A star studded list of drivers took part in the inaugural Monster Truck competition event the weekend of October 24th and 25th at Elko Speedway. Six different Monster Trucks and drivers competed in four different events each day with an overall winner decided by points.
Twenty year old rising star Jesse Como from Kemptville Ontario Canada (19 hours drive from Elko MN) took the overall point title with his Monster Truck named Anger Management scoring 54 points and taking the win.
Como dominated the 2-wheel skills portion of the program winning both nights with an impressive nose-down wheelie. “My truck is really long so it does stoppies really well, off the K-rail was perfect, I did my timing perfect and it just stood up, drug the hood a little bit and it just worked,” said Como.
Como also thrilled the crowd driving a truck that was featured in the Movie Zombieland Doubletap, he won the final freestyle competition on Saturday night with cross threaded big air, sparks and a fire at the finale. “I broke off the steering column, so I was steering with my wheel on the hood damn near,” said Como “this track is amazing, a bunch of great people here, I had a great time even though I tore this truck up.”
Josh Baumgartner from Litchfield (MN) driving the Iconic Monster Truck Bigfoot was the most consistent of any truck in the field. He finished runner-up in four different competitions and also set the fastest time of the weekend in racing qualifying with a time of 32.65 seconds. Baumgartner also piloted the Magdatude Jet Truck burn down at the end of the festivities. He jumped the bus during the final freestyle and finished second place in overall points with 52, just two behind the winner.
Twenty-two year old Colton Kiser from Indianapolis (IN) finished third in points with a total of 49 points. Kiser had a great weekend in his truck named High Roller III, he won the head-to-head racing competition both nights and also was the freestyle winner on the first night. He also had the fastest time in qualifying on Friday with a time of 36.61 seconds.
38 year veteran of the sport Chris Whatley from Madden (MS) drove a Monster Truck named Mississippi Nightmare, he finished fourth in points with 42 and scored a second place finish in racing on Friday night.
Stunt plane pilot Perry Como from Kemptville Ontario Canada was a crowd favorite driving the Monster Truck named Loud and Dirty, he finished 5th with 40 total points and was second place in two-wheel skills on opening night with some incredible big air.
Travis Schweizer from Rockford (IA) finished 6th in overall points with a 37 driving a monster truck named Rage. He had a real nice popper off the K-rail during two-wheel skills finishing third and good showing during Freestyle finishing fourth on the second night of competition.
Final overall points:
Jesse Como - Anger Management 54
Josh Baumgartner - Bigfoot 52
Colton Kiser - High Roller 49
Chris Whatley - Mississippi Nightmare 42
Perry Como - Loud and Dirty 40
Travis Schweizer - Rage 37
Freestyle winners:
Jesse Como and Colton Kiser
Racing winners:
Colton Kiser and Colton Kiser
Two-Wheel skills winners:
Jesse Como and Jesse Como
Qualifying winners:
Colton Kiser and Josh Baumgartner
ATV Big Air athletes Anthony Murry, Alex Damlow and Nick Rogers entertained the crowd with high flying stunts.
Many fans enjoyed a ride in the box of the Monster Truck titled Wheels of Freedom.
Look for more Monster Trucks events in the future at ElkoSpeedway.com
