The Secret Monster Jam PR Nightmare

[@TomLehockySVK]

The part at 5:10 pissess me off the most - how many amateur and possibly high quality drivers are being dropped from any motorsport, for someone who instead is on drugs near every day because the sanctioning body doesn't do any fudging research on who they let in ?? Shameful.

[@DR3ADER1]

That's the sin of sloth for you. All of this wouldn't have happened if the organisers were NOT lazy. Because most fan-wikis that are well-maintained and constantly updated, go through several edits and reviews before it's even published online. As fan-wikis by default, only attract turbo autists with lolcow tendencies who have an eye for detail and due diligence. I wouldn't be surprised if the organisers just hired a turbo autist/digger for the main purpose of managing the vetting process and all of these problems would have instantly evaporated.

[@tazzmaniandevilboy42]

Thanks for giving the monster trucks wiki a shoutout. As a regular editor on there, I appreciate it!

[@AustinOgonoski]

It's good stuff man.

[@ausproductionsofficial]

I am too haha it’s nice

[@Rya7703]

Oh my god Austin. I had no idea how trouble she was. I do remember her she was the first female to driver of Zombie. Man its a wonder why she was gone so sudden without any reasons to be told. As a long time Monster Jam fan I'm pretty shocked.

[@cordorne]

Well, she was the first full time zombie driver, the first was Kayla at the WD16 encore

[@tiagobelo4965]

Yknow Austin, I don't expect comedy from this channel. But that ending. Magnificent comedic timing, couldn't have made it any better.

[@charliehubbard6103]

If you want another layer there’s the story of Jackie Carrisoza (don’t think I spelled that right) who got booted before the season even began because she was in a World Star video (or something akin) and would’ve been on the same tour Ami was in 2019. While maybe not great for PR it’s not on the same level as Ami. Plus Ami is still driving to this day for, ironically enough, a truck called Train Wreck.

[@brandonculpepper438]

That was a one off

[@bigyodatheman]

Essentially a porn

[@sootyjared4208]

I wonder what’s it’s like to ride an e-scooter while high on magic mushrooms

[@BenderTheBoiler]

Shes in the ESC sieres you can get the race highlights on youtube.

[@ausproductionsofficial]

Yeah when she did that backflip in Montreal shit was crazy! Really must’ve took a line on that one!!

[@ryanmcmillin5313]

Originally Soldier Fortune was supposed to be driven by a different person in 2019 but got fired 3 days later got replace by Kayla Blood who originally supposed to drive El Toro Loco on Triple Threat West in 2019 but moved to Soldier Fortune on Triple Threat Central

[@jackfinthebox]

I met Ami Houde when I went to a Monster Jam event in Baltimore in 2018. She seemed so kind, and I have a picture with her, and I was so sad when she randomly disappeared off of the scape. Now, I'm kind of glad she did, this vid told me things I didn't know at the time, and it really sucks. Sometimes it's the nicest looking people that have the deepest secrets.

[@ausproductionsofficial]

I did the previous year

[@Murkem9]

And that's why, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is 100% necessary to check the background of your Newly hired employees before they sign the dotted line.

[@777HPNEXTGEN]

Austin you ever thought of being a journalist or a detective? These videos are great 👍

[@AustinOgonoski]

Naw, people just feed me stuff. Is the same way with sim racing stories. Everyone knew about Jacoby for years, I just told the story. The Alex Palou stuff was fed to me. As was Motorsport Games scandal. I never found any of these. The Ami Houde thing I knew about since it happened.

[@cadenchristiansen3553]

@@AustinOgonoski still your videos are great and very informative you 100% are doing something right keep up the great work

[@mtfan]

The monster truck industry is full of seedy characters and people with a lot of skeletons in the closet. I'd venture to say the split is close to 50/50 ratio of honest hard-working guys and bottom-feeding thieves.

[@sunshinez-2017]

YESSSSSSSSSSSS ! WAKE UP HONEY NEW AUSTIN VIDEO !!!

[@ragefulsolutions635]

AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@Dexter037S4]

Update: She's driving Independent Trucks once again, people still don't learn, she's banned from most reputable promotions, AFAIK, which means she's limited to some shady promoters.

[@mcmonsterjam]

i’ve gotta say, personally this video hurts to watch. not because i condone ANYTHING she did, but she seemed like a genuinely alright person. When i met her in 2017 she gave me the zombie flag for being a big fan of her (since one of my favorite trucks is Zombie) and i even got on her socials. But glad this sheds light on this storyline. and awesome video.

