Monster Jam,

Rosemont, Ill

What could be more romantic then Monster Trucks on Valentines Day? Nothing! After a 3 year absence from Rosemont, CCE finally decided to come back. What a great decision they made, the place was nearly sold out. First off I have to thank Mike McFarlin from Clear Channel Entertainment for supplying me with tickets for the show. Out of any venue near me I have been to Rosemont the most. This would mark my 5th time here. Lets meet the drivers!

Truck & Driver Lineup

Avenger/Jim Koehler-- The defending freestyle world champion came back to Rosemont for the second time. On Friday Jim rolled twice, during the photo moment and during freestyle. You can see that his crew was thrashing on the back end during freestyle. I was expecting allot out of Jim after seeing him perform in Joilet.

Madusa/Debra Meceli-- Former pro wrestler Debra Meceli is back in the driver seat for the fifth year and sporting a new paint scheme. Madusa is having one of her best seasons so far and looks to tear it up in the Windy city.

Black Smith/Norman Miller-- The driver seat for the Blacksmith has been changed around all winter. First, Tina Huffaker was driving for a little while then Adam was but with Adam in collage he wasn't able to attend all the shows so Norman Miller resumed his duties as driver.

El Toro Loco/Lupe Sosa-- The crazy man in the bull, Lupe Sosa was fresh off of a great 2003 season and was looking to keep up the momentum after his runner up finish in Vegas. I was expecting Lupe to be very impressive in freestyle.

Virginia Giant/Delhi Wilson-- The reigning 2 time Thunder Nationals Champion returns to Chicago for the 3rd time. I had the pleasure of seeing Delhi in Crown Point over the summer, I felt he kind of let off in Racing but put on a very good run in Freestyle. I was looking for a good race out of Wilson.

Grave Digger/Pablo Huffaker-- This would mark the first time ever that Dennis Anderson would not be in Chicago as he was in St. Louis for the weekend. Pablo is the Digger teams #2 driver and I was expecting the crazy Digger freestyle from him.

Brutus/Chris Bergeron-- Another truck which I had the pleasure to see over the summer. Unfortunately, Chris took a spill and lost a tire. Would his bad luck haunt him again in Illinois?

Frankenstein/Paul Shafer-- Yet another truck I saw in 2003, Paul had one win in Valpo but he was on the other side of things in Joilet. This would mark Paul's at least 3rd trip to the Windy City, winning a couple of those times. I was expecting Paul to run very conservative during racing and freestyle.

Advance Auto Parts Photo Moment

Avenger had bad luck on Friday during the photo moment rolling his Chevrolet Avenger backwards in the Photo Moment. Huffaker and Koehler would be doing the same today.

Both trucks stuck their nose to the ceiling and got nice sky wheelies.

Racing Round 1

Grave Digger (Huffaker) vs. Brutus (Bergeron)

Bergeron busted out of the gate and got in the turn quick but Pablo was just beating him to the set. The Digger pounces on the dog to advance to the finals. Winner: Grave Digger (Huffaker)

Frankenstein (Shafer) vs. Blacksmith (Miller)

Shafer's fleet of trucks have been running a lot more in the 2004 season. But would he be able to take out a USHRA regular? Both trucks stayed very low and came across very close. Miller seemed very sluggish in the corners which cost him the final on Friday. Winner: Frankenstein (Shafer)

El Toro Loco (Sosa) vs. Madusa (Meceli)

 Two of the World Finals Freestyle champions (yeah this should of been up before the Finals) anyways, Lupe was strong all over the course, both trucks were catching a good chunk of air over the cars. In the end, the man from Texas took home the win. Winner: El Toro Loco (Sosa)

Virginia Giant (Wilson) vs. Avenger (Koehler)

Both trucks bolted off the line and neither truck seemed to get a rhythm going, especially Koehler who took out the rear end of the van throwing him off going into the corner giving Diehl the win. Would the van hold up for freestyle. You will just have to wait. Winner: Virginia Giant (Wilson)

Racing Round 2

Grave Digger (Huffaker) vs. Frankenstein (Shafer)

