Monster Trucks

The story of monster trucks is the age-old tale of one beast replacing another in a quest to find the toughest and strongest on the block. Monster trucks entered the scene in 1982 when Bob Chandler stormed into the Silverdome in Michigan for a U.S. Hot Rod Association (USHRA) motor sports event with his Ford F-250 named Bigfoot. From 1981 through 1984, more trucks began appearing as exhibitions at fairs and motor events.

It wasn’t until 1984, when the Battle of the Monster Trucks was created, that the competition began. In 1987, the industry’s sanctioning body, the USHRA, created the first series -- Monster Jam, with scheduled events and head-tohead match-ups between some of the industry’s biggest names. Today, the USHRA continues to lead the way and is widely recognized as the premier monster truck organization with the Monster Jam Series visiting over 100 U.S. cities. At events sanctioned by the USHRA, drivers compete in both freestyle and side-by-side eliminations. The freestyle competition allows drivers a limited amount of time and an open floor to show off their skills for fans who serve as judges. Side-by-side competition is traditional bracket racing, where the first truck across the finish line (with the least amount of penalties) is the winner.