Houston 2004

Houston 2004 was a Monster Jam event held on January 3rd, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. This show was a first in many ways..

First stadium show of 2004

First show of Grave Digger 19

First show with sixteen trucks outside of Vegas

First show with Brian Barthel in Little Tiger

First show on SPEED of drivers Chad Tingler, Chris Bergeron, Bruce Haney and Mark Schroeder

First show of Hot Wheels since Vegas 2002

First show the new schemes for Brutus, Bounty Hunter, Devastator, Bad News, Scarlet Bandit, King Krunch, Eradicator, Little Tiger, and Destroyer

Field of Trucks
Avenger- Jim Koehler

Bad News Travels Fast- Bruce Haney

Bounty Hunter- Jimmy Creten

Brutus- Chris Bergeron

Bulldozer- Guy Wood

Destroyer- Dan Evans

Devastator- Mark Schroeder

Eradicator- Andy Slifko

Grave Digger- Dennis Anderson

Hot Wheels- Phil Foster

King Krunch- David Smith

Little Tiger- Brian Barthel

Maximum Destruction- Tom Meents

Ragin Steel- Chad Tingler

Reptoid- Jim Jack

Scarlet Bandit- Dawn Creten

Racing Round 1
Grave Digger vs. BYE

Devastator broke during qualifying, giving Anderson a bye run. A bad spin out in turn two crippled Anderson's time but he advanced on.

Brutus vs. Scarlet Bandit

The inexperienced Bergeron surprisingly had a commanding lead of Scarlet Bandit and kept the lead, taking the win

Eradicator vs. Hot Wheels

Slifko red lighted at the start, but it did not matter as Foster was able to get the win straight up

Bad News Travels Fast vs. King Krunch

Smith the more experienced driver was able to keep in the turns while Haney shut down before the final jump giving an easy win to King Krunch

Maximum Destruction vs. Little Tiger

Meents took the horsepower Max D had and was able to defeat the champion in the first round of racing

Bounty Hunter vs. Destroyer

A false start from Evans and a spin out made it easy for Bounty Hunter to advance

Reptoid vs. Avenger

Jim Jack was in the lead for most of the race, but forgot the final turn while Koehler finished the course and moved on

Bulldozer vs. Ragin Steel

Guy Wood with more experience was able to outclass the rookie and easily move on

Racing Round 2
Grave Digger vs. Brutus

Anderson had a wide lead, but then a bad bounce send the truck rolling nose first over and then ending up hitting the wall, putting Digger out of racing and out of the remainder of the show

Hot Wheels vs. King Krunch

Both trucks were even until the final turn when Foster was able to get a two truck length win over King Krunch

Maximum Destruction vs. Bounty Hunter

Tom Meents started off strong and in surprising fashion smoked Bounty Hunter straight up to head in the semi finals

Avenger vs. Bulldozer

Koehler ended up on two wheels in turn one, saved the truck but would give Guy the easy win

Semi Finals
Hot Wheels vs. Brutus

Foster was able to maintain better control on his truck and that was enough for him to get the win and his first birth in the finals

Maximum Destruction vs. Bulldozer

Guy Wood had a bad bobble in the first turn, giving Meents a massive

Finals
Maximum Destruction vs. Hot Wheels

Mechanical issues seemed to plague Foster as Meents was able to grab a very easy win

Freestyle
Bad News Travels Fast

Only a few hits over the cars and slow momentum reflects a low score overall

Score- 4+5+5= 14

Ragin Steel

First driver to take on the bus stack, another couple hits on the bus and a set of cyclones finished a very impressive run from the future Digger driver.

Score- 7+7+8= 22

Reptoid

Some slap wheelies delivered highlights, but the run not up to snuff with Ragin Steel

Score- 5+5+4= 14

Eradicator

Taking queues from Ragin Steel, Andy took on the bus stack and cut a set of donuts before a bad hit over the bus blew out both tires and shedded the body off as he rolled the Dodge over.

Score- 7+8+8= 23

Devastator

Some slap wheelies and bus hits would show Mark's skill in the truck, but lacked the wow moment of Eradicator

Score- 6+7+5= 18

Brutus

Only three hits in, and a bad bounce plus hitting the brakes sent Brutus nose over and on the lid early

Score- 6+5+6= 17

Scarlet Bandit

A few hits over the bus, Dawn then hit the dirt ramp, but kicked the back tires on the landing valley and sending the truck into an endo landing on all four wheels

Score- 10+9+9= 28

Hot Wheels

Good momentum and big air as Foster filled the clock, but did not have the wow moment Dawn Creten had

Score- 8+8+9= 25

Bulldozer

Big leaps, tons of momentum, and multiple crazy tailgate dragging slap wheelies would show Guy Wood at his prime in the bull

Score- 10+9+10= 29

Destroyer

A good slap wheelie and his signature reverse move would highlight a solid full run from Destroyer

Score- 8+7+8= 23

Little Tiger

Barthel came out with lots of speed, and even ran a third of the run on a flat tire to show his skill behind the wheel

Score- 9+8+9= 26

King Krunch

The homestate hero came out with big air but two thirds in the run the rear hydraulic steering pump broke ending his run early

Score- 7+7+8= 22

Bounty Hunter

Fast paced run from Creten but a broken rear would cut his run slightly early

Score- 8+8+8= 24

Maximum Destruction

With massive air over the bus stack, cross threads, and backsiding the dirt hill Meents gave the fans an a-typical Max D run in spectacular fashion before rolling the truck over into the wall protection

Score- 10+10+10= 30

Avenger

A somewhat lacking run, a bad bounce and landing on the bus would end Koehler's run early

Score- 8+8+9= 25