‘This is what we came for’: Hot Wheels monster truck madness takes on Boise
Albertsons Stadium rumbled Saturday night as monster truck madness took over the unrecognizable blue turf with a roaring, fiery, wheelie-popping spectacle.
Fifteen monster trucks, along with several off-road motorcycles, revved their engines on the iconic blue turf, which was buried under 2,800 cubic yards of dirt for the first Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live stadium show.
Over 25,00 people filled the stands, many of whom were children ready to watch their beloved toys come to life right in front of their eyes.
Fans saw the trucks jump high into the air, drift around tight turns, smash into vehicles and perform hit backwards wheelies. The show also included two fire-breathing, transforming robots, appropriately named Arcticgon and Megasaurus.
Fourteen decked out monster trucks competed against one another in the competition including Rhinomite, Skelesaurus, 5-Alarm, Gunkster, Mega Wrex, Bone Shaker, Tiger Shark and Bigfoot. The show consisted of several competition-style events including races, jumps, donuts, high-flyers motocross 70-foot jumps and some serious car smashing.
There was one truck that stole the show. Boise State University’s own customized truck, Smashton Jeanty, driven by former Bronco Ashton Jeanty, debuted during half-time.
As Jeanty revved the engine of the blue and orange lifted truck, the crowd erupted with cheers. The Las Vegas Raiders running back took a lap around the arena and emerged from the truck to speak to the crowd about a charity he runs, an endowed scholarship fund for which Hot Wheels presented a donation check during the show.
According to Hot Wheels, the touring show was named the family show of the year awarded at the 2025 Pollstar Awards. More spectators told the Idaho Statesman that the show lived up to that expectation.
Meridian resident Emilio Barraza brought his son Milo, who just turned 6 years old, to the monster truck show to see his favorite truck, Bone Shaker, take on the arena. Barraza said he saw a monster truck show when he was 6 years old and wanted his son to have a similar experience.
With toy monster trucks of his own at home, Milo said he was “super excited” to see the real life trucks in action.
“This is what we came for,” Barraza told the Idaho Statesman. “To see what these trucks can do, and the smashing.”
This event was part of a university push to expand the types of entertainment offered at stadium which has included concerts.
The blue turf will return to normal on Monday, according to BSU. The transformation began Wednesday, with the help of hundreds of crew members covering the field with roughly 112,500 square feet of protective fabric, 2,550 sheets of plywood and then thousands of cubic yards of dirt.
