On Saturday, July 1, ThunderROARus monster truck driver Colton Eichelberger set a brand new world report by leaping 9 monster vans lined up facet by facet — however earlier than Eichelberger might tackle the problem, he wanted steerage from a Monster Jam legend: Tom Meents. And two days earlier than the stunt, I had an opportunity to talk with Meents about simply what it takes to information a racer into historical past.

Full disclosure: Monster Jam invited me to affix the collection at World Finals XXII in Nashville, Tennessee, the place it put me up for a weekend and arranged a large amount of behind-the-scenes entry — together with an hour-long round-table interview with icon Tom Meents.

After a long time of competitors, Meents was philosophical as he answered our questions throughout a round-table interview. He selected his phrases fastidiously, typically after a wistful look out on the still-drying observe. Every time he spoke, it was with the type of deliberation you’d count on from a long-time legend and instructor at Monster Jam College.

“I can inform you for a reality we’ve by no means made it but,” Meents informed Jalopnik through the round-table after I requested how he and Eichelberger had been getting ready to perform the demanding feat.

“A number of the necessities are going to be traction — which, if [the jump] occurred at this time, that will be a problem,” he mentioned, referring to the damp observe.

“We’ve got an enormous run in with a brief stopping distance, so we’ve been arising with the proper gear, the proper angle to have within the air. Do you should cease the tires within the air so when it lands, it’s already pre-braked? You must simply think about.”

Whereas the complete slate of Monster Jam rivals really feel like one massive household, Meents and Eichelberger are fairly actually that: Eichelberger is Meents’ stepson and has crammed in for Meents previously, all whereas carving his personal identify into the report books with a seven-truck bounce at World Finals 20.

A nine-truck bounce can be tough for anybody, however Eichelberger can be going through a singular problem: he was pressured to drop out of his scheduled 2022 tour, making his World Finals XXII bounce effort his official return to Monster Jam. Returning to competitors simply to face one of the daunting feats in Monster Jam historical past as much as that time wouldn’t be simple — however Meents revealed a bit about how his steerage aided Eichelberger.

“The cool factor about Colton is that he’s a younger dad […] and I can simply take him out of all that pondering,” Meents mentioned. “With my stunt expertise, I can take some worries off his plate, so all he has to consider is getting within the truck and hitting the change.”

A extreme thunderstorm postponed the beginning of the World Finals, leaving the observe damp. Simply because the two-wheel expertise problem wrapped up, the vans set to be jumped rolled out into place, spanning a good portion of the stadium. Meents watched on earlier than working to supply a couple of remaining phrases of recommendation to Eichelberger. The pomp and circumstance was rapidly minimize quick because of rain, and moments later, there was ThunderROARus lining up on the gate. The large engine screamed, after which he was off.

For almost 4 seconds, Eichelberger soared via the air as fireworks skittered throughout the circuit. Then, his wheels had been on the bottom. He had landed it.

Certain, ThunderROARus did slide into the wall and lose a few of its fiberglass bodywork — nevertheless it was a small value to pay for one more entry within the report books.