The Monster X Tour continues a proud American tradition- Monster truck rallies. This past month the tour came to Jackson, MS to perform at the Mississippi Coliseum on January 16th and 17th.

This year’s tour featured four different trucks: Bigfoot, USA-1, Beast, and Son of a Beast. There was a wide range of driver experience; Bigfoot’s driver, Don Runte had an impressive 30 years behind the wheel, while Son of a Beast’s driver, Cody Holman, was only 19 years old and had very few years of experience.

The four trucks engaged in competitions such as circuit racing, wheely competition, and free style. In circuit racing, two monster trucks line up on opposite sides of the arena and drive in a circle. Along the way, they have to drive over dirt ramps and other obstacles. The first one to make a full lap wins. Wheely competitions are simple: the long the front wheels stay in the air, the higher your score. The free style competition mainly consists of drivers doing high jumped and donuts; this competition is judged by the crowd.  In all three categories, Bigfoot dominated. It was clear that Beast and Son of a Beast could not compete, and while USA-1 was close behind, Bigfoot still prevailed.

There were several other competitions open to locals who signed up to contend. These included the four wheeler, side by side (Polaris type), and off road SUV categories. In these competitions, drivers would first speed down a dirt ramp, jump, make a turn, and drive through the mud pit. Several vehicles were damaged after the jump and could not complete the course.

The atmosphere in the Coliseum was quite thrilling. The trucks roared to the point where it was painful to not cover your ears, and the jumps were impressive. The event was more enjoyable than people would think, and surprisingly there were even members of Prep’s faculty at the rally. There is something undeniably patriotic in a Monster truck rally, and it is something every American needs to do.