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Bigfoot (truck)
Encyclopedia
Bigfoot, introduced in 1979, is regarded as the original monster truck
. Other trucks with the name "Bigfoot" have been introduced in the years since, and it remains the most well-known monster truck moniker in the United States
. Bigfoot 4x4, Inc. is owned and operated by its creator, Bob Chandler.
, Missouri
area, Chandler began building the first Bigfoot in 1975, using the Chandler family's 1974 Ford
F-250 four-wheel-drive pickup. Chandler had been using the truck for off-roading
on weekends and would find that automotive shops in the Midwest generally did not carry the parts needed to repair his frequently-worked 4x4. To remedy this problem, Chandler and his wife Marilyn, along with friend Jim Kramer, opened a shop called Midwest Four Wheel Drive and Performance Center in Ferguson, Missouri
(later moving to Hazelwood, Missouri
) which remains as Bigfoot's headquarters to this day. The truck was used as a rolling billboard for the shop, adorned with the various accessories Chandler sold in his new shop, as it slowly became taller
The truck's first attention-grabbing modification came when Chandler got wind of an idea proposed to the U.S. Army
of making steering capable on both axles of their four-wheeled vehicles, so that in the event of breakage in the front axle, it could simply be switched with the rear axle and held straight with a pin so that the vehicle could resume regular use with steering. Chandler decided to test that theory on his truck, but in addition would actually enable steering on the rear axle. The end result was a new innovation in automotive technology — the "4x4x4," or a vehicle with four wheels, four-wheel-drive, and four-wheel-steering.
In 1979, Chandler started making appearances at truck and tractor pulls, as well as car shows, with his newly christened "Bigfoot" to show off the truck's capabilities as well as to promote his shop. The truck's growing popularity led to its appearance in the 1981 Gus Trikonis film "Take This Job and Shove It
," which also features USA-1 credited under a different name.
While these accomplishments were certainly admirable, Chandler's next experiment would not only change the life and fortunes of a middle-class pickup owner from the St. Louis area, it would change the motorsports world forever. In 1981, Chandler obtained permission from a local farmer to place two dilapidated cars in his field, so that Chandler could videotape himself crushing the cars with Bigfoot as a joke. When Chandler began playing the video in his shop, a man promoting a motorsports event in Columbia, Missouri
asked him to duplicate the stunt in front of a crowd. After initial hesitation because of the destructive image it would convey, Chandler eventually agreed to perform at the event in April of the following year in what is believed to be the first public car crush. Later that year, a second Bigfoot (built to help meet the steadily rising demand to see the vehicle) received more major media attention by crushing cars at the Pontiac Silverdome
in Pontiac, Michigan
. In 1983, Bigfoot began receiving sponsorship from Ford Motor Company
, a relationship which continued until 2005.
By 1984, many truck owners around the country had taken to imitating Chandler's template of outfitting their vehicles with tires standing 66 inches tall, with some trucks sporting even larger tires. Promoters of truck and tractor pulls, such as SRO Motorsports (later the United States Hot Rod Association
) and Golden State Promotions, noticed the exploding popularity of the giant trucks and began booking several to crush cars at their events, with the eventual result being the advent of side-by-side, drag-racing style car crushing events. A popular example of the early days of monster truck racing is portrayed in the 1986 home video release Return of the Monster Trucks, which involves a truck pull, car crushing, and mud bogging all in the same course. That event, held in the Louisiana Superdome
, was won by Bigfoot, as well as most of the events it was entered into in the mid 1980s. By this point, Chandler had already built an entire fleet of "Bigfoot" trucks to accommodate the vast demand for his vehicle, which remained as the most popular and marketable monster truck despite the large number of imitators. In 1987, Chandler added to his innovations by founding the Monster Truck Racing Association, which remains today as the chief voice in monster truck safety.
