We recently attended our first Monster Truck Monster Jam! We have watched them on TV for sometime now and have even played a computer game or two but have to tell you being there in person is better. Of course we were rooting for the hometown hero, Allen Pezo of Nashville, especially since he had brought out the original Predator from 1984. It was fully restored and for show only.
Note how much different this original restored 1984 Predator Monster truck looks from today’s Monsters.
Back then Monster Trucks didn’t race or free style, they just crushed things! They were heavy and slow. They were also a whole lot more stock than today. Not unlike the history of NASCAR, back in the day they had real truck bodies and the driver sat in the regular driver’s seat. Today, they are fiberglass bodies with complete roll cages and space frame structures. They are light and fast and can jump higher than ever imagined.
The big draws at this event was Grave Digger and the Monster Mut.
The first thing I noticed that NASCAR better watch out for were all the kids. I estimate that half the crowd was small kids and not just boys. The rest of the crowd was mostly couples. Now, if you can get that many young families out to an event with seats at $30 each with kids at half price you are going to build a large fan base. They also run events all over the Country and aren’t afraid to break up their stars and have two events in different parts of the Country with half in one place and the other half somewhere else. They also know how to put on a show and entertain.
These are all things NASCAR refuses to do and you can tell it by their attendance.
We have stopped attending NASCAR races but will be traveling to a few more Monster Jams in the future!
