Recently this olelongrooffan was headed up to catch a VDub show in the next burg up on State Road 93 when I spotted this Mini Monster Truck on the rear of this flatbed in the utility area of the Germain Arena. Well, as Vdubs were on my mind, I decided to pack this bit of information away in my uncluttered cranium and continued hot footing it up Eisenhower’s Highway System. I took in that VDub show and on my way home, the thought of this Mini Monster Truck came back to my mind and I decided this olelongrooffan would get off that highway system at exit 123 and stop in and check out what was happening at the arena sponsored by a local automotive dealer and more. My fellow Hoons, should you be so inclined, are free to make the jump to see more of this Mini Monster Truck and read about another Oops I Did It Again experience this olongrooffan was lucky enough to have enjoyed that sunny Saturday afternoon here in the Sunshine State.


It was four years ago, almost to the day, this olelongrooffan was living up there in the Birthplace of Speed that, while heading out to the Daytona International Speedway for some unknown, but still remembered, event that I spotted a Full Size Monster Truck heading through the huge overhead door at the Ocean Center there on A1A in beachside Daytona Beach. Well, if my fellow Hoons remember, I parked my olebeaterpickemup truck, dropped a quarter in the meter and strolled through that very same overhead door unimpeded. See that minivan behind the rear wheel of that Mini Monster Truck? It is heading north on I-75 through Estero, Florida.

Much like in that post, should my fellow Hoons have chosen to click on through to view it, my neck is still not red enough to have gained a lot of knowledge about this form of automotive amusement except to say these Mini Monster Trucks have certainly matured beyond that almost go-cart style one I spotted up there in Daytona Beach four years ago.

And apparently the age to drive one of these has been reduced significantly. This olelongrooffan will never forget my Pop’s, TheGentlemanFarmer, belief that “one should never let your school work get in the way of your education.” Something this olelongrooffan, and apparently a whole series of truck racing believes as well.

Trust me, my fellow Hoons, this truck looked anything but mini as I viewed it from down below. And as my mechanical sense will fit in a tire valve cap with room left over for lunch, this olelongrooffan will let the next few images speak for themselves.



Sir Crush A Lot



I know it is kind of difficult to see but gas pedal has a hook for the driver’s foot so it doesn’t slip off. Kinda like training wheels, I guess.

Check out the control panel and that seat looks about the same size as an auxilary car seat one would find in that back of a soccer mom’s minivan.

World’s Youngest Monster Truck Drivers and I would suspect the next generation of Big Foot and Grave Robber drivers as well.

And apparently there are girls driving these things as well. I can’t imagine any red blooded Murican boy driving the Demolition Diva. So anyways, as I was gathering up this image to share with all ya’all, I spotted a white Ford pickemup truck head unstopped through an open overhead door just to the rear of the forklifts seen in the background of this image. Well, my fellow Hoons, a sense of Deja Vu came upon this olelongrooffan once again. Could I just walk on in at another Monster Truck Rally?

Well, I’m here to tell you not just yes, but Hell Yes. This olelongrooffan strolled on past that white Blue Oval from which a trio of guys were unloading multiple bags of oil-dry and headed up to the walk way surrounding the concrete floored stadium. Looking down the arena I spotted a couple of Rams and Bigfoot itself. It was cool inside, almost chilly, and it reminded me of the last time I had visited this arena in 1998 or 1999. I was there, reluctantly, with some friends who are big hockey fans and we were there to watch our Florida Everblades in action. We had decided to attend that event after having been out for Happy Hour and just zipped up SR 93 to catch some hockey action.

Now with this olelongrooffan hailing from the Ozark Mountains, I have never been a huge hockey fan and, as I mentioned, was there somewhat reluctantly as I did not want to be a party pooper. Once we all settled into our seats I noticed we are seated just high enough up that we could see over the clear plexiglass fence hockey arenas have. I expressed a concern flying pucks over this fence but was admonished that I had nothing to be concerned about. “I have been going to hockey games for years and have never seen a puck get this far up in the seats,” were the words my friend Jillee mentioned. Not 30 seconds later a flying puck came careening off the ice and stuck some woman sitting at the end of the row on which we were sitting. I turned to my compatriots and pointed to the bar in the skybox and said, “see that girl holding that carbonated beverage up there? That is where you will find me once this fistfight on ice is over.” Yeah, this olelongrooffan has way to much dental work to risk it at a venue that I’m not all that interested in anyway. But I do have this to say about that, unlike NASCAR racing, the best place to watch hockey is live at the event. Just out of flying distance of the puck though.

Yet another digression. My apologies my fellow Hoons. Back in 2011 when I spotted these trucks up in Daytona, there was a Chevy based ride that had seats in the bed for passengers willing enough to risk life and limb to ride in one of these. While it was a different livery and the seats were different, how many of these rides can there be in the southeastern US?
(Ed – That isn’t the standard mom-mobile down there?)

Once I had seen what was to be seen in that arena, I headed on out with a nod of the head to the dudes chewing the fat at the rear of that Ford. As I was exiting, I spotted these tires that certainly were affixed to these trucks so they can be loaded on the haulers that transported them to the Germain Arena, much like NASCAR does with their rides.

Speaking of transporters, I peeked into Bigfoot’s on my way past. Unlike race car transporters which are set up for multiple cars, this monster truck transporters are set up to haul just one truck. The truck in the rear with the accessories, including the big mud tires up front. See that overhead beam just in front of the ramps at that side door? It is a crane to be attached to those big mud tires to load and unload them as needed. Pretty cool stuff, if you ask this olelongrooffan.

But I do have this to say about that. For such a Big Truck, that is certainly a small ladder.
Image Copyright Hooniverse 2015/longrooffan