One of the things that gets lost when we think about early monster trucks, especially those in the later 1980s and early 1990s when the trucks started jumping and really getting fast is that they wrecked a bunch. As you will see in this video the wreckage was mostly caused by the massive impacts the trucks would suffer when they came hurting out of the sky and landed on the rock hard suspension systems of the day. Multiple times you will see huge Rockwell axles snapped like match sticks, axels being ripped out from under the front of trucks, and wheels breaking off upon impact.
The other big one here were roll overs. The trucks used to sit a lot higher than they do and as they were riding on severely arched leaf springs the only real give in the whole program came in the form of the tire sidewall. Today’s modern coil over suspensions and other innovations have changed the trucks for the better in terms of stability and drivability upon landing but in our opinion the era you will see in this video was the pinnacle of fun.
This was one of those unique times in motorsports where the drivers evolved ahead of the machines. The trucks were not setup to do what the guys were asking them to do and it was not long before the tube trucks began to enter the scene and change things into what they are today. Like the introduction of the tube chassis pro stock, it opened pandora’s box.
Lastly, the roll over wrecks are scary because many of these trucks used only the chrome, bed mounted roll bar to protect their drivers. There are LOTS of squashed roofs in this video. Lots. Today monster truck weeks happen with frequency and on purpose. Back when this footage was gathered? Not so much.
AHHHH…memories
I wonder how many of these I watched in person. The Silverdome was one of the early venues for monster trucks in the 80s, and I regularly attended.
This needs to be narrated by Army Armstrong.