Indy Jamboree Sees Glory, Greatness, And Goodbyes

Back in July, when the doors closed at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds, the feeling among fans, participants, and the presenters of the 4-Wheel Jamboree felt as though a corner was not only turned, but it was done so while drifting.  It felt as though what was years past had returned.

Trucks lined up on Friday to get through the gate, fans waiting to walk through the gate, and a cruise lane that at its peak was crawling.  At one point, the traffic was filled with both tires and shoes, because the folks with Events Inc. got to put on a show that many felt outdid many in the prior years.

The “Return to Glory” was true to form, and it also meant that the crew had to not only step it up for next year, but they also had to provide the same kind of excitement months later.

What has long been considered the biggest 4×4 show every year, Events Inc. began setting up at their biggest venue they have ever done, a historic venue that now was celebrating it’s 43rd year hosting this event, the eyes of all descended on the Indiana State Fairgrounds just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.  Not only that, but just over a month prior, Events Inc. was able to give the show another major addition in the form of a sponsor.

After losing O’Reilly Auto Parts at the end of 2023, the search continued, and at nearly the 11th hour, a major agreement was struck with Tire Rack and Yokohama tires to not only become the title sponsor at Indianapolis, but the deal was inked for multiple years.

It felt as though everything was coming together to make for a great event.

As always, even with a vast array of 4×4’s surrounding the area, what many came to watch were the Monsters of Destruction, and with Lee Collins and his crew overseeing the infield action once again, they made sure what was seen in Bloomsburg was going to be just as strong in September.  The biggest challenge for the track crew has long been building the track, and unlike Bloomsburg where they had to deal with gravel, loose dirt, and hot conditions, Indianapolis presented its own difficulties.

First issue was using available space, because despite the fairgrounds playing host to the famed “Hoosier Mile, the action would take place on the infield…the paved infield.  Unlike years past where the entire infield was dirt, and every inch could be put to use, crews have utilized the close area to the grandstand to build the course for the monsters, tough trucks, and now the mud bog.  This area in the mid-2000’s would get paved over due to the quagmire that has long been associated with the jamboree, and has been used for parking during many events.

Now, the parking lines would be used as markers to build the track, and would determine a winner.

Track crews decided to go with what was done already in Bloomsburg, and expanded it a bit.  The setup given was still an S-style track, but instead would be made into a pair of individual S-tracks, starting with a pair of jumps on the inside line before the trucks turned away from one another to hit the second part of the course to go over the speed jump and into the final corner.  The last jump would give the skyward feeling across the finish line.

Filling the field was relatively easy as five of the seven trucks were at Bloomsburg months earlier.  DCT Powersports brought back their major duo with Jack Brown piloting Dirt Crew Dozer, and the man that almost swept the entire weekend, Daron Basl in Blockhead.  Alongside them, the Hall Brothers brought out their two top machines, with Mark Hall in Raminator and Kurt Kraehmer in Rammunition, both sporting some freshly shaved Firestones that were done via the team’s Facebook segment, “Tune In on Tuesday.”

The single-truck operation of Turner Motorsports made the trip as RJ Turner had the wicked looking War Wizard ready to go, this time with a new front clip and a roof which he did not run in Bloomsburg.

The final two trucks made their jamboree debut, coming out of Team Throttle Monster.  Sitting in the roll cage of the Kamikaze Ford Raptor was newcomer Carson Williams.  Team truck, the entirely new and blue Jurassic Attack, got piloted by Tim Hall Jr, who is not related to the Tim Hall that is the lead man at Hall Brothers Racing.

When teams rolled out for Friday night’s action, the cooler temperatures made the trucks run harder, but the asphalt had not yet been worn in with the action, so trucks were having trouble in the corners when trying to slide around.  One truck would not make it past qualifying as Turner and War Wizard ultimately broke on the starting line, giving Hall and the Raminator an easy trip into the semi-finals.

The truck would not make it back out for freestyle, as it was later revealed that the transmission suffered a broken input shaft, and it meant a long night ahead.

Brown would get past Williams, while in a close matchup for a majority of the lap, Basl managed to eek his way past the Rammunition, while it was Hall Jr. that got the easy pass on the night as with his fast qualifying spot meant a bye-run into the semi-finals.

Basl got an easy pass in the semi-finals when Brown was unable to make the call for his matchup, but the real stunner came when it was a pair of Halls facing off.

