| Maximum Destruction | |
|---|---|
| Maximum Destruction ost the Monster Jam in Stafford Springs, CT | |
| Owner and Driver Information | |
| Owner | Tom Meents |
| Driver(s) | Tom Meents and Neil Elliott |
| Home city | Paxton, Illinois |
| Truck Information | |
| Year created | 2000 |
| Previous name(s) | Goldberg 2000-2001, Team Meents 2002-2003 |
| Body style | Futuristic SUV |
| Engine | 540 CI Chevrolet, Blown and Injected with Alcohol |
Maximum Destruction (often referred to as Max. D.) is a monster truck currently racing in the USHRA Monster Jam series. It is currently driven by Tom Meents. Tom Meents has won nine world championships which is the most anyone has won at the Monster Jam World Finals. As one of the most successful of the trucks it currently rivals Grave Digger in popularity. The truck was formerly known as Team Meents, and debuted as Goldberg.
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In 1999, Clear Channel (now Feld Entertainment) signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling to create monster trucks based on popular professional wrestlers. In order to ensure the success of the truck of Goldberg, Clear Channel contracted the team of Tom Meents (who was already wildly popular from driving Monster Patrol and Bulldozer) to build and campaign the "Goldberg" truck. Meents debuted in the truck in January 2000 at the Georgia Dome, where he won racing and finished third in freestyle. As the year progressed, and as Dennis Anderson struggled in Grave Digger, Meents became almost unstoppable and capped the year by winning the very first Monster Jam World Finals Racing Championship. The following year saw a continuation of the dominance, and Meents won the world racing and freestyle championship. In late 2001, WCW was bought out by the World Wrestling Federation and the deal with Clear Channel was dropped. For 2002, Meents kept the same truck and body but renamed the truck Team Meents, even retaining much of Goldberg's color scheme and graphics. Once again, Meents swept both the racing and freestyle in the World Finals.
2003 saw the truck change both name and image to become Maximum Destruction, a name which Meents had intended to run the year before until the September 11 attacks delayed those plans out of respect. The truck has remained significantly popular, and is often introduced with equal billing as Grave Digger. There are currently two Maximum Destruction trucks touring. Neil Elliott, Kreg Christensen, Phil Foster, and Chuck Werner have all driven the second Maximum Destruction truck.
Since the truck debuted as Goldberg, the Willman-style chassis and Fox coil-overs with Knight Stalker shocks have led to several bouncy and wild rides. Meents later replaced the Fox shocks with Knight Stalkers with coil-overs wrapped around it. However, the truck is famous for its ability to make large jumps and take several hits during freestyle runs and not suffer significant damage. The truck is also known for its numerous crashes, often simply as a result of Meents' full-throttle driving. Meents' driving style is emulated by the current driver of the second truck, Neil Elliott, and other former drivers, such as Phil Foster and Rob Knell. They are all said to have graduated from the "Tom Meents School of Monster Truck Driving".
Maximum Destruction is one of few trucks in the monster truck industry to have a front-centered engine in his truck.
On March 28, 2009, at the Monster Jam World Finals 10, Meents rolled on to the floor in Maximum Destruction and did a complete backflip with a little extra rotation. It goes down as one of the first backflips in a monster truck but this was actually the second. The first was done at Meents' shop in Paxton, Illinois in preparation for the World Finals.
Team Maximum Destruction has several new chassis for 2011. Tom Meents has a new front engine Willman style chassis, and Kreg Christian is driving a new CRD chassis. Neil Elliott has received MAXD #1. These trucks can be told apart because the new truck has a bright orange beadlock.