Monsters invade Rocky Mtn. Raceway

WEST VALLEY CITY — Grave Digger. Big Foot. Sounds like a WWF wrestling match but it isn't, rather it's two of the oldest and well-known monster truck rivals. Both trucks, as well as others, were wrecking havoc across the track at Rocky Mountain Raceway Saturday night.

These trucks definitely are monsters, there's no doubt about that. The tires on Big Foot reach 66 inches in height and 43 inches in width. Average cost for one of these beasts is upwards of $200,000. These leviathan sized vehicle's split time doing freestyle, when the only purpose is to crush as many old-beater cars as possible and perform tricks, and racing. At RMR the trucks were racing in one-on-one battles on the figure eight shaped obstacle course.

At the drop of the green flag, racers accelerated to an immediate dirt ramp which launched the trucks over a set of cars. After a couple of L-turns, the drivers would again propel their trucks over some more smashed up rides. The race ends with one more aerial, with the winner advancing on to the next round.

So what makes these trucks so exciting?

"The pure adrenaline rush," said Big Foot driver Dan Runte.

Bob Chandler owns the Big Foot trucks and is basically the person responsible for developing the concept of the monster truck 33 years ago, said Runte.

"He started out with just 48-inch tires," said Runte, "He had a four-wheel-drive shop way back when and he kept lifting it (the truck) to promote his four-wheel-drive shop. He got this wild idea one day that he was going to drive this lifted pickup over some cars. A promoter out of Chicago got a hold of it and it just went wild."

Now Runte and others travel around the United States all year doing events from small town tracks to sold-out stadiums. Monster Trucks are monstrously popular.

"For the fans, I think the neatest thing is we're a lot different than NASCAR and NHRA were you have to go to a major city to see those stars. We come to venues all across the country, we're very accessible," said Grave Digger, and Big Foot rival, driver Pablo Huffaker.

Accessibility is nice no doubt, but destruction and demolition we'll always be the main draw for these unique racing events. The mere sight of these Monster Trucks going head-to-head brings loud cheers from the crowd and the thunderous engine revs and ridiculously high horsepower only brings more delight to the fans. The drivers are all friends behind the scenes but when the green flag drops, competitiveness takes over. They like to win.

"Team Big foot has 21, 22 championships," said Runte. "I like to compete."

Team Big Foot won the event Saturday night, with its two trucks making it to the finals. The Monster Trucks will again be on display Sunday Night at RMR.

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E-mail: nstorey@desnews.com