----------- UPDATE ----------- Due to the amount attention this video has received, I figured it would be best to follow up with some new and revised information that I either forgot to include, or should have expanded upon. - Milestone Motorsports actually began promoting monster truck events in 1999 and started signing trucks around the middle of the year, rather than the fourth quarter. - Although it was implied in the video, the initial World Finals 1 commercial began airing well after the start of the 2000 season and even up to a month before the event itself took place, so Monster Jam may have actually still wanted said trucks to participate in the event, otherwise there would be no point for them to be in the commercial if they weren't ever meant to compete. - Even though Samson was not featured on Monster Jam TV after the year 1999, Dan Patrick has stated that he was becoming more interested in running a less stressful and more relaxed schedule for Monster Jam, due to the commitment he had to building and helping fix the company's fleet trucks, as well as the many other orders he was receiving. - The 2000 and 2001 Monster Jam World Finals featured what was called a "Pick Six", where fans could vote on six guaranteed entrants into the event. While the legitimacy of the winners can be called into question, various Milestone-associated trucks that were no longer on TV were featured as options for at least the 2001 "Pick Six" ballot, but obviously none made it into the event. - Virginia Giant was included in the 2003 Monster 4x4: Masters of Metal videogame, which was sponsored by Monster Jam, despite still being associated with Milestone Motorsports. Bounty Hunter and Scarlet Bandit were cut from the game at the last minute. - While it isn't implied otherwise, Gun Slinger won two televised racing events in the year 1999, not just the one shown, and King Krunch would defeat Grave Digger another time during the 2000 televised season, not just at the World Finals. - Shocker also had a toy with Monster Jam's Hot Wheels line despite being signed to Milestone Motorsports.

R.I.P Scott Hartsock. I oughta say this was his golden era

This video was very interesting and very well put together. I did not know about all this happening behind the scenes, and this video showed all that happened during an important era of monster trucks!

This video is absolute gold and something that needs to be brought to the nonster jam community Also something I can add to this is many shows were uanired during the 2000 season and have almost been completely lost to time and many of these independent trucks are probably apart of those Lineups Eventually Raminator and ramunition would start to compete again in laylter monster jam 2009 San antonio 2012 Jacksonville and 2010 Indianapolis (which also equalizer competed in as well that show) Miami 2007 and Minneapolis 2007 (show 1) are the last time Shafer motorsports would compete in a ushra event loved this video

As a kid who watched the PENDA and USA motorsports shows, I knew all the trucks that competed there. I disliked Inside Monster Jam back then due to the highlights-only style they had. I remember my dad saying that Monster Jam had taken the USA show over and I was disappointed thinking it was going to be the highlights style. I was happy to see the first 1999 live show for Monster Jam on TV was a full broadcast with the trucks from USA motorsports still on it. It was a good mix of the two. Even as a kid though, I noticed immediately that most of the trucks mentioned in this video were gone in 2000. I had simply thought they didn't compete anymore. It's really cool to come back and see that they did compete those seasons, just not for tv. This was a really good, well put together video!

This is such a fantastic video, I genuinely didn't know about a lot of this information. At first I wasn't interested but the way the video was made, definitely hooked me. Great video!

this video is literally amazing, some of the best monster truck content i've seen on youtube. i'm glad more channels are popping up and starting to cover monster truck history like this now. can't wait to see what else you got in store

I think one thing that didn’t help Milestone out was being on a premium cable channel. Not all cable providers had the Outdoor Channel in their lower to mid tier packages. Whereas MJ was accessible through TNN in most of the early 2000s. Had Milestone been more accessible I feel that with their lineup of trucks they truly could have competed with MJ and we could’ve been witness to a ratings war. They offered a different style of racing somewhat similar to how USA Motorsports would lay out their tracks. They aired both indoor and outdoor events. On paper they shouldn’t have failed. But unfortunately they just couldn’t keep up with how quickly SFX/Pace was changing.

When people ask me what's it like being involved with the monster truck industry. I always say the industry has a handshake for you in one hand, and a knife for your back in the other hand.

I was born in '91 so I'm right on that edge of getting to know trucks like monster patrol and snake bite, just to have them disappear. My main take away back then was that while watching dennis and tom beef was highly entertaining, that's all the shows really boiled down to. It was grave digger vs goldberg with no other real competition aside from a very rare upset. I still loved it, but the shows definitely would have been MUCH better if this never happened.

It’s worth pointing out that Deihl’s Virginia Giant also had an appearance in Monster 4x4, Masters Of Metal.

This video is amazing! More videos like this would be amazing! Amazingly put together. You can tell a lot of hard work went into this!🔥

They did tell Bob Chandler that they were going to make their own stars 🌟 would explain why they were pushing their own trucks and sponsored trucks.

