Growing up I rooted for the Boston Red Sox, I rooted for Bruce Allen, and I rooted for Jim Kramer. Kramer of course is the iconic driver of Bigfoot monster trucks and it has been announced the Bigfoot website that he’s semi-retired and by the end of the 2016 season, he’ll be fully retired from the monster truck business. This was a guy who became an icon not just in the Lohnes house but in hundreds of thousands of houses across America. To many, he was a white helmet hanging out the window of a flying truck that was mashing cars, slogging mud pits, and pulling sleds at events, shows, county fairs, and gatherings across the country. Jim Kramer is one of the guys who literally helped to build the monster truck world that we know today and he did it with a mix of panache and a humble nature that endeared him to kids and adults alike.
Jim Kramer and Bob Chandler (father of Bigfoot) had a relationship long before monster trucks existed. They were in business together with a truck shop that was modifying four wheel drive trucks during the explosion of their popularity in the 1970s and into the 1980s. Kramer was also working a heavy equipment job and his wife actually told him to quit the truck shop because he had no time at home. A couple of years later Chandler put Kramer in a motorhome with basically all of his worldly possessions behind him and set him off across the country. Kramer talks about how Chandler stood at the side of the road and watched him for as long as he could see the rig rolling away, figuring that he was praying for a success. He got more than that. He got a guy who represented Bigfoot and monster truck racing at a level no one could have really expected. Jim Kramer did a lot for the sport because he gave good interviews, understood that new fans were the lifeblood of the sport, and was respectful and fun on camera.
I’m happy that Jim Kramer is able to retire and step away from the sport. I’ll always remember him as that bright white helmet hanging out the window of Bigfoot as it bounded, flew, and mashed its way over the cars. Congrats Jim, you have earned it.
Make sure to watch his Monster Truck Hall of Fame induction below. It is fantastic.
