Monster Nationals
Monster Nationals is the name of the monster truck series run by Image Promotions. The series primarily consists of monster truck racing and freestyle in indoor arenas. The events typically have only two parallel sets of cars on an empty concrete floor as a race track. The event format is similar to those of the USHRA Thunder Nationals series, due to owner George Eisenhart being the former director of that series. Trucks currently running in the series include Big Dawg, Lil' Miss Dangerous, Nitemare, Raminator, and Rammunition. In previous years, Bigfoot also competed. Unlike its USHRA counterpart, the Monster Nationals series runs indoor arena shows during the winter season and outdoor fairground shows during the summer. Some monster trucks that are new to the Monster Nationals include Tailgator (Doug Noelke's newest creation), Holman's Beast and teammate truck Ironman, and more. Returning trucks to the circuit include War Wagon, formerly owned by Jeff Cook who sold it to Andy Hoffman, and Samson, who ran the outdoor series in 2003 and 2007. The Monster Nationals, along with intense monster truck racing, also features some extreme stunts and performances such as a jet-powered Jeep, a jet-powered recliner, FMX Freestyle, BMX Freestyle, and car-eating transformers.
In January 2009, George Eisenhart, the owner of Image Promotions and promoter of the Monster Nationals, was run over and killed at the event on Madison, Wisconsin. It was deemed as a "freak accident" where the promoter stepped out from the safety tunnel in front of the monster truck Samson after a race had concluded. Eerily, just hours before that event, Eisenhart gave an interview before a news camera about event safety. A week before this event, a 6-year-old boy was killed at an event in Tacoma, Washington due to mechanical failure on one of the trucks at a Monster Jam event. The tour ran under the same moniker and promotion company for the duration of the season, until it was purchased by Family Events the following fall. A few years later, Family Events was purchased by the Bonnier Corporation, but still proceeds to run the same small-arena, concrete-floor based events as before (except a winter stop in DuQuoin, IL and select outdoor events). In recent years, trucks have included Predator, Heavy Hitter, and several trucks from the Bigfoot stable.
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