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Backwards Bob was a 2008 Ford F-150 monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports. The truck has been known for having both the body and the tires mounted on the chassis in reverse, giving the illusion that the truck is driving backwards, hence the name. Since its debut in 2008, Backwards Bob was driven by various drivers over the course of it's career and has also been featured in various merchandise and as a playable truck in multiple Monster Jam video games.

History[]

Backwards Bob debuted on March 29th, 2008, as part of the Monster Jam World Finals IX encore driven by Monster Mutt and former Jersey Outlaw driver Mike Wine.

In 2009, The truck entered its first full year of competition and mainly competed on the west coast. Wine and the truck would get televised appearances in Anaheim and El Paso. Wine retired at year's end. The truck later competed in the European Tour under both George Balhan and Damon Bradshaw, running on the Air Force Afterburner chassis. Dustin Brown would temporarily take over the ride for the second and third Arnhem shows after George smashed his thumb from a hard landing.

In 2010, Backwards Bob competed exclusively in that year’s international tour. Dan Evans drove the truck in Costa Rica, while rookie driver Bari Musawwir drove the truck in Panama City, marking Bari's competition debut.

Backwards Bob would be campaigned exclusively on the Obsession chassis for select Monster Jam shows in California throughout the 2011 season, with Rick Swanson driving. Afterwards, Backwards Bob would be placed on hiatus.

In 2015, the truck returned to competition under Bryan Wright and Ryan Huffaker. At the time, the truck received an all-new Racesource chassis, until it would be destroyed in a trailer fire. As a result, a spare Backwards Bob body would be run on a spare PEI chassis for the remainder of the season, until a new Backwards Bob was built the following season.

In 2016, Wright left the team to rejoin Monster Trucks Unlimited. Kevin Crocker took over the driving duties following Wright’s departure. Both Crocker and Huffaker would share driving duties for the season, until the fourth quarter, when Huffaker retired from competition and Crocker began driving Monster Mutt. On December 10th, the truck made its final competition appearance in Montgomery, AL.

Events Competed[]

2008[]

  • World Finals 9, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 19 (Encore)

2009[]

  • Anaheim, CA, Jan 10
  • Tacoma, WA, Jan 16-18
  • Phoenix, AZ, Jan 24
  • Houston, TX, Jan 31
  • Denver, CO, Feb 7-8
  • Oklahoma City, OK, Feb 20-21
  • El Paso, TX, Mar 6-7
  • Chorzów, Poland, May 30
  • Cardiff, Wales, Jun 6
  • Arnhem, Holland, Sep 26-27
  • Barcelona, ES, Oct 24

2010[]

  • San Jose, Costa Rica, Apr 17
  • Panama City, Panama, May 29-30

2011[]

  • Anaheim, CA, Jan 29

2015[]

  • Miami, FL, Jan 3
  • Detroit, MI, Jan 10
  • Rochester, NY, Jan 16-18
  • Washington, DC, Jan 24-25
  • Houston, TX, Jan 31
  • Denver, CO, Feb 6-8
  • Pittsburgh, PA, Feb 13-15
  • Richmond, VA, Feb 20-21
  • Wilkes-Barre, PA, Feb 27-Mar 1
  • Toledo, OH, Mar 6-8
  • Lafayette, LA, Mar 13-15
  • World Finals 16, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 26-28 (Display Only)
  • Cedar Rapids, IA, Apr 11-12
  • Lincoln, NE, Apr 18-19
  • Moline, IL, May 16-17
  • Hagerstown, MD, Jul 17-19
  • Stafford Springs, CT, Jul 25-26

2016[]

  • Greensboro, NC, Jan 8-9
  • Little Rock, AR, Jan 15-16
  • Roanoke, VA, Jan 23-24
  • Greenville, SC, Jan 29-30
  • Hartford, CT, Feb 6-7
  • Pittsburgh, PA, Feb 12-14
  • Wilkes-Barre, PA, Feb 19-21
  • Lexington, KY, Feb 27
  • Florence, SC, Mar 4-5
  • Toledo, OH, Mar 4-6
  • World Finals 17, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 17-19 (Display Only)
  • Lafayette, LA, Apr 1-3
  • Lincoln, NE, Apr 15-16
  • Erie, PA, Apr 22-23
  • Manchester, NH, Apr 30-May 1
  • Salinas, CA, May 15
  • Myrtle Beach, SC, Jun 9-10
  • New Weston, OH, Aug 5-6
  • Corpus Christi, TX, Sep 24-25
  • Wichita Falls, TX, Oct 21-22
  • Cedar Rapids, IA, Oct 29-30
  • Rockford, IL, Nov 4-5
  • Jackson, MS, Nov 11-13
  • Montgomery, AL, Dec 9-10

World Finals appearances[]

  • 2008 - Mike Wine (encore only)
  • 2015 - none (Display only)
  • 2016 - none (Display only)

Video game appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • The name of the truck is a play on the haircut style of the same name.
  • Backwards Bob's debut at the World Finals IX encore would be omitted and censored from public viewing after the Spitfire truck it ran alongside received a lawsuit from an unknown party for its name. The encore has since only been viewable through fan recordings. However, some portions of FELD recordings have subtlety been used in public Monster Jam media, the most notable being the Inside Monster Jam podcast episode with Bari Musawwir, using high quality footage from the encore (seen at 16:14).
  • 10102110052

    Backwards Bob as featured in the 2012 and 2014 Monster Jam Souvenir Yearbooks, with the character "Bob" displayed as the driver

    Between 2011-14, Backwards Bob would still be featured in Monster Jam Souvenir Yearbooks, despite being placed on hiatus. For that occasion, the character featured on the truck, "Bob", was displayed as the driver.
  • Backward's Bob's backup chassis used throughout the 2015 season was the previous Northern Nightmare chassis, which had also suffered a fire.
  • For Hot Wheels releases, Backwards Bob featured both the body and tires facing the same way as the chassis. Despite this, the truck would be packaged backwards. This issue was fixed by Spin Master for their release of Backwards Bob in 2020.
  • After running Backwards Bob in 2011, Rick Swanson would keep the idea, and later created his own reverse truck, Wrongway Rick, in 2012.
  • As shown in both toys and video games, the tailgate of Backwards Bob showcased the phrase “Here I Come.” The phrase never appeared on the actual truck, as the tailgate was either nonexistent or transparent to improve the driver’s vision.
  • During the Monster Jam World Finals XVII Pit Party, FELD Motorsports CEO Kenneth Feld asked why Backwards Bob was facing the “wrong way.” He then instructed the event manager to park the truck “properly” after deeming the truck’s overall concept as “too silly.” To add to that, Backwards Bob was displayed away from the main pit party area.
  • In late 2023, monster truck fans found out that the Backwards Bob name had been renewed by FELD, but it is unlikely the truck will return due to Ken Feld's opinion about the truck.

Gallery[]

Main gallery[]

Merchandise Gallery[]

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