By Michael Heilman
This past weekend, September 28th and 29th saw the return of the monster trucks to Wildwood, NJ for the annual Beast of the Beach monster truck show. There were eight monster trucks and tuff trucks competing in the famous “S” track for three shows. In the end, Team Scream Racing’s Cory Rummel would win the 2019 Beast of the Beach tournament for the second year in a row.
The show ran smoothly compared to last year as there were several changes. First, there was a section for people to buy tickets at the gate and for those fans who bought tickets in advance. The lines moves smoothly as those holding tickets could just walk up to the entryway, get their tickets scanned, and receive a mark on the arm for re-entry. Unlike last year where there was only one expansive line to wait in even if you had tickets.
Second, the merchandising section was open throughout the show. Unlike last year, the merchandising section closed halfway into the show, so fans missed out on buying their favorite driver’s team merchandise. There were also more truck vendors providing not only the food staples, but wood stove pizza, and coffee.
Thirdly the show had a better flow to it. It ran on time, with an organized schedule, announcements during the show, and security personnel keeping the kids away from the fencing during races. The opening Pit Party was only fifteen minutes for the fans to meet their favorite drivers and get pictures and autographs with them. Those who didn’t make it to the early Pit Party were able to get pictures and autographs after the show.
Photo by Michael Heilman
The show got underway a little after 7 pm with the driver intros followed by the national anthem. After the opening ceremonies concluded, it was time to go racing starting with tuff truck qualifying. The tuff trucks ran a qualifying round followed by the first-round of monster trucks. Monster trucks Buckshot, Avenger, Kraken, and Rat Nasty all won. The tuff trucks came back out for a second round; one of the trucks flipped over making the final turn heading to the finish line. This was followed by the monster truck semi-finals which saw Avenger and Kraken win to set up the final round.
A fifteen-minute intermission took place after the monster truck semi-finals. When the show resumed, the tuff trucks came back out for their semi-final round that saw Green Head and Boy Toy win to set up for the final. Avenger and Kraken both came back to race the finals which saw Kraken defeat Avenger in a close race. Green Head and Boy Toy came back out for the finals in which Foy Toy flipped over heading to the final turn that allowed Green Head to win racing.
Once the crew got Foy Toy back on its tires, it was time for monster truck freestyle. Rat Nasty went first and didn’t last long with an engine failure, XDP went second, Rage went third and attempted to jump the school bus but got stuck ending his freestyle run. Jester was next and tied Rage in freestyle points. Loud and Dirty was next followed by Buckshot, Avenger, who went up in flames and Kraken. After freestyle ended, the fans got to vote the freestyle winner between Jester and Rage with the fans voting for Jester to close out the show.
The show was fantastic, and next year, Wildwood Motor Events will celebrate 25 years of monster truck racing in Wildwood. One suggestion I would like to see next year is for the show to go back to head-to-head racing like the very first show was that took place in 1995.
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