Shelbie Harris
Staff Writer
They’re colossal, ear-piercingly loud and they’re back in Pocatello. The Monster Truck Grand Nationals, hosted by Checkered Flag Productions, is taking over Holt Arena Saturday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m.
A show of this magnitude requires the help and support of many, and has reportedly been a successful event for ISU and the greater Pocatello area for over 25 years.
“I think the first year that we came to Pocatello was in 1990 if I remember right,” said President and CEO of Checkered Flag Productions Ed Beckley. “A couple of other different promoters have tried to do some shows at Holt Arena but seemed to have shot themselves in the foot for some reason.”
Proper communication and cooperation is vital both from the production company’s side of things, as well as the events staff at Idaho State University.
Most of the staffing for the event is provided by Beckley and Checkered Flag Productions, however staff at ISU is also involved, but in a more limited capacity.
“For this particular event the promoter himself does basically all the setup for the event,” said Director of Events at ISU George Casper. “They provide the dirt – in and out – they bring the cars that are crushed and all the details as far as organization and arranging the event.”
Casper said ISU provides the building, which is rented to the productions company for a percentage of the overall profit, and staffing which includes ushers, ticket takers, ticket sellers, security and the medical responders.
Hauling tons of dirt in and out of the arena is no easy feat and employs the use of multiple backhoes, tractors and transport trucks.
“We acquire the dirt from a land developer that has a strip of top soil located east of the arena, up on a mountain on the other side of the interstate,” said Beckley. “We’ve been working with him for five or six years now, and once we’re done with it we haul it back up to a different location that needs it, so the monster truck dirt may be where a new swimming pool is going to be built.”
Beckley said moving the dirt usually costs upwards of around $35,000 in order to rent dirt and equipment used to move the dirt in and out of the arena.
Holt Arena is quite spacious, offering a much larger area compared to the basketball courts and hockey rinks used for hosting similar events.
“All the drivers, whether they are from the eastern part of the United States, the central part or even West Virginia look forward to going to Pocatello because there’s so much more room,” Beckley said. “[ISU] lets us stretch it out, turn up the blowers, get rid of the weight and let these trucks fly.”
The show will feature a line-up of 10 of the toughest, loudest and meanest competitors including: 2013-2014 champion Ghost Ryder, 2011-2012 champion Bigfoot, Heartbreaker, Bounty Hunter, Scarlet Bandit, Nasty Boy, Unnamed-Untamed, Rat Attack, Rislone Defender, Menace and Freedom Keeper.
In addition to the monster trucks there will also be side-by-side mud drag racing, bump and run tuff truck races and the Arachnophobia Monster Ride Truck driven by Idaho Falls owner Scott Anderson.
A major concern for Casper and his event staff is ensuring proper ventilation during the event, as the fumes from the exhaust produced by the alcohol-burning, supercharged V-8 engines in monster trucks accumulates.
“We adjust the HVAC settings in the facility to allow for a bunch of fresh air intake into the building to help with the fumes,” Casper said. “We don’t have per say an exhaust system that would suck out the fumes, but what we have found is that adjusting the settings of the building allows for some of the fumigated air to escape.”
Beckley said that the reason he hosts the Monster Truck Grand Nationals at Holt Arena is because of how large and safe the arena is, especially because there are not any seats on the ends of the arena.
He also mentioned all the trucks are equipped with a receiver that is wirelessly connected to a handheld transmitter that, in the event of a truck losing control, a signal can be sent that instantly shuts the truck off and kills the motor.
Tickets for the event range in price from $22 to $33 and can be purchased by calling (208) 282-3267 or by going to http://www.isu.edu/tickets/.
“I think the best thing that people need to know is how much cooperation we get from the [university],” said Beckley. “It’s not a [university] activity but yet they realize they have a facility that is perfect for Southeastern Idaho and Northern Utah residents to come and take advantage of. It’s awesome the university can host such a wild and crazy event, and we’re going to go out of our way to make sure this show rocks.”