Video turned out great. Glad I was able to help you find some of the sources.

I'd never even heard of Monster Patrol when I was a kid. I had multiple games and several hotwheels collectibles.

Virginia giant actually ran several untelevised stadium events in early 2000 I believe the January Minneapolis and also the January St. Louis

Great video and lots of info and behind the scenes stuff a lot of people don't know about. Thank you for the video.

I love the monster patrol rc hope they will make a new monster patrol rc truck 2022

Wow... My best friend, Nice video... Beautiful place Enjoy watching this video... Have a nice day.

I’ll tell you what man I would’ve loved to see their trucks at the first world finals. They were dominant all season and at non-televised and Arena events they would dominate the events and take out some of the most notable trucks from Monster Jams Fleet

Super entertaining breakdown, throughly enjoyed this thanks for posting

Hey man if we can have some more documentaries like videos it would be sick. This was great

Great video. hope to maybe see another document in this style.

While you diplomatically sum it up by saying that no one is at fault, it is still unfortunate that promotional agendas & politics were ultimately the determining factors in which trucks had the opportunity to be pushed, get television exposure, and build a fan base with younger fans. In the spirit of true competition for a final purse, the only fully legitimate series has ever been the 1989-1990 TNT series. PENDA tried to continue that concept but with designated bonus opportunities for trucks who committed to the tour. ProMT & MLMT came as close as anyone in the last two decades with similar benefits as PENDA. But to my knowledge, the only true 100% open invitation competition (with a big enough purse to draw anyone) was the 1997 U.S. Truckfest in Charlotte, NC. Yes, they invited ten trucks to participate as a champions class with a guaranteed purse. But, the other bracket was a 32 truck open field qualifier with a purse based on finishing position. Basically, show up, pass a safety inspection, and you have a chance to win the top prize. How has this never happened again?!? Your reasons explain why it doesn't, and those all benefit specific promoters, sponsors, and/or agendas. But one would think that the monster truck business as a whole has grown enough for this to be a possibility. As a legitimate competition concept for over thirty years, fans deserve a way to determine who is the best & crown an overall champion each year from an objective standpoint. I've been hoping for years, but I don't see anything happening in the near future. Maybe if we talk about it & people become more educated then we can start pushing for and progressing towards something like that. Until then, I guess the best we'll get is to keep living in the past here on youtube.

I needed this keep posting content bro

Bravo good sir excellent well executed video!

20:17 where do I find that music at?

God that was a good video. I would love to see more deep dives like this!!!

Does anyone know the reason or beef between Monster Jam and Bigfoot. That's something I would love to see explained.

Another great video!👍👍

14:09 i have that book lol

Make more documentary’s like this!

Amazing video and research! What I want to know is where did you find the music from the TNT days?

How different do you think things would be if Paul Shafer HAD NOT taken the Milestone Motorsports merchandising deal?

I still have some of those Milestone Motorsports toys that I found tucked way in my closet.

Great video and all but what about Black stallion iron warrior and higher education and Overkill evolution. Where do they fit in the story?

22:22 where u got that video?

Minor note. Spider-Man and Sting ain’t the same chassis. While yes Sting DID run on Spider-Man at some select events with the previously unused Bret-Hitman-Hart body, their chassis designs are very differently designed.

Why were trucks like Avenger and Gunslinger allowed to remain independent and still be huge monster jam stars when Bigfoot stayed out because they wouldn’t have been able to stay independent?

11:37 do you have a link to the video or who made it? Or what it's called? Wanna see it

CORRECTION: Dennis had 12 (eventuallly 9) Grave Digger trucks that were out on tour in the country, dude. Not 4

Great video, very well done!

Awesome video dude, I wish I had the willpower and skill to make videos like this

I wish the first Minneapolis event in 2000 which I believe was January 22nd 2000 was televisized but it wasn't. The trucks I remember seeing were trucks like carolina crusher, monster patrol, hyway star, Chicago outlaw, grave digger, bulldozer, black stallion and MANY others That was my very first ever monster Jam I've ever attended. And I've been hooked ever since Also I really miss the orange and purple Monster Patrol. It was a different but awesome look

Great work! I’m sure this video took a lot of time to make

Airborne ranger driver is a really great inspiration

Is milestone motorsports website still around or any other sites mentioned in the video?

What’s the name of the song in the Intro / 1999 World Finals Section of the video? I’ve heard it on Monster Jam and the Grave Digger dvd

22:22 bro how did you find that?!?

Can anyone tell me what the black truck that looks like wild thang at 14:28 is ?

Last season of true Monster Truck racing. After that it was just WWE.

the first was in las vegas

Such a shame how embarrassing monster jam became.

it wasn’t called the world finals the first world finals was in was