Sudden Impact is a custom off-road bodied monster truck owned by the eponymous racing team out of Jefferson, Louisiana. Originally created by Tom Beitz out of Catawissa, Pennsylvania in 1991, the truck was a staple of Monster Jam throughout the early 2000's and was even a competitor of four Monster Jam World Finals from 2000-03. In 2004, the entire operation was sold to Brandon Lagarde, who owns it to this day. Since then, Sudden Impact has been driven by various drivers, with its most recent being Roddy Fahnestock. Since 2016, the truck and team have been on hiatus, it is currently unknown if they will return.
History[]
Sudden Impact was originally created in late 1990 by Tom Beitz out of Catawissa, Pennsylvania. At the time of its creation, the truck originally ran a red paint scheme. It was purchased in 1992 by John Seasock, who ran it until 1995.
Four years later, John would purchase Storm Warning, and briefly run it with its leaf spring configuration before converting it to nitrogen long travel shocks and later coil over shocks. It was the first incarnation of the truck’s blue paint scheme.
In 1999, Seasock would acquire the Liquidator chassis from Robert Fischer, converting it into the third Sudden Impact. In the year following, Sudden Impact would be one of sixteen trucks invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals I.
In 2002, Sudden Impact debuted a new paint scheme. This scheme featured a white gradient on the front of the truck, and the logo was given the appearance of tearing through the truck’s body. A checkered flag pattern was also added to the lower side panels. Seasock and the truck would be invited to compete in the World Finals in both 2002 and 2003, with the latter being the truck’s final World Finals appearance to date.
In 2004, Sudden Impact would debut a brand-new design, based on a Traxxas T-Maxx. In the following year, Seasock would sell the entire operation to Brandon Lagarde, before becoming the driver of the Traxxas T-Maxx. Following the purchase, Legarde would debut a new Sudden Impact, featuring an updated design and running on the former Wild Child chassis as well as the former Nitro Fish chassis the following year. The previous chassis would be converted into Kicker.
In 2007, Lyle Hancock would briefly return to driving in Israel driving Sudden Impact. Also in 2007, Fletcher Lewis drove the truck for certain events.
In 2008, Sudden Impact would campaign a matte black paint scheme for the start of the season. An all-new design would be unveiled later that year. Kevin King would drive the truck for a brief period, which was also when the truck began running blue tires for select shows. Jon Zimmer would also drive the truck that year, as well as the year following. Other drivers who drove the truck around that time included Ben Winslow and Sean Duhon, who campaigned the name on the Cult Energy Activator chassis during the Domination at the Dome event in Pontiac.
In 2012, Sudden Impact debuted a brand-new design. The truck would continue to run under various drivers including Robert Parker and Steven Hill until 2014, when Roddy Fahnestock took over the driving duties for the time being. The following year, Sudden Impact received an updated design, featuring a new Offroad RC body style with the previous paint scheme. Chad Poston drives the truck in Amite 2015.
Beginning in 2016, Sudden Impact Racing would go on hiatus for multiple reasons, mainly financial issues. Since then, Sudden Impact would be absent from competition but would be used in exhibitions, including a mud-bogging event in 2018.
In 2020, the third Sudden Impact chassis (which was formerly Liquidator) would be reacquired by the Seasock family, who are currently refurbishing the chassis for return to competition use. The truck will be rebranded as Violent Impact but as of 2023, the truck has yet to be completed as Kyle turned his main focus on other work.
In 2023, another chassis would be sold to Chris Whatley, who would convert the truck into the current Mississippi Nightmare.
World Finals appearances[]
- 2000 - John Seasock
- 2001 - John Seasock
- 2002 - John Seasock
- 2003 - John Seasock
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Sudden Impact's freestyle from Monster Jam World Finals II was removed from home releases of the event along with The Destroyer, due to the runs being too short.
- Sudden Impact was involved in an infamous error with the "Hot Wheels Then and Now" packs in 2012. Instead of being released alongside the original version of John Seasock's truck, it was released alongside the unrelated Sudden Impact (Piontek).
Gallery[]
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