ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Almost 10,000 tons of dirt — hundreds of dump trucks full — was deposited onto the floor at PPL Center on Thursday.
On Saturday and Sunday, it will be the playground for the touring show Monster Jam — which features trucks 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide, sitting atop 66-inch-tall tires and weighing at least 10,000 pounds.
The popular presentation is extremely loud and flashy, but the dirt plays an important part.
- Monster Jam returns to PPL Center in Allentown for shows at 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday
- Some drivers and team members say they have strong ties to the area
- Much of the supplies they use come from local suppliers — the dirt for the tracks is even borrowed from Lehigh Valley farmers
It's in that soil that the trucks — with names such as Grave Digger and ThunderRoarUs — perform in short, high-powered bursts of speed and fly over distances of 125 to 130 feet and 35 feet in the air.
Monster Jam, which has been running since 1992 and since 2015 has come to PPL Center about once a year, has ties to the Lehigh Valley, officials said.
Even the dirt is "borrowed" from local farmers, who a Monster Jam spokesperson surprisingly said are accustomed to getting the call from the show every year, asking to borrow the soil.
It's returned back to the farms after the trucks race around on it and slam down on it after aerial stunts. The dirt is still useful after, the spokesperson said — it's just dirt, after all.
Grave Digger
Weston Anderson, who drives the famous Grave Digger truck, said he owes much of his success to Allentown, where he said he cut his teeth in his Monster Truck driving career.
"I actually came through Allentown here my rookie year, and this is where I took over the points lead for my series championship," Anderson said in an interview at the arena.
"And that's where I got my first series championship was that tour last year."
Anderson comes from a Monster Truck family. His father, Dennis, was the original Grave Digger driver, and an integral part of the early days of Monster Jam.
"It doesn't even feel like work."Weston Anderson, driver of Grave Digger
There are six Grave Digger trucks in total that tour the world at the same time to keep up appearances. Of all six Grave Diggers, Anderson family members drive three — one of his brothers, and one of his sisters.
ThunderROARus
The driver of a comparatively lesser-known truck is from Pennsylvania: Tony Ochs, who drives "ThunderROARus."
The truck is, as the name suggests, dinosaur themed. The front of it is a motorized dinosaur mouth that can open up on command — but operators keep it closed during the driving because it would block the driver's vision.
He was born in Lucinda, a small community in Clarion County, near Pittsburgh.
He said he loves coming to Allentown, and always looks forward to seeing his daughters' faces in the crowd.
On Friday, his family was at the practice run, watching and cheering him on from the stands of the PPL Center.
"I could see when I went out there to do my practice introduction, I could see my daughter up there dancing," he said. "And it just, it just drove me wild. Just watching her dance up there while I'm sitting down here doing my dream job."
Ochs operates an excavating company when he's home — a sort of low-maintenance gig that lets him travel the world most other times.
"I get home, run that for a few days, then get back on the road with Monster Jam," he said.
Ochs started his Monster Truck career as a technician. He's an Army veteran and said he got experience working on vehicles and driving while serving.
After that, he said, he put in a resume with the truck show, and was able to start small and work his way up to driving.
Warm-up
On Friday, the day before the show, drivers got all set up at the PPL Center in their trucks to do a round of practice.
A spokesperson for Monster Jam said it usually only takes about five minutes, unless something goes wrong. Then it could take about 20 minutes.
Mechanics and other support staff, wearing walkie-talkies and airplane pilot headphones guided the giant trucks into position. They sat and chatted over the walkie-talkies for a while, and then the lights of the PPL Center dimmed, and the George Thorogood song "Bad to the Bone" started playing, while flashy promo videos aired on the jumbotron.
Two by two, the Monster Trucks raced in the spirit of friendly competition, without much apparent effort to actually win — more just to make sure the trucks are all in tip-top shape, and the music, lights, and videos all are perfectly timed.
All the trucks driving in a circle. The smell of fumes is really potent. Stadium is filled with smoke. Monster Jam spokesperson tells me they leave doors open to mitigate this. pic.twitter.com/CEJvV5JYDI
— Julian Abraham (@JulianJAbraham) July 28, 2023
At one point, all the drivers did a lap together — some almost bumping into each other's giant tires, which are about as tall as a person.
At the end of the warm-up, the lights flicked back on, and vehicle exhaust had noticeably filled the PPL Center, highlighted by the jumbotron and stage lighting.
The smell was potent, and a Monster Jam spokesperson said they keep the several garage doors in the PPL Center open in order to mitigate this.
'It's controlled chaos'
Everyone employed by Monster Jam who was interviewed, from set-up staff to drivers, all described it as a very fun way to make a living.
"It doesn't even feel like work," Anderson said.
He said he likes the rush of the showmanship, the adrenaline and the thrill of driving such a heavy-duty vehicle, pushing it to its limits.
He said his father, Dennis, the original driver of the Grave Digger truck, had a reputation for being an "all-or-nothing" driver — sustaining many injuries in the process.
Weston said he has the same philosophy, as do many in his family.
"It's controlled chaos," he said — and he agreed that he lives his life outside the track the same way, enjoying the thrill of pushing things to the limit, in a responsible way.
'It's like family'
On top of the literal family that runs through the history of the Grave Digger — the rest of the drivers, as well as everyone else on the Monster Jam tour, said they feel a close connection, as well.
"It's like family," said Becca Marsh, the tour manager for this circuit of Monster Jam.
She's from Florida, and said that after winning Monster Jam tickets in a radio station contest, she fell in love with the show and decided to apply for a job as a technician.
Four years later, she's now managing an entire Monster Jam tour.
She said she grew up around all-terrain vehicles, and with a surprised expression said she has an interior design degree and worked in that field for a little while, for Ashley Furniture, before making a drastic switch to the Monster Truck industry.
"It's like a family, like if you were to gather everyone for Thanksgiving, granddad and dad, they all want to watch football, and they all want to argue, but we all agree to put on a great meal together and have a great conversation... That's what it's like every week."Becca Marsh, Monster Jam Tour Manager
Marsh said the folks on tours with her don't typically live the rockstar life you'd expect — they have call times as early as 5 a.m., so it's not conducive to staying out late. (Though Marsh said they do have a drink at a bar after a show sometimes.)
Instead, she said, they like to get together for barbecues and dinners, preferably at the homes of team members who happen to be based in whatever city they're touring in.
"It's like a family," she said. "Like if you were to gather everyone for Thanksgiving, granddad and dad, they all want to watch football, and they all want to argue, but we all agree to put on a great meal together and have a great conversation.
"That's what it's like every week."
Monster Jam tickets, at $17-$85, are available on the PPL Center website.
