Category Archives: Bigfoot

Larry “The Legend” Swim makes it 2 in a row with a little help from his friends!

Larry “The Legend” Swim makes it 2 in a row
with a little help from his friends!
May 8, 2019 (Pacific, MO) – The 2019 Toughest Monster Truck Tour started off early in January and ran all the way through to April 13th. It is a long, tough and very competitive series that leaves very little room for error. Larry Swim started off the year on the disabled list, so he wasn’t able to compete until the 7th weekend of the year!

So, when looking for fill-in drivers to start the season, who else would you turn to besides 5-Time TMTT Champion Dan Runte and Josh Gibson (AKA “Vinny Venom”), also a Toughest Monster Truck Tour Champion. Runte started the 2019 season competing in the first 5 events, and it became apparent that he had not lost his touch, winning 4 of the first 5 races. Then, Gibson assumed the driving duties for the next 3 events, driving a BIGFOOT Truck he had never driven and sweeping all 3 races! Once Larry was released for duty, he raced in the remaining 13 events, and like the champion he is, ended with a whopping 11-2 racing record!

While the Toughest Monster Truck Tour is one of the most, if not THE most, competitive series in all of Monster Trucks, Dan, Josh, and Larry were able to put together a season to remember, taking the overall 2019 Toughest Monster Truck Tour Championship!

We would like to THANK everyone from BIGFOOT for all of the long hours and long days necessary to compete at this level, with a special shout-out to our shop and crew guys. To be able to put 3 guys in the same BIGFOOT truck and go 18-3 in racing and win the Championship says a LOT about the quality of your work. This is what being a team is all about!

2018 Jamboree Series Champs

September 17, 2018 (Pacific, MO) – In less than a year’s time, Christian Norman went from a new BIGFOOT driver to the 2018 4-Wheel Jamboree Racing Champion! Early in 2018, Christian was thrown straight into the big time, competing in Snake Bite in the highly competitive Toughest Monster Truck Tour against his teammate Larry Swim and other top monster truck drivers. His success there convinced us all that he could handle the fast-paced, all-outdoor 4-Wheel Jamboree series. And boy did he! Continue reading 2018 Jamboree Series Champs

2018 BIGFOOT Open House Recap

2018 BIGFOOT Open House Recap

Pacific, MO (June 5, 2018) – WOW – what a day! Where to start? The 2018 BIGFOOT Open House was, by far, our favorite Open House to host. We had Bob Chandler, Jim Kramer, Dan Runte, George Link, George Smith, Larry Swim, Ron Bachmann, Darron Schnell, AJ Straatmann, Gene Patterson, Colt Cobra, and even a rare appearance by Josh Gibson and Vinny Venom. It seemed like everywhere you went there were current or former BIGFOOT drivers happily signing autographs for all of our fans.

Darron and Rodney did a great job on their exhibition performances. The crowd was loud and appreciative. These guys do not often get the chance to perform in front of their families, friends, and even peers.

Rodney Tweedy put on a great exhibition for the fans.

The Old Skool Monster Truck Competition was so cool! It was like going back to the 80’s all over again. The excitement and enthusiasm these guys brought was second to none. Talk about a Never Give Up attitude – these guys did everything they could to get over the cars, putting on a very exciting show! We hope to be able to have them back in 2019. Thanks to Jeff Krekeler for putting it all together and jumping through a million hoops to get it done – great job and thanks! CLICK HERE for a video of the Old Skool racing.

The Old Skool trucks were a great throwback to the early 80s style of monster truck racing.

Old Skook Monster Truck Competition Roster:

Jeff Krekeler High Roller II
Alan Fenstermaker Earthquake
Jeffrey Fielding Old Red Truck
Roni Esparza One Bad Hombre
Heath Padgett BFT
Scotty Cruise Blaine Crusher

Special shout out to Dick Browning and Industrial Technologies for letting us stage in your parking lot!

We also got to see the former BIGFOOT Fastrax just hanging out. Great job Chandler Lloyd, and thanks for bringing it and spending time talking with everyone.

2018 Toughest Monster Truck Tour Champions – Larry Swim and BIGFOOT

2018 Toughest Monster Truck Tour Champions – Larry Swim and BIGFOOT

Pacific, MO (April 25, 2018) – To say that the road to the 2018 Toughest Monster Truck Tour Championship was not easy is an understatement. The season was long and hard, with 26 events over 12 Cities. It was tough on the drivers, the crews, the shop and the trucks!