Another form of competition Chandler faced was the physical size of the competition. Many truck owners had taken to calling their vehicles the "World's Largest Monster Truck," so Chandler outfitted his "Bigfoot 4" vehicle with 10-foot-tall tires he had purchased from a junkyard owner in Seattle, Washington for only $1000. The tires had been previously used by the U.S. Army in Alaska
on their overland train
in the 1950s. In 1986, Chandler built a new truck, "Bigfoot 5", specifically for the tires. Upon its public debut in Indianapolis, Indiana, the truck immediately took the title of "World's Tallest, Widest, and Heaviest Monster Truck" and was eventually given official recognition of the title by the Guinness Book of Records in 2002. With a second set of 10-foot-tall tires attached, the truck stands 15 feet, six inches, measures 20 feet, 5 inches across, and weighs over 38,000 pounds.
network ESPN
also took note of the popularity of monster trucks in the 1980s and began showing events promoted by the United States Hot Rod Association and TNT Motorsports on a regular basis. With the frequent broadcasts of monster truck races, the next logical step was to create a championship series of monster truck races. TNT began the first recognized series in 1988, and was dominated by Bigfoot for much of the season. However, upstart rookie Rod Litzau, driving the USA-1
truck, gained momentum and passed Bigfoot in the standings going into the last weekend of the season in Louisville, Kentucky
. With the way the points system and elimination brackets had been structured, Bigfoot (driven by Rich Hooser) and USA-1 met in the semifinal round with USA-1 clinching the points championship if it beat Bigfoot. USA-1 won the race in spectacular fashion, rolling over in the process, and took the championship. After losing the championship, the Bigfoot team made the decision to shift their focus less on competition and more on research and development in 1989, as well as running frequent events for the USHRA and USA Motorsports and a limited TNT Schedule.
During this time, Chandler began working with computer-aided design
(CAD) programs, and using technology he had learned from professional off-road racing, designed a tubular frame for his next Bigfoot truck, along with a suspension system sporting two feet of travel. This innovation allowed Bigfoot to possess four times as much suspension travel as those used by nearly all previous monster trucks. Chandler would be awarded a patent
for his designs. After testing the vehicle for three months, driver Andy Brass debuted the eighth incarnation of Bigfoot, with the new frame and suspension, in late 1989. It officially made its debut at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis
, Indiana
at the Four Wheel and Off Road Jamboree in a special 5,000th show for Bigfoot (where every Bigfoot vehicle gathered in one place for the first time). It made its debut in competition at a USHRA race in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas
, reaching the final round of competition before rolling over against Jack Willman's Taurus.
The following year, after running the USHRA races in Anaheim, California
, and Pontiac
, Michigan
, the truck would debut on the TNT Motorsports Monster Truck Challenge points circuit in Memphis, Tennessee
, and would find the Bigfoot #8 chassis briefly banned from the circuit on April 5, 1990, due to a rule clarification that only allowed leaf, coil, and coilover suspensions to be run (Bigfoot #8 ran nitrogen shocks). Although TNT stated that safety was the primary reason for the clarification, they also admitted that another reason was that Bigfoot #8 was simply too technologically advanced and was upsetting the competitive balance of the series. Former BMX racer John Piant, piloting "Bigfoot #4" raced in place of #8 from Dallas, Texas
to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
. Andy Brass did drive Bigfoot #4 to victory at the Louisville Motor Speedway. Bigfoot #8 returned to the TNT circuit after the temporary ban had been lifted. Chandler also took legal action against TNT.
Team Bigfoot ended up winning 24 events that season and took the 1990 TNT points championship over Greg Holbrook in Gary Cook's Equalizer and Gary Porter's Carolina Crusher, the first racing championship for the Bigfoot team. Also that year, Piant took the Special Events Triple Crown Championship, in addition to placing third in the USHRA's new point series. After not winning any championships in 1991, Team Bigfoot would go on a 12-year stretch from 1992-2003 of winning at least one championship a year, taking a total of 16 series championship victories during that span. The most notable of Team Bigfoot's recent series championship victories came in 2007, when Bigfoot #16 and driver Dan Runte won the first ever championship series held by the Major League of Monster Trucks. With that victory, Team Bigfoot now holds a total of 22 series championships.
, Firestone
, DuPont
, and Summit Racing have kept Bigfoot in the spotlight in recent years. The Microsoft sponsorship in particular has led to several PC and console video games starring Bigfoot. Always seeking to further innovate the sport, Chandler created monster truck racing's first open-invitation point series, ProMT, in 2000, which still in existence today, albeit only in Europe
. As for closed-invitation promotions, Bigfoot ceased running events for the USHRA's Monster Jam
series in 1998 (due to a dispute involving Team Bigfoot's usage of video footage and pictures) and has not returned since. Bigfoot appeared frequently for USA Motorsports and Motorsports Entertainment Group until both of those companies were purchased by the USHRA's parent company at the time, PACE Motorsports. Bigfoot still races for the Special Events Promotion Company (which hosted many ProMT races before ProMT ceased sanctioning races in North America after 2004), Chris Arel Motorsports, Checkered Flag Promotions, and AMP Live Events, among others. In 2007 the BIGFOOT team brought back Midwest 4 Wheel Drive at the Home of BIGFOOT in Hazelwood, Missouri
.
