Superdome transforms into Monster Jam sand pit

NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) - The Mercedes-Benz Superdome began transforming into a Monster Jam sand pit Wednesday in preparation for Saturday's show.

"You might as well do the big stuff at the big Dome," said Steve Carmack, Monster Jam's track supervisor.

Carmack said the Monster Jam team completes the entire transformation in just 20 hours.

"This year, we're bringing in more dirt than has ever been brought in before. We're building a new track that's never been built. So it should make from some exciting stuff," said Carmack.

Carmack oversees the building of all the race racks: a kid's glorified dream.

"I'm just a big kid with a big sandbox. I mean, what little kid didn't have a Tonka truck and a sandbox in the back yard? Now I have a really big sandbox and really big Tonka trucks," said Carmack.

Altogether, Carmack said, it'll take 5,000 yards of dirt to be spread out across the track with an 8-inch base.

And it's not just any dirt. It's Southeast Louisiana's own, which has been securely stored under an overpass throughout the year and reused with each Superdome show.

"It has to have a clay-sand mixture. You don't want too much clay, you don't want too much sand, you don't want the trucks digging through the sand to the concrete," said Carmack.

The trucks can take a beating no matter what the track is made of. It's what draws the loudest crowd cheers.

Wednesday, the trucks were getting fixed up in order to fly, flip and land on smash cars, which are also local.

"We buy the cars locally. We bring them in, we smash them and then we recycle them. This track is going to have a school bus involved in it as well, so we're actually going to have a school bus obstacle out on the track, and it's going to be about 12 feet high, and the trucks will be jumping off of that," said Carmack.

With 200 truckloads more of dirt than ever before, Carmack says they're preparing for the most exciting show yet.

Monster Jam gates open on Saturday at 5 p.m. The show starts at 7 p.m.

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