February 3 :: Dayton, Oh and Orlando, Fl
By :: Joe Sylvester

The past two weeks for JSM and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck have been very busy and quite eventful. January 22 through 23 we were at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio for 3 rounds of Monster Jam competition. Friday night went well as my Steve Vance Racing Engine powered me to a freestyle victory amongst a field of very stiff competition like Raminator, Destroyer, and Virgina Giant. Saturday afternoon started off great with a win in the donut competition but my freestyle run was cut short due to a broken axle shaft. My crew chief and I thrashed during the very short break we had before the evening show and got BAD HABIT up and running again minus an axle shaft. Due to very strict safety guidelines, I was only permitted to compete in Wheelie contest and donut contest. Despite some broken parts, the BAD HABIT truck was very well received by fans in Dayton and still put on great performances.

The weekend of January 30th would prove to be the biggest of my career thus far. Orlando Monster Jam fans are some of the most dedicated motorsports fans anywhere in the country! The stadium was sold out with over 70,000 screaming fans and the park next to the Citrus Bowl was filled with lifted trucks, grilles, and fans tailgating before the show. The 3 hr Pit Party enabled us to connect with a lot of our central Florida fans as well as do an interview for the Speed Channel! With our new sponsor Readylift Suspension Inc. on board with us, we were ready and pumped to go big and put on a great show for the awesome fans at this SPEED channel televised event. The competition included 13 other top ranked monsters in the world including Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction, Destroyer, El Toro Loco, Black Stallion, Gunslinger and others! Rain had haunted us throughout the day but cleared up just before show-time but unfortunately left the air very heavy and humid. We struggled with engine tune-up during racing and lost in the first round in a close battle with Gunslinger. After a wild intermission it was time for freestyle. The Readylift BAD HABIT truck took to the track with its bright Beckett Bodyworks paint job shining under the Citrus Bowl lights and headed straight for the biggest jump on the track right out of the gate! The truck flew through the air about 35 feet high and the TNT shocks soaked up the landing great. The rest of the run was fast paced and exciting and scored high enough to put me in the lead for a while despite a lose spark plug wire causing the motor to run on only 7 cylinders. Towards the end a few trucks came out and knocked me out of the hot seat but I ended up finishing 5th out of 14 of the best trucks in the world and made a lot of new fans in the process! I would again like to thank Readylift Suspension for supporting us for the next couple weekends and I look forward to getting their name out there in this exciting new market!

This coming weekend we will once again be in the company of some of best monster trucks in the world at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Tx for another huge Monster Jam event!

Jan 28 :: ReadyLift Suspension joins JSM for 2010!
By :: Joe Sylvester


I am proud to announce the partnership between ReadyLift Suspension and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck Team for 2010. ReadyLift will be the primary sponsor on the BAD HABIT Cadillac for our next two Monster Jam events in Orlando and Houston. After Houston, they will continue their support as an associate sponsor for the remainder of the 2010 season.
ReadyLift Suspension Inc. is the #1 preferred manufacturer of truck and SUV Suspensions Leveling and Lift Kits that are guaranteed to retain your factory ride while providing the looks and lift every truck owner wants.

Jan 23, 2010 :: Dayton, OH
By :: Joe Sylvester

BAD HABIT Wins Freestyle Friday Night and Donut contest Saturday afternoon! Broken parts plague rest of weekend....complete update coming soon!

Jan 22, 2010 :: Toronto, Ontario
By :: Cory Thomas

Jan 16-17 :: The BAD HABIT team traveled up to Canada this past weekend for a two day stadium show at The Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The 12 truck lineup included fierce competitors such as Bounty Hunter, Grave Digger and Cult Energy Activator.

The show started Saturday night with a four hour long pit party where the fans get the opportunity to meet and get autographs from their favorite drivers as well as getting an up-close view of the track and the 12 foot tall monsters. Highlighted with a fresh coat of paint from Beckett Bodyworks and orange and purple Capital Powdercoating, BAD HABIT was announced as the 'Best looking and most well set up truck' by announcer Darren Pallen. The show was set to begin as soon as the fans took their seats.

