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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Tom Meents on his numerous
4distinguished accomplishments during his career as a monster
5truck driver; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Tom Meents was born on July 10, 1967 in Paxton and
7is a 1985 graduate of Paxton High School, where he was a member
8of Paxton's 1984 Class 2A state runner-up football team and FFA
9(Future Farmers of America); and
 
10    WHEREAS, Tom Meents took multiple power mechanics,
11welding, and shop classes at Paxton High School, and, after
12graduation, he worked as a mechanic at a dealership in Rantoul;
13in his free time, he worked on a racing truck and raced the
14truck on the weekends, dubbing the truck Shake Me; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 1988, Tom Meents participated in his first
16televised event, a mud-racing event in Pittsburgh put on by the
17United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) and nationally
18broadcast on ESPN2, where he ran the second-quickest time; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Tom Meents won the National Mud Racing
20Organization's (NMRO) Open Class Championship in 1992; after
21teaming up with Paul Shafer, he won NMRO's Class 5 championship

 

 

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1in 1993 and 1994 and the Class 6 championship in 1993; in 1997,
2he earned a victory in the USHRA Truck Fest; and
 
3    WHEREAS, In 1999, Tom Meents was commissioned by PACE Motor
4Sports to drive their monster truck named Bulldozer; in his
5first ever event driving Bulldozer, he won his race on national
6television; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Tom Meents was commissioned to drive a new truck
8in 2000 named Goldberg, with which he won the inaugural Monster
9Jam World Finals and completed a full sweep of the event in
10both 2001 and 2002; the truck was given an overhaul and renamed
11Maximum Destruction in 2003; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Tom Meents has won 11 Monster Jam World Finals
13championships, including six in racing and five in freestyle;
14and
 
15    WHEREAS, In addition to racing, Tom Meents has accomplished
16several firsts in Maximum Destruction, including the first
17person to attempt a backflip in a monster truck, the first
18person to complete a double backflip, and the first to land a
19front-flip in a monster truck; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Tom Meents continues to race today, pursuing his
2112th Monster Jam Finals title; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Tom Meents has two sons who also race, and he is a
2proud member of the Paxton community; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
4HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5we congratulate Tom Meents on his extensive accomplishments and
6the dedication he exhibits towards his sport, and we commend
7him for his lifelong support of his community; and be it
8further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10presented to Tom Meents as a symbol of our respect and esteem.