The 2018 season started off in Rio Rancho, NM with not the greatest results for Team BIGFOOT. We fought king pin issues all Friday night and Saturday afternoon, but, amazing enough, still made it through the weekend. But at that point, we had dug ourselves into a hole, and with the competition at these events, that is a hard thing to come back from! At one point during the season, BIGFOOT was over 40 points behind Team DCT’s Quad Chaos. And anyone that follows the series knows they don’t call Aaron Cain “Big Air” for nothing! Continue reading 2018 Toughest Monster Truck Tour Champions – Larry Swim and BIGFOOT

BigFoot–2017 Bridgestone Winter Classic

2017 Bridgestone Winter Classic

January 9, 2017 (Pacific, MO) – What a way to bring in the New Year: St. Louis’ own BIGFOOT®, The Original Monster Truck®, was asked to display at the 2017 Bridgestone Winter Classic. And boy, did we jump at this opportunity! With the support of Bridgestone/Firestone and the National Hockey League, we were able to come up with an awesome design that fit this once in a lifetime event Continue reading BigFoot–2017 Bridgestone Winter Classic

BIGFOOT Sighting in the Middle East?

BIGFOOT Sighting in the Middle East?
Summit Racing and Harley-Davidson® Racers to Bring Special Guest for 2016’s “Operation Appreciation” Troop Visit

Written by David Fuller

Nov. 17, 2016 – Once a year since 2011, Operation Appreciation has brought a taste of home to American troops stationed overseas. Sponsored by Summit Racing and Armed Forces Entertainment, Operation Appreciation sends some of motorsports’ best drivers to talk racing and cars with our servicemen and women.
Click here for more.

Congratulations BigFoot!

Sept. 26, 2016 (Pacific, MO) – For the second year in a row, Larry Swim and the Summit Racing/Lucas Oil/Firestone BIGFOOT is your 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals Racing Champion! Just like every past year, the series was not decided until the final day. Larry Swim, Matt Dishman in Rammunition, and Vinny Venom in Snake Bite each had an equal chance. Venom was knocked out of contention when both Swim and Dishman made it to Round 2, which would be the round that would decide it all! The fierce competitors were pitted against each other AND tied in the Racing Points Standings at this point! Dishman and Rammunition went to the line pretty confident, as they had just won the previous 2 races, while Swim and BIGFOOT fought engine problems all day Saturday. Continue reading Congratulations BigFoot!

BIGFOOT Legend Jim Kramer Heads Towards Retirement

BIGFOOT Legend Jim Kramer
Heads Towards Retirement

May 31, 2016 (Pacific, MO) – Jim Kramer is not only a BIGFOOT® Legend, but a legend and pioneer for the whole sport of Monster Trucks. Bob Chandler often gets credited with starting the industry, but Jim Kramer was instrumental in moving the sport into what you see today – fast, high-flying, racing fun! And now an ERA is coming to an end – Jim is officially semi-retired. Continue reading BIGFOOT Legend Jim Kramer Heads Towards Retirement

Larry Swim & BIGFOOT – 2015 Jamboree Nationals Champions!

Larry Swim & BIGFOOT – 2015 Jamboree Nationals Champions!

September 24, 2015 (Pacific, MO) -What a weekend we had in Indianapolis! There were 3 points races at the Indianapolis 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals and there was a BIGFOOT® truck in each final. While we didn’t take a win, we had enough points and were consistent enough (as we had been throughout the series) all weekend to take the overall Jamboree Nationals Championship!
By Saturday afternoon, the points’ totals showed the series was down to Dan Runte with the Summit Racing/Odyssey Battery BIGFOOT and Larry Swim with the Lucas Oil/Firestone Tire BIGFOOT fighting for the title on Sunday. When the smoke settled and the racing was complete, Larry “Leadfoot” Swim was the 2015 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals Champion!

Congrats to Larry on his phenomenal consistency and approach to each and every race! Dan Runte was Larry’s closest competitor and finished in 2nd place. Rookie sensation Josh Gibson and the ’79 bodies retro BIGFOOT finished in 5th Place in his first ever point series!

We would like to thank all of our drivers, crew, and support staff for making this year’s Jamboree Series one of the best ever. We’d also like to thank all the great people with Family Events for putting on this series and giving us somewhere to race outdoors.

Additionally, we would like to congratulate former BIGFOOT/Snake Bite® Driver Gene Patterson on his induction to the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame.

BigFoot Racing–2015 4-Wheel Nationals

2015 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals –
Indianapolis, IN!

