Tampa 2002

Tampa 2002 was the fifth event of the 2002 Monster Jam Season held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. This would be the first televised appearance of Carl Van Horn and the first win from a truck this season not named Grave Digger or Team Meents

Field of Trucks
Reptoid- Jim Jack

Sudden Impact- John Seasock

Spider Man- Carl Van Horn

Ragin Steel- Steve Reynolds

High Roller- Neil Elliott

Bulldozer- Guy Wood

Gunslinger- Scott Hartsock

Blue Thunder- Lyle Hancock

Team Meents- Tom Meents

20th Anniversary Grave Digger- Dennis Anderson

Round 1 Racing
High Roller vs. Gunslinger

Two powerful Fords going head to head, the more experienced Hartsock getting the straight up win

Winner- Gunslinger

Bulldozer vs. Spider Man

A dead even heat between the two, almost a tie photo finish race in the opening round but the win went to Bulldozer

Winner- Bulldozer

Blue Thunder vs. Sudden Impact

Another race of Fords, this one was won on power for Blue Thunder

Winner- Blue Thunder

Reptoid vs. 20th Anniversary Grave Digger

Now for a Chevy v. Chevy match this one went to the more experienced and powerful Grave Digger

Winner- 20th Anniversary Grave Digger

Ragin Steel vs. Team Meents

Like the last race, the favorite Tom Meents easily overtook Ragin Steel for the win

Winner- Team Meents

Round 2 Racing
Spider Man vs. Gunslinger

A shocking upset as the rookie took a surprising margin of victory over the homestate veteran

Winner- Spider Man

Bulldozer vs. Blue Thunder

Blue Thunder was doomed from the start, pulling a wheelie off the line then hitting a turning pole but even then Bulldozer still had the advantage

Winner- Bulldozer

20th Anniversary Grave Digger vs. Team Meents

A finals staple in the second round, both 1-1 against each other this season. Anderson overdid the turn and then took a bad bounce over the cars flipping the truck over

Winner- Team Meents

Semi Finals Racing
Spider Man vs. Bulldozer

Another surprising win, Spider Man took the win over the bull and as a rookie Van Horn will make his first finals appearance

Winner- Spider Man

Team Meents vs. Gunslinger

Tom would continue to dominate and easily pass over Hartsock for another finals appearance

Winner- Team Meents

Finals Racing
Spider Man vs. Team Meents

Tom was in the lead through the straight away but a bicycle on two wheels would mean that Spider Man and Carl Van Horn would score a huge win and the first win for a truck not named Digger or Team Meents this season

Winner- Spider Man

Freestyle
Reptoid

Jim Jack would open freestyles with sky wheelies shooting smoke through the teeth and attacking the plane in the middle of the dirt jump to fill his run

Score- 6+5+6= 17

Ragin Steel

Reynolds would follow suit like Reptoid attacking the cars and plane, then trying to conquer the bus, backing up and going over it again to be the first one to conquer it.

Score- 8+7+7= 22

Sudden Impact

Seasock looking to go big came out strong launching the truck over the cars and then sky wheelie over the bus getting high. A couple more sky wheelies and a hit on the plane and two more bus hits to finish his best run of the season yet

Score- 10+7+8= 25

Bulldozer

After an impressive run in St. Louis, Guy Wood was looking for another big freestyle. Wood kicked it off with with a massive leap over the dirt hill and a bus hit, followed by a pogo wheelie over the cars and a bad bounce over the bus would end the run early. (In the next episode in Indianapolis it's shown that Guy bit a chunk out of his tongue on the landing, presumably why he ended the run there)

Score- 8+6+8= 22

High Roller

Neil Elliott continues an impressive rookie season with massive air over the cars and a couple huge bus hits but nothing stand out spectacular like Sudden Impact or Bulldozer

Score- 8+8+7= 23

Spider Man

Racing winner looking to get another big win Van Horn came out with a couple hits on the cars before getting the first set of donuts and full fledged cyclones on the track however the engine stalled as he went over the bus

Score- 8+7+8= 23

Gunslinger

Hartsock went big for his home state with massive jumps over the dirt hill and several hits over the bus carrying momentum throughout the run

Score- 8+9+8= 25

Blue Thunder

Lyle Hancock took a different approach from the rest to start his run by pulling a massive power wheelie and carrying a wheelie over the bus and even reversed over the bus. Hancock continued the run with cyclone donuts and even a run through the mud pit to finish a phenomenal freestyle

Score- 10+9+10= 29

20th Anniversary Grave Digger

Undefeated in freestyle in 2002 Anderson looked to get a fourth straight win with a damaged Digger. Anderson lept over the bus to kick off the run before sky wheelie over the cars losing the hood then launching the truck high over the dirt hill and cutting cyclone donuts. Another launch over the two big jumps before he hit the cars sideways, stuffed the tire and rolled the truck over again

Score- 10+10+10= 30

Team Meents

Tom once again in a predicament trying to top Dennis. Tom launched the truck big but had a bad slap on the side of the truck and blew a tire. He cut some donuts before tipping the truck over, securing another win for Grave Digger

Score- 9+9+9= 27

Damage Report
Spider Man- Engine issues

20th Anniversary Grave Digger- Body panels (all across) and blown tire

Team Meents- Body panels (hood and side) and blown tire