Monster Jam World Finals XXIII

Monster Jam World Finals XXIII
Promotional Monster Jam World Finals XXIII image on SoFi Stadium's LED roof panels.
Host	FELD Motorsports
League	Monster Jam
Date	May 18th, 2024
City	Inglewood, CA
Venue	SoFi Stadium

Monster Jam World Finals XXIII (also written as Monster Jam World Finals 23) was the 23rd Monster Jam World Finals that took place on May 18th, 2024. It was held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (Los Angeles), California. This event marked the World Finals debut of the S-style racing course. This event also had the return of the Showdown since 2019 under the new name "Last Chance Qualifying," which determined the 24th and final main field competitor. This was the first World Finals since World Finals III to be officially streamed live, and the first ever to be streamed for free. Two-wheel skills was won by Armando Castro and El Toro Loco, and ThunderROARus driver Colt Stephens won his second world title, this time in the high jump championship. Meanwhile, Zack Garner in Wild Side would win racing and Tyler Menninga in Grave Digger would win freestyle.

Lineups

Main field

1. Avenger: Jim Koehler
2. Bakugan Dragonoid: Camden Murphy
3. Black Pearl: Cole Venard
4. Dragon: Coty Saucier
5. El Toro Loco: Armando Castro (Arena Series East champion)
6. Grave Digger #35: Adam Anderson
7. Grave Digger #37 (Orange): Weston Anderson (Arena Series Central champion)
8. Grave Digger #39 (Purple): Tyler Menninga (Stadium Series East champion)
9. Grave Digger #41 (Pink): Krysten Anderson
10. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior: Bryce Kenny
11. JCB DIGatron: Tristan England
12. Jurassic Attack: Dalton Widner (Arena Series West invite pass-on; main field debut)
13. Lucas Stabilizer: Linsey Read
14. Max-D: Blake Granger (International series champion; main field debut)
15. Megalodon: Todd LeDuc
16. Megalodon Fire (on Rage): Cory Rummell
17. Monster Mutt Dalmatian: Jamie Sullivan (Main field debut)
18. Scooby-Doo!: Brianna Mahon
19. Soldier Fortune: Kayla Blood
20. Son-uva Digger: Ryan Anderson (Stadium Series West champion)
21. ThunderROARus: Colt Stephens
22. Velociraptor: David Olfert (Last Chance Qualifier; main field debut)
23. Wild Side: Zack Garner (Main field debut)
24. Zombie: Bari Musawwir

Great Clips Two-Wheel Skills challenge

1. El Toro Loco: Armando Castro
2. Grave Digger #37: Weston Anderson
3. Grave Digger #39: Tyler Menninga
4. JCB DIGatron: Tristan England
5. Max-D Fire: Blake Granger (Skills debut)
6. Monster Mutt Dalmatian: Jamie Sullivan (Skills debut)
7. Son-uva Digger: Ryan Anderson
8. Wild Side: Zack Garner (Skills debut)

Lucas Oil high jump

1. Yellow El Toro Loco (on Over Bored): Jamey Garner (High jump debut)
2. Grave Digger #39: Tyler Menninga (High jump debut)
3. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior: Bryce Kenny
4. Lucas Stabilizer: Linsey Read (High jump debut)
5. Megalodon Fire (on Rage): Cory Rummell
6. Son-uva Digger: Ryan Anderson
7. ThunderROARus: Colt Stephens
8. Zombie: Bari Musawwir

Last Chance Qualifying

1. El Toro Loco Nitro (on Axe): Joe Foley
2. Yellow El Toro Loco (on Over Bored): Jamey Garner
3. Jester: Matt Pagliarulo
4. Just Get Er Done II: Brandan Tulachka
5. Kraken: Nick Pagliarulo
6. Megalodon: Ashley Sanford
7. Monster Mutt (on Brutus): Chris Koehler
8. Over Bored: Chad Tingler
9. Raminator: Mark Hall
10. ThunderROARus (Red): Tony Ochs
11. Velociraptor: David Olfert
12. Vendetta: Mike Christensen

Hosts

• John Saponaro
• Lindsey Noble
• Leslie Mears
• K. Yung
• Unissa Cruse
• Casey Gagliardi

