Northern Nightmare

Northern Nightmare is a 2008 Ford F-150 monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and was driven by Cam McQueen out of Calgary, Alberta between 2011-2019. Since the truck's creation as part of a truck-naming contest in 2011, Northern Nightmare competed exclusively in Monster Jam events held across Canada year-round, specifically in the Maple Leaf Monster Jam Tour, which was held from 2012-16. The truck had also competed in select events across the United States, including seven Monster Jam World Finals events and the inaugural Monster Jam All-Star Challenge.

History[]

Northern Nightmare was originally announced in 2011 without a name. As a result, a fan vote was hosted, titled “Name the Canuck Monster Jam Truck”, which allowed exclusively Canadian fans to create and later choose the truck's name. In the end, Northern Nightmare would end up as the winning name, and the truck was first unveiled to the public on November 30, 2011, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, with Cam McQueen as the driver.

Northern Nightmare entered its first year of competition in 2012, competing exclusively in the inaugural Maple Leaf Monster Jam Tour, which held events exclusively in Canada. Both McQueen and the truck would be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIII, where they would win the freestyle championship with a score of 38.

Northern Nightmare began competing in select events across the United States throughout the 2014 season. McQueen and the truck would be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XV, where they would make history by unsuccessfully attempting the world’s first reverse backflip in a monster truck. After landing on the roof, McQueen attempted to recover the truck, resulting in the truck’s fuel pump breaking and engulfing the truck in flames. Northern Nightmare would receive a new chassis afterward, and would also compete in that year’s Path of Destruction tour in June.

In 2015, a second Northern Nightmare would be exclusively featured for a show in Ontario, being driven by Steven Thompson on the Hurricane Force chassis. In the year following, McQueen and Northern Nightmare would be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVII. There, they would successfully attempt the first corkscrew in competition.

In 2017, Northern Nightmare competed in Monster Jam Arena Championship Series 4, finishing in the runner-up position behind Randy Brown in Grave Digger. McQueen and the truck would be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVIII, where they would successfully attempt the corkscrew again.

In 2018, Northern Nightmare competed in the Monster Jam Arena Championship Series and would win said series, resulting in both McQueen and the truck receiving an automatic invitation to Monster Jam World Finals XIX. Dustin Brown drives the truck in Wichita.

In 2019, Northern Nightmare would compete exclusively in select events throughout Canada. Despite not being invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XX, McQueen and the truck would be invited to compete at its last event at the inaugural Monster Jam All-Star Challenge in Las Vegas, where they would be drafted into Team Ice.

Northern Nightmare was originally slated to compete in the 2020 International Tour the following year. However, the tour would be canceled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the entire 2020 Monster Jam season prematurely ending in March.

McQueen would retire in 2021, retiring the truck as well.

In 2024, the truck would make a surprise one-off return in Detroit, driven by Chris Koehler. The reason why the truck returned was to keep the trademark active. Chris would win freestyle at show 1. The truck will likely return in the future for certain shows. It is unknown if Chris will drive the truck again.

Events competed[]

2011[]

Toronto, ON, Nov 30 (Display)

2012[]

Birmingham, AL, Jan 6-7
London, ON, Jan 14-15
Toronto, ON, Jan 21-22
Washington, DC, Jan 27-29
Vancouver, BC, Feb 4
Edmonton, AB, Feb 10-11
Albuquerque, NM, Feb 17-19
Salt Lake City, UT, Feb 24-25
Wichita Falls, TX, Mar 2-3
Winnipeg, MB, Mar 10-11
World Finals 13, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 23-24
Halifax, NS, June 2-3
Bangor, ME, June 8
Calgary, AB, Aug 25
Minneapolis, MN, Dec 1

2013[]

Rochester, NY, Jan 4-6
Detroit, MI, Jan 12
Toronto, ON, Jan 19-20
Vancouver, BC, Jan 26
Fargo, ND, Feb 1-2
Edmonton, AB, Feb 9-10
London, ON, Feb 16-17
Winnipeg, MB, Feb 23-24
Chattanooga, TN, Mar 1-2
Nampa, ID, Mar 8-9
World Finals 14, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 22-23
Hamilton, ON, Apr 6-7
Halifax, NS, Jun 1-2
Bangor, ME, Jun 7-9
Calgary, AB, Sept 14-15

