The mini monster trucks gave the crowd a show with lots of jumping and riding on back tires on Wednesday. The mini monster trucks ended their two-day run at the fair and will be heading to the Curry County Fair this weekend. World Photo by Madeline Steege

Scott Amlie had an idea more than a decade ago to build scale replicas of monster trucks to race around county fairs and festivals.

His wife wasn't so hot about the idea.

So Scott waited and kept thinking about it.

He grew up in a family that had ties to the fair industry, mostly in food service - so he's seen his fair share of fairs. He also recognized something: “All the free entertainment has been around forever.”

“I was looking for something different,” he said. “Something fun and different.”

Fun and different made its way to the Coos County Fair for a two-day run this week.

Scott's wife finally relented about two years ago.

Since then it's been a whirlwind of action.

“I spent the next 18 months developing the trucks,” he said.

“We just got it completely put together in August of last year,” he said. “We did one show.”

But that was enough to start working out the bugs on “the back 40” of his 25-acre farm in Scio.

“It's a different feeling in front of an audience than it is in a pasture,” he said.

The mini monsters, replicas of Grave Digger and Outlaw, can reach speeds of 100 mph and go from 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds.

Each one costs about $15,000 to make, according to Amlie, and comes with a 55 hp engine and weighs 600 pounds.

Amlie serves as the announcer for the show and Michael Miley, 22, of Lyons; and Clint Carbaugh, 20, of Mill City, drive the mini monsters.

Miley and Cabaugh put on a wheel-standing, dirt-flinging show that includes a wheelie contest, a three-heat race (which of course Grave Digger won), and a time at the end for freestyling in the main arena for the winner of the heat race.

Miley, who was driving Grave Digger, ended the show by going over the larger of the two jumps through a wall of smoke.

Amlie's mini monster truck show was only at the fair two days this year because they use the same arena as the rodeo does this weekend. So they will load up the semi today and head for the Curry County Fair for three days before heading to Hermiston.

“The fair is for stuff you don't get to see every day,” Amlie said. “Hopefully, this will be one of them.”

The show is in its first full fair season.

“We started in April in Texas and worked our way back this way through Arizona and California and back here,” Amlie said.

He said if you didn't get to catch the show this year, he hopes to be back next year - when his schedule and his truck are really full.

“Hopefully two more trucks for next year to make it four,” he said. “So we're looking for some regional sponsors.”

He said the group also plans to be on the road for eight months, from February to October.

“Our route will take us from New York state, down through the south and make a big loop around the country,” he said.

“I'm glad the tough part is behind us,” he said. “There were a lot of hours spent without seeing much reward. It feels good to be close to the end result.”

Is there anything else he wants now that the truck show is up and running?

“It took a while, now I'm working on a bass boat,” he said.

No word yet from his wife.