[@monsterjamin24-79]

I met Ami once at World Finals 18. She was pretty nice. I guess looks can be deceiving.

[@ausproductionsofficial]

I met her in here rookie year in Baltimore 2017. She was nice or solid I’d say

[@fourwheelerjock]

MJ hired her for her looks, He "skills" on the mic and how she treated fans during the event. They hire people like that before they'll hire some one who can actually drive a truck. They believe they can teach you how to drive a truck.

[@jamespaschall1240]

WOW! I forgot all about her. I haven't followed Monster Jam for a while but I still keep tabs why I don't know? But personally the sport has become absolute garbage since 2014! I'm an old school fan and now-a-days it's just not the same maybe for those who are just starting to get into the sports or have young kids that's great awesome! This story is wild. Thank you for sharing.

[@SakicFan]

As someone who got introduced to Monster Jam on TV with 2010 San Antonio show, I can kinda be considered as an old school. My first Monster Jam Hot Wheels toy was a Spectraflame Monster Mutt. The last year I ever watched Monster Jam was in 2016. Haven't watched anything since then. But to see the current state of Monster Jam is just depressing.

[@roymcdre9180]

I laughed so hard at the end

[@DR3ADER1]

The ONLY answer to all of this lulzy behaviour, is that most organizers and companies associated in Mainland Europe and North America are LAZY. They have the time and the money and the patience to vet everyone, and you see this with more competent amateur drivers. The issue is that they're too lazy to remain consistent with the vetting process and due diligence department because that takes "effort". It's how the Premier League got Alli Dia in 1997, it's also how several matches were interrupted by sudden power outages in 1997/98 due to a Malaysian crime syndicate trying to cook the odds and the books in their favour so that they can win millions of pounds in the gambling industry.

[@lilkris3008]

As someone who helped with HR and hiring at a major company I can say no we don’t google you. Sometimes if it was for like a store manager position a quick look on FB and instagram that’s it until you move on through the process. Most of the time the interview tells a lot about the person and the pathological liars get through the online checks. The ones that post videos doing bumps don’t even show up on time for the interview

[@matthewrohde4198]

I created the wiki back in 2010, by the way. I haven't worked on it for a while, but it's definitely interesting, even if everything should be taken with a grain of salt due to a lack of sources (I can only assume these people get their info straight from those involved). For the longest time, I thought Brian Barthel's career ended because he got caught stealing a transmission, but a recent video said it was because he had a back injury.

[@OskarasNauseda]

mike harper stole the transmision wich Brian replaced not knowing it was stolen Brian Barthel returned in 2005 in his own Little Tiger truck

[@OskarasNauseda]

If you liked my coment i used your wiki

[@bigyodatheman]

Definitely "stolen" parts.

[@garrisonstamps]

Ami Houde Came back in the sport to drive train wreck according to Monster truck wiki

[@Avelyn_Band]

Train wreck never drove in monster jam

[@garrisonstamps]

@@Avelyn_Band my bad sorry

[@JustinNorwood]

😂😂 The ending is the greatest! Great video man!

[@furioussherman7265]

I wonder if Amy Houde getting into Monster Jam involved a casting couch at some point. I can totally see FELD doing shit like that behind the scenes, and it'd explain how Amy managed to get into the sport without anyone finding out about her background.

[@richardlong6097]

There's a ton of this happening all over motorsports. Attractive girls from a family of money or some level of celebrity are given opportunities way above their talent level. Post hot pics online and a band of loud 12 year old boys will will support u regardless and it gives at least an appearance of credibility.

[@jadendubecky4130]

The end of this video had me SHOOK

[@DOHCKSeries]

Babe, Wake up. Austin Ogonoski posted.

[@xixsportsnetwork]

the ending 😭

[@DiegoRuiz1991]

Austin, there's this thing called MARKETING and women are EXTREMELY MARKETABLE when it comes to motorsports UNLESS she does something really fucked up during an event or that gets a lot of publicity, they're gonna allow ANYTHING - FELD Entertainment surely knew how insane she was and how she lied all along... but it's a woman and they NEED women in their shows and not that many women are willing to show up for Monster Jam, it's not a popular career path

[@DiegoRuiz1991]

Dude, it's not "Iverts", it's Everts, it's a charity event by 10-time World Motocross champion Stefan Everts (he's basically the European Ricky Carmichael) - While that was a mixed-gender race with some BIG names like Ivo Monticelli (MXGP factory rider back then), Brian Jorgensen (retired), Jamie Dobb (also retired) and freaking Jeff Stanton (retired and like 5-10 years older than Brian and Jamie), she was also SEVEN SECONDS PER LAP slower than the other female

[@OskarasNauseda]

SO WHY FIRE Jackie the suposed navy veteran female driver of Soldier fortune on some bullshit music video she did long time ago

[@bigyodatheman]

​@@OskarasNausedaBecause it looks poorly on a family entertainment company

[@matteasterling5498]

This sounds like a stupid question but is Monster Jam a rigged/pre determined motorsport? Is it just a show that everyone is in on?

