Ragin' Steel

Ragin' Steel was a Chevrolet Silverado monster truck owned by Clear Channel Entertainment that ran from 2001-2004. Multiple drivers drove the truck during its competition run, including then-current and future Grave Digger drivers like Gary Porter and Chad Tingler, but the truck is best known for running as a teammate to Scott Hartsock with Steve Reynolds behind the wheel. It was the first intellectual property Monster Jam created for a truck that wasn't related to a sponsorship.

Ragin' Steel's most iconic performance came when Pablo Huffaker drove it in place of his crashed Blacksmith during freestyle at Monster Jam World Finals 2. Huffaker only made a few hits before popping both left tires, then literally climbing up and crushing Sting (which Tony Farrell had parked in the corner of the stadium earlier that night).

Hot Wheels released a 1/64 diecast of the truck in their 2010 Monster Jam toy line. The following year, the trademark for the name would be cancelled and it has been inactive ever since.

History[]

In 2001, Ragin' Steel debuted driven by the aforementioned Porter and Gary Wiggins, as the touring partner to Porter's Grave Digger 12. Wiggins was the primary driver of the truck, which also functioned as the Rolling Billboard (with its performances as Orlando Rage (Orlando) and 98 Rock (Tampa), for example). Ragin' Steel appeared at the TNN-televised Jacksonville event with Porter at the controls. At the World Finals, the truck served as a fill-in for Pablo Huffaker (see above). Rookie Brandon Harrington took over the truck's driving duties for the summer of 2001. Ragin' Steel also ran in Springfield (IL) 2001 with an unknown driver (Huffaker was the Grave Digger at this event), which is assumed to also be Harrington at this time. Pictures from this event are in the gallery on this page.

In late August 2001, after Harrington's last recorded event with the truck in Miami, the Ragin' Steel truck made another Rolling Billboard appearance at a press conference in Salt Lake City announcing Karl Malone's new Power Forward monster truck. Chad Fortune was officially picked to be the truck's driver. Later that year, Fortune competed in Ragin' Steel in what may be the truck's last competition on an in-house Monster Jam chassis, Richmond 2001 (fall).

In the last weeks of 2001, Reynolds started running the body on the chassis that had ran as Wrenchead.com 2 the season prior, under Scott Hartsock's ownership. Reynolds continued to drive this truck through 2003, earning his breakthrough stadium racing victory in Atlanta's Georgia Dome early in the season. Another Hartsock protégé, Joe Peterson, drove the truck in Columbia 2003. Ron Cochran piloted Ragin' Steel in that year's summer stretch, including during the truck's first SPEED Channel appearance in West Lebanon.

In 2004, Hartsock's team ran an Obsession body. The Ragin' Steel identity went to Brian Barthel's team; Chad Tingler drove the truck in his first full-time season, touring with Barthel's Little Tiger. The truck debuts a darker and more metallic paint scheme. Ragin' Steel's last performance was at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN on December 4, 2004, with Troy DuBose (touring with Barthel). The truck was replaced by Total Chaos in 2005.

In 2010, the truck was released in diecast form.

In 2022, the truck's name would be bought by Race Ace driver Eric Steinburg.

Trucks run as Ragin' Steel[]

Rolling billboard[]

In 2001, Ragin' Steel was nicknamed by employees as the Rolling Billboard. At many shows, the Ragin' Steel body would be replaced by one representing a local sponsor for that single event, due to the truck not having a full-time sponsorship.