of cars- and then some.

Next up in the donut contest, Bigfoot and Big Dawg both got the trucks to spin on the open arena floor, but Gerding's high speed, compact donuts took the fan's applause.

The next event was monster freestyle. Storm Damage and Tim Mente kicked it off with a strong freestyle, getting some impressive air off a couple of jumps.

Tim Bee was out next in the Killer Bee and put together a solid run.

However setting the bar for the night would be Dale Gerding in Big Dawg. Huge air, great momentum, and the uncanny ability to get the truck vertical made for a memorable performance. Unfortunately, the run would end with the engine making a loud "pop" before shutting down. A devastating blow for what was a successful night.

Bigfoot would have the task of following Gerding's stellar performance. Runte put on a show for the fans, but didn't match the excitement of Big Dawg.

Fan favorite, TailGator was the last truck to perform for the night. Noelke lived up to his reputation as a madman with huge air and never letting off the throttle during the run.

While no winner was chosen before intermission, it was clear by fan reaction that Big Dawg and TailGator were the favorites.

With Big Dawg suffering from engine damage, it was a four-truck bracket for racing. Bigfoot would narrowly put down Killer Bee in the first race. TailGator got the hole shot off of Storm Damage but Mente absolutely pounded the throttle, launching the truck into more air than the revolutionary four link chassis had probably seen in years. However it wasn't enough as TailGator would face Bigfoot in the racing finale.

Storm Damage would get a bye run for the consolation round as Killer Bee was unable to make the call. In the finals, both powerful Fords launched towards the finish line, however TailGator had the jump on Bigfoot and was able to hold Runte off for the win.

With the show in the books, it was another great show from the Monster Nationals gang. Special thanks go out to George Eisenhart. Click the picture below for a full photo gallery from the show!

Cleveland Monster Nationals 2008

Lima 4-Wheel Jamboree Saturday Results

2007-05-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

The 22nd annual Lima 4-Wheel Jamboree took place this past weekend, bringing with it beautiful weather and the high-intensity monster truck action fans have come to expect from the event. This year, the folks at Special Events brought in a strong eight truck field headlined by the rare match up of the original monster truck, the brand new Bigfoot #16 powered by Dan Runte, versus the legendary fan favorite Grave Digger and Charlie Pauken, who brought fans to their feet last year as a sub driver for T-MAXX. Also in attendance were perennial Special Events powerhouses Halls Bros. Racing with Raminator and Rammunition driven by Mark Hall and Geremie Dishman respectively. Doug Noelke, who has seen his share of success at the Jamboree was back in Big Dawg. Andy Hoffman, another Jamboree regular was back, but in a new machine, this time in the beautiful War Wagon. Rounding out the field were two men relatively new two the sport, Joe Sylvester in the bright Bad Habit and Lionel Easler in Instigator.

The 12:30 show kicked off with racing on the S-shaped course, the trucks in predetermined brackets. The day started off in with a nail-biter when Bad Habit faced off against Rammunition. To much surprise, Joe Sylvester had the lead over the big black Dodge coming out of the second turn, but in the end could not hold off the giant Hemi down the final stretch, losing by a tire. However, the rest of the first round was not as close, as Bigfoot knocked down War Wagon, Raminator defeated Instigator, and Big Dawg was given a bye run. On his run, Runte suffered a back injury and was unable to return.

The second round started off with Rammuniton taking on War Wagon, who was called to replace the injured Runte, and once again Hoffman struggled in the turns, giving Dishman the spot in the finals. Raminator and Big Dawg capped the semi-final round, with a close race, but Mark Hall was able to negotiate the final turn slightly better, and won by a couple truck lengths.

The finals saw the two Halls Bros. trucks facing off. Mark Hall had the advantage coming down the first straightaway, but Dishman was able to pull ahead having the inside lane on the first turn. On the second turn, Hall nailed the corner and pulled out ahead of Dishman, soaring to victory.

Four trucks came out for freestyle, starting off with Joe Sylvester in Bad Habit. Joe kept up great momentum and drove quite aggressively showing no fear while attacking every obstacle on the course and capping up with dust-throwing donuts. Next out was another new face on the Special Events tour, Lionel Esler in Instigator. He made a couple of jumps over the cars and attempted a slap wheelie until the engine went up in smoke, cutting his run short. Brian Bertoletti, filling in for the injured Dan Runte, got some good air and pulled off a terrific slap wheelie. Brian got huge air over the car stack, but the truck came down hard on the rear end, sending Bigfoot into a rare, violent rollover. Bertoletti was alright, but the brand new Bigfoot 16 suffered heavy damage. Last up was Charlie Pauken in Grave Digger, who put on a spectacular show complete with huge air, long slap wheelies, and mind numbing cyclones.

The afternoon show started off with Grave Digger, now able to compete, narrowly defeating Big Dawg. Instigator was unable to keep up with Raminator, and Rammunition was able to hold off Bigfoot enough to take another first-round win. Finally, Bad Habit destroyed War Wagon for a shot to make it to the finals.

Kick-starting the second round was a rare match-up of powerhouses, Raminator and Grave Digger, with Hall getting a truck-length victory. In the second race, it was a rematch of Bad Habit and Rammunition, with Dishman once again out-powering the hard charging Sylvester.

The finals were once again a battle of the Dodges, and despite experiencing breakage on the last jump, Mark Hall once again proved to be unbeatable giving the Raminator another racing win.

Andy Hoffman in War Wagon started off freestyle with a strong run we have come to expect of him, complete with big air, donuts, and wheelies. Doug Noelke lit up the track in Big Dawg with huge jumps and several tailgate-dragging slap wheelies. Rammunition was next out and despite a short run, Dishman gave the fans a great show with some huge jumps. Once again, Chuckie Pauken headlined the show with a sick freestyle highlighted by some terrific slap wheelies and getting Grave Digger vertical over a van pyramid.

As it has been in recent years, the evening show was all freestyle. Unfortunately Raminator and Big Dawg were parked with mechanical problems. All of the trucks put on solid runs with some of the highlights included big air by Bad Habit and Rammunition, but once again Pauken stole the show with a terrific run featuring more slap wheelies and dust-throwing donuts. The tough luck for Bigfoot continued once again, when fuel was splashed in the face of Bertoletti after a hard landing. Brian would take a trip to the ambulance, but would be fine.

Once again, Lima proved to be one of the highlights of the circuit and was a great kickoff to the summer season!

View the photo gallery!