As a token of appreciation for fathering a brand new form of motorsport that remains widely popular today, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inducted Chandler into their Class of 2006.
In May 2006, Bigfoot signed former professional wrestler and Monster Jam driver Debra Miceli. Miceli drove the "Bigfoot 10" chassis until the end of the 2007 Major League of Monster Trucks (MLMT) season. Miceli now drives Madusa for Feld Motorsports.
In December 2005, Bigfoot's sponsorship with Ford ended so they can push their sponsorship with Feld Motorsports Monster Jam. It wasn't announced officially until 2007.
In April 2008, Bob Chandler and Jim Kramer were inducted into the Official Monster Truck Hall of Fame.
In July 2010, it was announced GM would provide sponsorship to Bigfoot and that the vehicle would now be a Chevrolet Silverado
. This was only for the MLB All-Star Game as a display vehicle. Bigfoot will continue to wear a Ford body during competition.
Monster truck
A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
. Other trucks with the name "Bigfoot" have been introduced in the years since, and it remains the most well-known monster truck moniker in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Bigfoot 4x4, Inc. is owned and operated by its creator, Bob Chandler.
Early history
A former construction worker from the St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
area, Chandler began building the first Bigfoot in 1975, using the Chandler family's 1974 Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
F-250 four-wheel-drive pickup. Chandler had been using the truck for off-roading
Off-roading
Off-roading is a term for driving a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain.-Off-road vehicle:...
on weekends and would find that automotive shops in the Midwest generally did not carry the parts needed to repair his frequently-worked 4x4. To remedy this problem, Chandler and his wife Marilyn, along with friend Jim Kramer, opened a shop called Midwest Four Wheel Drive and Performance Center in Ferguson, Missouri
Ferguson, Missouri
Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 21,203 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Ferguson is located at ....
(later moving to Hazelwood, Missouri
Hazelwood, Missouri
Hazelwood is a second-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 25,703 as of the 2010 census. Hazelwood, a northern suburb of St. Louis, is located north of Lambert-St...
) which remains as Bigfoot's headquarters to this day. The truck was used as a rolling billboard for the shop, adorned with the various accessories Chandler sold in his new shop, as it slowly became taller
The truck's first attention-grabbing modification came when Chandler got wind of an idea proposed to the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
of making steering capable on both axles of their four-wheeled vehicles, so that in the event of breakage in the front axle, it could simply be switched with the rear axle and held straight with a pin so that the vehicle could resume regular use with steering. Chandler decided to test that theory on his truck, but in addition would actually enable steering on the rear axle. The end result was a new innovation in automotive technology — the "4x4x4," or a vehicle with four wheels, four-wheel-drive, and four-wheel-steering.
In 1979, Chandler started making appearances at truck and tractor pulls, as well as car shows, with his newly christened "Bigfoot" to show off the truck's capabilities as well as to promote his shop. The truck's growing popularity led to its appearance in the 1981 Gus Trikonis film "Take This Job and Shove It
Take This Job and Shove It (film)
Take This Job and Shove It is a 1981 film starring Robert Hays, Barbara Hershey, Art Carney, and David Keith, and directed by Gus Trikonis....
," which also features USA-1 credited under a different name.
While these accomplishments were certainly admirable, Chandler's next experiment would not only change the life and fortunes of a middle-class pickup owner from the St. Louis area, it would change the motorsports world forever. In 1981, Chandler obtained permission from a local farmer to place two dilapidated cars in his field, so that Chandler could videotape himself crushing the cars with Bigfoot as a joke. When Chandler began playing the video in his shop, a man promoting a motorsports event in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
asked him to duplicate the stunt in front of a crowd. After initial hesitation because of the destructive image it would convey, Chandler eventually agreed to perform at the event in April of the following year in what is believed to be the first public car crush. Later that year, a second Bigfoot (built to help meet the steadily rising demand to see the vehicle) received more major media attention by crushing cars at the Pontiac Silverdome
Pontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
in Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
. In 1983, Bigfoot began receiving sponsorship from Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, a relationship which continued until 2005.