September 14, 2015 (St. Louis, MO) – The 2015 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals Point Race is near the end. This is one of the most important weekends for Team BIGFOOT as we are consistent contenders for the series Points Championship. This series has some of the best tracks, best trucks, and the most seasoned drivers. We never take this series lightly, and this year is no different. Continue reading BigFoot Racing–2015 4-Wheel Nationals

Team Bigfoot is Moving!

It’s Official – BIGFOOT 4X4, Inc. is moving to Pacific, Missouri!

July 8, 2015 (St. Louis, MO) -Tuesday, July 7, 2015 saw the Board of Aldermen of the City of Pacific grant final approval for the Conditional Use Permit to operate the World Headquarters of the Home of BIGFOOT® at 2286 Rose Lane in Pacific, MO.

Plans to move have been in the works for a while, but finally came to a head about 2 months ago when the Pacific property was stumbled across. The Hazelwood property hasn’t really fit for quite a while now. The 4-wheel-drive parts and service business were closed years ago. As a full-time BIGFOOT monster truck operation, more truck and tractor-trailer space, less office space, and space to expand was needed. The new property gives us all of that. Everyone here is very excited! Since BIGFOOT has been in the Hazelwood building for 31 years, there is a LOT of stuff to sort through and move.

The current plan is for the closing on both properties by the end of August. BIGFOOT then has 4 months to complete its move.

Although the new location does not have an actual “retail” department, fans will always be welcome to come by, pick up t-shirts, toys, and other great BIGFOOT stuff, see whatever trucks are in town, and, whenever possible, get a mini-tour of the new place!

Bigfoot News

BIGFOOT #11 & #22

June 18, 2015 (St. Louis, MO) – 2015 has not been the greatest year for our older BIGFOOT® Trucks. We’ve seen BIGFOOT #10 retired after a hard crash in Amarillo, TX in February, and now BIGFOOT #11 will also see the end of its service. After a nasty end-over-end crash in Springfield, IL this month, it is time to retire this chassis also. Most teams can’t say that they have gotten 23 years out of the same monster truck chassis!

It is a testament to our fist-class mechanics and drivers, both past and present, who have kept these trucks competitive for so long. Of course these great guys are always capable of rebuilding a crashed chassis. However, we believe that BIGFOOT #11, probably best known as “Wildfoot” from the 1993 Penda Point Series, when it was piloted by Andy Brass, has earned its retirement.

We are currently working with Rich Inman of Concussion Engineering to get the chassis for BIGFOOT #22 started so we can get it in-house and start the build process. With the success we have had with BIGFOOT #18 and BIGFOOT #21, we can’t wait to have another Concussion Chassis in our fleet.

Bigfoot Update–12 BIGFOOT Trucks at the Summit Racing Equipment Autorama!

12 BIGFOOT Trucks at the Summit Racing Equipment Autorama!

May 21, 2015 (St. Louis, MO) – Reflecting on the Summit Racing Equipment Autorama, now that we are finally back in the groove…what an awesome, crazy, rainy, successful weekend! It was the first time we had all 12 BIGFOOT® trucks in one location. Watching all 12 BIGFOOT haulers come through the tunnel and enter the infield of Atlanta Motor Speedway was incredible. It made us think of how truly lucky we are to have some of the best people in the industry working with us at BIGFOOT 4X4, Inc., both past and present! To think of how far we have come in 40 years is just amazing.

Once all the trucks were “tired-up,” we were offered the opportunity to bring all of them up on the track for some photo opportunities – staging them for different shots was crazy fun. It was really humbling just watching all of this happen (and to see Bob Chandler look like a kid in a candy store). We would like to thank Ted and all the guys at Atlanta Motor Speedway – what an awesome group of people!

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t the best, but people showed up anyway and the day just got better. We had Bob Chandler hanging out by BIGFOOT #1 visiting with fans – how awesome is that?! We crushed cars during the day with the Summit Racing Equipment BIGFOOT, Trick Flow BIGFOOT, and even the Firestone Tires BIGFOOT. We had large crowds and everyone was excited to watch the crushes and just to walk around and see that many trucks up close with all of the drivers available. Regrettably, the weather put a huge damper on Sunday, and the event was finally canceled in the afternoon. We would like to shout out a big THANK YOU to Jim Greenleaf and all of the guys of Summit Racing Equipment for making this happen – we could not have made this event happen without you!

Bigfoot–2015 Winter Champions!

