![]() The Max-D has become well known for its ability to take big, high jumps.Įichelberger said he's never had an injury driving Monster Jam. They truck along a custom-designed track full of obstacles to soar over, or smash through. Built for short, powerful bursts of speed, the trucks are capable of reaching up to 100 mph and can fly up to 35 feet in the air over distances of 125 to 130 feet. I don't think he gives me all his secrets, but he gives me a lot of them," Eichelberger said.īesides Grave Digger, other vehicles Eichelberger's Max-D will be competing with include EarthShaker, Monster Mutt Rottweiler and Zombie. These are names that suggest something to be fearful about, and the Monster Jam truck has some awe-inspiring dimensions at about 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide, sitting on 66-inch-tall tires, and at a minimum weight of 10,000 pounds. Speaking of Meents, he has definitely spread some Monster Jam advice to his stepson. Eichelberger drove Grave Digger his first year, but while that's a famous Monster Jam name, Max-D was "like getting home and figuring it out with something that your dad created." He placed second in each of his first two Monster Jam seasons, which sounds commendable but Eichelberger described as "not good." First place is definitely the goal this time.įor the second year he will be driving the family Max-D (short for Maximum Destruction) vehicles. I lift seven days a week, cardio three of those days." "All eight of us are changing our gear to go to different machines … Switching vehicles, you wouldn't believe how much it wears you down."Ĭonsistency in every event is one of the keys to success, Eichelberger said. (After the season ends there are other meetings through the year and international competitions.)įor the audience the Triple Threat format means "a lot of different events to keep the fans interested," Eichelberger said. For the drivers, Triple Threat is a test of quickness and versatility as well as endurance. The tour runs through mid-March, and the driver who has accumulated the most points gets to go to the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas March 23-25. In Monster Jam Triple Threat, eight competing drivers helm three different vehicles -Monster Jam trucks and the smaller Monster Jam Speedsters and Monster Jam ATVs - and battle for points in racing and freestyle events in each machine. ![]() Monster Jam has different tours and categories of competition running simultaneously (Meents is on the Monster Jam FS1 East tour, which is in Atlanta Jan. It began last weekend as the East tour of the Triple Threat Series got underway with a stop in Birmingham, Alabama, Jan. ![]() But I just started driving with my heart."Įichelberger, who came across as polite and dedicated, was being interviewed by telephone just ahead of his third season in the Monster Jam business. You have to throw fear out the window if you want to get in the business. "I had always sat in them, but the first time (driving) it just came so natural to me. I didn't have no fear. "It felt great," Eichelberger said of finally taking control of a Monster Jam truck. I started on dirt bikes." That was when he was 11. Eichelberger bided his time with freestyle motocross. "I knew Monster Jam was in my near future. ![]() ![]() "There are Monster Jam training trucks in our back yard," Eichelberger said.īut there are also things like rules and regulations, and Eichelberger noted that you're not allowed to train in and drive a Monster Jam truck until you turn 18 years of age. On the family property in rural Paxion, Illinois, there's a state-of-the-art Monster Jam track. "I've grown up with it my whole life," Eichelberger said of Monster Jam. His stepfather is Monster Jam legend Tom Meents, the winningest driver in Monster Jam World Finals history and creator of the Max-DTM Monster Jam truck. Then he was off to the races. The 20-year-old will be one of the drivers in the Monster Jam Triple Threat Series that vrooms into the DCU Center in Worcester Jan. It was just a matter of time before Colton Eichelberger would rev up the engine of a Monster Jam truck. ![]()
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