This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) |
Owner and driver information | |
---|---|
Owner | Allen Pezo |
Driver(s) | Allen Pezo, Dave Pezo, Larry Jaruzel, Dale Mitchell, Lenny Kuilder |
Home city | Nashville, TN |
Truck information | |
Year created | 1988 |
Body style | Experimental Panther (based on 2002 Chevy) |
Engine | 557 CI Keith Black Hemi |
Predator Racing, Inc. is a monster truck team consisting of the trucks Predator, Prowler, Pouncer and Lone Eagle all of which currently[ when? ] 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.
Allen Pezo built his first monster truck, the original Lone Eagle, out of a brand-new 1985 Chevrolet Silverado at the age of 15. After campaigning this truck, and another truck known as White Knight, for several years, he rebodied Lone Eagle and named it Predator. The truck originally started out as a 1988 Chevrolet Silverado that was on the former Lone Eagle chassis. The second Predator was an all new truck, also a Chevy Silverado. The chassis was painted yellow, but cosmetically the truck was a duplicate of the original truck. This truck was later converted to a race truck, with 12" shocks, was sold and became Radioactive. Near the end of the 1980s, Allen bought an M42 tank and converted it into the competition vehicle, Predator Trax.
The third Predator was Pezo's first "stage three" monster truck, and featured a four-link suspension, mid-mounted engine, and a new pink chassis and neon colored body. This chassis also ran as Hyperactive, whenever Pezo had Predator 4 and 3 at the same event. This truck was sold and is now running independent events as "Terminator".
In 1993, Pezo second stage three monster truck was the first panther design Predator. This chassis was one of the first Patrick Enterprises Incorporated chassis that Dan Patrick didn't build for Bigfoot 4x4. Alan modified the chassis by adding a front-facing four-link suspension, which allowed the front tires to push the chassis, like the rear tires. The new body design and image was created for the Monster Wars television show. Although Predator had made several television appearances before this point, it was Monster Wars which put Pezo in the national spotlight for the first time. After being sold, the chassis was reacquired by the team in 2003 and now runs as both Predator and Lone Eagle.
Pezo's fifth Predator is a production Patrick chassis. The truck debuted in 1995 with a cantilever rear suspension, but was quickly changed to a more conventional straight-shock setup the next year. In 1999, a second Patrick chassis, identical to the first, debuted, with the new Prowler body. This truck was created to be a travelling partner to Predator, however it can "wear" the Predator body if necessary. Both Predator and Prowler have been Monster Jam World Finalists, with Predator most recently competing in the 2006 finals. Also in 2006, the team debuted a third identity called Pouncer, which was designed by Hot Wheels and typically runs as an alternate body for the Prowler chassis.
For the 2007 season, Allen built a brand-new Predator. The truck is similar to the others, utilizing Clark planetaries, an Aries engine, SCS transfer case and F-106 housings. Unlike the other three trucks Alan currently owns, the truck has one 4" Knight stalker shock on each corner, and is loosely based on Grave Digger 19 and 20. The truck also sports a paint scheme that resembles the Hotwheels die cast of Predator.
Pezo is known as one of the best freestylers in the sport. He excels at keeping up momentum and performing huge jumps. Typically, he is also able to finish the run with his truck intact, although he does perform stunts which have a high degree of danger. One of his most famous moments is when Pezo was racing in the New Orleans Superdome. Pezo got massive air and the truck landed on its rear end. It was such a hard impact that it damaged the floor. His cartwheel crashes in Jacksonville, Florida in 2004 and Indianapolis, Indiana in 2005 were among the most spectacular moments of their respective years. Prowler/Pouncer drivers Larry Jaruzel, Dale Mitchell, and Lenny Kuilder are less spectacular and more consistent, but still post high scores often. The Predator team also has the reputation of being formidable racing opponents.
In 2013, Allen Pezo was the 13th person to be inducted into the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame.
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 off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines 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 Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the top trim level from the Chevrolet C/K series, the Silverado is offered as a series of full-size pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and medium-duty trucks. The fourth generation of the model line was introduced for the 2019 model year.
