Roaring into Youngstown

By John Benson

The Monster Nationals take place Friday and Saturday at the Chevrolet Centre.

There’s a roar headed for Youngstown that should have monster truck fans energized for some fun. Called the Monster Nationals, the suped-up show takes place Friday and Saturday at the Chevrolet Center.

“We’re bringing five monster trucks – Samson, Tail Gator, High Maintenance, Holman’s Beast and Ironman – and we also have Megasaurus, which is the car-eating transforming dinosaur,” said Image Promotions Limited Vice President Scott Neely.

“We have the first jet-powered golf cart called Teed Off. We also have a jet-powered Crazy Boy recliner and four mini-off-road super-trucks, which are basically mini-monster trucks we race around in.”

He added, “All of our entertainment is based around the family. Because we’re all family guys and we have young kids and stuff, we have side-by-side racing with the monster trucks. We have freestyle with the monster truck. We have wheelie and donut contests with the monsters trucks, and we let the crowd judge all of these different contests to pick their favorites.”

Promoting monster truck events for the past 16 years, Neely said the sport has grown immensely during that time.

Not only has Monster Nationals evolved from only four events a year to over 20 around the Midwest, but the monster trucks are now quarter of a million dollar vehicles with advanced design.

“We’ve had a lot of advancements with safety for the trucks, the drivers, the crew and all of the fans,” Neely said.

“The trucks are now lighter, fly higher and are better suspended so they land softer for the drivers. And the technology has really kept pace with the change of times. We look at all of the other forms of racing – from NASCAR to drag racing – to learn from them and they learn from us as far as safety standards go. And we make sure we put on the safest shows out there.”

Something new to the Monster Nationals is the notion of pit parties, where before each show kids and their families can get on the floor to meet the drivers, get autographs and see the trucks up close. This takes place every show night from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. Free pit passes are currently available at the Greenwood Chevrolet dealership.

Feeling as though there is momentum in the community, Neely is optimistic the Monster Nationals will quickly become an annual Youngstown event that caters to all kinds of crowds.

“It’s a good family value for the dollar, and there’s a diversity of entertainment here,” Neely said. “There’s something here for all ages. The younger kids like the mini-trucks, the older kids like the big trucks, and some kids like Megasaurus. We’re all family guided, and we like to think we know what it takes to entertain kids. So really, that’s what we try to do with our shows.”