Monster Energy was a monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and sponsored by the energy drink of the same name, owned by the Monster Beverage Corporation. Since its debut in 2012, the truck was driven by several drivers over the course of it's career, with its primary drivers being Damon Bradshaw, Coty Saucier, Todd LeDuc, and Steven Sims. It was also a major staple in Monster Jam since it's debut, featuring two trucks with two different body styles, being a 2004 Cadillac Escalade and a 2008 Ford F-150, respectively. Monster Energy has also competed in every Monster Jam World Finals from its introduction up until it's retirement, and also won multiple championships over the course of its career.
History[]
Monster Energy was originally announced in late 2011 as one of several new trucks for the 2012 Monster Jam season, with Damon Bradshaw as the driver. The truck made its official debut on January 6, 2012 in Birmingham, Alabama. At the time of its debut, the truck was run on the previous U.S. Air Force Afterburner chassis, but would receive a new chassis several months after its debut. Dan Evans drove the truck in San Jose. Bradshaw and the truck would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIII. During said event, they would make it all the way to the championship race, but lost to Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction. They would later go on to score a 27 in freestyle, finishing in eighth place. Following the World Finals, Dan Evans would drive Monster Energy in Costa Rica, with Chuck Werner driving the truck in Mexico.
Throughout the 2013 season, Monster Energy would be campaigned on various chassis following Monster Jam World Finals XIV. It was first used on the Metal Mulisha chassis for events held in Abu Dhabi and Europe throughout the summer and fall. In October, the truck was run on the Northern Nightmare chassis, due to the former truck's chassis returning from competition in Mexico, where it was driven by George Balhan.
A second Monster Energy was added to the team for the 2014 season, with former crew chief Coty Saucier driving. In Atlanta, the truck got stuck on the bus & would be jumped over by Son Uva Digger. Saucier would be invited to compete in the Young Guns Shootout at Monster Jam World Finals XV, where he would make it all the way to the championship race, but lost to Mike Vaters II in Overkill Evolution. Meanwhile, Bradshaw competed in the main event, where he would be eliminated in round 2 of the racing competition by Lee O'Donnell in Iron Man, and finished twentieth in freestyle. That September, the truck was driven by Colton Eichelberger at his first Monster Jam event in Mexico City. The truck was also driven by Alx Danielsson as The Mauler for a Team Marvel vs Team Destruction event in Stockholm.
In 2015, Bradshaw competed in the inaugural Fox Sports 1 Championship Series, and Saucier competed in the inaugural More Monster Jam Series. Bradshaw would win two racing championships, and ultimately finished in the runner-up position, behind Neil Elliott in Max-D. As for Saucier, he would win six overall event championships during his series, and ultimately finish third in the standings. Bradshaw would be invited to compete in the main event at Monster Jam World Finals XVI, while Saucier would again compete in the Young Guns Shootout. Saucier would go on to win the Young Guns Shootout championship, defeating Colt Stephens in New Earth Authority and earning the thirty-second and final spot in the main field. Upon winning the event, Saucier received a brand-new body style for his Monster Energy, being a 2008 Ford F-150. During the main event, Saucier was disqualified in his semi-finals race against Ryan Anderson in Son-Uva Digger due to red-lighting, but finished sixth in freestyle. As for Bradshaw, he would be eliminated in round 3 of racing also by Anderson, and finished ninth in freestyle.
In 2016, Bradshaw would again compete in the Fox Sports 1 Championship Series, while Saucier would compete in the Monster Jam AMSOIL Series West. During his series, Bradshaw would win two racing championships, as well as two freestyle championships, and finished again in the runner-up position, behind Adam Anderson in Grave Digger. As for Saucier, he would win five overall event championships, and again finished third in the series standings. Both trucks would again be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVII, with Bradshaw finishing second in freestyle.
Monster Energy as a whole would receive a brand new paint scheme for the 2017 season. However, Bradshaw would retire from competition due to contract negotiations falling through at the last minute. He would eventually be replaced by Todd LeDuc, who competed in the FS1 Championship Series West. Carl Van Horn drove the truck in Anaheim. Both LeDuc and the truck would go on to win the series, receiving an automatic invitation to Monster Jam World Finals XVIII. Meanwhile, Saucier competed in Stadium Championship Series 3, winning two racing championships, two freestyle championships, and two overall event championships. He would ultimately finish in the runner-up position, behind Ryan Anderson in Son-Uva Digger, and would later be invited to compete in the World Finals. Following said event, the Monster Energy name was shelved from full-time competition following the introduction of Mutant Super Soda, which was created to advertise the new energy drink of the same name, also owned by Monster Beverage Corporation. Despite this, Monster Energy would be featured in select events in which Mutant Super Soda was not sold in.