Special designs/debuts

• Avenger debuts a new graffiti design.
• Grave Digger schemes from the previous World Finals (minus the red design) return.
• Sparkle Smash debuts. *Opening stunt only*.
• Jester debuts a silver design.
• Kraken debuts a special blue and purple design.
• Wild Side debuts a new design.
• Just Get Er Done II debuts a throwback body.
• ThunderROARus (Ochs) debuts a new inverted red design.
• Yellow El Toro Loco and El Toro Loco Nitro return.
• The Black Pearl debuts a new Escalade body.
• Megalodon Fire returns.
• Jurassic Attack debuts a throwback body. *Pit party only.
• Max-D Fire returned for the two-wheel skills challenge.
• Fortnite is run on the stunt truck chassis for one of the encores.

Round 1

Over Bored vs Get Er Done Second Generation

ThunderROARus (Ochs)* vs El Toro Loco (Nitro)

Jester vs Megalodon (Sanford)

Kraken vs Raminator

Round 2

Velociraptor vs Over Bored

El Toro Loco (Yellow) vs Raminator

Monster Mutt vs Megalodon (Sanford)

Vendetta vs Kraken

Semi-finals

Velociraptor vs El Toro Loco (Yellow)

Monster Mutt vs Vendetta

Finals

Velociraptor vs Vendetta

*ThunderROARus won, but he would suffer mechanical issues after his race, leading to him not being able to return. El Toro Loco Nitro would also suffer problems, leading to Raminator getting a free pass into round 2 as the fastest loser of round 1.

Skills order

1. Monster Mutt Dalmatian *
2. Grave Digger (Tyler)
3. Wild Side
4. Son-uva Digger *
5. El Toro Loco
6. JCB DIGatron
7. Max-D **
8. Grave Digger (Weston)

* Monster Mutt Dalmatian and Son-uva Digger were pushed down the order due to mechanical issues from their round 1 attempt. They would return as the final two attempts for round 2.

** Grave Digger performed ahead of Max-D in the order due to issues during round 1. These were resolved shortly after.

Skills results

1. El Toro Loco: 9.656
2. Grave Digger (Weston): 8.420
3. Grave Digger (Tyler): 8.388
4. JCB DIGatron: 8.094
5. Wild Side: 7.449
6. Max-D: 7.319
7. Monster Mutt Dalmatian: 7.099
8. Son-uva Digger: 6.996

High jump order

1. Lucas Stabilizer
2. Son-uva Digger
3. El Toro Loco (Garner)
4. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior
5. Grave Digger (Tyler)
6. Zombie
7. ThunderROARus
8. Megalodon Fire

High jump results

1. ThunderROARus: 31.3431 ft.
2. Grave Digger (Tyler): 29.5616 ft.
3. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior: 28.8764 ft.
4. El Toro Loco (Garner): 28.5567 ft.
5. Son-uva Digger: 28.1913 ft.
6. Megalodon Fire: 27.0950 ft.
7. Zombie: 26.7296 ft.
8. Lucas Stabilizer: 23.6382 ft.

Qualifying results

1. Grave Digger (Tyler): 18.501
2. Megalodon (Todd): 18.542
3. Bakugan Dragonoid: 18.625
4. Son-uva Digger: 18.794
5. Grave Digger (Weston): 18.921
6. Zombie 19.052
7. Grave Digger (Adam): 19.071
8. Max-D 19.084
9. Dragon 19.123
10. Wild Side
11. ThunderROARus
12. Megalodon Fire (Rummell)
13. Velociraptor
14. El Toro Loco
15. Jurassic Attack
16. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior
17. JCB DIGatron
18. Black Pearl
19. Scooby Doo!
20. Lucas Stabilizer
21. Monster Mutt Dalmatian
22. Grave Digger (Krysten)
23. Avenger
24. Soldier Fortune

JCB racing

Round 1

Great Clips Mohawk Warrior (dnf) vs JCB DIGatron

Dragon vs Soldier Fortune

Velociraptor vs Lucas Stabilizer

Megalodon (Fire) vs Monster Mutt Dalmatian

Jurassic Attack* vs The Black Pearl (dnc)

Wild Side vs Avenger (5 sec. penalty)

El Toro Loco vs Scooby-Doo!