[@AustinOgonoski]

Nope. There's just a lot of disparity between trucks. Grave Digger and MaxD are owned by Monster Jam. They essentially have an unlimited budget and can hire the best drivers for them. The independent teams have to conserve their equipment a lot more. Imagine an 8- car Daytona 500 with 4 Hendrick cars and 4 Rick Ware cars. Thats basically a monster truck show.

[@OskarasNauseda]

@@AustinOgonoski actualy it is predetermened in a way you wont notice like who gets better tires engine repairs its not false news if former driver says it and somtimes even in a world finals maximum destruction vs iron man contravercy

[@bigyodatheman]

Not predetermined, but heavily influenced.

[@mushyzachman7731]

Im surprised she's even still driving a monster truck today

[@PJBlick]

3:50 Oh, she's definitely a real "rider" alright... ;) ;)

[@RCMgb]

Time for her to make the step into Trucks, Xfinity or Cup! He seems to also tick one of the criterias to be in charge of NASCAR too

[@JustinNorwood]

Haha 😂 love it

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

would be nice to see amber in a truck maybe i should message jordan anderson and make that happen

[@QuixEnd]

I knew a guy who drove monster trucks for a living, he was a total nut job. He thinks water gets him drunk. Idk how tf he started but I guess it's suitable for a dude with some loose screws

[@Rafagafanhotobra]

I'm just scrolling thru the comments to see if someone who ever saw her or lived near her IRL can tell us some stories. I just KNOW they'll show up here. I'll wait.

[@parsley8554]

hi i seen a video were you there tocking about esports and the werd things going down in gt7 .it was a real breth of fresh air i coodint fiend it agen. has it been copyright striket? if not can you please let me know what it wos cold . sory for the spelling I am dyslexic

[@andrewc6224]

The comments are the real gold when looking people up on The Dirty.

[@itzyaboybugz]

Wow MJ can hire addicts but… My song isn’t good enough for them because I’m not family friendly enough 😂. Let’s pray their new artist picks up a substance problem!

[@Jt7166]

It's crazy to think that back in the day, the requirements to drive a monster truck were basically, build one and get booked. Now all these years later.....it still seems like some wildly unqualified people drive monster trucks 😂

[@rickyracer5481]

Fun fact! Back in 2019 I ran a strictly stock race car/team out of Virginia and I was looking for a driver because I was going to be going back to school and wanted to see the car race still so I actually messaged her to see if she wanted to race it (just out of Curiosity) and she actually responded back to me and said if I paid for the trip,hotel,and all expensive she would run it. I haven’t heard from her in a long time so this is quite surprising to see. And yes I have the screenshots to back my statement up.

[@Hammerhead547]

The other scandal of Monster Jam and the USHRA is that they destroyed their entire tape library from the 80's and 90's because they don't want the world to know about anything monster truck related before 2004.

[@bigyodatheman]

They didn't.

[@Hammerhead547]

@bigyodatheman They most certainly did. That's why none of the videos they made in the 80's have ever been re-released on dvd despite their being a market for them.

[@bigyodatheman]

@@Hammerhead547 lololol no. See the Tom Meents mav tv episode and the 25th anniversary clips. They have all of the footage.

[@bigyodatheman]

@@Hammerhead547 now the usa motorsports and tnt archives were definitely trashed, but not the ushra footage

[@Hammerhead547]

@bigyodatheman Tom started out as a mud racer in the 80s, driving the multiple championship winning Mud Patrol. He only moved over to monster trucks because the ushra stopped sanctioning mud racing at its events in the late 90's.

[@NolanXBL]

I just Saw Amber Balcean Friday at the ARCA race @ irp lol

[@utjason8]

If you scroll to the very end of Amber's Instagram there are pictures of her and Ami hanging out!

