Bigfoot is a monster truck. The original Bigfoot began as a 1974 Ford F-250 pickup that was modified by its owner Bob Chandler beginning in 1975. By 1979, the modifications were so extensive, the truck came to be regarded as the first monster truck. Other trucks with the name "Bigfoot" have been introduced in the years since, and it remains a well-known monster truck moniker in the United States.
A monster truck is a specialized truck with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), they have evolved into purpose-built vehicles with tube-frame chassis and fiberglass bodies rather than metal. A competition monster truck is typically 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, and equipped with 66-inch (1.7 m) off-road tires.
The United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) is an organization that sanctions various motorsports. These included the Monster Jam monster truck series as well as motocross, quad racing and others. Having passed through multiple owners, the rights to the group are now owned by Feld Entertainment, which continues to operate the Monster Jam series.
Grave Digger is a monster truck racing team in the Feld Entertainment Monster Jam series founded by original driver Dennis Anderson. Considered one of the most famous and recognized monster trucks of all time, Grave Digger serves as the flagship team of the Monster Jam series, with seven active Grave Digger trucks being driven by different drivers to allow a truck to appear at every Monster Jam event.
2Xtreme Racing is a monster truck team consisting of the trucks Bounty Hunter, Scarlet Bandit and Iron Outlaw, all of which compete primarily on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit. The team is owned by Jimmy Creten, and includes Creten, his wife Dawn Creten, Trent Montgomery, and Todd Morey as drivers. Each truck features an old west theme with a character based on the truck's name. All three vehicles have competed in the Monster Jam World Finals, and Bounty Hunter was the 2005 World Finals Freestyle Champion and the 2019 World Finals Racing Champion. Jimmy Creten and Trent Montgomery currently drive the two Bounty Hunter trucks, Dawn Creten drives the Scarlet Bandit truck, and Todd Morey drives Iron Outlaw.
Bulldozer was a monster truck that raced in the USHRA Monster Jam series. It featured one of the first 3-D body shells, with horns sticking out of the roof. In this respect, it resembled El Toro Loco. The truck debuted as a promotional truck for Smoke Craft jerky in the USA Motorsports series in 1997, and several different entertainment companies received the rights when they bought out USA Motorsports in 1999, including SFX, PACE Motorsports, Clear Channel, Live Nation, and lastly FELD Motorsports. The truck has been driven previously by Bobby Zoelner, Steve Reynolds, Rob Knell, former Taurus driver Eldon DePew, and current Maximum Destruction superstar Tom Meents, as well as Chuck Werner and Alex Blackwell. Bulldozer sometimes switched bodies with Hot Wheels, Bob & Tom, or High Roller.
John Seasock is a retired professional monster truck driver. He competed on the USHRA circuit with his Batman truck, where it was the 2007 and 2008 Monster Jam World Racing Champion. He last drove Grinder sponsored by Advance Auto Parts.
Thomas William Meents is a professional monster truck driver. He currently drives Maximum Destruction on the Monster Jam circuit. He has won twelve Monster Jam World Finals championships during his career.
Dennis Anderson is an American former professional monster truck driver. He is the creator, team owner, and former driver of "Grave Digger" on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit. Anderson is from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, where he currently resides.
Predator Racing, Inc. is a monster truck team consisting of the trucks Predator, Prowler, Pouncer and Lone Eagle all of which currently compete primarily on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit. The team is owned by Allen Pezo, and includes Pezo, Larry Jaruzel, Lenny Kuilder and Dale Mitchell as drivers. The trucks are famous for their "cat" designs, with the trucks modeled after a panther, tiger, and leopard, respectively. The team also occasionally runs a conventional Dodge Ram by the name of Lone Eagle.
James David Koehler, better known by his screen name Jim Koehler or Mr. Excitement, is a professional monster truck driver. He currently drives Avenger on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit.
Batman was a monster truck that competed on the USHRA circuit, where it is the 2007 and 2008 Monster Jam World Racing Champion. The truck is officially licensed by DC Comics and has a replica of the Batmobile as the body. It is driven by John Seasock and debuted with Jason Childress driving in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2006. It has also competed in six Monster Jam World Finals, and won racing in both the 2007 and 2008 events. The body was designed at Downs Manufacturing in Lawton, Michigan by Jamie Downs and his team of designers, Terry Payne of Arlington,TX, and Doug Forbes of Three Rivers, MI. In 2013, Batman received a new look with half-sized fins and a new bat logo. In 2014, two time racing world champion John Seasock returned to the driver's seat of Batman.
Freestyle, in Monster Truck competition, is an event where the goal is to perform tricks and stunts with the truck in order to demonstrate driver skill and truck capability. Some freestyle events are judged competitions, while others are merely exhibitions, similar to that of Skateboarding.
RaminatorRammunition and Hotsy Raminator are monster trucks that race on the Special Events, Monster Nationals, and Monster Jam tours. They are primarily driven by Mark Hall and Mat Dishman. The team is sponsored by RAM. Until recently, the team was, along with Team Bigfoot, one of the most high profile teams to not run in the USHRA, although they competed in several Monster Jam events, as well.
Gary Porter is an American former monster-truck driver that races on the United States Hot Rod Association circuit. He is a former member of the Grave Digger team but returned to his Carolina Crusher truck in 2015. In July 2017, Gary Porter retired from monster truck driving after spending 32 years in the sport.
Cyborg is a monster truck currently racing in the USHRA Monster Jam series. It is owned and driven by Jack Koberna. It is notable in that it is the only two-wheeled drive vehicle on the circuit, and features an independent front suspension, as the front wheels are the two which are not powered. Although this provides recognition, the two-wheel drive presents a serious competitive disadvantage, as the truck cannot climb over obstacles as easily as other trucks. However, the front suspension has received large amounts of attention from other teams. Although Jack runs Cyborg most of the time, he does have a four-wheeled drive monster truck that is called Tuff-E-Nuff that runs on occasion. Jack Koberna was inducted into the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame in 2018.
Bobby Z is a monster truck driver. He was the driver of Monster Mutt on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit.
A bounty hunter is an individual who seeks out fugitives for a monetary reward.
Courtney Jolly is a former professional monster truck driver who drove Pastrana 199 on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit.
