By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
BIRMINGHAM – Monster truck driver Ryan Anderson has a message for long-time Monster Jam fans in Birmingham.
“Saturday night will be unlike any Monster Jam that has ever been in your area because it will be in the stadium,” Anderson said. Anderson is the driver of Son-uva Digger.
Monster Jam takes place this Saturday night at Protective Stadium.
“The area is four times bigger than the arena, and the stuff we are going to be able to do in these trucks is so far beyond what anyone in that city has seen,” he said. “I’ve been telling everyone that, and I can’t stress it enough.”
“The flips, the tricks, and the air we are going to get is unbelievable; we could jump completely out of the stadium,” said the four-time Monster Jam World Finals champion.
Monster Jam is divided into five different championships: Stadium East and West and Arena East, Central and West.
The Protective Stadium event, part of the Stadium Series East Championship, will feature 12 drivers going head to head in specially designed 12,000-pound trucks.
The series winner will receive an automatic bid to the Monster Jam World Finals in SoFiStadium in Los Angeles to compete for the title of World Champion on May 18.
The drivers will compete for points in racing, skills, and freestyle competitions.
The racing event is a bracket-style race between two trucks at a time—the two fastest trucks remaining race each other for the win.
The skills event is a trick competition.
“The freestyle event is my favorite one by far and the biggest,” says Anderson. “We get two minutes by ourselves to try to tear the place to pieces.”
“The trucks usually don’t last that long because we drive them so hard,” he said. “That’s a good thing because it is so exciting to see.”
Anderson, the series points leader, will compete against his brother, Adam Anderson, the driver of Grave Digger.
Grave Digger have always been part of Anderson’s life. “My dad created Grave Digger in 1982 and didn’t create me until 1989,” he said. “Grave Digger woke me up every morning and drove across the yard; it took me to school.”
“I couldn’t wait to turn eighteen so I could compete against my dad.”
Monster Jam is woven into the fabric of the Anderson family.
“My dad did it, my older brother does it, my sister does it, my little brother does it,” he said. “All the siblings do it. It is a family affair.”
Anderson feels his unique experience plays a big part in his success.
“I’m mechanically connected with the truck,” Anderson said. “I have watched my dad tear Grave Digger to shreds my whole life.”
“I watched what he did, how he did it and what it took to fix the truck. A lot of times I was in there fixing it so it gave me a lot of respect for the truck.”
“The biggest thing is that I have sat in the seats and watched these events as a spectator with my son,” he said. “I have watched the show go well and I have watched it go not so well.”
“My ultimate goal, win, lose, or draw, is to be the guy that goes crazy and does something wild,” he said. “I want to make sure that each person that has spent their hard-earned money gets what they paid to see.”
“The showman in me wants to make sure everyone gets on their feet and goes crazy,” Anderson said.
The following trucks are expected to compete:
Son-uva Digger, Ryan Anderson
Grave Digger, Adam Anderson
Bakugan Dragonoid, Camden Murphy
ThunderROARus, Colt Stephens
Megaladon, Cory Rummell
El Toro Loco, Joe Foley
Zombie, Bari Musawwir
Monster Mutt, Koehler
Soldier Fortune, Kayla Blood
Velociraptor, David Offert
Avenger, Jim Koehler
A twelfth entry will be announced.