Friday 18 May 2018

All about the Monster Jam® trucks!

With Monster Jam® trucks about to rev into Principality Stadium in Cardiff this Saturday the 19th May I wanted to learn a few facts about the thrilling trucks and brave drivers of Monster Jam® to help me impress my kids when we go to the Monster Jam® Pit Party and live show.


Monster Jam® Trucks
* In 1982 Dennis Anderson came up with the concept for Grave Digger®
* The original Grave Digger® was built out of an old 1957 Chevy Panel Wagon
* Made of fiberglass, a Monster Jam® truck body is custom designed to create a character or theme for the truck. Custom body trucks can be carved by hand out of styrofoam and wood to create a “plug” which is then used to create a fiberglass body mold or created by computers
* Most trucks have the driver seated in the center of the vehicle so he or she can best see the track for weight distribution. The seats are custom molded to each driver’s body and all drivers use head and neck restraint devices to keep their heads secure during rough landings. As a safety measure, all seatbelts employ a 5 point harness to restrain the driver’s body
Trucks often feature highly designed, customized airbrushed artwork on their bodies. Airbushing is expensive and time consuming as some trucks require more than 40 hours of paint time
* Custom-built, supercharged and methanol-injected, a Monster Jam® truck engine burns up to 10 liters of methanol per run (approximately 80 meters) and delivers about 1,500 horsepower and are capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour
* In order to allow the drivers to withstand the punishing impacts of jumping and crashing a truck during a performance, each truck is equipped with specially-engineered extra long 76cm shock absorbers filled with oil and nitrogen gas that are installed  with each tire
* Each truck tire is custom made. They must be 66 inches high and 43 inches wide. The average Monster Jam® truck team will go through 8 tires in one year. Tires are designed differently to satisfy various track conditions and driver preference. Carving just one tire requires over 50 hours of exacting labor
* Monster trucks can fly up to 125 to 130 feet in distance and up to 35 feet in the air


Monster Jam® Drivers
* Morgan Kane, one of the Grave Digger® team drivers, started his Monster Jam® career in 2011
* Morgan Kane won the Monster Jam Finals® XVII racing championship with the Grave Digger® team
* Max-D™ driver Neil Elliott has been competing for 18 years
* Monster Mutt® Dalmatian driver Candice Jolly is married to Max-D™ driver Neil Elliott
* Marc McDonald who currently drives El Toro Loco® had a job working on monster trucks before becoming a driver 10 years ago when he got behind the wheel of the Safe Auto Minimiser
* Scooby-Doo™ driver Linsey Read was talented spotted by veteran driver Lee O’Donnell and so far she has been competing for 2 years


If you are going to the Monster Jam® live show this weekend prepare for a thrilling, full throttle afternoon filled with unexpected, unscripted and unforgettable entertainment for the whole family.

From the legendary team from Feld Entertainment who has delighted audiences with Disney On Ice and Marvel Universe LIVE! the iconic Monster Jam® trucks will take centre stage in the renowned Principality Stadium as they with delight audiences with a spectacular show.

On meticulously crafted dirt tracks famous Monster Jam® trucks will showcase jaw-dropping stunts. The show will feature a number of the world’s Monster Jam® trucks including legends and Monster Jam® World Finals® champions Grave Digger® and Max-D™. A few of the other trucks at the show include Monster Mutt® Dalmatian, Scooby-Doo™, Zombie™ and El Toro Loco®.

The Monster Jam® Pit Party offers fans the chance to meet the drivers and see the famous trucks up close as well as opportunity to purchase official merchandise.


If you can’t wait until the 19th May, visit Facebook.com/MJOnline and @MonsterJam to follow their journey to Cardiff! For more show information and news about these awesome trucks and talented drivers take a look at the Monster Jam® website here www.MonsterJam.co.uk

Buckle up for the ride of your life and head to the Monster Jam website to pick up some last minute tickets for this monstertastic live motorsport show.

*Monster trucks and drivers subject to change

7 comments:

  1. oh wow, these sound insane! My husband loves motor sports, so he'll be pleased to hear they're touring

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  2. These look amazing! My kids would love this, my youngest is going through a car/lorry/truck phase and she would love these! x

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  3. What fun! I went to something similar once and was glad I had earplugs!

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  4. Wow! My sons would love these!

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  5. I found this so interesting to read as I've heard about Monster Trucks but never knew where they came from or anything about them. Will have to try and go next year as it was on last weekend where I live

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  6. This was so interesting, my boys would love to watch Monster trucks but I have to admit the loud noises scare me a little ha.

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  7. That's some impressive research! How did you discover all that? Must have taken ages :)

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