2015 Winter Champions!

April 23, 2015 (St. Louis, MO) -As spring begins, we would like to congratulate the following for their first quarter accomplishments:

Dan Runte – Won his 4th consecutive Toughest Monster Truck Tour Championship
Larry Swim – Won the Monster X Tour Winter Nationals for the 2nd year in a row
Kevin Koszala – Monster Nationals Long Jump Champion
Josh Gibson – Monster Nationals Wheelie Champion

Rick Long, Darron Schnell, and JR Adams did a fantastic job of wheeling their respective BIGFOOT trucks this past winner. We would also like to Thank ALL of the guys that helped on the road: Ron Bachmann, Bryan Bertoletti, Jim Kramer, AJ Straatmann, JR Adams, and Bob Brown.

And, of course, NONE of this is possible without our great shop guys! Thanks for everything you’ve done for us: Bryan Bertoletti, John Peterson, AJ Straatmann, and Bob Brown.

We also want to send out a special shout-out to Nick Dvorchak and Rob Ross for keeping up with all the bodies and paint jobs and keeping our fleet of BIGFOOT trucks looking the best.

BIGFOOT 4X4, Inc. and The Toughest Monster Truck Tour “Light It Up Blue” in 2015!

BIGFOOT 4X4, Inc. and The Toughest Monster Truck Tour “Light It Up Blue” in 2015!

March 25, 2015 (Loveland, CO) -World Autism Awareness Day is Thursday, April 2, 2015, and BIGFOOT 4X4, Inc., creators of The Original Monster Truck® and the world’s first, and only, all battery-powered Monster Truck, will again “Light It Up Blue.” This year’s event takes place at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado just one day before the O’Reilly Auto Parts Toughest Monster Truck Tour brings three shows on Friday, April 3rd and Saturday, April 4th! The Toughest Monster Truck Tour will feature six monster trucks including the newest BIGFOOT, Over Bored, Wild Thang, Quad Chaos, Trouble Maker and Double Trouble, plus the transforming dinosaur robot, Megasaurus and the jet-powered smart car.

The “Light It Up Blue” autism-friendly event will take place in the parking lot and will feature veteran BIGFOOT driver Jim Kramer behind the wheel of BIGFOOT #20, crushing a car in the world’s first and only all-electric Monster Truck, powered solely by 36 car batteries.

BIGFOOT #20 offers spectators all the fun of a more traditional car crush, but fans can actually HEAR the metal crunch, as the truck is as quiet as a remote-controlled toy truck! And who else could bring you this type of entertainment but BIGFOOT, the brainchild of Bob Chandler, the originator of the entire monster truck craze.

Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the USA, affecting 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys. Autism costs a family more than $60,000 per year and the figures keep growing. Autism Speaks needs your help!

BigFoot Racing–Your 2014 Monster X Tour winner is … Larry Swim in BIGFOOT!!

Your 2014 Monster X Tour winner is … Larry Swim in BIGFOOT!!

December 19, 2014 (St. Louis, MO) – Larry Swim is your 2014 Monster X Tour Winner! It was a tough battle that was played out in 3 different parts of the country with 3 BIGFOOT drivers: Larry Swim in the West, Darron Schnell in the Midwest, and Kevin Koszala in the East. Continue reading BigFoot Racing–Your 2014 Monster X Tour winner is … Larry Swim in BIGFOOT!!

2014 BIGFOOT Open House and Spooktacular Event Wrap-up!

2014 BIGFOOT Open House and Spooktacular Event Wrap-up!

October 17, 2014 (St. Louis, MO) – The weather tried its best to put a damper on our 8th Annual Open House and BIGFOOT Spooktacular. With the help of the Kevin and Tammy Gundaker and their excellent staff at Tri-City Speedway and the WHOLE BIGFOOT crew, not only did we get past everything the weather threw at us, but we were able to put on a fantastic show!

The Open House went off without a flaw. We had 6 trucks including BIGFOOT #1 on display along with the “Land of the Giants” truck club, Bommarito of Hazelwood, Firestone Tires, the Southern Crush Mini Monster Truck, and Tim Dyson and his freestyle motorcycles.

There was a band playing throughout the day and we even had an appearance by Tess Boyer who appeared on “The Voice.” She even sang a few songs!

We had Trick or Treating, face painting, and a balloon clown…even some of the BIGFOOT drivers dressed up!

Not being able to use the track infield due to the days and days of rain, we built a track in the pit area by the parking lot and were able to have an ALL BIGFOOT Wheelie, Race, and Freestyle competition. Tim Dyson performed his crazy stunts and Pleasant Cook and her Southern Crush Mini Monster Truck did an exhibition.

Our Wheelie contest winner was BIGFOOT Rookie Driver Josh Gibson – that says a lot, considering he was competing with almost all of his teammates!