[@owenfuertes8236]

You should have more subscribers broski

[@DavyJonesSimRacing]

What is an eScooter racer? 😁

[@GenuineRage]

breakneck speeds of up to 30mph with the wind at your ass

[@mazdaroadster-mx5]

A very new category on escooters as the name suggests. Pretty exciting but looks really stupid lol. I'm sure it's fun as tho

[@garrisonstamps]

Monster Jam version of Tia norfleet

[@patrickracer43]

we just got left on a cliffhanger guys

[@roymcdre9180]

I think that we're seeing that video in real time if you watch acra

[@AustinOgonoski]

@@roymcdre9180 Correct.

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

@@AustinOgonoski corwrong austin its bot her its the cars the same problem hailie has

[@AustinOgonoski]

@@randomstuff-id8bs Deegan is overrated. Her lone championship came in the kid's trophyKart class almost a decade ago. Her only full season in Pro Lite she was fairly underwhelming and ran mid-pack. There was nothing to ever indicate a shot at NASCAR was warranted.

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

@@AustinOgonoski hailie can drive austin all 4 of them can and they sall deserve more respect than people give them

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

I have not watched Monster Jam in years. I assume this is not a common thing in MJ?

[@Avelyn_Band]

Nope

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

@@Avelyn_Band I am glad to hear

[@davidlawrence6119]

Nice "Watch Til The End" surprise there...didn't see that coming 😂😂😂 #IWasntReady

[@AustinOgonoski]

Yeah I'd been wanting to tell this story for a while about the group of Winnipeg thots who all somehow became professional racers despite questionable backgrounds, but didn't know how to frame it without coming across as an incel. Ami was the most erratic of the bunch and actually got into a fair amount of trouble that's documented online, so I focused the entire video on her sketchy background, and then the big reveal is that she was actually part of a small group that were all known in the WPG racing scene.

[@davidlawrence6119]

@@AustinOgonoski Wow. Unbelievable. And people say Canadians arent exciting lol I kid I kid Nice vid and keep the rabbithole deepdives (I guess we can say that lol) coming

[@BenderTheBoiler]

I was watching the Electric Skooter races, guess I have a favorite rider now hahaha.

[@mr.blakester]

i did more research, and apparently she will occasionally drive the monster truck Train Wreck, which is fitting because she is one herself

[@acemacneill]

The fact that Yamaha USA follows her on IG is quite telling.

[@Nashvillecoug]

Yay father’s bestowed some investigatory blessings

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

austin im back to say this i worked with a girl from octber 22 to early 23 who had a pain pill addiction and i have to say drug addicts are misunderstood lily was the sweetest woman ever the only reason she does it is because of the mental pain she goes through and im sure ami problay has serious mental problems and she uses coke to cope so give her some reason please and honestly for a 40 something shes pretty cute

[@60HMS60]

Man, Austin ripping the Canadian racing scene

[@basedgodstrugglin]

5:59 that’s not based. It’s negative. Based is positivity and uplifting people, even if it’s a tough truth. It’s a gossip site so by definition it cannot be based.

[@SkyKid8492]

I saw her in Washington DC 2019 something felt off annnnnd lol here we are

[@nickyeoman2125]

This girl sounds awesome and I bet she’s a blast to party with.

[@AustinOgonoski]

based

[@ausproductionsofficial]

She probably brings the coke to it for everyone

[@ausproductionsofficial]

She probably brings the coke to it for everyone

[@S4b_3r]

I stopped watching Monster Jam in 2017 after the complete stupidity running the series and this just adds up to it

[@HydroHollic]

Unfortunately, I understand why you didn't show the other comments on that same post. 🤐

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

2 things austin one it just proves cuteness can get u rides and 2 i doubt amber has bad of a story if she did she wouldnt be married to a CFL player

[@AustinOgonoski]

Elizabeth Holmes has a husband.

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

@@AustinOgonoski who ?

[@destructionfun2]

A famous fraudster here in the US, she defrauded BILLIONs from investors and only recently was arrested for it.

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

@@destructionfun2 never heard of her but amber is not a fraud she just is making a living doing what she loves i would bet she never did anything seriously wrong in her life

[@GenuineRage]

@@randomstuff-id8bs huffing that copium hard today, are we?