By 1984, many truck owners around the country had taken to imitating Chandler's template of outfitting their vehicles with tires standing 66 inches tall, with some trucks sporting even larger tires. Promoters of truck and tractor pulls, such as SRO Motorsports (later the United States Hot Rod Association
United States Hot Rod Association
The United States Hot Rod Association is an organization owned by Feld Entertainment that markets various motorsports. These include monster trucks as well as motocross, quad racing and others...
) and Golden State Promotions, noticed the exploding popularity of the giant trucks and began booking several to crush cars at their events, with the eventual result being the advent of side-by-side, drag-racing style car crushing events. A popular example of the early days of monster truck racing is portrayed in the 1986 home video release Return of the Monster Trucks, which involves a truck pull, car crushing, and mud bogging all in the same course. That event, held in the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
, was won by Bigfoot, as well as most of the events it was entered into in the mid 1980s. By this point, Chandler had already built an entire fleet of "Bigfoot" trucks to accommodate the vast demand for his vehicle, which remained as the most popular and marketable monster truck despite the large number of imitators. In 1987, Chandler added to his innovations by founding the Monster Truck Racing Association, which remains today as the chief voice in monster truck safety.
Another form of competition Chandler faced was the physical size of the competition. Many truck owners had taken to calling their vehicles the "World's Largest Monster Truck," so Chandler outfitted his "Bigfoot 4" vehicle with 10-foot-tall tires he had purchased from a junkyard owner in Seattle, Washington for only $1000. The tires had been previously used by the U.S. Army in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
on their overland train
Overland train
In the 1950s the LeTourneau company developed several overland trains, essentially oversized semi-trailer trucks that could travel over almost any terrain. Their intention was to be able to handle logistics needs without being dependent on local road or rail systems, allowing them to operate in...
in the 1950s. In 1986, Chandler built a new truck, "Bigfoot 5", specifically for the tires. Upon its public debut in Indianapolis, Indiana, the truck immediately took the title of "World's Tallest, Widest, and Heaviest Monster Truck" and was eventually given official recognition of the title by the Guinness Book of Records in 2002. With a second set of 10-foot-tall tires attached, the truck stands 15 feet, six inches, measures 20 feet, 5 inches across, and weighs over 38,000 pounds.
Racing history
The fledgling all-sports televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
network ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
also took note of the popularity of monster trucks in the 1980s and began showing events promoted by the United States Hot Rod Association and TNT Motorsports on a regular basis. With the frequent broadcasts of monster truck races, the next logical step was to create a championship series of monster truck races. TNT began the first recognized series in 1988, and was dominated by Bigfoot for much of the season. However, upstart rookie Rod Litzau, driving the USA-1
USA-1 (truck)
USA-1 is a monster truck that was competing during the eighties and nineties, named after a Chevrolet ad campaign. It competed against Bigfoot in the first televised monster truck race on the American television show That's Incredible! in 1983. The truck was initially painted blue before it was...
truck, gained momentum and passed Bigfoot in the standings going into the last weekend of the season in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. With the way the points system and elimination brackets had been structured, Bigfoot (driven by Rich Hooser) and USA-1 met in the semifinal round with USA-1 clinching the points championship if it beat Bigfoot. USA-1 won the race in spectacular fashion, rolling over in the process, and took the championship. After losing the championship, the Bigfoot team made the decision to shift their focus less on competition and more on research and development in 1989, as well as running frequent events for the USHRA and USA Motorsports and a limited TNT Schedule.
During this time, Chandler began working with computer-aided design
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
(CAD) programs, and using technology he had learned from professional off-road racing, designed a tubular frame for his next Bigfoot truck, along with a suspension system sporting two feet of travel. This innovation allowed Bigfoot to possess four times as much suspension travel as those used by nearly all previous monster trucks. Chandler would be awarded a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for his designs. After testing the vehicle for three months, driver Andy Brass debuted the eighth incarnation of Bigfoot, with the new frame and suspension, in late 1989. It officially made its debut at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
at the Four Wheel and Off Road Jamboree in a special 5,000th show for Bigfoot (where every Bigfoot vehicle gathered in one place for the first time). It made its debut in competition at a USHRA race in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, reaching the final round of competition before rolling over against Jack Willman's Taurus.