Right off the line it was the dinosaur of Hall Jr. taking the lead, and Hall began having to play chase and in doing so, got a bit off course, clipping part of the center freestyle hill before getting to his roller entering the first corner.  Meanwhile, Hall Jr. began to find a groove and put nearly three truck-lengths on the opposition, ultimately pulling the upset of Friday as he would make his first final at his first-ever jamboree bracket.

By the time the finals came about, the track began getting loose with the slight buildup of dust on the asphalt.  This would prove to be a deciding factor as both Hall Jr. and Basl left the line.

Both cut hard corners after the roller, with Hall Jr. slinging the truck so hard it ultimately wound up straight at the next jump, so he stood on the throttle to keep pace with the block-toy design truck.  Each cut another sweeping final corner, but Hall Jr. kept the wheels spinning long enough to pull out a big upset bracket victory to open the weekend.

FRIDAY RACING:

• Round 1:  Raminator def. War Wizard, Blockhead def. Rammunition, Dirt Crew Dozer def. Kamikaze, Jurassic Attack bye-run (fast qualifier).
• Semi-Finals:  Jurassic Attack def. Raminator, Blockhead bye-run (Dozer unable to make call).
• Finals:  Jurassic Attack def. Blockhead.

Every truck that could make an appearance for the Friday freestyle made their run a strong one despite it being the first night, but both Basl and Hall Jr. managed to get the crowd on their feet, with the officials finally deciding that Basl’s high-speed run that nearly drained the entire fuel cell of methanol would be the one to take the win.  However, every truck needed to have a bit of work done entering the night, with many coming over to lend a hand to Turner.

As the night turned into day, the biggest and happiest part of Saturday was not only the crowd, but the skies.

Heading into the week, as is typical with Indianapolis, there’s always an opportunity to potentially see some late-summer sprinkles.  But, by Wednesday, the weather seemed to shift and instead the rain stayed away, giving way to skies as blue as the Colts jerseys.

It meant the staff was expecting a bigger crowd, more vehicles, and that meant more competition to be the top dog in the field.

The monsters would provide that as well, but much like Bloomsburg, the format for Saturday had everything split up between the afternoon and the early evening.  With the sun beaming down on the infield, and a large crowd making their way to the grandstands, the opening action would be a bit old-school, focusing solely on racing.  It felt appropriate as during introductions, the International Monster Truck Museum and Hall of Fame were introduced to the front stretch.  On display all weekend, Jeff Krekeler rolled out the original High Roller II, sporting a classic set of 48-inch tires.  On his right, Dave Gwin showed off his tribute to one of the newest hall of fame inductees, Steve Hess, with a tribute build of Nitemare II.  Finally, Bronco fans could smile as Jerry Richmond rolled out his clone build of his famous Terminator.

Qualifying showed similar results as the day prior, with Hall Jr. taking the top spot and getting the bye-run in the opening round.

Round one did have some struggles, with Kraehmer seeming to struggle with steering on the asphalt in the Ram Rebel Rammunition, as the truck was jerking hard when trying to corner.  It allowed Basl an easy run into the semi-finals.  Williams was to take on Turner, but once again the truck was not responding when trying to fire up to head to the line.

The bye-run put the young man into the semi-finals, but then the struggles for Hall Brothers Racing continued as Hall would find himself sliding a bit off the starting line and in the first corner against Brown.  Hall kept going, but then when trying to get through the final corner he slid out and could not keep pace with the big Dozer, suffering an uncharacteristic first-round loss.

Coming into the semi-finals, it was team trucks vs. team trucks, as each matchup had one from DCT and another from Team Throttle.  Basl managed to get past Williams as the Kamikaze Ford slid wide in the final corner.  Then, Brown managed to out-drive Hall Jr. to get his victory, setting up an all-DCT final round.

No team orders were given as to who should win, because once the trucks fired up and headed to the starting line, it was may the best man get the win.

Off the line it was a slight advantage to Basl, but Brown was keeping it close.  Where the race changed came in the first corner. as in the far lane, Basl hugged the turning barrier while Brown slid wide.  What was a tire-length lead suddenly was more than a truck, and Brown was trying to catch up.  However, Basl cut the same corner again and pulled away to the final jump, taking the win over his teammate and giving DCT a big win on a big stage.

SATURDAY RACING:

• Round 1:  Blockhead def. Rammunition, Kamikaze bye-run (War Wizard cannot make call), Dirt Crew Dozer def. Raminator, Jurassic Attack bye-run (Fast Qualifier).
• Semi-Finals:  Blockhead def. Jurassic Attack, Dirt Crew Dozer def. Kamikaze.
• Finals:  Blockhead def. Dirt Crew Dozer

Fans got to get a break and enjoy the sun, while teams made some adjustments, as freestyle was not happening until the early evening.  Unlike Bloomsburg, the sun would not set on the infield just yet, with the freestyle frenzy taking place at approximately 6 p.m.  This meant beautiful views and great reflections on the fiberglass.