Racing was cut short for BAD HABIT as the truck's engine was running unusually hot. After some minor tuning to the engine, BAD HABIT was set to hit the track for the freestyle competition. Even though the engine was still not running to its full potential and the rear TNT shocks were too stiff, causing the truck’s rear end to 'buck' in the air, Joe did not refrain from pushing the truck to its limits and flying the 10,000 lb monster over the jumps. BAD HABIT came in fourth place out of 12 trucks for the Saturday night freestyle competition.

That night, the BAD HABIT crew tuned the TNT Monster Truck Shocks and made a few other minor adjustments so the truck was ready to perform for the Sunday afternoon show. Again, the fans poured into the track to meet the drivers and after the fans returned to their seats, the show began. After racing, the fans anxiously awaited their favorite part of the show, Monster Truck Freestyle. The work that was done on BAD HABIT the night before proved to be beneficial as Joe scored massive air while piloting 2008 Chevy Silverado/Cadillac Escalade. BAD HABIT scored 24 points in freestyle, earning him 3rd place, trailing Grave Digger by only 3 points.

January 12, 2010 :: Tulsa, OK Updates!
By:: Joe Sylvester

January 8-9:: An unseasonably cold Tulsa, Oklahoma was the city for our first event of 2010. For the 2nd year, the BOK Centre would host 2 nights of Monster Jam action with 6 trucks attending. BAD HABIT, with the all new paint scheme and Cadillac body for 2010, took victories in the first round of racing each night, against Bad News and Donkey Kong. The competition was fierce with Bounty Hunter, Iron Outlaw, and Grave Digger all in attendance. I piloted the BAD HABIT Monster Truck into a second place tie with Donkey Kong during freestyle on Friday night. After making a few modifications to the truck before the Saturday night show, BAD HABIT won second place during freestyle with a score of 25, trailing Bounty Hunter by one point. For the first event of the season, my new Steve Vance racing engines 512 Chevrolet engine and Abruzzi Turbo 400 transmission worked very well and helped us put on a great performance for the Oklahoma fans. I would like to thank all our 2010 sponsors ; Lincoln Electric, FK Rod Ends, Boardman Steel, Komar Plumbing, Saferacer , Ringers Gloves, Permatex, NGK, BnM shifter, Clevite, Rock Racing Batteries, Hyperco, and TNT Shocks for their support and I look forward to another great season!

BAD HABIT will compete against 11 other trucks in Ontario, Canada this coming weekend at the Rogers Centre. Make sure to check back each week for News updates and Photos!

November 13-14 :: Hampton, VA. MONSTER JAM
By:: Joe Sylvester
Joe Sylvester Motorsports and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck Team wrapped our season in Hampton, VA at the Hampton Coliseum for 2 nights of action-packed MONSTER JAM competition. BAD HABIT started off strong during both nights with 2nd place finishes in the wheelie contests. Racing was close both nights but the BAD HABIT truck would fall short of victory Friday night to Grave Digger in a very questionable loss in the first round. Saturday night we fell short again in the first round to hometown driver Steve Simms in the Stone Crusher Ford. Freestyle started off strong for the BAD HABIT team both nights. Friday night I was the first driver to attack the freestyle motocross landing in the very small Hampton Coliseum. After getting the crowd fired up on my first hit, I made a few other jumps but then after being a little too aggressive in a corner, the southern clay dirt pitched the truck on its side and I had to dump it over on its roof in order to not hit the wall of the arena. Saturday night started off much the same in freestyle. Again, I attacked the freestyle motocross landing and scored some Big Air and high speed. The small arena was packed with excited fans as the BAD HABIT truck scored pretty high with the judges. BAD HABIT definitely left fans talking after the show.

I would like to thank all our 2009 sponsors for their support throughout the season and look forward to promoting them in 2010 again! I would also like to thank our 2010 sponsors who jumped on board at the end of this season. Lincoln Electric provides us with the best welding equipment known to man so that we can continue to keep BAD HABIT running in the most abusive motorsport in the world. Rock Racing batteries also provided us with their all new 16volt batteries for us to use on the rear steering of BAD HABIT. The name of these batteries says it all, they ROCK! My rear steering was way faster than it has ever been and the batteries held a very consistent 16 volt charge throughout the entire show. My girlfriend Cory, whom I could not make it without in this sport, has also been a huge help with everything this year from keeping the website updated to spinning wrenches on the truck!

