Update: Photo album is up.
Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!! Um, I mean, Saturday, I went to a monster truck rally! It was at Pacbell Park, of all places, only a couple blocks from my apartment. We had a huge group of people, lots of Googlers and non-Googlers, and it was a blast. As our host said:
Your first reaction is probably: “Hey Chris, I don’t just go to any monster truck jam these days. They are a dime a dozen. So exactly which trucks will be there? I don’t want to waste my time looking at washed up, old school, Bigfoot.”
Glad you asked. Well placed sources at the United States Hot Rod Association tell me that the featured trucks will include:
- Grave Digger driven by Dennis Anderson
- Blue Thunder driven by Tony Farrell
- Power Forward and Maximum Destruction driven by Tom Meents
- High Roller driven by Phil Foster
- Madusa, El Toro, and Obsession all driven by Rick Swanson
Jesus – The Monster Truck will be unable to appear.
We actually ended up sitting next to the girlfriend and brother of Dennis Anderson, the Grave Digger driver. (Grave Digger is currently the top dog of monster trucks.) They gave us lots of inside info about the trucks. These things put out 1200-1400hp at 700lbs. of torque. They have monstrous shocks, suspension, and struts just to withstand the pressure. The drivers sit in the middle of the front bench, to protect them if their trucks roll. The tires alone are around six to eight feet tall! Both front and back axles have differentials, steering, and independent throttles – the driver can control the throttle to each wheel independently! Ridiculous.
So, my day on Saturday consisted of the gym, CodeCon (a programming conference), a monster truck rally, and clubbing. Quite a day. :P