Every truck was ready to go, with all gremlins fixed and issues addressed.  What had been a spectacular weekend was ready to really get going in a big way since the first truck out to run was Hall, a position he has not always had in freestyle.

Right away, Hall hit the backside of the banked berm, which was one of the obstacles for the tough trucks, and let the HEMI eat as he pushed the truck hard on the asphalt, including a dust-filled donut that even had Hall himself waiting for it to clear to see.

Williams wowed with a pair of sky wheelies off the finish-line jumps, but Brown got the crowd going with his tendency to cross-track the entire infield, to the point where he nearly high-sided his bulldozer, but managed to pull it down and keep the bucket on the truck pointing forward instead of it ripping off.  The crowd seemed to be extremely happy as Brown paraded down the dirt track, flexing and doing his best Hulk Hogan impression.

After missing out on most of Friday, Turner then turned up the wick as he pushed the pro-mod Willys to the limit, crossing the track, and adding in a few combo hits to get the crowd on their feet.  He finished his run with a side hit on the far finish line jump, hitting fast enough to soar all the way to the starting line hillside, and then slid into a donut to light up his Michelin tires.  It was a freestyle that was a day in the making, but the crowd approved as he took the lead in the crowd cheer-off.

Kraehmer put on a respectable run, but then Basl hit the track and announced his arrival by hitting the finish line jump, and walking the truck on a wheelstand right across the hill onto the asphalt.  He then kept the momentum up by crossing the entire track, nailing a slap wheelie off the far finish line jump and then skying it off the center jump and then finishing it with a power wheelie right down the front of the track, dragging the bar across the pavement before sliding into a donut and greeting the crowd.

Basl had the lead, and with one truck left to go, it was a tough task to overtake, especially as the driver that won five of six competitions in Bloomsburg.

But, Hall Jr. strapped in, crawled onto the center hill, and then proceeded for the next five minutes to make his case for winning the second freestyle of the weekend.  With momentum, and use of track at a premium, the crowd applauded the run that closed out the night.  But, it seemed it was not enough as the wow-factor filled run of Basl that got the nod by officials to win the evening.

Sunday at the jamboree is long the day where some pack up to go home, where awards get handed out, and a few participants decide to lay some rubber with the high-noon burnout contest.

This year, though, it also had a different meaning.

Sunday morning, during the participant input session at the main stage, long-time announcer and jamboree investor, Joe Pagano, announced that starting in 2025, the Indiana jamboree was moving to a new location.  This meant, after 43 years, multiple championship wins, and many iconic moments, the final day at the Indiana State Fairgrounds literally meant the final day.

Many were emotional, trying to grasp the concept, but the jamboree is not leaving the state.  It was announced during the session that the Hoosier State was still the host, but it was being moved to the Hendricks County Fairgrounds in Danville, Indiana.  Pagano noted that the move was namely due to costs of usage, as with the Indy fairgrounds, costs had gone up and it was becoming realistically unfeasible in this era to keep going.  Not every part of the Indy Fair was being utilized for the show, and that was not fair to many, and the time had come to move on and reset.

With the new crew taking over, they could see the time had come to make a change, one that was feasible for both the promoters, and the participants.  The new venue, although smaller overall, has a lot of room to have a show for all.  A new era was coming, one that had familiar feelings, but new surroundings.

Emotions were coming from everywhere, from sadness due to an era ending, to understanding of circumstances, anger that things are changing, and especially uncertainty of what is coming.

As Sunday introductions began for the final show of the weekend, the War Wizard crew was still hard at work as the truck would not roll out initially to the crowd.  It turned out, after first breaking an input shaft on Friday, then having battery issues on Saturday, the starter was not letting the truck turn over.  The crew managed to get the truck to fire, and it made a qualifying run.

Basl continued to be fast on the asphalt, taking the top qualifying spot, but the first round then had even more surprises as the first matchup between Turner and Kraehmer appeared to show that the pro-mod got the win over the big Ram.  However, Turner clipped the inside turning corner mound, then veered off the course.  So, Kraehmer was given the win and moved into the next round.

The Ram crew continued to see struggles, which was not the norm of the HEMI-powered trucks, as after Brown dispatched of Williams, a battle of Halls would turn out to be another upset.  The big 2024 Ram Heavy Duty could not get grip on the paved track with all the dust that was coming off the dirt hills, and began falling behind after the first corner.