Racing winner was none other than veteran Driver Dan Runte, who took the win over that same Rookie, Josh Gibson.

Freestyle winner was Larry Swim, who just beat out Darron Schnell. I’m not sure anyone knew it, but Larry served double duty, as he drove both his Firestone BIGFOOT #19 AND Dan’s 25th Anniversary Summit Racing BIGFOOT #18 in the Freestyle competition!

GREAT show and GREAT job by everyone, but the overall winners where the fans! They saw an awesome show that even featured BIGFOOT #5, the 10′ Tire Truck, crushing cars – NOT something you see every day! AND the whole thing was FREE.

Larry Swim in Firestone BIGFOOT
We would like to give a special “Thank you” to the following:

– Kevin and Tammy Gundaker and the entire staff at Tri-City Speedway
– Bommarito of Hazelwood, with particular thanks to Kevin Hall, Jerry Eickel, and Julie Chandler
– Doc’s Harley Davidson, with particular thanks to Rich Blosser
– Vinyl Images, with particular thanks to John and Joe Duever and Destiney Conley
– Land of the Giants
– Southern Crush Mini Monster
– Announcer Dewain Hulett
– Doug Welker with Big Squid RC and Trigger King RC
– Tess Boyer
– Marty’s Used Cars
– Scott Air Force Base Color Guard, Vocalist, & Alan Rohlfing
– Firestone Experience, with particular thanks to Charlie, Dave, Kristin, and Anastasia
– Our Entire BIGFOOT Family

Big Foot Racing–Summit Racing and Harley-Davidson® Racers to Visit Troops in the Middle East for 2014’s “Operation Appreciation”

Summit Racing and Harley-Davidson® Racers to Visit Troops in the Middle East for 2014’s “Operation Appreciation”

September 11, 2014 (St. Louis, MO) – Summit Racing Equipment and Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) have announced the itinerary for 2014’s “Operation Appreciation,” the annual visit by Summit Racing and Harley-Davidson racers to American troops stationed overseas.
Continue reading Big Foot Racing–Summit Racing and Harley-Davidson® Racers to Visit Troops in the Middle East for 2014’s “Operation Appreciation”

Big Foot –Toughest Monster Truck


April 16, 2014 (KS – From the desk of Brian Manson) – Celebrating his 25th anniversary driving ‘The Original Monster Truck’®, Dan Runte can add another championship to his long list of accomplishments behind the wheel. He and the Summit Racing BIGFOOT won their 3rd consecutive title of ‘Toughest Monster Truck’; considered by many to be one of the most competitive circuits in the monster truck industry.

The championship comes from a combined schedule of events from the Toughest Monster Truck Tour and Monster Nation Tour which totaled 9 events and 21 performances from January to April. An innovative change to the points structure this year made it possible for nine trucks to compete fairly for the championship. “For 2014 we changed the points system to count each team’s 6 highest scores from the season, which rewarded consistency and gave more drivers a legitimate chance at winning,” noted event producer Brian Manson. “After each team posted 6 scores, the only way to gain more points was to improve on them. This forced each driver to give their best in each of our 3 competitions during each event and the real winner in the end was the fans”.

Bigfoot–Al Gharbia Extreme Sports Festival In Abu Dhabi A Huge Success!


April 14, 2014 (St. Louis, MO) – Abu Dhabi – United Arab Emirates – The Middle East.  Most people know this country for its amazing build-up of extravagant palm tree-shaped islands and tall skyscrapers (including the tallest building in the world) over the past few years.  However, they had never seen anything like what they what came through in late March of this year.  Team BIGFOOT and Monster Truck Promotions Australia performed in a series of motorsports events there and it was a huge success!  The shows featured freestyle motorcycles, monster trucks and some other exciting action.

Getting to the Middle East was quite the jaunt for the Australian-based monster trucks, including BIGFOOT.  Conside
ring the miles traveled for a series of shows in late 2013 all over Australia, plus the miles to ship the trucks to the Middle East and back, they logged over 16,000 miles in a very short time!  On top of this, the show organizers had to build a track and grandstands out of nothing but an arid, flat desert.  All the miles and preparation were well worth it as over 22,000 people attended the events!

Team BIGFOOT would like to thank Clive Featherby for the opportunity to bring BIGFOOT to Abu Dhabi, as well as the show organizers (Mohamad, Morgan and Basalm) and H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.  The events were a huge success and BIGFOOT hopes to return soon!

For more information on the BIGFOOT monster truck team, including a schedule of live events, multimedia downloads, up-to-date news, online store and more, visit their official site at Bigfoot4x4.com, or join us on Facebook.