Jump to content

Monster truck

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Witnessthereal (talk | contribs) at 08:54, 8 December 2005 (→‎External links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

2005 Bigfoot monster truck racing in Arizona

A monster truck is an automobile, typically a pickup truck, which has been modified or purpose built with extremely large wheels and suspension. They are used for popular entertainment, particularly among rural residents in the United States, where they are featured alongside Motocross races, mud bogging, tractor pulls, and car-eating robot dinosaurs.

Typically, a monster truck show involves the truck crushing smaller vehicles beneath its huge tires. These trucks can run up and over most man-made barriers, so they are equipped with remote shut-off switches, called the Remote Ignition Interuptor (RII), to prevent a runaway truck from running over the grandstand and into the audience. At some events, only one truck is on the course at a time, while most feature two drivers racing each other on symetrical tracks, with the losing driver eliminated in tournament fashion.

In recent years, many monster truck competitions have ended with a "freestyle" event. Somewhat akin to figure skating with giant trucks, drivers are free to select their own course around the track and its obstacles. Drivers will often try a 'Donut', also called a Cyclone, which involves spinning the truck in a high speed circle, and maybe even deliberately rolling the truck over. Additional items for the drivers to crush - usually including a mobile home - are frequently placed on the track specifically for the freestyle event.

History

The first of the monster trucks, and one of the best-known, is "Bigfoot 4x4". Bob Chandler, owner of Bigfoot, created a Ford truck with all of the parts from his struggling 4x4 company in St Louis, Missouri. One of the most popular Monster Trucks is Grave Digger. What started out as an old Ford truck, soon became one of the most famous 50's Chevy Panel Truck.

Monster trucks started out as slightly modified pickup trucks, featuring larger wheels and a "lifted" body. Over time they have evolved into custom specialized vehicles. They are now built from the ground up and no longer actually have truck bodies on them. They are composed of frames, engines and a fiberglass shell with unique paint schemes. Most trucks now use a vinyl wrap, made of large sheets of printed-on vinyl. A vinyl wrap can be less expensive than a full paint job, and done in a matter of hours.

Commercials

A familiar 1980s series of radio commercials for various monster truck races featured a screaming announcer, blaring rock background music, and heavy use of reverb, and usually began each spot with "Thiiiiiis Sunday!!! Sunday!!! Sunday!!!", and ending with "BE THERE!!!!!!". The ads have been frequently parodied in other advertisements.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monster_truck&oldid=30573988"