Road warriors in action at Monster Jam

Those high-flying trucks are back. Nassau Coliseum will be rocking this weekend with a lot of crashing and smashing, metal crunching and dirt pounding when Monster Jam roars its way back to the arena. And the fans love it.
The popular family entertainment sporting event, the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam, is a high-flying, car-crushing explosive demonstration of demolition, speed, power and unbelievable stunts with the world’s best monster trucks and drivers. Their skills provide a spectacle of “rock-and-roar” that bring fans to their feet cheering for more. According to the producers of this spectacle, more than four million fans annually see Monster Jam shows – throughout the world.
The 2012 version features all three fan-favorite elements – racing, freestyle and the pit party. This show features some of the most popular monster trucks ever assembled, led by the legendary Grave Digger®, celebrating its 30th anniversary.  Joining the popular truck (orginally conceived as a mudbogger by world champion driver Dennis Anderson) are Ninja Turtle, Crushstation, Shockwave, and Thrasher, among others. 
Approximately 12 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, these monster trucks are custom-designed machines that sit atop 66-inch-tall tires and weigh a minimum of 10,000 pounds. Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, monster trucks generate 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower and are capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. Monster trucks can fly up to 125 to 130 feet (a distance greater than 14 cars side by side) and up to 35 feet in the air.
This year’s Monster Jam returns to its original format in which monster trucks face off in two different forms of competition – side-by-side racing and freestyle. The side-by-side racing is traditional bracket racing, where the first truck, with the least amount of penalties, crosses the finish line is declared the winner.

  The freestyle portion, the favorite segment of the show for many fans, allows drivers a limited amount of time on the open floor to show off their skills. In this category, the fans serve as the judges. They cheer on the drivers to see who gets the most ‘air’, who can jump the highest and do the best donuts, among other stunts.
“Everyone gets involved, the drivers and the fans,” said Joey Parnell, the driver of the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, as the teammate to Randy Brown, the long-time driver of Grave Digger. Parnell, who is relatively new to the Monster Jam circuit, having joined in 2010, welcomes the opportunity to compete with the big truck. “It is a lot of fun getting 30 feet in the air, and see how high you can go and who can go the highest. You think guys are going one way and all of sudden it turns out to be the other way.”
As monster truck drivers will tell you, it’s all about showing off, going as big as they can and outdoing the other guys. “It’s very
exciting,” said Parnell, of his two years in competition. “I love the horsepower and jumping over the trucks, the energy, and the people that come out to see us. There’s nothing like it.”
This year’s Monster Jam has the added attraction of Grave Digger’s 30th anniversary. The fan-favorite monster truck has an appeal that draws fans in year after year, decade after decade, as it has dominated the monster truck circuit. A special 30th anniversary edition of the truck is being featured for 2012 tour, which fans can see up-close at the Party in the Pits, Monster Jam’s pre-show.
The two-hour show offers plenty of action as these larger-than-life beasts have young and old transfixed. “It’s an adrenaline rush,” said Parnell. “The trucks are loud with a lot of horsepower, jumping over cars, flying and crashing. You get out there and you have to jump big. If you don’t the fans will say something. You’ve got to please them.”
The drivers consider the crowds’ responses one of the most rewarding aspects of Monster Jam. “It’s awesome,” Brown said. “You have 1,600 horsepower in a 10,000-pound truck, standing 10 foot tall and you feel like there’s nothing you can’t conquer. You hear the crowd cheering and getting louder and louder.”
Parnell encourages Monster Jam enthusiasts to come to the Party in the Pits, show, on Friday, 5:30-6:30 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The Party in the Pits gives fans a chance to get a view of the trucks up-close and meet the drivers of the behemoth monsters. Fans can also make requests of the drivers as to what kind of tricks they’d like to see. “It’s a good time,” said Parnell. “You can talk to the drivers about the trucks, get a good look at them and get autographs.”
Then it’s time to rev those engines. “Fans can expect to see high-flying action and heads-up racing,” Parnell said. “It’s fun for everyone and there’s a lot going on to keep everybody on the edge of their seats.”

Snapshot: Monster Jam Fun Facts
 * A monster truck race team will travel 45,000 miles a year by land to attend events.
* Typical monster trucks cost $600,000 yearly to build, staff, compete, transport, and maintain on the Monster Jam tour.
* Steel body full-size cars are the vehicles typically crushed during a monster truck event.
*  Cars, as well as vans, buses, motor homes, airplanes, and ambulances, are attained from local junkyards and returned after each event.
*  Average number of cars crushed per year: 3,000.

Monster Jam
Friday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 28, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 29, 2 p.m. $30-$70, $15 children 2-12. Tickets are $2 more on the day of the performance. Party In The Pits passes are $10, while supplies last.
Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale. (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.