Thanks to everyone for a great year in 2009 and I am greatly looking forward to seeing you all at the PRI show in a few weeks where we will have the all new BAD HABIT on display at the Lincoln Electric booth!

October 19, 2009:: Appearance at the PRI Tradeshow!
By:: Cory Thomas
Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck will be sharing the spotlight with Lincoln Electric at the Performance Racing Industry Tradeshow in Orlando Florida this year! This trade show, being held at the Orange County Convention Center, will host over 1200 exhibitors and over 40,000 guests from 60 countries! This is where the NEW BAD HABIT Monster Truck will be revealed!

Joe Sylvester is proud to announce Lincoln Electric as a sponsor for the 2010 season! With 20 hours of welding dedicated to the fabrication of the BAD HABIT Monster Truck chassis, Joe trusts the products and machines from the "Welding Experts." After over 100 years of experience, Lincoln Electric has become the world leader in welding and is continually developing new products and ideas for the industry. The BAD HABIT Monster Truck Racing Team is looking forward to a long and beneficial partnership with Lincoln Electric.

October 8, 2009:: RAD Racing
By:: Cory Thomas
Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck Racing Team are proud to announce that they are now part of the RAD Racing Team! RAD Racing (Race Against Drugs), who is part of the National Center for Prevention and Research Solutions (NCPRS), have been striving for nearly two decades to raise awareness about drug and alcohol abuse amongst today's youth. Joe Sylvester is proud to represent the organization and will do so as community events as well as during his 2010 Tour! Go to www.NCPRS.org to see Joe's profile and to find out more about RAD Racing!

September 23 :: August Updates
By:: Joe Sylvester
The month of August was very busy for everyone at JSM. After a big win in Bristol, we ventured to northern New York for two stops on the KSR Freestyle Tour, Boonville, Ny and Cobleskill, Ny. Both shows took place at county fairs and featured packed grandstands. BAD HABIT was flying high with the all new TNT shocks taking wins in both towns. The next stop on the KSR tour would be a 2 night show in Bedford, Pa and would once again have a great fan turn out and showcased trucks like Viper, BIGFOOT, Rap Attack and others along side BAD HABIT. BAD HABIT would once again take wins both nights and left the fans breathless after an encore freestyle Friday night during the Jet Truck performance. Fans were on their feet while Freddy melted a car to nothing with his 10,000 horsepower jet truck while BAD HABIT was flying through air! After making some extensive repairs to BAD HABIT at BOARDMAN STEEL, it was then time to travel to Honesdale, Pa for the Wayne County Fair and another night of KSR Freestyle action. For the third year in a row, BAD HABIT would put on another high flying performance for the sold out crowd and take another freestyle victory. Gaithersburg, MD would be the next city on the KSR schedule. The two night show at the Montgomery County Fair had great attendance and a heavy hitting truck line-up featuring BIGFOOT, War Wizard, Bars Leaks Eliminator, Rislone Defender, Rap Attack, Screamin Demon, Tow Mater, and BAD HABIT. With great runs by all the trucks during the 2 night show, it was BAD HABIT again pulling out the freestyle victory both evenings. With no time to spare, we made it to Bath, NY the very next day and Cory and I just barely got everything ready for the show that night. The crowd was great at the Steuben County Fair and this being our second year there, I was ready to defend my freestyle win from last year. There was not an empty seat in the house as I piloted the Abruzzi Racing Transmissions, Saferacer, FK Rod Ends, BAD HABIT to another victory.
With a 15 win streak under my belt, and a lot of talented opposition throughout the KSR Tour, we wrapped up August with a fast paced freestyle exhibition at Pennsylvania Motor Speedway during one of their Saturday Night race events. Everyone from the race car drivers, to the track owners, to the fans were very excited about the performance and plan to have us back again next year.
I would like to thank my girlfriend and partner Cory for all her dedication and help during this very hectic, event-packed month, as well as my new employee, Kyle, and the guys at BOARDMAN STEEL for all their help. Without them, BAD HABIT would not have made it to all these shows to take home 8 more freestyle wins.

