I received complimentary tickets in exchange for a blog post, but this review and opinions are solely my own.

Do you have a little kid who loves trucks? Maybe they love Monster Trucks? Ill bet seeing these giant trucks up close would make all their dreams come true. My kids both LOVE to watch YouTube video clips of Monster truck rallies. They love the tricks and the super slow-mo replay with pyrotechnics. All of it. Today we were treated like VIPs at the Pit Party at the Times Union Center. We arrived a few hours early so we could meet the drivers and get photos and auto graphs. It was really special. Since we were among the first 10 guests to arrive, we nearly had the arena to ourselves for the first half hour. Then suddenly the crowd was immense.

I have to say I had no idea what to expect at a rally, in fact I didn’t even know the rallies are competitions! All the stunts and tricks these drivers perform are voted on by the audience. Spectators log onto a voting website. After each driver takes their turn at impressing the crowd voting lines open for about 20 seconds. There are several rounds of competition, speed, two-wheel stunts, donuts and freestyle. In between the trucks competing their companion ATV drivers compete on an obstacle course. That was really fun to watch! I was on the edge of my seat watching a truck called Stinger Unleashed completely flip over and land upside down. And there was an ATV driver that flipped over his vehicle, but got right back up an finished his run. It was such an adrenaline rush watching, I can’t imagine what it must feel like performing!

I was most impressed by the female drivers. They said over and over again during interviews that they felt like they could compete on level ground with the male drivers, and that they were inspired by the female drivers they watched growing up. The driver of Scooby-Doo is a new mom and she returned after a year off to prove just how relevant she still is by kicking a little but on the dirt. She won the two-wheeled stunt and donut competition before landing among the top 3 winners (even beat out the most popular Grave Digger). I was also excited to see several women equally qualified in the pit crew. I was so nervous someone was going to make a comment about me bringing both my girls to a “boys” event, but there were just as many little girls there as there were little boys. I thought the female drivers were perfect role models and really demonstrated that women can be whatever they want to be.

This entire event was a really wholesome family experience. The competitors were good sports, playful with each other, but took their own roles seriously. Every driver was gracious and expressed gratitude for each other, the pit crew and their fans. Even during our autograph session they were really generous with their time and their energy. Everyone was eager to put a smile on a kids face and go the extra mile to take a photo, or sign extra t-shirts and copies of programs.

Overall, this was a really great day out with the family! If you are in the Albany area and looking for an exciting break from the cold winter weather check the listing for their next show on Sunday January 14th! Get tickets here.

 

The Whatever Mom is a twin mom learning to let go of perfection. She shares her real life struggles with parenting through her blog and contributes her time and talents as a writer to Hudson Valley Parent and Masshole Mommy. When she isn’t writing you can find her chugging coffee, folding laundry and not judging other parents. Don’t forget to subscribe via email so you never miss a blog post again! You can also find her work featured on Mamapedia