Ryan Anderson's anatomy of a Monster Jam freestyle - MotorSportsTalk

Ryan Anderson has been thrilling the fans during the racing portion of events with three consecutive finals, but his Son-Uva Grave Digger entry has been a little slow to rise in the skills and freestyle sessions. Anderson hit the dirt at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. with a focused approach and determination to moonwalk away from the competition.

Risk pays off in the Monster Jam arena. Filled with the adrenaline rush of defeating Morgan Kane and Grave Digger in the racing round, Anderson had the confidence to go all out in the freestyle competition.

After successfully getting his truck to bicycle on the right-side tires, he nose-dived into a moonwalk. Anderson turned two difficult and amazing tricks back-to-back. The fans sprung to their feet and rewarded him with a remarkable 9.599 average for his performance.

“I was able to complete the bicycle into the moonwalk, which in my mind is the hardest trick in Monster Jam,” Anderson told NBC Sports. “Two-wheel cyclone on the side of the vehicle. Really nobody else is doing that. For them to happen back to back was insane.”

Anderson then detailed the rest of his run, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the anatomy of a Monster Jam freestyle.

When Anderson readied himself for his freestyle run, he knew the fans were already on his side. His truck was damaged and ready to shed some excess weight. After the first minute of jumps, the outer shell of the vehicle was barely holding on. So he eyed the largest ramp on the floor and took aim.

“The body was damaged, and I knew that it wasn’t going to last and that it was going to come off,” Anderson said. “It’s crazy to say, but in our world, it’s a good thing. It’s exciting for the people, everybody loves it but it doesn’t do anything to the structure. It is just a cosmetic piece.

“So I line up for the biggest jump on the entire track, to not only make a statement to the fans but also get my adrenaline to the maximum level immediately.”

Intensity matters in a freestyle run.

The truck has to have the right setup and be in driving shape, but the performance rests on the driver’s shoulder – and in his hands on the steering wheel and feet on the pedals.

“I needed to get it there and keep it there,” Anderson commented on his intensity during the run. “After that, it was just mayhem. I just wanted to go as fast as I could from end to end. One thing about that stadium, because it’s so large it is a little bit harder sometimes to freestyle. I wanted to make sure to get as many jumps in as possible from end to end. Cover every square inch of the floor. So I’m running back and forth – just going crazy.”

By this point in the freestyle, Anderson ran through more difficult tricks and bigger risks than he had all season. He knew he had the momentum to take the run further.

Anderson continued his run with the truck’s body trailing behind, driving like a madman.

MORE: Adam Anderson and Grave Digger are a family affair for Monster Jam
“The body starts tearing away, which is pure joy to me because I know the fans are just eating it up,” Anderson said. “I go around to the back of the ramp with 30 seconds left do a huge backflip off the obstacle, landing it just right and shifting it into reverse. Popped it into a moonwalk. It’s something I try every single time I do a backflip but I’ve only succeeded four or five times. It is insanely hard to get it. It’s insanely rare to see it.

“I got the biggest air of the night on the very next jump, landing tearing the rest of the body all the way off.”

Anderson ended the night with a nearly perfect score 41 of 42 points and climbed up in the Monster Jam Power Rankings.

“It was perfect,” Anderson said. “I always say that I’m going to drive the truck like a madman until it won’t go anymore. That’s exactly what I did. The truck was done. I was out of breath. The body was in shreds and the stands were alive.”

Upcoming TV Schedule (All showings on NBCSN)

Indianapolis: February 18 (Tuesday); 4 p.m.
Oakland: February 22 (Saturday); 11:30 p.m.
Miami: March 1 (Sunday); 12 a.m.
Jacksonville: March 8 (Sunday); 2 p.m.
Detroit: March 21 (Saturday); 11 p.m.
Las Vegas: March 28 (Saturday); 7 p.m.
Santa Clara: April 11 (Saturday); 7 p.m.
Philadelphia: April 17 (Friday); 2:30 p.m.
Monster Jam World Finals Racing: May 9 (Saturday); 5 p.m.
Monster Jam World Finals: May 19 (Tuesday); 4 p.m.
Monster Jam World Freestyle: May 20 (Wednesday); 12 a.m.
Monster Jam World Finals: June 20 (Saturday); 2:30 p.m.

Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

Ryan Anderson’s anatomy of a Monster Jam freestyle

Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan after controversial block pass at Detroit

Read more about SuperMotocross