He’s baaaack!
Cleveland’s own Bari (BAR-ee) Musawwir (moo-SOUR-er) returns to Quicken Loans Arena Valentine’s Day weekend with the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam Show. Bari wheels the superhero Monster Truck Spider-Man.
Get your tickets here for the three-day show.
The 1998 Cleveland Heights graduate comes home, still riding high on his 2012 Young Guns Shootout Championship World Finals in Las Vegas. Monster Jam created the competition for up-and-coming drivers who have little or no Monster Jam World Finals experience.
I interviewed Bari prior to his Cleveland tour last year and talked with him again last week. I can tell you, he’s pumped.
Of his 2012 Young Guns win, Bari at home in Florida told me by phone, “I’m sitting here looking at my trophy right now.”
Bari, wheeling Spider-Man, returns to Cleveland hoping to duplicate the success he enjoyed during the February 2012 show. He won two of the three competitions the first night of the three-day show.
He kept busy during the summer of 2012 with the Path of Destruction Tour in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey.
He’s truly living a dream as a Monster Truck driver, something he wanted to do ever since he was a kid. “It’s work but it’s fun,” Bari said. “I was a kid at a young age and this is what I aspired to do. I’m blessed because I get to do what I want to do.”
Bari says he recalls being the spectator at shows at The Q, formerly Gund Arena. Now, he’s putting on shows FOR spectators. “I’ve purchased Cavs tickets and Monster Jam tickets. I’ve sat in those seats. It’s sort of surreal,” he said of his reverse role of being one of the drivers the crowd now comes to see.
The trucks slated to appear at The Q are Grave Digger, Avenger, Wrecking Crew, Samson, and hometown heroes Spider-Man and Bad Habit. Making their Cleveland debut will be Son Uva Digger and El Toro Loco!
Ryan Anderson, son of Grave Digger founder Dennis Anderson, will be wheeling Monster Truck Son Uva Digger. Read my interview with Ryan here.
Of the show, Bari says fans are in for some high-flying fun. He tells me that he’s got some new tricks up his sleeve. “I’m trying to master what’s called a slap wheelie.” In short, it’s a freestyle move, where the truck goes into a wheel stand. You’ll have to come to the show to see if Bari does it.
But, before he busts a move in the Monster Truck, he will help promote stuffing a truck (actually a Humvee) with toys, for Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital. Monster Jam and the Ohio National Guard are teaming up to collect new and unused toys. *To prevent the spread of infection, soft, cloth and plush toys cannot be accepted.
Here’s how you can donate:
Monday, February 11 – Thursday, February 14, between 9:30am – 6:30pm at The Q inside the Arcade Entrance near the Cavs Team Shop
Monday, February 11 @ 7:00pm (Cavs vs. Minnesota game)
Wednesday, February 13 @ 7:00pm (Cavs vs. San Antonio game)
At the end of the week, Bari and a representative from the Ohio National Guard will stuff the truck with the donated toys and then make a special delivery to the patients at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
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