Right from the start you could tell that Pablo wanted it more. Faster in the corner while Paul was being conservative. Pablo was racing tough and wasn't going to do what ever it takes to get the win. Winner: Grave Digger (Huffaker)

Virginia Giant (Wilson) vs. El Toro Loco (Sosa)

This time around Diehl seemed to be running better but Lupe was hanging with him, until he went on two wheels in the corner giving Wilson the win. Winner: Virginia Giant (Wilson)

Racing Finals

Grave Digger (Huffaker) vs. Virginia Giant (Wilson)

The two pictures tell the story. Diehl tries to keep up and is semi-close until Pablo turns it on and gets a decent lead and takes the Saturday afternoon Racing win. Winner: Grave Digger (Huffaker)

Freestyle

As you can see there are the cars from racing and the van pyramid and the FMX hill. They were only allowed 60 seconds which was absolute crap. Would anybody get adventurous?

Frankenstein (Shafer)

Paul came out and well, did a Shafer freestyle, conservative, but enough to please the crowd. Shafer hit the pyramid once and hit the cars a couple of times and that was it. Score: 20

Virginia Giant (Wilson)

After seeing Diehl perform in Crown Point and put up a decent run, I was looking forward to a good freestyle. Wilson attacked the cars a couple of times and then tried some donuts and got nothing. Diehl was wasting precious time and got a hit on the pyramid then the jaw dropping began. Diehl hung his arm out the window and it was on! He spun that thing it gave you a headache. I was in shock and forgot to click off a pic. The first big move and the crowd went bananas. Score: 23

Brutus (Bergeron)

The flashy new paint scheme was debuted earlier in the year in Houston. Chris has been on a mission and rolling a bit too much this year. Chris came out and got one hit on the cars and then went for the Pyramid. The backend kicked to the right sending the truck into a roll. The crowd booed after the judges gave Chris a 19, yet he only lasted 15 seconds.

Score 19

Blacksmith (Miller)

The driving duties have been switching around for the 2004 season. Norman Miller had the seat for Rosemont. Norman came out and got a couple of hits on the cars and a smack at the van and a nice donut. Nothing too impressive from Stormin' Norman Miller. Score: 21

El Toro Loco (Sosa)

The man in the Crazy Bull from Texas was visiting Rosemont for the first time ever. Lupe kept the momentum high and hit every thing on the track. Lupe stuck the nose of the bull to the ceiling of Allstate arena and took of a panel and messed up the rear steering in the process. Lupe parked it in the corner for the rest of the day. Great Run to take the lead. Score: 26

Madusa (Meceli)

Debra has been having one of her best seasons on the tour in 2004 racking up some big wins. She looked to continue her winning ways in Chi-Town. She had a tough act to follow after Lupe but she delivered. She took on the cars a couple of times getting good air but she started to run over the time limit and she just kept on going and I went to take a picture and when I looked over the camera and she was on her lid after attempting a donut. A good fast paced run from Madusa. Score: 28

Avenger (Koehler)

The reigning World Finals Freestyle Champion was back in Chicago for the second time. As soon as Jim came out his goal was to attack the pyramid, and that he did 3 times. Jim couldn't get the momentum to get a high score. A good solid run from the Michigan boy Jim Koehler. Score: 24

Grave Digger (Huffaker)

I don't think Pablo let off the throttle during any part of freestyle and only in the corners for racing. He was going for a second straight clean sweep of racing and freestyle, and he did just that. Pablo roared around the track and hit the pyramid several times and with less then 5 seconds left spun a nasty cyclone to put the icing on the cake. A great run from Pablo Huffaker and Digger. Score: 30

Overall a fantastic show, and the 3 year wait was worth it. I hope Rosemont continues to be a regular stop on the USHRA tour and the history lives on. One of the best weekends in Rosemont history as Pablo Huffaker, first ever Digger driver other then Dennis, won a record 7 times in one weekend as Jim Koehler was the only driver to stop him at the Sunday show during freestyle. Thanks for reading - Andrew Pellegrine.