LAS VEGAS (March 17, 2016) – Luck was in the air tonight on St. Patrick’s Day as Monster Energy and Damon Bradshaw solidified the number one seed for tomorrow night’s World Racing Championship by racing to the Double Down fastest qualifying time at Monster Jam World Finals® XVII presented by NGK Spark Plugs. Bradshaw’s qualifying time of 15.815 set a Monster Jam World Finals record as the fastest recorded time on the Sam Boyd Stadium track.
“I’m very excited for my team,” said Monster Energy driver, Bradshaw. “My crew works so hard to give me a good truck, and I am honored to drive it and to do what we do for these fans. I’m ready to go racing tomorrow! We feel very confident, and the odds are against us since the fastest qualifier rarely wins the racing championship, but it has been done before. I think we’re going to make it happen!”
The luck continued for DragonTM, driven by Scott Liddycoat, who took home the 2016 Young Guns ShootoutTM Championship. With the win in the 16-truck Young Guns Shootout field, Liddycoat will be the 32nd competitor in this weekend’s World Racing and Freestyle Competitions.
“Wow! Anyone of these guys could run in the big show tomorrow night, but we won so we will give it our best shot,” said Liddycoat. “In the semi-final round we had a rear steer problem, but my crew guys are amazing and got it fixed. Without them we wouldn’t be standing here.”
The sixth annual Young Guns Shootout saw many exciting rounds of racing with some of the top picks to win it all being eliminated in dramatic fashion. The final round pitted Monster Jam’s youngest athlete, Tyler Menninga, and Blue Thunder® against the field’s oldest competitor, Liddycoat, in a battle of the ages. In a photo finish, Dragon raced to victory by only a few tenths of a second.
Monster Jam World Finals Double Down Racing Qualifying Times
- Monster Energy, Damon Bradshaw – 15.815
- Grave Digger®, Morgan Kane – 15.899
- Son-uva Digger®, Ryan Anderson – 15.924
- Grave Digger®, Adam Anderson – 15.940
- Metal Mulisha, Todd LeDuc – 16.000
- Max-DTM, Tom Meents – 16.018
- FS1 Cleatus, Neil Elliott – 16.176
- Monster Energy, Coty Saucier – 16.180
- Gas Monkey Garage®, BJ Johnson – 16.255
- Monster Mutt®, Charlie Pauken – 16.264
- Bounty Hunter, Jim Creten – 16.267
- Monster Mutt® Junkyard Dog, Dustin Brown -
- Northern Nightmare®, Cam McQueen – 16.322
- Doom’s DayTM – 16.337
- VP Fuels’ Mad Scientist®, Lee O’Donnell – 16.380
- Alien InvasionTM, Chad Tingler – 16.453
- ZombieTM, Bari Musawwir – 16.463
- El Toro Loco®, Marc McDonald – 16.474
- Mohawk Warrior®, George Balhan – 16.518
- Soldier FortuneTM, Chad Fortune – 16.530
- Grave Digger®, Dennis Anderson – 16.614
- Titan, Donald Epidendio – 16.635
- Team Hot Wheels® Firestorm®, Scott Buetow – 16.665
- Lucas Oil Crusader®, Linsey Weenk – 16.724
- Monster Mutt® Dalmatian, Candice Jolly – 16.746
- Scooby-Doo, Nicole Johnson – 16.809
- Grave Digger®, Cole Venard – 16.834
- Avenger, Jim Koehler – 16.873
- Max-D™, Colton Eichelberger – 16.894
- Madusa®, Brianna Mahon – 17.065
- Overkill Evolution, Mike Vaters II – 17.128
Today, for the first-time-ever, Monster Jam gave fans a front row seat by announcing seven of the annual award winners during the Pit Party and inside Sam Boyd Stadium..
Monster Jam Awards Recipients
Monster Jam featuring the AMSOIL Series – East Coast: Cole Venard, Grave Digger
Monster Jam featuring the AMSOIL Series – West Coast: Morgan Kane, Grave Digger
Monster Jam FS1 Championship Series: Adam Anderson, Grave Digger
Rising Start of the Year: Zane Rettew, Stinger
Arena Donut of the Year: Cynthia Gauthier, Monster Mutt Dalmatian
Save of the Year: Cam McQueen, Northern Nightmare
Rookie of the Year: Rosalee Ramer, Wild Flower
For more information on Monster Jam World Finals presented by NGK Spark Plugs, log on to www.MonsterJam.com. Updates will be posted all weekend long on www.Facebook.com/MonsterJam, www.Twitter.com/MonsterJam and www.instagram.com/MonsterJamLive.
About Feld Entertainment
Feld Entertainment is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences that lift the human spirit and create indelible memories, with 30 million people in attendance at its shows each year. Feld Entertainment's productions have appeared in more than 75 countries and on six continents to date and include Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross, Disney On Ice Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt, Disney Live! Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt and Marvel Universe LIVE! More information about Feld Entertainment is available online at www.feldentertainment.com.