July 25 :: Update from Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN
By :: Cory Thomas
July29 :: Saturday night's show at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN will be an event to remember! Eight trucks arrived at the high-banked track to perform the first monster truck show at the NASCAR speedway. These trucks included Raminator, Rammunition, War Wizard, Samson, Equalizer, Ragin' Rebel, Heart Breaker, and of course, Joe Sylvester with the BAD HABIT Monster Truck. The show started off with each truck making two qualifying runs on the 7 jump, Chicago-style course. Shortly after, the show was put on hold due to a storm and the racing portion of the show had to be cancelled. After the rain stopped, Rammunition started the freestyle portion of the show, followed by Heart Breaker, Ragin' Rebel, and Samson. Joe Sylvester followed Samson in the BAD HABIT truck, and took over the Freestyle competition. BAD HABIT was declared the winner of the freestyle competition at Bristol Motor Speedway after catching massive air, hitting the obstacles at top speed and finishing his run by spinning donuts on the front stretch in front of the crowd. Check out the photos in the media page! Joe and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck will be hitting the road this Friday for shows in Booneville, NY, Cobleskill, NY and Bedford, PA.

June 21 :: Update from Rutland, VT
By :: Cory Thomas
Friday, June 19 :: This past Friday, Joe tore up the track and caught massive air in Rutland, at the Vermont State Fairgrounds. BAD HABIT competed against four other trucks, Amsoil Shock Therapy, Excaliber, Tow Mater, and Snake Bite, and won the freestyle competition. However, during an encore performance, the BAD HABIT Monster Truck suffered mechanical difficulties and was unable to perform during the following shows. With the truck up and running now, Joe Sylvester will head back to his home town for a few local displays.

We are adding more shows to the schedule, so don’t forget to check out the schedule page to find out when Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck will be near you!

June 9 :: Hartford, OH Update!
By :: Cory Thomas
Saturday, June 6th :: Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck impressed the crowd at Sharon Speedway this weekend with two freestyle runs during the race intermission. With the anticipation of the BAD HABIT and diesel fueled HushPower Monster Trucks, Sharon Speedway had a much higher attendance for the show than on a usual race night. Although the HushPower truck broke a shock and had to pull back into the pit area, Joe brought his BAD HABIT truck back out for a second run and caught massive air over the crush cars. Check out the photos on the media page!
Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck will be at Sharon Speedway again on July 7th for Boardman Steel night.

June 2 :: Malta, NY Update!
By :: Cory Thomas
May 30-31 :: This past weekend, Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck appeared at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY for two exciting shows that had the crowd on their feet! Four other Monster Trucks appeared, including Storm Damage, Viper, Tow Mater, and BIG FOOT, as well as many other acts. Although there was not a cheer off competition on Saturday night, many members of the audience stopped by the BAD HABIT Merchandise tent to meet and congratulate their favorite driver, Joe Sylvester. Despite the rain and windy weather conditions on Sunday, a line of fans formed outside the entrance gate and crowded around the trucks during the pit party. Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck won the cheer off competition during the Sunday afternoon show! Videos from these two shows will soon be added to the MEDIA page, so make sure you check out the latest footage!

May 27 :: Thompson, CT update!
By :: Cory Thomas
May 25 :: The BAD HABIT Monster Truck Racing Team traveled North this weekend for a one night show at Thompson Speedway in Thompson, CT. The show consisted of many acts including demolition derbies and stuntmen, but the act that the crowd was looking forward to was the monster trucks. The other monster truck that was scheduled to perform had mechanical difficulties, but Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck made up for this by tearing through two motor homes and catching big air on the car stacks. The performance went very well and gave the audience something to talk about for days after the show.

Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck are scheduled to perform this weekend at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY. This show is going to be huge, so make sure you check back for the results.

Also, don't forget to go to the media page to watch the latest videos, including one from this past weekend in Thompson, CT.

