monsters on the prowl in broad daylight at scotia speedworld
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a young boy is hoisted up to get a good look at one of seven monster trucks that would roar into action at scotia speedworld, near the halifax airport, on saturday afternoon.
francis campbell
children and monsters normally don’t mix.
under a brilliant saturday afternoon sun at scotia speedworld, adjacent to the halifax airport, hundreds of excited youngsters readily embraced monsters of the truck variety.
“it’s a family-driven event,” mike james, co-owner and promoter of the napa auto parts world series of monster trucks, said of its regular three-day stop at scotia speedworld.
“there are over 4,000 people here today, and it’s the smiles that you get from the children who just love monster trucks,” said james, 48, originally from gander, n.l.
“this show is for anybody from five months old to 80 years old. the demo is families. you see all the little children out here, because like barbie doll, monster truck is the no. 2 toy in the world.
“you think about little boys, they like dump trucks, they like garbage trucks, and then you take a monster truck and it goes out and destroys cars, it’s pretty easy for them to gravitate toward that,” james said.
“monster trucks are for everybody. you see the little girls out there cheering on scarlet bandit, it’s no longer a little boys show. you see a lot of little girls out there. it’s a great show.”
saylor and oaklen renaud pose for a photo beside the giant tires of xtreme jim, the lone canadian monster truck in competition saturday at scotia speedworld.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
siblings saylor, 6, and oaklen renaud, celebrating his fourth birthday, seemed to agree, posing for photos in front of the humongous 66-inch tires on xtreme jim and scarlet bandit, two of the seven monsters in action at the speedway over the weekend.
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saylor said scarlet bandit was her favourite, but not because it’s owned and driven by dawn creten, a 27-year veteran and pioneer female driver on the monster tour.
“the pink one because it’s pink,” saylor said when prompted to say why scarlet bandit was her choice among the monsters.
the renauds, including dad michael, were among a throng of fans who, with the price of admission of $35 for general attendees and $25 for children 12 and under, earned access to the seven trucks parked in the grass on the infield of the nearly half-kilometre paved oval track, before the main events started at 2 p.m.
the trucks top out at about 3.6 metres from ground to truck top, about twice the height of a normal half-ton truck. the tires are more than twice the height of a traditional truck tire.
mike james, promoter and co-owner of the of the napa auto parts world series of monster trucks, gets ready for a big saturday at scotia speedworld, near the halifax airport.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
james said the vehicles are now specially manufactured for the purpose of entertainment, although the monster truck craze kicked off in the early 1980s with large wheels and tires jacking up factory- built trucks.
james, who had abandoned an original career path of dentistry for naval architecture and eventually racing formula cars, much to his mother’s chagrin, moved into promotion of monster truck events and other motor racing and concert presentations some two decades ago.
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“it’s kind of weird when someone asks you what you do for a living,” he said. “monster trucks, nascar, i worked with kiss and aerosmith doing concerts. i have a very strange career but the entertainment, you see the fans and you see the comments after the show, they had a great time. it’s probably something i’ll do until the day i die.
“my (five) kids want to get into the business, but that’s the drive. you do live entertainment and you see the feedback from the fans. that’s what drives us.”
james said he has promoted shows for 35,000 spectators at the calgary stampede and other events that drew up to 50,000 people.
the weekend at scotia speedworld, one of two napa monster truck stops in canada along with the avalon peninsula in newfoundland, plays in front of a more modest gathering.
the matinees each begin with the pit show, with fans provided a close-up look at the big rigs, that’s followed by a freelance show with the monster truck drivers showing off the ballet skills of balancing in motion on two wheels, on front or back or on one side.
the freestyle is a judged competition where drivers are given a set amount of time to perform stunts and tricks with their trucks, using obstacles like ramps and crushed vehicles.
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a highlight for fans is the car crushing, with the monster trucks obliterating the 40 crush cars, some of which james pointed to sitting idly by in front of the grandstand.
“some of these cars were probably somebody’s family car, but we’re going to crush them this weekend,” he said.
“they destroy them.”
the scarlet bandit monster truck sits in the infield at scotia speedworld on saturday.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
the finale is racing, with two trucks pitted against each other, starting at opposite sides of the “wicked fast” asphalt track and racing a lap and a half. james said there are safety features and if track officials spot something wrong with one of the competing monsters, there is a remote interruption to shut down the truck.
only one of the competing monsters is canadian, extreme jim from rimouski, que., and james says most of the other trucks are from the u.s. midwest, many from the kansas area.
the napa series is one of several running simultaneously across the continent and the world.
james said a competing monster truck now runs in the vicinity of $300,000, and the owners offset the cost with sponsorships, the sale of merchandise and prize money.
the big rigs are powered by huge 1,500- to 1,800-horsepower motors.
james said at one time he used to promote 56 shows a year, mostly in the united states, but with a young family he has now limited himself to 36 a year.
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james said he feels at home in halifax and at speedworld during his stops here.
“i’ve done venues all over the world, go to different cities,” he said. “it’s a different feeling here in nova scotia.”
he said they could potentially sell 5,000 tickets for each of the days at speedworld but instead they target a maximum of 4,200.
“it’s families and it’s not comfortable when it is too tight,” he said. “fans have coolers, strollers. it’s all about the family experience and making sure our patrons are happy at the end of the day.
“one of the favourite parts of being a promoter is seeing the people. . . . a lot of our fans are repeat fans, and this is our fourth year coming to speedworld.”
he’s already planning an even more monstrous show for 2026.
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