Monster Energy continued to make select appearances throughout the 2018 season. LeDuc competed in the European Tour, while Saucier competed in the Australian Tour, as well as Costa Rica. A third Monster Energy would also be added to the team, being driven by Steven Sims as part of the South American tour. Meanwhile, all three drivers competed in select shows held throughout the United States.
Monster Energy returned to full-time competition in 2019 following the discontinuation of Mutant Super Soda, with LeDuc competing in Stadium Championship Series 3 and Saucier competing in the Triple Threat Series Central. LeDuc would go on to win his series, receiving an automatic invitation to Monster Jam World Finals XX. He would also be invited to compete in the inaugural high jump competition. Meanwhile, Saucier would win an overall event championship in Newark, and ultimately finished fourth in the series standings. Despite not being invited to compete in the World Finals, Saucier would be invited to compete in the inaugural All-Star Challenge - along with LeDuc - in October, where both drivers were drafted into Team Ice. During the event, Saucier would go on to win the Las Vegas Style racing championship. Meanwhile, Sims would drive exclusively in the International tour, with Taka Higashino driving the truck in Tokyo.
In 2020, LeDuc competed in Stadium Championship Series Red, while Saucier competed in Stadium Championship Series Yellow. LeDuc would go on to win his series, while Saucier would finish fourth in the series standings. Meanwhile, Sims would fill in for Saucier in the series' Anaheim shows, and was originally slated to compete in the International Tour. However, the entire Monster Jam season was put on hold in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which eventually resulted in both him and Saucier being furloughed by FELD Entertainment due to budget cuts as a result of the pandemic. LeDuc would continue to drive Monster Energy, and would later unsuccessfully attempt the first-ever double forward momentum backflip as part of Monster Jam Breaking World Records, and would also drive the truck at Monster Jam's return event in Arlington in October. The Ford version of Monster Energy would be retired during the hiatus and Coty would instead drive Fast Metal as the teammate to John Gordon's Bad Company the following year.
In 2021, LeDuc and Monster Energy competed in the Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series. During the series, they would win two racing championships, one Skills Challenge championship, three freestyle championships, and three overall event championships. They would ultimately finish in the runner-up position in the standings, behind Ryan Anderson in Bakugan Dragonoid. That year also marked Monster Energy's final year of competition, as the sponsorship contract would not be renewed for 2022. Its final show would occur in Houston of that year. The truck would ultimately be retired as LeDuc would return to driving Blue Thunder, and Saucier moved to Dragon. There are no plans of the truck returning.
World Finals Appearances[]
| Year | Driver (Competitions) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Damon Bradshaw |
| 2013 | Damon Bradshaw |
| 2014 | Damon Bradshaw Coty Saucier (Young Guns Shootout only) |
| 2015 | Damon Bradshaw Coty Saucier (Young Guns Shootout + main field) |
| 2016 | Damon Bradshaw Coty Saucier |
| 2017 | Todd LeDuc Coty Saucier |
| 2019 | Todd LeDuc (main field & high jump only) |
All-Star Challenge Appearances[]
| Year | Truck (Team) |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Todd LeDuc (Team Ice) Coty Saucier (Team Ice) |
Trivia[]
- Despite its popularity, Monster Energy was never made into an official diecast toy by Hot Wheels or Spin Master, due to the fact that FELD Motorsports did not want to advertise an energy drink to younger audiences.
- As of 2021, Monster Energy was the only truck to have two different trucks competing with different body styles.
- Monster Energy is the only truck to have been the runner up of the Monster Jam World Finals Young Guns Shootout one year and then win said event the following year.
- There was a third body style, that was used by Coty Saucier at just one event back in 2014, before the existence of the F-150 body style, as a backup to the Escalade body style which was too damaged for the event.
- Monster Energy is the only truck to attempt the double forward momentum backflip.
- YouTube gained some minor controversy after several amateur videos of Monster Energy freestyles were muted for copyright reasons due to the song that was playing during Monster Energy freestyles, ''TNT'' by AC/DC.
Gallery[]
Todd LeDuc[]
.jpg "MJ BirdsNest (2).jpg (193 KB)")
Coty Saucier[]
.jpg "MJAT cards MonsterEnergy(1).jpg (320 KB)")
Steven Sims[]
Damon Bradshaw[]
