2022 EVENT RECAP
THANK YOU FOR A GREAT FIRST YEAR OF MTI
July 22nd, 2022 marked the first day that Monster Truck Invasion would be unveiled to the world. With pressure mounting to deliver the dedicated fans of Hagerstown, MD an event that they would not soon forget, the MTI team along with all of the competitors did not disappoint – despite some challenges along the way.
With humid but overall nice weather on Thursday and Friday morning, the dirt crew, track officials, and event management went to work to curate a track that stuck to the roots of what made monster truck events at Hagerstown Speedway great while also putting a modern spin that would entice drivers to push their equipment even harder and make the fans cheer even louder. All the while, the monster truck teams went to work to prep their vehicles for what was expected to be 3 straight events of abuse on equipment. With temperatures climbing and ramps steepening, proper planning and maintenance work was a necessity.
As Friday progressed, a field of over 20 Street Warriors competitors and over 10 pro extreme quad racing competitors rolled into the infield of Hagerstown Speedway prepped to run all out. The first event was shaping up to be a great one – and by the end of the night, it truly was.
Side-by-side monster truck drag racing was nothing short of intense. On a 400′ long, 3-jump straight line course, mechanical failure plagued some teams while others shined bright. It would be 2-time world champion Jim Koehler piloting Avenger to the racing victory over Vaters Motorsports patriarch Michael Vaters in Safety-Kleen Black Stallion.
In a special last-minute addition, the best trick competition saw hometown hero Steven Thompson drive Hurricane Force to a wild stoppie attempt that not only led to a smashed hood and grille, but several thousand fans standing on their feet with cheers thundering throughout the grandstands.
Freestyle, which is always the fan favorite, closed out the first event. With two large launch ramps in turns 1 and 4 as well as the first ever appearance of a school bus as an obstacle in Hagerstown, the fans got their money’s worth and the drivers delivered. Representing Hagerstown in the winner’s circle was Matt Cody, who delivered a triple slap wheelie behind the wheel of Taurus – a move that is rarely seen in monster truck freestyle.
Josh Funk would claim the victory in Street Warriors, claiming a blistering fast time of 25.88 seconds – the fastest time of the day.
After a successful Friday night event, Saturday was shaping up to be even better. After reconstructing all of the ramps and making slight alterations to the course, the sold-out audience was in for a show. But Mother Nature had other plans.
Soon after Street Warriors qualifying kicked off, the winds picked up and rain began to fall. The event was postponed, but a few minutes later, lightning struck right outside of the track, and the infield turned into a swimming pool. Cancellation followed suit, which put what was shaping up to be a wild Saturday night on the shelf. The action would have to wait until Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s weather turned a dreary, damp track into a dust bowl, as temperatures climbed as high as 105 degrees. Engines were running hot, parts were failing – but the fans and competitors powered through the humidity to throw down what was the best event of the weekend.
Monster truck racing saw 2015 world champ Mike Vaters II wheel Overkill Evolution to a killer performance, winning three races in a row with ease and keeping the Hagerstown, MD-based driver winning streak alive and well from the Friday night event. His final round pass against Matt Cody in Taurus was one of the fastest races of the entire weekend, with both 1600 horsepower engines singing the beautiful song of supercharged big block Ford horsepower.
It would be Vaters II continuing his winning streak in the best trick competition, as well. One of his specialties is performing stoppies and moonwalks – moves that involve balancing that 12,000 lbs. Overkill Evolution on its front two tires and walking back and forth between 1st gear and reverse. His laser focus led to his only best trick competition victory of the weekend.
Freestyle was filled with highlights. Every driver laid it all on the line to finish the weekend off on a high note, but it would be rising star driver Joe Foley who would be able to put together a cohesive yet wild freestyle showcasing piloting Axe that would earn the highest score for the victory.
Jeremiah Creasy would represent Pennsylvania in the Street Warriors competition with a 26.83 second final round pass to earn the win.
One of the biggest highlights of the weekend came in the form of The Icon of the monster truck racing industry making his grand comeback to Hagerstown Speedway. After over 10 years away, Dennis Anderson, of Grave Digger fame, returned with his brand new Extreme King Sling monster truck to raffle off the opportunity to ride in his machine while he freestyled around the track. What would start out as a simple race pass would, naturally, turn into a ragged edge freestyle run. The 4 lucky fans throughout the weekend got an experience like none other, and it was truly one to never forget.
2022 was nothing short of a roller coaster ride, but it was an inaugural event to never forget.
We cannot thank our fans enough for weathering through rainy and humid conditions to ultimately end up witnessing a collection of some of the wildest monster truck events Hagerstown Speedway has ever seen. Thanks also goes out to our partners, the competing teams, and our staff for making the MTI debut a great one.
2023 is shaping up to be a major step-up from 2022 – don’t miss out.
Additional event pictures courtesy of Dustin Hart can be viewed here.