[@norris_andrews]

Ok, as a NASCAR and ARCA fan who recently started rooting for Amber Balcaen in the ARCA Series, I might need a follow up video going more into Amber Balcaen's background and what she did before NASCAR

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

there wouldnt be anything to say listen to her interviews look at her instagram post shes not a bad person and shes not a fraud shes just tryna make it in a male domainated sport and doing pretty well id say

[@AustinOgonoski]

There isn't the lore surrounding her that there is with Ami. Just a few comments on theDirty implying she was part of a ring of Winnipeg racer girls with... questionable off-track behavior. I think her Wikipedia page says all that needs to be said. I'm inclined to believe those comments are true. Was lapped at IRP this past weekend on lap 40 of 200 in a Venturini car. Her wiki entry includes gems such as "Balcaen attempted to race in the 2015 Chili Bowl Nationals, but failed to qualify" and "in 2020, she competed in the POWRi Midget Racing Series, failing to qualify for most of the races." Yet somehow continues to progress up the ladder all the way to ARCA. This is not what an auto racing "career" looks like.

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

@@AustinOgonoski stop please stop shes not what people think she is she just wants to make it so let her do it

[@AustinOgonoski]

@@randomstuff-id8bs lol

[@NolanXBL]

I was @irp and listening to her on the scanner. They told her to pit under caution and she forgot to and they had to chew her out over it. then on the restart she changed lanes before the line on the restart and got a drive thru lol. They kept telling her over and over to not tear the car up and then a guy in front missed a shift on another restart and then she decided to not shift lanes and hit him and junked the car

[@DylanBigBruh]

This video was amazing

[@tubzvermeulen]

Thanks for the video

[@CodyHolloway8]

that last part was lowww

[@Dexter037S4]

"MJ Runs a pretty tight ship" Oh man, Austin, oh man. As a long time Fan, MJ has been ruined far beyond what NASCAR has, fan judging single handedly got MJ thrown out of the FIA and Monster Trucks are no longer considered a sport by them.

[@AustinOgonoski]

I'm talking purely from a management and PR side. Trucks have been renamed and drivers booted out for far less.

[@Dexter037S4]

@@AustinOgonoski Oh yeah for sure, but still a trainwreck of an organisation, I mean Evan Posocco got sent to being relegated back to eSports hell because of their foolishness.

[@AustinOgonoski]

@@Dexter037S4 Oh no, story?

[@Dexter037S4]

@@AustinOgonoski Fired during the great 2020 layoffs, for literally no reason at all, which yes, Pandemic torpedoed, but Posocco was one of those guys who had been there for YEARS, he'd been working events for a good 10-12 years at the time, and he just got shelved for other people, and now he's stuck doing NASCAR's esports stuff (which was a side gig to him)

[@DustinHartAM]

@@Dexter037S4 I'm not touching any of the hearsay topics in the video, but I can at least clear up an element of this. Evan was among one of the first to be called back when MJ resumed in 2021 and has continued working for them. Most of the staff except for a select few and senior executives were let go during the shut down.

[@TheRealestHooman]

I saw her compete in person

[@NotFuzion]

7:01 Hey! I know that venue!

[@OnwardSoldier]

Lmao I was at the ARCA race in Michigan 2 days ago and Amber was in it.

[@allamericannightmare4904]

We all knew this monster jam picks up women for looks so if she looks good and had a crap career before they’ll take them just for marketability. The women they had last season were amazing just Cynthia needs to do something other then total trucks every week. But yeah rumors were going around the first day her name went up on season preview

[@OskarasNauseda]

and they fired jackie on somebullshit

[@bigyodatheman]

Porn

[@speedking13e]

I just read this today actually XD

[@SocialAutism]

I'd like to meet this "Ami Houde."

[@pali1H]

Love the ending lol

[@Nick.Koehler]

The funny part is that ik why she got the job.

[@utjason8]

Tell us what you know!

[@Nick.Koehler]

​@utjason8 I will once i leave the industry.

[@cohengamertv6548]

Oh god, amber balcan

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

theres nothing wrong with amber shes married to a CFL player and has a full time racing career nothing out of the norm here

[@AustinOgonoski]

@@randomstuff-id8bs Aside from the fact she progresses up the ladder with atrocious stats and glorious wikipedia entries like "failed to qualify for most of the races."

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

@@AustinOgonoski austin the woman is not a bad driver

[@AustinOgonoski]

@@randomstuff-id8bs Usually failing to qualify means you're a bad driver.

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

@@AustinOgonoski no it means whoever bulit the car didnt bulid it right not ambers fault

[@randomstuff-id8bs]

sir u make me sad its been 3 years yall can forgive her now shes too talented and cute for the disreapect that yall give her look at her insta shes cute and u can tell shes sober

[@crashcourseinbruhsurgery]

Nice cliffhanger kek

[@doublebaconchaseburger]

I met Ami Houde at the MJWF XVIII Pit Party and she was so hyperactive and sarcastic (to me and to other fans in some videos I've seen). Guess I know why now 🫤