May 18 :: Budds Creek, MD Update!
By :: Cory Thomas
May 16-17 :: Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck spent this past weekend in Budds Creek, MD and competed against other monster truck drivers including, Storm Damage, Tow Mater, Killer Bee, Viper and the legendary BIG FOOT. Joe brought the crowd to their feet as BAD HABIT caught huge air over the crush cars during both shows on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. During these shows, the winner of the Freestyle Competition is determined by a fan cheer off and both shows resulted in a cheer off between BAD HABIT and BIG FOOT. BAD HABIT was the winner of BOTH Freestyle Competitions this past weekend. Joe signed autographs at the merchandise booth after both shows and the fans were thrilled to meet him and have him autograph their BAD HABIT T-Shirts. Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck will continue their tour with the next stops being in Thompson, CT and Malta, NY. Make sure you check back for new merchandise and the latest updates!

May 12 :: Orlando, FL Update!
By :: Cory Thomas
May 3 :: Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck spent last weekend at the Bithlo Motorsports Park in Orlando, FL for a Freestyle Exhibition event for the filming of Trucks Gone Wild 8. The BAD HABIT Monster Truck has been featured in nearly every Trucks Gone Wild DVD. During this premier event, Truck Wars, Joe Sylvester provided exciting, raw footage for the upcoming Trucks Gone Wild DVD by winning the Long Jump Contest and by performing yet another exhilarating freestyle car crush that Joe is best known for.

We are also thrilled to announce that Joe Sylvester and the BAD HABIT Monster Truck will be on the cover of the next MUD LIFE Magazine due to be released June 1st! MUD LIFE Magazine is going to start including Monster Truck coverage and Joe with the BAD HABIT Monster Truck will be the FIRST monster truck racing team to be featured. Make sure you pick up a copy of MUD LIFE Magazine due to hit stores on June 1st!

Also, the BAD HABIT Monster Truck is now the FIRST and ONLY monster truck available through DIRTHEAD.COM. Through DirtHead, you can purchase a small, medium, or large graphic that you can stick to any wall to show just how serious of a fan you are. Don't forget to pick up one of these for your bedroom, shop, or as a gift for any monster truck fan you know. These graphics can be ordered through DIRTHEAD.COM and are available on the Merchandise page of BADHABIT4X4.COM.

May 1, 2009 :: Joe Sylvester and BAD HABIT will be appearing at Bithlo Motorsports Park this Sunday May 3 for the Trucks Gone Wild Truck Wars event!!! Come on out as it is sure to be wild event

May 1, 2009 :: Tallahassee, FL Update!

By:: Joe Sylvester

April 24-26 :: After having a rough weekend in Laredo, we traveled a little further southeast to McAllen where Marty and the Trucktoyz Performance crew welcomed us with open arms. I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Marty and his employees for opening up their shop to us and helping to get BAD HABIT up and going again for the next weekend. I also have to thank Pablo Huffaker for allowing us to come to his shop to finish repairs on the truck and supplying us with a new center section for the front end. Tallahassee went very well for us. Three big shows which all had very good attendance and all the drivers put on a great show. We finished very well in racing in all three shows and tore it up all weekend long in freestyle. There is no doubt that the BAD HABIT machine had some of the biggest air and best momentum of the weekend launching the dirt hill over one hundred feet and over thirty feet high! The only trouble we had all weekend was with tires. We went through two tires and had to borrow a tire and wheel in the middle of the show from the Equalizer team in order to make freestyle Saturday night. On Sunday, Larry Quick with the GHOSTRYDER truck was generous enough to let us use his spare tire so that we could continue to thrill the north Florida fans. Thanks to everyone again for helping us throughout the weekend so that we could show the fans a good show once again.

April 22, 2009 :: Laredo, TX Update!

