Storm Damage is a Chevrolet K10 monster truck owned and driven by CJ Mente, of Natural Disaster Racing out of Bethesda, Maryland. It was formerly owned by Tim Mente from 2006 - 2023. He also drove the truck for several years. Since its debut in 2006, Mente has served as the primary driver of the truck, but other drivers have driven it for select shows, including John Killenger and Richie Yatsko. Storm Damage has also become a staple of multiple leagues, including Monster Jam, where it has also competed under various identities, such as Zombie.
History[]
Storm Damage debuted in 2006 on the original Taurus chassis with Tim Mente behind the wheel. At the time of its debut, the truck originally featured a red paint scheme with green lettering, which would later be changed to blue & orange. The following year, the truck would begin competing in additional leagues, such as Monster Truck Mania and Monster Jam. It would also begin running orange beadlocks.
Storm Damage received a brand-new design for the 2010 season, as well as a new chassis. The previous chassis would be used one last time in a encore at Thompson Speedway against the newer one before later being converted into the truck's new teammate, Hurricane Force.
In 2012, Storm Damage debuted another new design, this time featuring a tornado character along with trees being struck behind it on the side panels. It would also receive yet another new chassis, with the previous one being used as Hurricane Force’s new chassis. In Evansville, Rich Hilgendorf drove the truck.
In 2015, Storm Damage would run a one-off design as a sponsorship for Pighole BBQ. A brand-new design debuted the following year, this time being a green and white 1985 Chevrolet K10.
In 2017, Storm Damage competed in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 4. It was at this time in which John Killenger began driving the truck, sharing the driving duties with Mente. Another driver, Travis Mowery, would begin driving the truck late in the summer. That December, the truck would be shipped overseas to Brazil to run as New Earth Authority for Monster Jam’s inaugural event in Sao Paulo.
In 2018, Storm Damage would run as Zombie for Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 3 with Mowery driving. The truck would also debut a new design in the summer, which was reminiscent of the paint scheme from 2012-15 However, said design would only run in select events outside of the Monster Jam circuit that year. Meanwhile, the truck would begin running on the second Hurricane Force chassis, as said truck debuted a new chassis in the summer. The truck’s previous chassis would be used as a backup truck for the time being. The updated chassis would be used to run Mowery’s own identity, Extreme Attitude, for a show at Larry King Law's Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia. Afterward, Mowery would leave Natural Disaster Racing to go crew for TK Motorsports for the 2019 season. Paul Strong would take over the driving duties for the remainder of the season.
In 2019, Storm Damage ran as Zombie Fire for Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 2 with Strong behind the wheel. Meanwhile, the original chassis would be shipped overseas to run as Pirate’s Curse for Monster Jam’s international tour. Strong would leave Natural Disaster Racing by the end of the first quarter, and Killenger would return to driving the truck for the remainder of the summer. In the fall, the truck would run a reused Student Driver body, albeit with all traffic signs being replaced with scattered construction and freeway barriers, for the remainder of the season, as Richie Yatsko assumed the driving duties.
In 2020, Yatsko would run the truck in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series Yellow, again campaigning as Zombie. The previous chassis from 2012-18 would resume competition in select events, such as a Monsters of Destruction event and a single Monster Jam arena event, with Barbarian driver Devin Jones driving. After the entire Monster Jam season abruptly ended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Storm Damage competed in select events throughout the remainder of the season, while also debuting a new design later in the fall, being a dual-sided red-blue paint scheme.
Storm Damage would debut yet another new design in 2021, this time being a retro paint scheme on a 1977 Chevrolet K10 along with the Chevrolet Trucks slogan "The Heart Beat of America" being placed on the hood. It would also resume using its previous chassis, as its other chassis was sold to Donny Hebert, where it would be converted into Tank and later Tyrone the Terrible. It would also run the previous body on and off in various events throughout the summer, but would return to using its current design in October. Tim Mente's son CJ starts driving the truck. CJ & Tim both drove in Hagerstown in 2022. Tim Mente would unfortunately pass away on April 9th, 2023. It is currently unknown what will happen to the truck. CJ would announce a new Suburban body for the truck shortly thereafter.
Trivia[]
From late 2008 up until receiving its redesign in 2010, Storm Damage occasionally ran a slogan on the rear side panels, which said "Who says money doesn't grow on trees!?" This was done in reference to Tim Mente's career outside of monster trucks as a tree surgeon.
To add to that, Mente's tree care business would occasionally be displayed on Storm Damage's side panels as a sponsorship.
The paint scheme used by Storm Damage in 2012 was hand-painted by Trey Myers.
The 2009 Hot Wheels 1:43 scale Rev Tredz release of Storm Damage erroneously featured the truck using a Ford F-150 body style.
The team's website is stormdamageracing.com, but the site doesn't work anymore. It hasn't been updated since 2016.
Gallery[]
The original Storm Damage, circa 2006.
Storm Damage, circa 2006-10.
The second Storm Damage with the first Storm Damage.
Storm Damage, circa 2010-12.
Storm Damage, circa 2012-15.
Pighole BBQ-sponsored Storm Damage, circa 2015.
Storm Damage, circa 2015.
Storm Damage, circa 2016.
Storm Damage in Arlington, circa 2016.
Storm Damage on the original chassis, circa 2018.
Storm Damage on the updated chassis, circa late 2018.
The secondary Storm Damage paint scheme, circa late 2018.
Storm Damage, circa July 2019.
Storm Damage's temporary design on the Student Driver body, circa fall 2019.
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