By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
BIRMINGHAM – Monster truck driver Ryan Anderson extended his points lead in the Stadium Championship West series at Monster Jam inside Protective Stadium Saturday night.
Monster Jam is divided into five championships: Stadium East and West and Arena East, Central, and West.
Anderson, driving Son-uva Digger, holds a 71-point lead over brother Adam Anderson and Charlie Pauken in Grave Digger.
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 Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina native finished first Saturday night with 35 points.
Anderson, driving Son-uva Digger, finished second in the Racing event to David Offert in Velociraptor but needed some help to pick up the much-needed 11 points he scored.
Anderson was eliminated but advanced to the semi-finals and recorded a win to make the finals after two trucks had mechanical issues.
Anderson won the Skills challenge with 9.566 points over Jim Koehler in Avenger with 8.508 points
Son-uva Digger and Anderson took the win in the Freestyle competition with a score of 9.705, edging out the 9.651 put up by Bari Musawwir in Zombie.
“It was an amazing night,” Anderson said.
“One of the biggest things on my mind right now is how thankful I am for all the loyal fans that have stuck with us from all over Alabama for many years.”
“They all showed up to support the first-ever Monster Jam event at Protective Stadium.”
“We go to plenty of stadiums with more seating capacity, but Protective Stadium was so loud you would’ve thought the entire state of Alabama was there that night,” Anderson said.
Anderson had predicted earlier in the week that “Saturday night will be unlike any Monster Jam that has ever been in your area because it will be in the stadium.”
The Birmingham crowd was treated to some fantastic action, and the series was extremely pleased with the stadium.
“All of us at Monster Jam were blown away with how nice of a facility Protective Stadium is inside and out, but also the size of the stadium floor,” Anderson said.
“It has to be within the top five stadium floor sizes that we compete at. So needless to say, I am super excited for the future of Monster Jam in Birmingham, and I cannot wait to come back next year to do it bigger and better than ever.”
Anderson may driver Son-uva Digger, but Grave Digger has 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.
“Thank you to all the Monster Jam fans who came out and spent their harder-earned money to watch us do what we do, and I will always promise to give 100% and drive the truck like a madman to make sure each person has the time of their life every time at Monster Jam!”
Protective Stadium results:
1. Son-uva Digger, Ryan Anderson, 35 points
2. Velociraptor, David Offert, 28 points
3. Zombie, Bari Musawwir, 25 points
4. Soldier Fortune, Kayla Blood, 24 points
5. Avenger, Jim Koehler, 19 points
6. Bakugan Dragonoid, Camden Murphy, 18 points
7. Megaladon, Cory Rummell, 15 points
7. Grave Digger, Adam Anderson, 15 points
9. ThunderROARus, Colt Stephens, 14 points
10. Monster Mutt, Chris Koehler, 13 points
10. Vendetta, Mike Christensen, 13 points
10. El Toro Loco, Joe Foley, 13 points
Monster Jam Stadium Championship West heads to Seattle this Saturday.