IN Tampa on Feb 1st there was a lot of buildup going into the Monster Jam competition in the Stadium Series Red. Adam Anderson in Grave Digger and Todd Leduc in Monster Energy were quite even at the top. Todd and Bryce Kenny in Mohawk Warrior had developed quite a little rivalry in this tour. Adam has never won an overall in Tampa and Todd is debuting for his first run in Tampa. It is looking to be quite a storybook adventure. The weather decided to add a little rain which made the track slightly muddy and this added to the element of the competition.

Grave Digger won the overall in racing, but not without some breakdowns to help contribute. Grave Venard was unable to get his truck to continue in racing, that opened the door for Adam to get right back in there and win the racing and those crucial first place points.
Digger did lose to Black Pearl in the quarter finals. Because Cole

The Great Clips Skills Challenge is what proved to be the crucial challenge for many of the drivers. The mud made it very difficult to get the wheelies and that ended up with a lot of low scores for many
of the drivers. It was starting to look like the donuts were going to win it all when Todd managed to get that wheelie up and show the Tampa Bay crowd how it is done, even in the mud. This resulted in Monster Energy winning the skills challenge and evening it up between Monster Energy and Grave Digger.

The Freestyle is where it all comes down too. Jamey Garner decided it was going to be his night to
shine in Over Bored. This truly was a run of the career for Jamey. He went for the big jump and landed it and you knew he was on for the rest of the run. Jamey even landed his first back flip and made the save of the night after wards. With a score of 9.726 you knew this was one that was going to be hard to beat. Adam had a great run, and when Grave Digger lost a tire that wasn’t going to stop him at all which brought Adam to a second place in Freestyle. Todd also had a good run in freestyle which kept Monster Energy at the top of the scoreboard.

With it all sorted out, Grave Digger won the overall and Adam Anderson got to put his name along with his dad Dennis and brother Ryan as an overall champion in Raymond James Stadium. If Black Pearl was able to finish in racing, this could have been Todd Leduc with his first overall in a first appearance. Totally unpredictable and unscripted. I am sure we will see all of these drivers again in Orlando for World Finals as they decide who will have the final say at the end of the season, though.

Monster Jam was a great event with a lot of back stories which contributed to the excitement. It is great that Tampa gets to host 2 stadium events and 1 arena event each year, so we, the fan, gets to have that personal connection with a lot of drivers each year. Next up, World Finals in Orlando at Camping World Stadium on May 2-3

David “Thrills” is an avid enthusiast of thrill parks and entertainment activities in the Tampa Bay Area. Be sure to follow me on twitter and instagram or email me at tampathrillme@gmail.com for any questions or concerns. Pictures and logo are the property of David “Thrills”, Monsterjam and Feld Entertainment and used with permission.