Grave Digger (monster truck) explained

Grave Digger
Owner:Feld Entertainment[1] [2]
Driver:
Home City:Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, U.S.
Year Created:1982
Style:1950 Chevrolet Panel Van
Chassis:Patrick Enterprises, Inc. (PEI), Cohen-designed ("in-house built"), Carroll Racing Development (CRD), and Racesource
Engine:540 cubic inch Merlin 1450hp
Transmission:Coan 2-speed transmission
Tires:BKT/66" Terra
Number:40

Grave Digger is a monster truck racing team in the Feld Entertainment Monster Jam series founded by original driver Dennis Anderson. Considered one of the most famous and recognized monster trucks of all time, Grave Digger serves as the flagship team of the Monster Jam series, with seven active Grave Digger trucks being driven by different drivers to allow a truck to appear at every Monster Jam event.

History

Grave Digger was originally built in 1982 by Dennis Anderson as a mud bogger. This first truck was assembled from salvaged parts, including the body of a red 1952 Ford pickup truck. The truck received its name when Anderson, amicably retorting trash talking from his fellow racers about the truck's salvaged parts, said, "I'll take this old junk and dig you a grave with it." Anderson gained a reputation for an all-or-nothing driving style and quickly became popular at local events. At one show, a scheduled monster truck failed to show up and Anderson, who already had large tractor tires on the truck, offered to crush cars in the absence of the full-size monster. The promoter accepted and Grave Digger was an instant success as a car crusher and led Anderson to leave mud bogging and pursue monster trucks instead. In 1984 Anderson rebuilt the truck as a true monster truck using a 1951 Ford panel van body originally sporting a silver and blue paint scheme.

In 1986 Grave Digger first received its famous black graveyard paint scheme. In 1987 and 1988 Anderson drove the truck primarily at TNT Motorsports races and became a crowd favorite for driving hard despite lacking major funding that better-known teams, like Bigfoot, had. In 1987, Anderson beat Bigfoot in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on a show taped for ESPN. It was the first major victory for Grave Digger.

Anderson moved to Grave Digger 2 in 1989, with a new 1950 Chevy panel van body, while his brother Leslie Anderson drove Grave Digger 1. It was during this time that the reputation for wild passes was developed, and the popularity of the truck increased. It was also during this time that "Bad To The Bone" began to be used as the truck's theme song. TNT recognized his rising popularity and began promoting Grave Digger heavily, especially for races on the Tuff Trax syndicated television series. This was helped by Bigfoot not racing for points in the 1989 championship, leaving Grave Digger as the most popular truck on the tour.

When TNT became a part of the United States Hot Rod Association in 1991, Anderson began running on the USHRA tour and debuted his first four-link truck, Grave Digger 3. Throughout the 1990s, the popularity of the truck grew and forced Anderson to hire other drivers to run other Grave Digger trucks. Grave Diggers 4, 5 and 8 were built to suit this purpose, and were never driven in any major capacity by Anderson. Anderson drove Grave Digger 7, a direct successor to 3, for most of the decade. It was replaced by Grave Digger 12, well known as the "long wheelbase Digger", which was also the first Grave Digger with purple in the paint job.

In 1993, Dennis Anderson and Grave Digger #7 were heavily featured on the TV series Monster Wars. Anderson led the beginning of the season until breakages and disqualifications; he finished 5th. That year, Anderson won the 2nd USHRA wreck of the year title after he won and rolled over in Lebanon Valley Speedway, racing UFO. There was footage inside the cab of Anderson uttering his famous catch-saying “Yea we turned er over, she’s over, that’s what the people want, that’s what they got, I got a torn up truck!”

In late 1998, Anderson sold the Grave Digger team to Pace Motorsports (now Feld Entertainment). Anderson continued to drive, being the most visible member of the team, and remained in charge of drivers and of training team members.

In 2014, Anderson became the second driver to attempt the LeDuc Leap, but he damaged the front axle of the truck and attempting to save it, thus ending his run early with a score of 8.5 in the World Finals at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Anderson competed in his final event on January 14, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. On September 18, 2017, Dennis announced his full retirement from Monster Jam, stating however that he would still be behind the scenes and in the pits.

Accomplishments

Trucks

There have been a total of 41 Grave Digger monster trucks built. There are seven trucks currently competing.

Hallmarks

Grave Digger's origins, the imagery associated with the truck, and the truck's wild reputation, are all considered part of the mystique of the truck and have contributed to its continued popularity. The paint scheme, which combines green flames, letters dripping blood, a foggy graveyard scene with tombstones bearing names of competitors, a haunted house silhouetted by a full moon, and a giant skull-shaped ghost, has not strayed far from the first incarnation of the paintwork from 1986.

Perhaps the most visible trademark is the red headlights which glow menacingly whenever the truck is in competition. The lights were first used when Anderson was building a transporter out of a school bus and removed the red stop lights. After realizing they would fit in the headlights of the van, he installed them and the truck has had them ever since.

Anderson became known for destructive qualifying passes which entertained the crowd but on many occasions put the truck out of competition for the rest of the event. With the advent of freestyle, Anderson gained a means by which he could entertain the crowd with wild stunts while also focusing on winning races. Today, Grave Digger, no matter which driver is appearing, is traditionally the last truck to freestyle at most events, providing the "grand finale" which caps off the show.

The immense popularity of Grave Digger has made it the flagship truck of Monster Jam, and in some cases monster trucks in general. There is much debate over whether Grave Digger has taken over the title of "Most Popular Monster Truck" from Bigfoot. As a result, the Grave Digger vs. Bigfoot rivalry is one of the strongest in the sport, despite the fact that the teams have not raced each other regularly since the late 1990s.

Drivers

Current drivers

Digger's Dungeon

Digger’s Dungeon located in Poplar Branch, North Carolina,[3] is the official home of Grave Digger. Besides the usual gift shop, there are several Grave Diggers located outside on display, including Grave Digger 1. There are also various pieces of other Grave Diggers hanging throughout the store, all of which have been damaged from various accidents.

Digger’s Dungeon hosted the 2010 No Limit R/C Monster Truck World Finals, taking place from May 28 to May 30. The RC World Finals is the largest RC Monster Truck event in the world.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: TESS -- Grave Digger. uspto.gov. January 16, 2019.
  2. http://www.feldentertainment.com/press/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=14542 FELD Motorsports Acquires Live Nation Motor Sports
  3. Web site: Poplar Branch, NC - Digger's Dungeon - Home of Grave Digger . Roadsideamerica.com . 2010-03-08.

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