Monster Truck Tour roars into Eagle on Saturday, June 16
Special to the Daily
EAGLE — It’s hard to hear the words “monster truck rally” without your internal soundtrack playing the booming voice of an announcer screaming “Saturday! Saturday! Saturday! You’ll buy the whole seat but you will only need the edge.”
We will see, and hear, if that is indeed true on Saturday, June 16, when the No Limits Monster Truck Tour comes to Eagle.
Not surprisingly, event promotor Ed Beckley — Big Ed, to his friends — is given to hyperbole when he describes how the tour decided to make a stop in Eagle County.
“I was driving through the valley a few months ago and for the first time I saw the fairgrounds in Eagle from the interstate,” Beckley said. “I thought ‘You have got to be kidding me. It’s an absolutely perfect location.’”
Beckley said he took the Eagle exit to reconnoiter the fairgrounds site.
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“I could imagine what those monster trucks were going to sound like. The sound is going to go up I-70 and shake the mountains at Vail,” he predicted.
No Limits
Beckley is a retired motorcycle stunt driver who now promotes the No Limits tour. He noted the tour makes stops in venues ranging from huge football stadiums to more intimate arenas such as the Eagle County Fairgrounds. O’Reilly Auto Parts is the tour’s corporate sponsor and when Beckley contacted the company with the idea of bringing monster trucks to Eagle, the company’s research showed there were nearby stores in Gypsum, Glenwood Springs and Leadville. From there it was a question of scheduling. The shows are set for 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, June 16.
What can local monster truck fans expect? First off, they can expect to find out they are fans.
“People don’t know they are a fan until they go to one of these things,” Beckley said. “It just kind of brings out the kid in all of us.”
The event will feature a lineup of four monster truck competitors — Un Tamed and Un Named, Rat Attack, Wicked Sickness and Hillbilly. Their drivers will compete in races, wheelie contests and a freestyle competition.
The Eagle event will also feature an appearance by a jet-powered, flame throwing drag racer. “That thing is really cool,” Beckley promised.
Then the action switches over to “tuff truck” races where Colorado drivers will tackle an obstacle course. Any licensed driver at least 18-years-old with a “safe” vehicle can enter by contacting No Limits at 940-683-4742 or 940-683-3150 or visiting the tour website at nolimitsmonstertrucks.com.
Beckley added that his events are intended for the whole family, as evidenced by tour’s kids power wheel races. Youngsters are urged to bring their own battery-powered riding vehicles to the event where they can compete against other kids in their age groups. Any child ages 3 to 7 can enter and prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers. “We had 11 kids running the race in Sterling last weekend,” Beckley said. “The crowd, and the moms and dads, really get into it.”
Rounding out the event offerings, monster truck rides are offered for an additional fee and start one hour prior to each show, after the show and during intermission. One hour prior to the show, a free pit party is open for all ticket holders to see the trucks up close and meet the drivers.