ThunderROARus vs Grave Digger (Krysten)

Round 2

Grave Digger (Tyler) vs JCB DIGatron

Scooby-Doo!** vs Dragon

Son-uva Digger vs Velociraptor

Grave Digger (Weston) vs Monster Mutt Dalmatian

Megalodon (LeDuc) vs Jurassic Attack

Grave Digger (Adam) vs Wild Side

Bakugan Dragonoid vs El Toro Loco

Zombie vs ThunderROARus

Quarter finals

JCB DIGatron vs Scooby-Doo!

Velociraptor vs Monster Mutt Dalmatian

Jurassic Attack vs Wild Side

El Toro Loco*** vs Zombie

Semi-finals

JCB DIGatron vs Velociraptor

Wild Side vs Zombie

Championship race

JCB DIGatron vs Wild Side

Third place race

Velociraptor vs Zombie

**Replaced Max-D as fastest loser due to Max-D suffering mechanical issues.

***Replaced Bakugan Dragonoid as fastest loser due to it suffering mechanical issues.

BKT freestyle

Freestyle order

1. Megalodon (Fire)
2. Avenger
3. Grave Digger (Krysten)
4. Wild Side
5. Dragon
6. Jurassic Attack
7. Megalodon (Todd)
8. Velociraptor
9. Monster Mutt Dalmatian
10. Scooby-Doo!
11. Grave Digger (Weston)
12. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior
13. El Toro Loco
14. Soldier Fortune
15. Zombie
16. Max-D
17. The Black Pearl
18. Grave Digger (Adam)
19. Lucas Stabilizer
20. JCB DIGatron
21. ThunderROARus
22. Grave Digger (Tyler)
23. Bakugan Dragonoid
24. Son-uva Digger

Freestyle results

1. Grave Digger (Tyler) 9.262
2. Son-uva Digger 8.927
3. Zombie 8.480
4. Monster Mutt Dalmatian 8.248
5. ThunderROARus 8.161
6. Jurassic Attack 8.142
7. Dragon 7.812
8. The Black Pearl 7.731
9. JCB DIGatron 7.515
10. Grave Digger (Krysten) 7.483
11. El Toro Loco 7.484
12. Bakugan Dragonoid 7.467
13. Scooby-Doo! 7.256
14. Lucas Stabilizer 6.685
15. Avenger 6.708
16. Velociraptor 6.339
17. Grave Digger (Weston) 6.278
18. Megalodon (Todd) 5.959
19. Megalodon (Fire) 5.887
20. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior 5.013
21. Grave Digger (Adam) 4.824
22. Max-D 3.846
23. Wild Side 3.550
24. Soldier Fortune 0.000 (Did not complete minimum time)

Display trucks

• BKT
• Earth Shaker
• El Toro Loco (Martinez)
• Fortnite
• Grave Digger #36 (Matt Cody)
• Grave Digger (Ride)
• Jurassic Attack (Hydrogen)
• Jurassic Attack (Tim Hall Jr.)
• Max-D 9
• Megalodon (Nock)
• Megalodon (MK Motorsports)
• Megalodon (Ride)
• Monster Jam Stunt Truck
• Monster Mutt Rottweiler (Team Throttle)
• Rammunition (Agosh)
• Velociraptor (Winfield)

