Monster Jam, Friday, Feb.19, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20, 2:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, 2:00 p.m., Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (255 Highland Park Blvd.) Tickets: $19.50 - $41.50. Info: monsterjam.com, wachoviaarena.com, 800.745.3000.
Ticket prices range from $19.50 to $41.50. Children ages 2-12 are half price excluding front row and golden circle tickets.
It is time again for 10,000 pound trucks racing, crushing, and jumping over more than 14 side-by-side cars. From Friday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, Feb. 21, Monster Jam will return to Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Twp.
Monster trucks scheduled to perform include Grave Digger, El Toro Loco, Bad Habit, American Guardian, Black Stallion and Iron Warrior.
Michael Vaters, creator and driver of Black Stallion, will be one of the drivers returning to the area. Vaters, of Hagerstown, Md., started his career in the ’80s when he transformed his regular black Ford into a monster truck because he thought it “would be cool.” With the help of his friends, it took about a year to build Black Stallion, and it was “one of the first 12 monster trucks in the country,” Vaters said.
He drove Black Stallion on the street until the police told him it was illegal. He was told to lower the truck or take it off the street. Since he didn’t want to lover Black Stallion, the Ford became a mud-bogging and competition truck and is now one of the most popular monster trucks.
Freestyle is Vaters’ favorite part of shows.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s what people always seem to remember.”
Monster trucks are capable of reaching speeds up to 100 miles per hour and can jump 35 feet in the air, but Vaters is never worried about his safety while driving Black Stallion. Monster trucks are always breaking and getting fixed just to break again, Vaters explained. However, “our trucks are really safe,” he said.
Vaters loves what he does and has no plans to stop driving Black Stallion. He enjoys traveling all over the country and meeting new fans every week.
“There are not many places I go that I don’t like,” he said.
Another driver fans can see at Monster Jam is Randy Brown who grew up in North Carolina near Dennis Anderson, the creator and original driver of Grave Digger. Brown started out doing truck pulls as soon as he was old enough to have a driver’s license.
More than 11 years ago, “I thought I’d give (monster trucks) a shot,” he said.
The Grave Digger team made a few offers for Brown to become one of their drivers, but “I wanted to do my own thing, (and) be my own boss,” he said.
Brown drove his own monster truck, Pure Adrenaline, for a few years until he signed a contract with Grave Digger.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t say no,” he said.
He’s been driving Grave Digger since 2003 and plans to continue for at least three more years. After Brown retires, he would like to remain in the monster truck business as a team owner.
Both Brown and Vaters said the best thing about being a monster truck driver is the fans.
“They’ve always been good to us,” said Brown. He appreciates his fans buying all the merchandise and everything that keeps the shows going. He said he loves giving his fans “the shows they deserve.”
Vaters said the smiles on children’s faces are a reward for working day and night.
“The kids look up to us so much,” said Brown. “They enjoy it so much, it gets you excited.”
“I’m looking forward to coming back to Wilkes-Barre,” said Vaters.
Fans that want to meet the drivers and see the monster trucks up close will have the opportunity Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Built Ford Tough Party in the Pits from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. To get into the Party in the Pits fans must have a ticket to the Feb. 20 Monster Jam show. During breaks, the Monster Jam show will also feature Quad Wars.
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