Identity Theft is a Chevrolet Panel Van monster truck from Straight Up Racing, currently driven by Myles Parker. The truck is a parody of Grave Digger, hence the name 'Identity Theft'.
History[]
The truck debuted in 2014 and it also ran as Jail Break in 2016. The truck's name was inspired by the 2013 comedy film "Identity Theft". A ride version of the truck, was built in 2020 and a second was built for the All Star Monster Truck Tour. The truck usually goes second-to-last in freestyle at all Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour shows, performing a tandem freestyle with Rockstar when possible. In 2023, the truck got a new Safety Kleen sponsored paint scheme.
Creation and controversy[]
Bill Payne (owner) has strongly emphasized that the truck is solely a parody and not a knock off of Grave Digger: however, this didn't prevent controversy. As the design was being constructed, Payne became concerned that the truck was actually going to look too similar to Grave Digger, possibly triggering lawsuits. He contacted a Keith Speller from Monster Jam and sent him photos of the truck performing test runs. Sure enough, Speller informed him that the truck was too similar and required changes to the truck. Because it took a while for Payne and Speller to reach an agreement, they decided to run the truck for the first few shows without the body at all, as Rage in a Cage, until an agreement was made to remove the green vapors and flames on the hood and replace them with purple ones. Despite this, there were shows that featured the green variant. While Payne's other trucks, like California Kid and Rockstar took a year to build due to their designs made from scratch, Identity Theft took 40 days to be built. In response to the controversy surrounding the truck, Payne decided to have a bit more fun by putting out a fake announcement that the truck would be converted to a new truck called "Fauxhawk Warrior". This ended up boosting the team's Facebook account by 1,000 likes. Payne announced later it was a joke and would actually be Jail Break. They've also teased about a truck called "Big Fraud" being considered.
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- The truck’s nickname is “The Black and Green Destruction Machine” which is a parody on Grave Digger’s nickname “The Black and Green Wrecking Machine”.
- The truck uses an old Grave Digger body mold.
Gallery[]