C/K is a series of trucks that was manufactured by General Motors from the 1960 to 2002 model years. Marketed by both the Chevrolet and GMC divisions, the C/K series encompassed a wide range of vehicles. While most commonly associated with pickup trucks, the model line also included chassis-cab trucks and medium-duty trucks and served as the basis for GM full-size SUVs. Through its entire production, the model line competed directly against the Ford F-Series and the Dodge D 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 owns a National Touring show called the 2 X Monster Truck Live Tour, executing and performing at over 45 shows per year. Trucks include Bounty Hunter, Scarlet Bandit and five finger death punch inspired Knuckle Head, Hot Tamale, and new comer BRUTAL, all of which compete at the various events on the annual schedule. The team is owned by Jimmy Creten, the two time Monster Jam World Champion and includes Creten, his wife Dawn Creten, who is the longest running female driver in the monster truck industry, Michael Brister, and Rob Poutre and more. Each truck features a different theme, with the headliners featuring 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.
Blue Thunder is a monster truck that races in the USHRA Monster Jam series. It was originally sponsored by the truck division of Ford Motor Company and Live Nation. The truck has several similarities with the monster truck Bigfoot. Some fans saw Blue Thunder as a replacement for Bigfoot in the Monster Jam series. The truck has been moderately successful and won several major events during its existence. However, it has not yet won a championship. Blue Thunder was used by Ford Motor Company for promotional purposes along with competition. The truck is currently driven by Todd LeDuc. The truck did not compete in 2012 when Todd LeDuc moved to Metal Mulisha after driving Blue Thunder in 2011, but as of 2022, he began driving Blue Thunder again due to the Monster Energy truck not operating anymore. With Ford dropping its sponsorship in 2012, the truck was redesigned and brought back in 2013 with veteran driver Dan Evans; former owner/driver of the Destroyer monster truck.
Thomas William Meents is an American professional monster truck driver. He currently drives Max-D on the Monster Jam circuit. He has won 14 Monster Jam World Finals championships during his career.
Dennis Montague 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.
Raminator, Rammunition and Hotsy are monster trucks that race on the Monster Jam, Monster Nationals and ProMT tours. They are currently driven by Mark Hall and Kurt Kraehmer. The team is sponsored by Ram Trucks. Until recently, the team was, along with Team Bigfoot, one of the most high-profile teams to not run in Monster Jam, although since 2017, they have competed in several Monster Jam tours.
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. In 2013 he was inducted in the international monster truck hall of fame. He was inducted again in 2021 in the Monster Jam Hall Of Fame.
The GMT800 was a General Motors full-size truck platform used from the 1999 through 2006 model years. It is the foundation for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups; and the derivative GMT820 and GMT830 versions for the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon and the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL full-size SUVs, respectively. This platform was the successor to the GMT400 series of C/K pickups and SUVs, and was replaced for 2007 by the GMT900 line.
A trophy truck, also known as a Baja truck or trick truck, is a vehicle used in high-speed off-road racing. This is an open production class and all components are considered legal unless specifically restricted.
The Chevrolet Corvette GTP was an American Grand Touring Prototype-class sports prototype racing car which successfully participated in the IMSA Camel GT from 1984 until 1989. The car was professionally fielded in competition as General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette C4 official factory team effort in the IMSA GTP class.
The Avenger, piloted by Columbus, Michigan native Jim Koehler, was created in 1997. The original monster truck sported a forest green Chevrolet S10 body style and a teal chassis and rims. With the exception of the design featured at World Finals 14, the Avenger truck has always sported at least three flaming skulls and flowing flames running from the wheel wells. As time passed, the S10 body was replaced by a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air body with bright green headlights, which is the same body style that is run today by "Mr. Excitement."
The International Monster Truck Hall of Fame, based in Auburn, Indiana, is a shrine to the best drivers in history of monster truck competition. The hall is part of the Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum.
The 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 37th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. William Byron won the 2017 championship with JR Motorsports, but moved up to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Tyler Reddick, who replaced Byron in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, won the drivers' championship. Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste won the owners' championship.
Robert James Reuse is an American professional sports car racing and stock car racing driver. He has raced in the Trans-Am Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Jason Hathaway is a Canadian professional stock car racing driver. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Pinty's Series, driving Team 3 Red Racing's No. 3 Chevrolet entry, and is the 2020 champion of the series.
The fourth generation of the C/K series is a range of trucks that was manufactured by General Motors. Marketed by the Chevrolet and GMC brands from the 1988 to the 2002 model years, this is the final generation of the C/K model line. In a branding change, GMC adopted the GMC Sierra nameplate for all its full-size pickup trucks, leaving the C/K nomenclature exclusive to Chevrolet.