Monster trucks, with their super-sized wheels and revving engines, are quite formidable vehicles.
Often seen crushing regular cars under their weight or performing crazy stunts, these humungous trucks provide a thrilling source of entertainment that is loved across the US and beyond.
The first monster truck, Bigfoot, was built by Bob Chandler (USA) in 1975. It started out as a family Ford F-250 pickup which Bob modified until the tires reached 66 inches, as well as adding heavy duty suspension and four-wheel steering.
Bob and his wife Marilyn enjoyed camping, so they initially bought the pick-up truck to help with carrying their camping equipment and driving off road in the country. They never set out to create a monster truck, but over time, the modifications and fame the truck garnered led the press to coin the term “monster truck” for the first time.
Bob’s invention not only led to further iterations from him, but also inspired other car modifiers to make their own creations. Over the years, many landmark monster truck records have been achieved – with many being set by skilled drivers in Bob’s Bigfoots.
Read on to find out more about these mind-blowing records, from the firstmonster truck to jump over a Boeing 727 to the most monster trucks jumped by a monster truck (yes, that really happened – and you won’t believe how many it was!)
Largest monster truck
The largest monster truck, Bigfoot 5, was built in the summer of 1986 by Bob Chandler himself in St Louis, USA.
Bigfoot 5 is 4.7 m (15 ft 6 in) tall with 3 m (10 ft) tall tyres and weighs 17,236 kg (38,000 lb).
Usually parked in Pacific, MO by BIGFOOT’s headquarters, the mega-monster truck makes occasional exhibition appearances at shows around the U.S.
First monster truck to jump over a Boeing 727
Another Bob Chandler creation, Bigfoot 14, broke a huge record in 1999.
Driven by Dan Runte the truck jumped over a Boeing 727 aeroplane, covering a distance of 62 m (202 ft), in Smyrna, Tennessee, USA.
Explosions lit up the sky behind the plane as the truck jumped, a suitably dramatic setting for this movie-like stunt.
First female Monster Jam driver
Debrah Miceli aka Madusa, from Florida, USA, made history in 1999 by appearing as the first ever female driver in a Monster Jam competition. Her monster truck was also named Madusa.
Miceli was formerly a professional wrestler in the WWE, AWA and WCW. Her professional name, Madusa, is a shortened version of “Made in the USA”.
She went on to win the 2004 co-championship at the Monster Jam World Finals (freestyle) in a three-way tie and won the 2005 Racing Championship in the Monster Jam World Finals.
Marilyn Chandler was the first ever non-competitive female monster truck driver, known for driving Ms. Bigfoot back in 1985.
Longest ramp jump – monster truck
This record was first set by Dan Runte (US) on 8 March 1998 when he jumped 141ft 10in in Bigfoot 14.
He went on to break this record multiple times before Joe Sylvester (USA) started to contend for the record, and for a while it went back and forth between them.
The record currently sits with Sylvester, with a jump of 72.42 m (237 ft 7 in) while driving Bad Habit in Columbus, Pennsylvania, USA on 01 September, 2013.
Longest monster truck jump in reverse
Black Stallion, driven by Michael Vaters, of Hagerstown, Maryland, USA, jumped a distance of 70 ft (21.3 m) in reverse gear in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, in 2002.
First electric monster truck
Bigfoot 20, unveiled in November 2012, is the first monster truck to be fully powered by an electric motor.
The 5,000-kg (11,000-lb) truck has a 350-hp electric motor powered by 36 Odyssey batteries.
Longest monster truck
The longest monster truck was created by Brad and Jen Campbell (both USA) of Big Toyz Racing. The truck measured 9.75 m (32 ft) long at Last Stop in White Hills, Arizona, USA on 10 July 2014.
The truck was built to serve as a “limo” for Las Vegas tourists.
Most monster truck national championship wins
As of the end of 2016, Mark Hall of Champaign, Illinois, USA, the driver of Raminator, had won 25 national monster truck competitions – more than any other driver.
His wins include 12 monster truck thunder drags, six monster truck nationals racing, five monster nationals freestyle, and two monster nationals overall.
Longest monster truck wheelie (distance)
This challenging record was achieved by Adam Anderson (USA) driving Grave Digger in Bradenton, Florida, USA, on 22 June 2020.
He performed the wheelie for a distance of 190.46 m (624 ft 10.44 in).
Adam Anderson is the son of 4-time Monster Jam World Finals Champion and Grave Digger creator, Dennis Anderson and he started competing for Monster Jam in 2005.
Fastest speed for a monster truck
This milestone speed record was achieved by Bryce Kenny (USA) driving Great Clips Mohawk Warrior in Bradenton, Florida, USA, on 24 June 2020.
The attempt took place at the Bradenton Motorsports Park, where the monster truck gathered an astonishing speed of 161.433 km/h (100.31 mph).
Most monster trucks jumped by a monster truck
This record was also achieved by Adam Anderson (USA), just a few days after achieving his other “wheelie” awesome record!
Adam jumped over eight monster trucks while driving Megalodon, at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida, USA on 25 June 2020.
Most donuts (spins) in a monster truck in one minute
Bari Musawwir (USA) achieved this record with 44 donuts while driving Zombie in Bradenton, Florida, USA, on 25 June 2020.
On the same day, he also achieved the most consecutive donuts (spins) in a monster truck with 58.