Trivia

• This marked the first Monster Jam World Finals to be held at an indoor venue since St. Louis 1999 aka "World Finals 0".
• Prior to the event being announced, the location of SoFi Stadium was referred to as Inglewood, California, before being changed to Los Angeles, California.
  • For the purpose of explanation: Inglewood is situated within Los Angeles County and therefore, it is simplified to Los Angeles.
• This marked the first Monster Jam World Finals since Monster Jam World Finals XIX in Las Vegas, Nevada to be held on the west coast.
• As stated above, this marked the first World Finals to feature the Showdown competition since its last iteration in 2019 at World Finals XX.
  • It would notably be the first to feature drivers who had previously competed at the World Finals in the past, including Chad Tingler, Nick Pagliarulo, Jamey Garner and Chris Koehler.
  • It would also be the first to only feature both Tony Ochs and Matt Pagliarulo who had previously competed in past Showdown competitions as well.
• Ryan Anderson would receive the first automatic invite to World Finals, clenching Stadium Championship Series West at the Seattle show.
• This marked the first time a driver from the international tour would receive an invite to World Finals, a concept that was originally going to be utilized for World Finals XXI in 2020, but was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This marked the first main field appearances driver-wise for Blake Granger, Dalton Widner, Jamie Sullivan, David Olfert and Zack Garner.
• This marked the first main field appearance truck-wise for Jurassic Attack, Wild Side, JCB DIGatron and Velociraptor.
  • This marked Monster Mutt Dalmatian's first World Finals appearance since 2019, as well as the first time the traditional version has competed since 2018.
  • This would be the first World Finals since 2016 to not feature Earth Shaker as a competitor.
  • This would mark the first high jump championship to not feature Jim Koehler and Cynthia Gauthier as competitors. Cynthia being absent was because she was on maternity leave.
  • Despite being in the LCQ, this would be the first World Finals since 2002 to not feature Monster Mutt as a main field competitor.
• This marked Brianna Mahon's first time driving Scooby-Doo! at the World Finals since World Finals XVIII in 2017.
• Matt Cody would win the Arena Championship Series West championship after Brandon Vinson dropped out of the season to focus on his construction business. Seemingly due to having to fill-in halfway through the season, he would take home the championship, but would pass the automatic World Finals invite to Dalton Widner.
  • Despite this, Matt confirmed that he would still be present at the pit party, signing autographs.
• This, along with Monster Jam World Finals XX in 2019 have the record of having the most amount of female competitors, having a total of five.
• Jamie Sullivan's appearance in the skills challenge as a competitor made her the first female driver to ever compete for said championship.
• This would mark the second World Finals without Tom Meents prior to his retirement, as Meents missed the World Finals due to an injury he suffered in Indianapolis.
• Tyler Menninga and Ryan Anderson were the only drivers for this World Finals to compete in all 4 competitions.
• The judges consisted of The Amazing Spider-Man driver Bernard Lyght, former Max-D driver Tom Meents, Wild Flower driver Rosalee Ramer and former BroDozer and BroCamino drivers, Heavy D and Diesel Dave.
• Kayla Blood drove Sparkle Smash for the wall of steel stunt. Only some of the cars from the stunt were used for freestyle. This was her last show in Soldier Fortune. She became the new driver of Sparkle Smash, which made its competition in East Rutherford on June 1st.
• This marked the first World Finals to not have Dennis Anderson present at the event in any way, as he was at an independent show during the week of World Finals.
• El Toro Loco's two-wheel skills championship win was the truck's first World Finals win since Lupe Soza during World Finals V in 2004. His backflip that he did during his round 2 attempt was the lowest ramp were a backflip was performed off of it.
  • Armando Castro dedicated his run to his late sister, who passed away earlier in the year. She was supposed to get married on the same day.
    • Armando Castro became the first two-wheel skills challenge world champion to have both the lowest (3.305) and highest (9.656) scoring runs.
• This would also be Armando's second world championship since 2019 (Speedster racing champion).
• The top 3 in the high jump championship were all higher scores than the previous year's winning jump.
• Tyler Menninga in Grave Digger won the freestyle championship, while Zack Garner won the racing championship in Wild side.
• This would be the first World Finals where a third place race was held.
• Tom Meents' mud racing car ''Shake Me'' was restored & on display at the event. Jamey Garner, Mark Cole & Tom's daughter, Hannah, helped with the restoration.
• Zack Garner became the first independent to win racing in their first World Finals appearance. He was also the first independent driver to win racing since 2019.
• This was the second World Finals to not have Tom Meents or Dennis Anderson as competitors.
• This was the final event for Linsey Read & Bakugan Dragonoid.
• This was the fourth World Finals after 8 (2007), 10 (2009) and 13 (2012), where the fastest qualifier would lose in their first race.
• This would be the last World Finals to feature Max-D.

Gallery

Animated track concept.

The pits.