By Chelsea Schmid
Staff Writer who is Special to LIVE!
January 14, 2008

The San Angelo Coliseum sold out Saturday night, filling over 5,000 seats for the AMP Live Monster Truck show. The show featured tough truck competitions and local entrants.

A wheelie competition featuring four trucks going head-to-head for height kicked off the show. Participants included female driver Jen Campbell and her yellow Ford “Monster Moose,” and founding father of monster truck madness, Rodney Tweedy, with his original blue Ford “Bigfoot” truck. The Moose and Bigfoot were the clear favorites of the show, battling one event after another for the win.

Other crowd favorites: a white truck named “El Diablo,” who bore the insignia of Wonder Bread on the front and Shake and Bake on the back, and a little Polaris Razor whose speed could not be matched.

El Diablo shone after the first round of mud bogging (read: driving huge trucks through mud for as long as possible) and tough-truck racing not for his speed, but for his daredevil tactics. He lined up on the starting mound at the second round. At the drop of the green flag, he unexpectedly threw it into reverse and floored it for the jump, just rough enough to make his wing fly off. Coming back around for a jump up the backside, the little truck leapt over the dirt mound and flew several feet before almost smashing into the wall. The stunt evoked the loudest applause and cheer of the night. Until…

The little Polaris Razor emerged again for round two. He was off to a speedy start, over the jump and around the corner, but as he turned and got a little sideways action, he neglected to counter-steer and the buggy went over. All the way over. As hands rushed to the driver’s aid, the vehicle completed its turn and landed on its wheels. The flip had happened so quick and flawlessly, it was as if it had all been planned (it wasn’t).

The Coliseum smelled like a mixture of popcorn, concessions, dirt and exhaust; smoke filled the air at the onset of each event, burning the eyes of the gathered patrons. This burn, the announcer explained, is caused by the alcohol the monster trucks run off of for fuel. Engines were incredibly loud and the announcer and stage manager reminded fans that while the drivers couldn’t hear their cheers, they could see waving checkered flags, and hundreds of kids waved them giddily from the stands.

As the production manager staged the vehicles for their next round of dualism (this time a race on speed), the announcer provided more insight into the vehicles themselves. Most monster trucks run big-block engines, some as big as 572 cubic inches. The supercharged trucks run 371 blowers; they put out an excess of 1,500 horsepower and go from 0-60 in 4 seconds flat.

All "monsters" returned for their final races and a freestyle event amid deafening cheers. Again, Monster Moose and Bigfoot were favored, but this time a colorful truck with a scale-like paint job and glowing eyes named “Reptoid” won the event.

At the end of the show, the ride truck made its round with a bed full of ticketholders around the course, and the drivers lingered to sign autographs for race fans. The AMP Live Monster Truck Show has booked a return show for the summer, which will be held in a more spacious outdoors setting with jumps as high as 30 feet.

Check out http://www.AMPLiveEvents.com to register for the events you wish to participate in. Get your tickets early: the show set an attendance record Saturday night.