Monster Jam (by Andy)

Last Saturday, February 13th, my brother Zach, our friend Chris (also known as *B's and *F's Daddy) and myself went out to a Monster Truck show. The tickets were courtesy of Genentech. Not only did we get to go to the show for free, but we got to use Genentech's box suite at the arena! So the three of us boarded our local mass transit train and headed into Portland. After a quick stop nearby for a burger, we arrived right as the show was starting. Some research ahead of time found that video cameras and SLR cameras were not allowed. That put a bit of a damper on things given that Zach and I were looking forward to getting some good pictures of the trucks. I did bring a small point-and-shoot, but battery problems only allowed me to get a couple of decent shots with it. Otherwise, all pictures and video were taken with my iPhone.

The guys at the show.

Six of the 8 trucks lined up after the show.

To show just how big these trucks are, here's a close up of one of the trucks with a grown man standing underneath it.

Part of the show was the trucks would race, two at a time across the pile of cars.




The trucks also went through a wheelie contest. This consisted of them slowly rolling up to the cars and slamming on the gas once their front wheels left the ground.


The trucks also went through a "freestyle" session that allowed each truck to charge around the track on their own, doing their best to please the crowd. This was also when the big jump (15 feet high) in the middle of the track was utilized.




There were also a few breaks in the monster truck action for some smaller vehicles to show their stuff. First, a group of quads (4-wheel ATVs) would race around the track. Then, customized Jeeps would race individually for time. In this video, my coworker Troy (who was sitting next to me for this video) sums these Jeeps up nicely with, "That's a lot of motor, there."


All three of us had a blast. The trucks were very impressive and who can beat loud trucks crushing cars? The icing on the cake for me was the couple of days afterward. I showed Alton the videos and pictures I took since he's so in love with trucks. Since then, he has requested no fewer than a half-dozen times to see the "monger tucks." Too cute.

Sorry for the small size of the videos - the iPhone is good, but it can only do so much.