The following year, after running the USHRA races in Anaheim, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the truck would debut on the TNT Motorsports Monster Truck Challenge points circuit in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, and would find the Bigfoot #8 chassis briefly banned from the circuit on April 5, 1990, due to a rule clarification that only allowed leaf, coil, and coilover suspensions to be run (Bigfoot #8 ran nitrogen shocks). Although TNT stated that safety was the primary reason for the clarification, they also admitted that another reason was that Bigfoot #8 was simply too technologically advanced and was upsetting the competitive balance of the series. Former BMX racer John Piant, piloting "Bigfoot #4" raced in place of #8 from Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Andy Brass did drive Bigfoot #4 to victory at the Louisville Motor Speedway. Bigfoot #8 returned to the TNT circuit after the temporary ban had been lifted. Chandler also took legal action against TNT.
Team Bigfoot ended up winning 24 events that season and took the 1990 TNT points championship over Greg Holbrook in Gary Cook's Equalizer and Gary Porter's Carolina Crusher, the first racing championship for the Bigfoot team. Also that year, Piant took the Special Events Triple Crown Championship, in addition to placing third in the USHRA's new point series. After not winning any championships in 1991, Team Bigfoot would go on a 12-year stretch from 1992-2003 of winning at least one championship a year, taking a total of 16 series championship victories during that span. The most notable of Team Bigfoot's recent series championship victories came in 2007, when Bigfoot #16 and driver Dan Runte won the first ever championship series held by the Major League of Monster Trucks. With that victory, Team Bigfoot now holds a total of 22 series championships.
Present day
Bigfoot continues to be in huge demand, even today. Partnerships with MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
, DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, and Summit Racing have kept Bigfoot in the spotlight in recent years. The Microsoft sponsorship in particular has led to several PC and console video games starring Bigfoot. Always seeking to further innovate the sport, Chandler created monster truck racing's first open-invitation point series, ProMT, in 2000, which still in existence today, albeit only in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. As for closed-invitation promotions, Bigfoot ceased running events for the USHRA's Monster Jam
Monster Jam
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show operated by Feld Entertainment. The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association and takes place primarily in the United States and around the world...
series in 1998 (due to a dispute involving Team Bigfoot's usage of video footage and pictures) and has not returned since. Bigfoot appeared frequently for USA Motorsports and Motorsports Entertainment Group until both of those companies were purchased by the USHRA's parent company at the time, PACE Motorsports. Bigfoot still races for the Special Events Promotion Company (which hosted many ProMT races before ProMT ceased sanctioning races in North America after 2004), Chris Arel Motorsports, Checkered Flag Promotions, and AMP Live Events, among others. In 2007 the BIGFOOT team brought back Midwest 4 Wheel Drive at the Home of BIGFOOT in Hazelwood, Missouri
Hazelwood, Missouri
Hazelwood is a second-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 25,703 as of the 2010 census. Hazelwood, a northern suburb of St. Louis, is located north of Lambert-St...
.
As a token of appreciation for fathering a brand new form of motorsport that remains widely popular today, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inducted Chandler into their Class of 2006.
In May 2006, Bigfoot signed former professional wrestler and Monster Jam driver Debra Miceli. Miceli drove the "Bigfoot 10" chassis until the end of the 2007 Major League of Monster Trucks (MLMT) season. Miceli now drives Madusa for Feld Motorsports.
In December 2005, Bigfoot's sponsorship with Ford ended so they can push their sponsorship with Feld Motorsports Monster Jam. It wasn't announced officially until 2007.
In April 2008, Bob Chandler and Jim Kramer were inducted into the Official Monster Truck Hall of Fame.
In July 2010, it was announced GM would provide sponsorship to Bigfoot and that the vehicle would now be a Chevrolet Silverado
Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado , is the latest line of full-size pickup trucks from General Motors.-History:...
. This was only for the MLB All-Star Game as a display vehicle. Bigfoot will continue to wear a Ford body during competition.
Other Bigfoot facts
- There is no Bigfoot 13. After Bigfoot 12 was constructed, it was decided that the next Bigfoot truck to be built would be called Bigfoot 14, due to superstition about the number 13TriskaidekaphobiaTriskaidekaphobia is fear of the number ; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia.The term was first used by Isador Coriat in Abnormal...