Hall Jr. then pulled away, putting the big Ram on the trailer once again in the first round.

Brown then put the second Ram on the trailer, taking the win over Kraehmer in the semi-finals, and after Basl would take down the futuristic dinosaur, it set up yet another DCT final.

With both trucks set up nearly identical, with only suspension being the difference, each hammered the throttle off the line, keeping close in the first corner.  Brown took a slight lead heading down the second straightaway, and each took a power slide into the final corner.

It was that corner that saw Brown keep the truck straight, and launched his way across the finish line to take the final victory of the weekend, and the last victory at the fairgrounds.

SUNDAY RACING:

• Round 1:  Rammunition def War Wizard, Dirt Crew Dozer def. Kamikaze, Jurassic Attack def. Raminator, Blockhead bye-run (Fast Qualifier).
• Semi-Final:  Dirt Crew Dozer def. Rammunition, Blockhead def. Jurassic Attack.
• Finals:  Dirt Crew Dozer def. Blockhead.

The track crew came out for a few moments, grooming some of the jumps to make the final portion of the day one to remember, as it was time for the final freestyle at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Turner would come out first and hit the race course before turning loose on every inch of the track.  The heavy Michelins were turning hard as he crossed over the track.  The pro-mod got set up on the far side of the track and Turner nailed the finish line jump from the side, turning sideways in the air as he landed on the left side tires.  At that point, Turner pulled the truck slowly into the main pit area.

Afterwards, crew chief Allison Turner looked the truck over, and the result on the landing was a pair of blown shocks, plus a shock mount.  Mercifully, the long weekend for the team had finally come to an end.

Williams would handle the big Ford really well on the track, pulling off some strong cross-threads, bringing the crowd to it’s feet and keeping his momentum up for the entire run.  Hall tried to follow it up with his own high-powered run, but the rear steering continued to fight him the entire run, not returning to center right away and eventually locking in the turned position.  Not the weekend he intended to have at all at a place that Hall has won multiple championships at.

Kraehmer kept his run short, as he too was experiencing similar woes and after what happened with his boss, he felt the best thing was to make sure the truck gets loaded up in one piece.

Things got turned up as Hall Jr. then lit up the infield with a high-powered, full-speed run that saw him crossthread the main hillsides, nail a slap wheelie off the back of the tough truck berm, and even sky all the way across the finish line jump to the point where he had to slow up and catch his breath.  After gathering himself together, he greeted the roaring crowd after taking the lead with just two trucks remaining.

Basl was not going to let the win slip away easily, as he once again showed that the newest chassis from the DCT workshop was up to the task, planting the wheelie bar in the dirt a few times and brought the crowd to a roar with his momentum.

The run was strong, and with one truck remaining, the crowd still felt that Jurassic Attack was in the lead.

Brown had the duty to be the final run at the historic venue, and he came out ready to do just that, while also leaving a mark.  He would put the truck through it’s paces, letting it run rampant over the entire track, including trying to pull a nose walk, but the truck would not get the bounce needed to balance on the front bucket.

He would put on a stellar run, slinging dust across the asphalt, but in the end it was not enough as the fans felt the high-momentum run from Hall Jr. was enough to take the win, closing out the final chapter in a historic book.

As the sun began to set, and teams tired down to load into the hauler, many fans took the chance to just sit and reminisce on the lasting memories of the venue.  Memories of historic mud races, including Ron Pentz taking on Tom Meents in the prime of their careers, to multiple tough truck races that resulted in either monumental runs, or monumental breakage.

The monster memories are ever lasting, from Bigfoot’s 5000th appearance with all their trucks in attendance, to Fred Shafer’s record-setting pass during the Penda era, Dan Runte going for a barrel roll alongside Mat Dishman, and then one year later he comes back to set a long jump world record.

Banners were taken down and packed away, show-and-shine participants loaded up their show trucks one final time, while others brought their daily drivers and made one final lap around the fairgrounds, knowing the checkered flag had waved on the last chapter of an infamous venue.

Now, the shift already heads to 2025, now with both a familiar facility, and an inaugural event.  The new crew with Events Inc. and the Monsters of Destruction brought back the jamborees from what many felt was oblivion, and the response certainly proved that the 4×4 culture is alive and well.

The anticipation for the new year is already coming, wondering what will be added, who will be coming, and can the Events Inc. crew make what has been a great season even better.

The only thing between then and now, is time.