History of Monster Truck Racing

A monster truck is vastly modified four-wheel-drive truck with exceedingly large tires and wheels. Monster trucks race against other trucks of similar fashion on enclosed courses, with a variety of obstacles such as dirt ramps, crashed cars and various off-road characteristics. They usually race against a competitor in a similar manner as drag racing.

  1. Formation

    • Throughout the latter stages of the 1970s, several companies and truck owners began modifying their trucks by elevating the bodies and chassis as well as installing gigantic tires. The original purpose of the distinct modifications to the trucks involved mud bogging and truck pulling.

      By the 1980s, Bob Chandler began promoting his truck, widely identified as Bigfoot. Chandler drove Bigfoot over cars at shows and events, and the monster truck sport began to increase in popularity. Other trucks such as Bear Foot owned by Fred Shafer and Jack Willman Jr., as well as King Kong owned by Jeff Dane, received national attention.

    Development

    • In 1985, organizations such as the United States Hot Rod Association and TNT Motorsports began organizing monster truck races and events. The races consisted of single elimination races in drag racing style format. In order to acquire an advantage in the races, many monster truck owners began building trucks with lighter frames. They also increased the engine power of the monster trucks.

    Monster Truck Racing Association

    • In 1988, Bob Chandler and others formed the Monster Truck Racing Association. They designed the Monster Truck Association as a way to standardize regulations regarding safety and the manufacturing of the monster trucks. The organization still plays a huge role in monster truck racing today.

    Championship Points Racing

    • In 1988, TNT Motorsports began employing a points system to determine the titleholder. In 1991, the United States Hot Rod Association acquired TNT Motorsports, and the series combined the points-paying championship series.

    Monster Jam

    • Monster Jam became a live event tour and television program, which began in 1995 as part of the United States Hot Rod Association. Monster Jam primarily featured monster truck racing. In 2000, Monster Jam formed the Monster Jam World Finals as a way to determine the top monster truck and the driver for each year. The first Monster Jam World Finals was at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.

    Famous Monster Trucks and Drivers

    • After Bob Chandler and Bigfoot, more monster truck stars emerged over the years. Most recently, Dennis Anderson driving the truck named Grave Digger materialized as a huge star in Monster Jam. Tom Meents driving Goldberg, Brian Barthel driving Wolverine and John Seasock driving Batman became stars in the monster truck racing world.