. - In 1998, Bigfoot 9 took a tour of BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. When it was due to return to the United States, however, a customs incident caused the truck to be confiscated. It is currently used by an independent company within the country, and legal obstacles have made it all but impossible for the truck to return to the United States. - Bigfoot got its name when Bob Chandler asked friend Ron Magruder why he was breaking so many parts on his truck. Magruder responded, "It's because of your big foot."
- Dan Runte, driving Bigfoot 14, set the world monster truck long jump record on September 11, 1999 in Smyrna, TennesseeSmyrna, TennesseeSmyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 25,569 people at the 2000 census. The Census estimate of the 2009 population is 39,142.-Geography:Smyrna is located at ....
, when he jumped the truck a total of 202 feet, clearing a 727 jetliner in the process. - In 2003, Nigel Morris partnered with Bob Chandler to build Bigfoot 17, the first Bigfoot to compete exclusively outside of the United States. Bigfoot 17 competes primarily in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. - Bigfoot has several alternative names and identities for their trucks when two of their trucks are scheduled at a show. Among these have been "SummitSummit (topography)In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
Bigfoot", "Power WheelsPower WheelsPower Wheels is a brand of battery-powered ride-on toy cars for kids ages 12 months to seven years old. Power Wheels ride-ons are built with kid-sized, realistic features – in some cases, real working features like FM radios, opening/closing doors and hoods, power lock brakes, and both forward and...
Bigfoot", "TonkaTonkaTonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 18, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...
", "XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
", "WildFoot" and "Snake Bite". - Snake Bite (using Bigfoot 4's chassis) was originally driven by Gene Patterson, under the pseudonym of Colt Cobra. He wore a mask to hide his identity and came from the fictional town of Cobra Creek, Colorado. Eric Meagher became Colt Cobra in 1993 (now with Bigfoot 8's chassis) when Gene drove Bigfoot #10 to second place behind Andy Brass in Bigfoot #11. Dan Runte drove it as Ricky Rattler for a short time, but Ricky also came from Cobra Creek, Colorado. Since 1997, a regular Bigfoot driver under his own name has been driving Snake Bite. Recently there is a new pseudonym named Peter Python that debuted at the Midwest Four-Wheel Drive Open house for 2009. For that show it was portrayed by Larry Swim.
- There was an animated cartoon featuring the Bigfoot Monster Truck, Bigfoot and the Muscle MachinesBigfoot and the Muscle MachinesBigfoot and the Muscle Machines is a special animated TV mini-series that was aired on the animated half-hour TV series Super Sunday and Super Saturday containing 9 segments that ran for 6 minutes each and every weekend, along with Jem, Robotix, and Inhumanoids...
in the 1980s. The truck has been frequently licensed for use in toys. - Bigfoot is referenced in two different episodes of FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. - A video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System of the same nameBigFoot (video game)BigFoot was a racing game released in July 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was developed by Beam Software and published by Acclaim. The game was advertised by the legendary monster truck of the same name in the cartoon segment of the 1990 television show, Video Power, titled The...
was released in 1990 by Acclaim EntertainmentAcclaim EntertainmentAcclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
. - Bigfoot was one of the main characters of the animated series, The Power Team. It (or "he" in the show) was added to advertise the NES game above.
- A Discovery KidsDiscovery KidsDiscovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...
TV series called Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster TrucksBigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster TrucksBigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks is a children's show on Discovery Kids, that premiered in the fall of 2006 and was produced by Endgame Entertainment and Bigfoot....
was released in 2006. - There is a new Miss Bigfoot that will debut in April driven by Amber Walker and will run a shortened schedule for 2010.
