Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-N-Fire coming to UBS Arena

For the first time, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live's new Glow-n-Fire show is revving into UBS Arena on Aug. 16 and 17.

The fiery new upgrade delivers more flames, thrills and a new way for fans to get closer to the action.

"Last year was just a glow party, but now the first half of the show is glow, the second half is fire," says Frank Krmel Jr., a first-year Hot Wheels driver who pilots the Mega Wrex truck. "There's all different lighting elements and other things that will be surprising for viewers to see, but it's still the same crazy show of monster trucks flying through the air."

Returning monster trucks Mega Wrex, Tiger Shark, HW 5-Alarm, Bone Shaker, Bigfoot and Gunkster will compete alongside the show's newest beast, Skelesaurus. Fans can vote for winners in the long jump, wheelie, donut and freestyle competitions. The show also includes a freestyle motocross, where a transforming robot devours a car and three motorcycle riders on dirt bikes perform midair tricks off a ramp. 

"There's a lot going on in the two hours fans will be at UBS Arena," says Krmel, who is from Detroit.

The excitement at UBS can now start long before the engines roar. The Power Smashers Pre-Show Party is new to shows this year and starts 2½ hours before each event. Fans will get a chance to meet drivers, take photos and get up close to the trucks.

DJ Boltz, a first-year Hot Wheels driver from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who drives Bone Shaker, calls it his favorite part of the entire show because the kids remind him of himself at a young age.

"I grew up just like all of these other fans we get to meet. I was three years old when I saw my first monster truck show, and just knew from then that's what I wanted to do for living," he says. "To see my path getting into the industry, now I’m living the dream."

For the August UBS Arena shows, the meet-and-greet preshow party will happen Friday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., ahead of the 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows. Saturday's will be at noon before the 2:30 p.m. performance. Preshow tickets are available while supplies last.

Krmel, who has more than two decades of experience in monster truck shows, says performing is not just about the stunts, but about the thrill of putting on a larger-than-life spectacle.

"With me, driving monster trucks for so long, I just enjoy the whole thing. It's a step away from reality to see a big, giant monster truck run over cars," Krmel says. "I'm old school, so I just like to see when the trucks crush cars and kind of do things that are just so out of the normal that you would see every day. It's fun getting a truck that big and that powerful and run over something everybody sees, like everyday cars."