Monster trucks offer fun for students, kids

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Ground pounding, car crushing, high jumping giants will race into East Lansing as the E3 Spark Plugs Monster Truck Nationals arrives at 7 p.m. Saturday to Breslin Center.

“We’ve had the Monster Truck Nationals for many, many years,” said Tara Peplowski, marketing and media director for Breslin Center. “It’s just something the community has taken to.”

The show offers various stunts and events for viewers to enjoy, starting out with a doughnut contest, which is a high-speed race in a circle where a few trucks inevitably tip over.

A wheelie contest will be next, the challenge being to drive over multiple cars on the truck’s back wheels while keeping the nose of the truck up in the air as long as possible.

The show also offers three rounds of straight-line drag racing, where two cars race side-by-side.

“Monster truck shows aren’t really about being the best or winning the contest,” said Steve Draggoo, a mathematics junior. “It’s just about enjoying the show and having a great time watching things get smashed.”

The show will go out with a bang, ending with a freestyle contest.

“That’s really the crowd’s favorite,” said Jessica Hubley for Monster Truck Nationals media relations. “We do a crowd response to see who wins.”

Competitors include TailGator, Ironman, the Lucas Oilpurchase “Stabilizer” and Bigfoot, the original and most well-known monster truck in the U.S. During the freestyle event, the trucks race around the arena, smash into cars, perform jumps and wheelies, and try to outdo each other.

The crowd also can get their thrill-seeking fix in between the contests.

The Starboyz, a top stunt motorcycle team, will take you to the future in a battle for supremacy in the year 2066. They will perform stunts on street motorcycles, including burnouts, wheelies, and standing on the seats during jumps.

For those wanting a little more from the show, the event also offers a pre-event Autograph Pit Party on the arena floor.

Those with a pit pass can meet the drivers, get autographs and see the trucks up close from 5-6:30 p.m. Those who want a pit pass can get one at all NAPA Auto Parts and NAPA Auto Care locations in the Lansing area.

“In addition to the monster trucks, we have Porkchop, the motorsports clown,” Hubley said. “He’s more of a kid-oriented feature, and the kids love him.”

Porkchop will host the crowd, using his antics to make the crowd laugh and keep them entertained.

“It’s fun and it’s exciting and kids love it,” Peplowski said.

Hubley said there also will be a raffle for a remote control monster truck worth $300, and the event’s mascot Tread Head Ted will be walking around the arena and greeting guests.

Draggoo said he is excited to attend the event, and will try to get a group of his friends to join him.

“It’s always better when you go in a big group,” Draggoo said. “It turns the experience of seeing cars getting smashed into a memory.”

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