Monster Jam World Finals 2025 made its annual pilgrimage to Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium on July 4 and 5, marking the 24th edition of Monster Jam’s crown jewel event. Since its inaugural run in 2000, this two-day festival of horsepower, dirt, and spectacle has grown into a global showcase, drawing top drivers from every stadium and arena series plus thousands of fans tracking every flip, save and cross-thread. For enthusiasts, it’s the ultimate test: the World Finals pulls in title-holders and fan favorites for racing, 2-wheel skills, and freestyle, all under strict timing and official rulings.

Coming into 2025, expectations were high: Stadium Series East’s Tyler Menninga (Grave Digger), International and Arena champions like Blake Granger (Monster Mutt Dalmatian), and technical talk around new truck reveals and weather. The pre-show buzz was all about debut stunts like Bryce Kenny’s spin-master Tech Deck Ree entrance and speculation on how an elevated, pod-heavy course plus unpredictable Utah rain would favor cool heads and sharp throttle control. Favorites entered with strong stats; LeDuc’s Megalodon and Tristan England’s JCB DIGatron carried momentum, while fans debated the impact of a two-day format on mechanical attrition, thermal management, and lane selection.

Qualifying rounds shook up the grid right away: missteps on slick elevated turns took out several top seeds, especially in the red lane. Brianna Mahon stole a race from Adam Anderson, true to her “Princess of Carnage” nickname. Dalton Widner’s Jurassic Attack advanced with repeated fast laps (sub-27 seconds), and Todd LeDuc kept Megalodon up front despite pressure, ultimately earning lane choice for Friday’s World Championship bracket. In freestyle, Ryan Anderson and Son-Uva Digger threw down audacious combinations, while Tristan England mastered the DIGatron’s center-of-gravity challenges during skills. The crowd got textbook saves, a dramatic mid-final flip from Zombie, and smart picks on tire compounds as moisture ebbed and flowed. Championship results saw Blake Granger (Monster Mutt Dalmatian), Todd LeDuc (Megalodon), Tristan England (JCB DIGatron), and Ryan Anderson (Son-Uva Digger) hoisting trophies for their categories, securing points and, in some cases, closing out series dominance.

Salt Lake’s weather played its part, cooling ambient temps but slicking up the red-lane’s top corner, forcing almost every finalist to manage tire spin and throttle “feathering” to stay cool and avoid brake fade. The dirt’s moisture content changed fast; early heats favored cautious line choice, but by finals the surface had packed tight, letting drivers ride the cushion for faster exits. Aero did its usual dance with heavy trucks at speed; front flips and rebounded saves put serious stress on sidewalls and tethers, not unlike what we see with film adhesion and thermal cycling in PPF applications.

From my materials-focused engineering lens, relevant parallels popped up: watching drivers manage heat soak and brake energy across unpredictable surface transitions reminded me how a good PPF install needs thoughtful prep and flexible techniques—whether it’s Utah’s dirt or multilayer film.

In the end, Salt Lake City delivered exactly what enthusiasts crave: surprises, standout performances, and tight officiating. Expectations of dominance met the real challenge of technical adaptation and quick thinking. 2025’s Monster Jam World Finals headlines: Ryan Anderson, Todd LeDuc, Tristan England, and Blake Granger take championship wins; surface evolution, weather, and lane choice prove decisive; no major protest or penalty overturned the top results.

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Wessen Char is UPPF’s petrolhead who still mourns the loss of Saab (and drove her 9-5 NG till 2025). She travels between US and Europe to cover auto events. She acknowledges the chic tech of EVs but wonders if the inexorable move to everything digital is ultimately all-better. Analogue had more soul somehow :)

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