By:: Joe Sylvester

April 17-18 :: After having the Easter weekend off, we would now be traveling south, way south all the way down to Laredo, Texas. The next exit on the interstate was Mexico. The weather was very hot and the competition at this event would definitely make for an exciting show. Friday night, our typical hard luck would strike again. As I rolled BAD HABIT out for wheelie contest, the rear end gave out again. This slowed me down somewhat but did not impair me enough to not give the fans a good show. Running in front wheel drive only, I finished respectably in racing and gave it all she had in freestyle. I ran the truck till it did not move during freestyle with only the front wheels under power. Towards the end of the run, the front end would also break. Working all day on Saturday, replacing 2 center sections in the axles, rebuilding one locker, replacing one axle shaft, and changing the oil, myself and crew chief, Scott Bennett finished the truck up just before show time In the 95 degree heat. Although, we did not have the right parts to build a new center section for the front of the truck, I would again be running the truck in 2 wheel drive, this time it would be the rear wheels though. Despite the truck not being at 100%, I managed to wheel the truck to a racing victory and wowed the Laredo fans with the biggest air of the night in freestyle. We will now be making the trip over to Florida where we will be for the next 3 weeks starting in Tallahassee and ending up in West Palm Beach.

April 22, 2009 :: Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and Richmond Updates!

By:: Joe Sylvester Save

February 6-7 :: After making the long haul from Houston to Winnipeg and then finally back home to Ohio, we were definitely happy to be back and to be able to do a show in front of a lot of hometown friends and family just up the road in Cleveland. The BAD HABIT truck was on kill all weekend with impressive finishes in racing, wheelie contest, and donut contest. As always, freestyle is where I do my best work and I was ready to show Cleveland a night they wouldn?t soon forget. All 3 shows went well and the new Boardman Steel, Capitol Powdercoating, Sylvester Construction, BAD HABIT stayed together for all 3 performances with the exception of breaking an axle shaft during the afternoon show on Saturday. Although never pulling out the win in freestyle, I scored well every night and definitely left the fans with something to talk about on the way home.

February 13-14:: It was then time to make the 1,000 mile journey back down south to Oklahoma City, OK. The beautiful Ford Center was packed for all 3 of our shows with some 10,000 + fans at each one. As with every Monster Jam event, the line-up was stacked with the biggest names and best drivers in the sport. Pablo Huffaker in Grave Digger, Tony Farrel in Blue Thunder, and Aaron Basl in the Ninja Turtle truck just to name a few. The loose sand made for a fun, high-speed Chicago-style race course that definitely allowed for some exciting racing. Power sliding my way through the corners like a sprint car, I piloted BAD HABIT to the fastest qualifier position on Saturday. However, I could not stay consistent the rest of the weekend in racing, only making it to the second round of racing one time throughout the 3 shows. Freestyle went well every night with high speed, crazy donuts, and huge air off the freestyle motocross landing. We were very well received by the Oklahoma fans and definitely gave our sponsors some great exposure that weekend.

February 20-21:: It would then be time to travel all the way back up north back to the shop to prepare BAD HABIT for the next weekend in Richmond, Va. Unlike the shows we had been doing all season thus far, Richmond was a Thunder National which means the show is on a concrete floor and the largest obstacle we would be hitting is a stack of cars. Thunder Nationals are a funny thing. They can be very hard on a truck not because of the obstacles, but because of the concrete surface, or everything might just hold up with no problems. That would not be the case that weekend as the JSM Team suffered axle troubles all weekend. The new cut we have on the rear tires of BAD HABIT hook up very well on hard surfaces, and in this case, a little too well. From broken axles to broken lockers, Richmond was no very good on parts for us. Regardless, we still thrilled the fans with typical fast paced, big air, freestyles, vertical sky wheelies in the wheelie contest, and cyclones that would earn the BAD HABIT truck wins in the donut contest in 2 out of the 3 shows.

March 9, 2009 :: March 20, 2009 :: Phoenix, Houston, and Winnipeg updates!

By:: Joe Sylvester

January 24 :: After a less-than-satisfying weekend in Minneapolis, I was ready for Chase Field in Phoenix, Az and came out with guns blazing. After laying down a fast qualifying pass on the unique track layout, I lost first round in a very close race with world champion Jimmy Creten in the Bounty Hunter. The stadium was packed to the brim with over 55,000 screaming fans and there was standing room only! I started my freestyle off as I always do, going pretty big right out of the gate. Although, I got bit pretty hard on the third jump over the biggest bus stack there. Upon landing, I snapped the front right spindle and wheel off which caused the truck to dig the front housing into the dirt and cart wheel BAD HABIT end over end. The fans were going absolutely nuts after the hard crash but unfortunately it left me and my crew chief Scott Bennett a lot of work to do for the next week in Houston.

