Bigfoot Strikes Again

Storyline

Bigfoot Strikes Again  Monster Trucks! Monster Trucks! The King of the Monster Trucks Strikes Again! It’s pure power as BIGFOOT Strikes Again in this non-stop, monster-fueled thrill ride! Whether he’s flying through the air, blasting through the mud, or splashing over the water – BIGFOOT delivers some of the most incredible monster truck experiences on earth. You’ll see many of the BIGFOOT trucks in action including -BIGFOOT 1 through 7, the BIGFOOT Ranger, the Shuttle, and the unstoppable tank truck Fastrax! You’ll witness the monstrous BIGFOOT V, with tires 10 feet tall and take a ride in the cab of BIGFOOT . You’ll meet Bigfoot creator Bob Chandler, see clips from BIGFOOT ’s blockbuster movies, and go Monster Truck racing, car crunching and much much more!

Bigfoot Strikes Again  is a monster truck.^[1] The original Bigfoot began as a 1974 Ford F-250 pickup that was modified by its owner Bob Chandler beginning in 1975. By 1979, the modifications were so extensive, the truck came to be regarded as the first monster truck. Other trucks with the name “Bigfoot” have been introduced in the years since, and it remains a well-known monster truck moniker in the United States.

A former construction worker and off-roading enthusiast from the St. Louis area, Chandler began racing in 1975, using the Chandler family’s 1974 F-250 four-wheel drive and found that automotive shops in the Midwest generally did not carry the parts needed to repair his frequently-wrecked 4×4. 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. The shop moved to Hazelwood, Missouri, in 1984, which remained as Bigfoot’s headquarters until 2015 when the headquarters was relocated to Pacific, Missouri.

In 1979, Chandler replaced the under assembly of the truck with one from a military-surplus top loader featuring four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering that used 48-inch tires. This modification drew attention and Chandler started making appearances at tractor pulls and car shows with his newly christened “Bigfoot” (so named for Chandler’s heavy-footed racing style which caused frequent breakage of parts^[2]) 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 the early monster truck USA-1 credited under a different name).

Chandler’s next experiment would prove revolutionary. In 1981, Chandler placed two dilapidated cars in a 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 and sporting 66-inch tall tires, 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.

Bigfoot In Action