Freestyle (monster trucks)
Encyclopedia
Freestyle, in Monster Truck
competition, is an event where the goal is to perform tricks and stunts with the truck in order to demonstrate driver skill and truck capability. Some freestyle events are judged competitions, while others are merely exhibition
s.
s and perform wheelie
s and would typically be judged by the audience
in a "cheer-off", where the truck that got the most applause
was determined to be the winner. As monster truck racing developed in the mid 1980s, freestyle was relegated to an exhibition exclusive event, and was almost non-existent for a portion of the early 1990s.
Freestyle entered back into the sport as some drivers, notably Dennis Anderson
and Mike Welch, began asking promoter
s if they could bring their trucks out for an extra freestyle exhibition for the fans when they were eliminated from racing in early rounds from breakage. They were given permission to do so often and the positive crowd response was noted by the promoters, who then decided it would be a good addition to all shows.
In the middle of the 1990s, freestyle was added to most monster truck events as an exhibition segment for all trucks. The segment served two purposes: first, it gave the crowd the wheelies, long jumps, and donut
s that they wanted and were not usually a part of racing; second, it brought the trucks out for a longer period of time in front of the audience, allowing for shows with fewer trucks and fewer rounds of racing.
By the end of the 1990s, freestyle had become an anticipated part of shows and the drivers had begun to develop their own individual tricks, as well as informally competing to put on the best show for bragging rights. This, combined with the Motor Madness
television show format of one event spread out over two episodes, influenced the USHRA's decision to turn freestyle into a judged competition that would also count toward a championship. Currently, while not every promoter runs a championship for it, most promoters run freestyle as a competitive event at shows in conjunction with racing.
s to a set of vehicles used in racing. Separate freestyle obstacles are also usually placed in the competition area outside the boundaries of the race course. These obstacles can include dirt hills, extra rows of cars, recreational vehicle
s or trailer homes to drive through, or what are termed as "pyramids" - an obstacle that uses vehicles of increasing sizes to form a kind of stair
set for trucks to climb up. A typical "pyramid" is known as a car-van-bus-van-car pyramid, called such because the trucks climb over the vehicles in that order.
There are several variations on the judging of freestyle (depending on the promoter), but they all share a common thread in that they usually involve the spectators having some say in who the winner is. Some promoters still use the applause-based "cheer-off" method, however scorecard based judging, as is done in the USHRA, is increasing in use. In this method, a set of judges is chosen to score runs individually on a scale from one to ten, one being the worst score and ten being the best. These individual scores are then added up to give the total score. At most events, three judges are used and the best possible score is thirty; at the Monster Jam World Finals
six judges (all from within the industry and not fans) are used and the lowest and highest scores are thrown out for a maximum total of forty.
Basic judging criteria includes:
At smaller events, if the scored judging ends in a tie, a "cheer-off" is often used between the tied competitors. At larger events, the tie is broken by a secret judge called the "tie breaking judge".
.
The legitimacy of the competition is also criticized because, in the case of fan-judged events, inexperienced or biased fans can judge inconsistently or poorly.
Many also feel that pressure from both fans and promoters has forced drivers to push their trucks beyond their limits and too often is a breeding ground for crashes and excessively risky maneuvers. Branching from this is the criticism that freestyle is exclusively to create the crashes and roll-overs that casual fans enjoy, and events like the World Finals tend to reinforce the argument with multiple roll-overs and even trucks driving over each other. However, recent emphasis on using the full allotted time and scoring bonuses for making saves rather than crashing are reducing the trend.
Monster truck
A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
competition, is an event where the goal is to perform tricks and stunts with the truck in order to demonstrate driver skill and truck capability. Some freestyle events are judged competitions, while others are merely exhibition
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
s.
History and development
The earliest monster truck competitions were rudimentary freestyle events. Drivers would crush carČar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
s and perform wheelie
Wheelie
In vehicle acrobatics, a wheelie is a vehicle maneuver in which the front wheel or wheels come off the ground due to extreme torque being applied to the rear wheel or wheels. Wheelies are usually associated with bicycles and motorcycles, but can be done with other vehicles such as cars, especially...
s and would typically be judged by the audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
in a "cheer-off", where the truck that got the most applause
Applause
Applause is primarily the expression of approval by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences are usually expected to applaud after a performance, such as a musical concert, speech, or play...
was determined to be the winner. As monster truck racing developed in the mid 1980s, freestyle was relegated to an exhibition exclusive event, and was almost non-existent for a portion of the early 1990s.
Freestyle entered back into the sport as some drivers, notably Dennis Anderson
Dennis Anderson
Dennis Anderson is a professional monster truck driver. He is the creator and driver of "Grave Digger" on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit. Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, he now resides in Poplar Branch, North Carolina. In Poplar Branch, he has his own shop where he signs autographs and shoots...
and Mike Welch, began asking promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
s if they could bring their trucks out for an extra freestyle exhibition for the fans when they were eliminated from racing in early rounds from breakage. They were given permission to do so often and the positive crowd response was noted by the promoters, who then decided it would be a good addition to all shows.