January 31 :: After spending an extra day in Phoenix to make some repairs to the body, we wasted no time and headed off to Houston. The truck needed both knuckles replaced on the front as well as both spindles. Thanks to Jimmy Creten for building us a killer set of knuckles and getting them shipped to us overnight and Pablo of Racesource for having a set of billet spindles and knuckle rings ready to go for us. We thrashed on BAD HABIT all week to get it ready for the sold out crowd at Reliant Stadium. This event would be even more special for me because my family and beautiful girlfriend flew in to surprise me for the show and I did not want to let them down. I had a blistering fast qualifying pass going until I failed to remember the layout of the course and made one less hit over the cars than was required. Chalk one up to a beginner?s mistake, with this being the 2nd time for me on that type of track. First round had me matched up with none other than the multi-time world champion, Tom Meents. I made it a close race until on the last time around my Hedman Hedders came off the right side of the motor, thus making the motor fall flat on its face and ruining my chances of a first round victory. We decided to silicone the header bolts in this time and no longer have problems with the bolts coming loose. Feeling cheated out of a fair chance at victory in racing, I was ready to tear it up in freestyle. I came out strong as always with a huge hit followed by a couple other high-flying jumps. My run got cut a little short though having bumped my power switch off killing power to my motor. After tech officials misunderstood that I was able to fire back up and finish my run, I was already being pushed off the track. Needless to say, I was not happy at this point coming so far only to get cheated out of a freestyle on one of the most insane courses in Monster Jam history. On the brighter side, nothing was broke on the truck which was a good thing because I had to drive over 2,000 miles into Canada for our next stop on the Monster Jam tour.

February 6-8 :: Joe Sylvester Motorsports not only travels this great country entertaining tens of thousands of fans every weekend, but we also thrill fans across the border in Canada! After making the long haul all the way from Texas, I was eager to show the Canadian Monster Jam fans just what the Orange and Purple machine was capable of. Performing three shows that weekend, I did well in racing making it to the semi finals twice and second round once. But it would be freestyle that I left the fans to remember me by that weekend. With a couple good size stacks allowing for big air and a tacky surface to build good speed, I tore up the stadium all week long with big air and plenty of saves up on 2 wheels. With another good weekend in the books, it was time to head back home and do a show close to home for a change in Cleveland.

March 9, 2009 :: Winston-Salem, Wichita, and Minneapolis updates!

By:: Joe Sylvester

As I mentioned in my last update, we have been super busy lately since November when we started building the new truck. We hit the road on January 2nd kicking off our tour in Winston-Salem, NC. Although most of our events for the first quarter of 2009 are on the Monster Jam series, our first event was a stop on the Checkered Flag productions series. The event went well and the new truck performed great. I was very happy with it and quickly knew I would be able to get the hang of the new set-up. We competed in Wheelie contest, Racing, and Freestyle and did well in all three. There were two shows that weekend, one Friday night and one Saturday night, both were close to being sold out. Although I am not sure on positions for the competitions each night, I know that I put my brand new Boardman Steel sponsored BAD HABIT at the top of the list every night in every competition.

Our second weekend, we traveled down to Wichita, Kansas for our first Monster Jam event of the season. There we did three shows and each one featured wheelie contest, racing, donut contest, and freestyle. I scored well in all three shows in wheelie contest and made it as far as the finals in Racing but lost to Bounty Hunter. BAD HABIT was also a crowd favorite in the donut contest every night and although never getting a great score, then fans were always pumped up after I was out there spinning the truck around. Freestyle, which over the past three years has somewhat become my claim-to-fame and also my favorite part of the events, went very well for us in all three shows. My runs were high speed and fast paced with plenty of big air hits and good momentum.