List of Bigfoot vehicles
The following is a list of all the vehicles built or owned by Bigfoot 4x4, Inc., and their current status.| Name | Built | Driver | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bigfoot 1 | 1975 | N/A | In 1979, the '74 front clip was replaced with a '79 front clip that flipped forward to allow greater access to the engine. It was in competition until 1987. Currently used as a display vehicle. Resides at the Bigfoot 4x4 store in St. Louis. |
| Bigfoot 2 | 1982 | N/A | Modified in 1992 for the purpose of giving fans monster truck rides in the bed of the vehicle, and renamed Safarifoot. Sold in 2000 to an independent owner. The truck is currently named "FloodPro". |
| Bigfoot 3 | 1983 | N/A | Received same ride-truck modifications as Bigfoot 2. Donated to E.M.T. Financial Fund in 2000. Currently owned by Steve Ford, who has renamed the truck Legend and uses it as an exhibition vehicle. |
| Bigfoot 4 | 1984 | N/A | Used as a display truck before being sold in 2007. This one now has the name "Massive Machine". |
| Bigfoot 5 | 1986 | N/A | Mostly used as a display vehicle at Bigfoot's headquarters in Hazelwood. It started as a customers truck, and was purchased a few years later. The original 1979 body was removed in 1989 and a current year was put in its place. The old body was placed on a waiting frame and used as a shop truck at the Bigfoot shop. The original body is now privately owned by Eli Mann, a vice president at the official monster truck hall of fame and is being restored. The truck resides at the St. Louis Bigfoot 4x4 store. |
| Bigfoot 6 | 1986 | N/A | Sold to a British promoter after a tour of Thailand in 1994. |
| Bigfoot 7/Bigfoot Race Rock 1 | 1988 | N/A | Built specifically for the movie Road House Road House (1989 film) Road House is a 1989 American action film partially based on the life of Norman "Storm" Cantwell, directed by Rowdy Herrington and starring Patrick Swayze as a bouncer at a newly-refurbished roadside bar who protects a small town in Missouri from a corrupt businessman. Sam Elliot also plays a... , it also was used in the movie Tango & Cash Tango & Cash Tango & Cash is a 1989 American buddy cop film starring Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Jack Palance and Teri Hatcher. It was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, although Albert Magnoli took over in the later stages of filming.... . Modified in 1995 to accommodate 10-foot-tall tires. The motor, transmission and steering were removed and the truck was sold to Race Rock Orlando. After the restaurant went out of business, it was sold to Fun Spot USA in Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County... , where it currently resides.. |
| Bigfoot 8 | 1989 | N/A | Used as a display truck and as a race truck if another cannot attend a scheduled date. |
| Bigfoot 9 | 1990 | N/A | Seized by Brazilian customs; see above section. |
| Bigfoot 10 | 1992 | Kyle Doyle | Active race truck. |
| Bigfoot 11 | 1993 | Darron Scgnell | Active race truck. |
| Bigfoot 12 | 1993 | Ron Bachman | Built specifically as a display truck. |
| Bigfoot 14 | 1993 | Larry Swim | Active race truck. |
| Bigfoot 15 | 1994 | Rick Long | Active race truck. |
| Bigfoot 16 | 2007 | Dan Runte | Active race truck. |
| Bigfoot 17 | 2003 | Nigel Morris | Active race truck, competing exclusively in Europe. |
| Ms. Bigfoot | 1985 | N/A | Name later changed to "Bigfoot Ranger." Sold in 1993, was used to build Lil Truck, owned by Chandler Llyod. |
| Bigfoot Shuttle | 1985 | N/A | Built from an Aerostar minivan, has the original V6 engine, nitrous oxide injection was added sometime later. Sold in 2002 to Jeff Halliday, a vice president at the official monster truck hall of fame, for private use. |
| Bigfoot Fastrax | 1987 | N/A | M48 personnel carrier chassis with two Ford 460ci engines and C6 automatic transmissions. The body is the upper half of a fiberglass replica of a 1990 Aerostar. Mostly used as a display vehicle at Bigfoot's headquarters in Hazelwood. |
| Bigfoot Race Rock 2/Bigfoot 13 | 1999 | N/A | Built specifically for permanent display at Race Rock restaurant in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous... , Nevada Nevada Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its... . It was made to resemble 5 and 7. After the restaurant went out of business, it was sold to the Historic Auto Attractions Historic auto attractions Historic Auto Attractions is an automobile, history and pop culture museum in Roscoe, Illinois, most known for its large collection of artifacts associated with the John F. Kennedy assassination... museum in Roscoe, Illinois Roscoe, Illinois Roscoe is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, a suburb of Rockford incorporated in 1965. The village is in a suburban area along the Rock River. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 10,785, up from 6,244 at the... , where it currently resides. |
| Bigfoot 18 | N/A | N/A | Under construction at the BIGFOOT shop in Hazelwood, Missouri Hazelwood, Missouri Hazelwood is a second-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 25,703 as of the 2010 census. Hazelwood, a northern suburb of St. Louis, is located north of Lambert-St... . Will be Dan Runte's new truck when completed. |
| Bigfoot 19 | N/A | N/A | Under construction in the United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... . |