In the middle of the 1990s, freestyle was added to most monster truck events as an exhibition segment for all trucks. The segment served two purposes: first, it gave the crowd the wheelies, long jumps, and donut
DONUT
DONUT was an experiment at Fermilab dedicated to the search for tau neutrino interactions. Even though the detector operated only during a few months in the summer of 1997, it was largely successful. By detecting the tau neutrino, it confirmed the existence of the last lepton predicted by the...
s that they wanted and were not usually a part of racing; second, it brought the trucks out for a longer period of time in front of the audience, allowing for shows with fewer trucks and fewer rounds of racing.
By the end of the 1990s, freestyle had become an anticipated part of shows and the drivers had begun to develop their own individual tricks, as well as informally competing to put on the best show for bragging rights. This, combined with the Motor Madness
Motor Madness
Motor Madness was a motorsports based television show on TNN in the late 1990s. It was originally formatted as a live, 3 hour show with a studio segment and coverage of a live event...
television show format of one event spread out over two episodes, influenced the USHRA's decision to turn freestyle into a judged competition that would also count toward a championship. Currently, while not every promoter runs a championship for it, most promoters run freestyle as a competitive event at shows in conjunction with racing.
Rules and format
Freestyle competitions typically run in conjunction with racing events, and typically share the same basic track setup. Modifications can be made to the racing obstacles, however, to make them more suitable for freestyle. This usually involves removing ramps to give the trucks a more vertical take-off from the cars, and even stacking cars or adding vanVan
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s to a set of vehicles used in racing. Separate freestyle obstacles are also usually placed in the competition area outside the boundaries of the race course. These obstacles can include dirt hills, extra rows of cars, recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
s or trailer homes to drive through, or what are termed as "pyramids" - an obstacle that uses vehicles of increasing sizes to form a kind of stair
Stairs
-People:* Scott Kannberg , guitarist of Pavement* A. Edison Stairs , New Brunswick politician* Denis Stairs , engineer, Montreal businessman* Ernest W. Stairs , New Brunswick politician...
set for trucks to climb up. A typical "pyramid" is known as a car-van-bus-van-car pyramid, called such because the trucks climb over the vehicles in that order.
There are several variations on the judging of freestyle (depending on the promoter), but they all share a common thread in that they usually involve the spectators having some say in who the winner is. Some promoters still use the applause-based "cheer-off" method, however scorecard based judging, as is done in the USHRA, is increasing in use. In this method, a set of judges is chosen to score runs individually on a scale from one to ten, one being the worst score and ten being the best. These individual scores are then added up to give the total score. At most events, three judges are used and the best possible score is thirty; at the Monster Jam World Finals
Monster Jam World Finals
The Monster Jam World Finals is an annual monster truck event held in late March at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV. It is the championship event of the USHRA Monster Jam series. It consists of racing and freestyle segments, and the winner of each is considered the series champion in that...
six judges (all from within the industry and not fans) are used and the lowest and highest scores are thrown out for a maximum total of forty.
Basic judging criteria includes:
- Amount of allotted time used
- Amount of speed maintained during run
- Aggression in hitting obstacles
- Height, length, and verticality of jumps
- Use of specific tricks (slap wheelieSlap wheelieA slap wheelie is a specific form of freestyle trick performed by monster trucks. The truck is jumped over an obstacle, the front wheels bounce off the ground when it lands and the driver lays into the gas pedal to use the torque of the engine to pull the truck into a wheelstand...
s, donuts, etc.) - Getting the truck out of situations which would otherwise result in a crash ("saves")
- Spectacular moments (can often add significantly to the score of an otherwise unimpressive run)
At smaller events, if the scored judging ends in a tie, a "cheer-off" is often used between the tied competitors. At larger events, the tie is broken by a secret judge called the "tie breaking judge".
Criticisms
Freestyle is not universally popular among those in the industry, notably Everett Jasmer. There are several criticisms of the competition. Among them is that, as a judged competition, freestyle is not legitimate motor sport because it is not racing, and that it adds to the reputation of the sport being more of a show than a competition, similar to professional wrestlingProfessional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
.
The legitimacy of the competition is also criticized because, in the case of fan-judged events, inexperienced or biased fans can judge inconsistently or poorly.
Many also feel that pressure from both fans and promoters has forced drivers to push their trucks beyond their limits and too often is a breeding ground for crashes and excessively risky maneuvers. Branching from this is the criticism that freestyle is exclusively to create the crashes and roll-overs that casual fans enjoy, and events like the World Finals tend to reinforce the argument with multiple roll-overs and even trucks driving over each other. However, recent emphasis on using the full allotted time and scoring bonuses for making saves rather than crashing are reducing the trend.