January 17th would be our first big stadium, televised event for 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Metrodome. The stadium shows go a little different than the arena shows. Since we have the room to race on a larger floor, we don?t have wheelie and donut contests just racing and freestyle. Before the show started, I had the chance to shake hands and sign autographs for around 8,000 people during the 3 hour long pit party. This is a great opportunity for fans to get up close and personal, check out the trucks, and recognize all our sponsors proudly displayed on the truck and my driving suit. This is a huge part of our sport and offers our fans an opportunity not found anywhere else in motorsports. Qualifying went pretty well for my team seeing as how it was the third show on the new truck and the first time on this type of course for me. I won first round of racing against Amsoil Shock Therapy but lost in the second round to the mighty Raminator who would later that night make it to the racing finals. Freestyle was looking very promising and I was amped up and ready to rock the 65,000+ fans at the Metrodome. I generally like to start my runs off with a giant, big air leap right off the bat to get the fans? attention. This weekend was no different and after my first hit, which launched me clear across the entire stadium, I broke the front tie rod upon landing. I tried putting the truck into a donut but she just wasn?t going to spin. Although very disappointed with my run, I was happy to hear the fans response to my huge leap and actually received many emails and letters about just that one jump. My crew chief Scott Bennett had the truck repaired before the show was even over and ready to head down the road for another weekend of Monster Jam competition in Phoenix, Az.

March 6, 2009 :: New Truck, New Sponsors for 2009!

By:: Joe Sylvester

Well, as most of you I am sure already know, BAD HABIT, is a brand new piece of equipment for 2009. We have been running wide open since the first week of November and are now finally getting caught up on informing everyone as to what has been going on.

We started off the first week of November with a pile of DOM and Chromoly tubing and after working 16 hr days, 7 days a week, for 2 months solid, we built a brand new BAD HABIT and got it loaded in the trailer at just about midnight the night before our first show Jan. 2nd in Winston Salem, NC. With the freshly painted Silverado body on the truck courtesy of Beckett Bodyworks of Salem, Ohio most people wouldn?t be able to tell the difference between the new truck and the old one other than the beautiful, black, powder coated chassis done by Capitol Powdercoating in Tallmadge, Ohio. Although, when the body is off, anyone can plainly see that this is a totally redesigned truck from the unique shock set-up to the aluminum body mounts. Very similar to the original BAD HABIT which was designed by Jerry Richmond in 1996, the new truck sports a totally new shock system incorporating 26? travel coil over shocks in the rear built by TNT in Bohemia, Ny and 18? travel King Coil Over Shocks in the front. One may also notice there are no sway bars on BAD HABIT 002. Even though it is a bit much to handle on the tighter courses, I feel the truck works much better for freestyle without them, especially in the big stadiums with obstacles the size of buildings. Chris from ISP Seats built me an aluminum seat so that my body stays in one piece during my wild freestyle runs. We are still running the small, but reliable 512 c.i. Chevrolet for the motor and a fresh, Race Built Turbo 400 by Abruzzi Racing Tranmissions in Niles, Ohio. If anyone puts their transmission to the test, it?s me, and let me tell you that I never worry about transmission problems thanks to Abruzzi. i

Throughout the process of building BAD HABIT 002, a few people stepped up to the plate and went above and beyond the call of duty to help make this possible. My hat goes off to Boardman Steel for allowing us to use their shop to fabricate the chassis and several of the components as well as provide the necessary steel for the build-up. Everyone at that shop had their hands in the project from start to finish and the end result is one awesome machine! I can?t thank them enough for all they have done for my operation. The crew at Mad4wd did a great job TIG welding all the chromoly components on the new truck and Komar Plumbing and Los Gallos Mexican Restaurant stepped up with associate sponsorships. Leo at TNT spent countless hours with me designing the new shocks for the back of the truck which are working phenomenally. As always, Jerry Richmond and Gary Bauer helped me again with anything and everything I needed throughout the build process. I also have to thank my crew chief Scott Bennett for his continued dedication the truck as well as many of my other friends who did their part to get a brand new truck built in just under 2 months; Steve, Alex, Dylan, Brian, without you guys it would have never gotten done. Last but certainly not least, I have to give a huge thanks to my family and girlfriend for all their help and understanding during this project. My dad especially for spending countless hours in the shop and running around town picking up parts. The entire wiring and electrical system on BAD HABIT 002 was done by my dad and works flawlessly. I can?t thank you enough!