2014[]

Tacoma, WA, Jan 3-5
Detroit, MI, Jan 11
Toronto, ON, Jan 18-19
Anaheim, CA, Jan 25
Vancouver, BC, Feb 1
Edmonton, AB, Feb 8-9
Winnipeg, MB, Feb 15-16
Saginaw, MI, Feb 21-22
Detroit, MI, Mar 1
London, ON, Mar 8-10
World Finals 15, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 20-22
Hamilton, ON, Apr 5-6
Halifax, NS, May 31-Jun 1
East Rutherford, NJ, Jun 14
Foxborough, MA, Jun 21
Stafford Springs, CT, Jul 26-27
Calgary, AB, Sept 13-14
Knoxville, TN, Sept 19-20

2015[]

Manchester, NH, Jan 2-3
Detroit, MI, Jan 10
Toronto, ON, Jan 17-18
Phoenix, AZ, Jan 24
Fargo, ND, Jan 30-31
Edmonton, AB, Feb 7-8
Portland, OR, Feb 14-15
Winnipeg, MB, Feb 21-22
Vancouver, BC, Feb 28
London, ON, Mar 7-8 (2 trucks)
Allentown, PA, Mar 13-15
World Finals 16, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 26-28
Rockford, IL, Apr 10-11
Hamilton, ON, Apr 25-26
Halifax, NS, May 30-31
Calgary, AB, Sept 12-13

2016[]

Toronto, ON, Jan 16-17
Rochester, NY, Jan 22-24
Winnipeg, MB, Jan 30-31
Edmonton, AB, Feb 6-7
Memphis, TN, Feb 12-13
Richmond, VA, Feb 19-20
London, ON, Feb 27-28
Bridgeport, CT, Mar 4
World Finals 17, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 17-19
Hamilton, ON, Apr 23-24
Manchester, NH, Apr 30-May 1
Halifax, NS, May 28-29
Bangor, ME, June 3-5
Calgary, AB, Sept 17-18
Glendale, AZ, Oct 8

2017[]

Des Moines, IA, Jan 6-7
Fargo, ND, Jan 14-15
Sioux Falls, SD, Jan 20
Winnipeg, MB, Jan 28-29
Edmonton, AB, Feb 4-5
London, ON, Feb 11-12
Memphis, TN, Feb 17-18
Hildalgo, TX, Feb 24-26
Biloxi, MS, Mar 4-5
Pensacola, FL, Mar 11-12
World Finals 18, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 23-25
Halifax, NS, May 27-28
Calgary, AB, Sept 9-10

2018[]

Charlotte, NC, Jan 5-7
Albany, NY, Jan 13-14
Southaven, MS, Jan 20-21
Greenville, SC, Jan 26-27
Columbia, SC, Feb 2-3
Wichita, KS, Feb 10-11
Hidalgo, TX, Feb 23-25
Tupelo, MS, Mar 2-3
Pensacola, FL, Mar 10-11
Toledo, OH, Mar 16-18
World Finals 19, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 23-24
London, ON, Oct 27-28
Winnipeg, MB, Dec 1-2

2019[]

Vancouver, BC, Mar 8-10
Calgary, AB, Sept 7-8
All-Star Challenge, Las Vegas, NV, Oct 11-12

2024[]

Detroit, MI: Feb 24 & 25

World Finals appearances[]

2012 - Cam McQueen (won freestyle)
2013 - Cam McQueen
2014 - Cam McQueen
2015 - Cam McQueen
2016 - Cam McQueen
2017 - Cam McQueen
2018 - Cam McQueen (last appearance)

All-Star Challenge appearances[]

2019- Cam McQueen (Team Ice) (Last show for the truck until Detroit 2024)

Video game appearances[]

Trivia[]

Additional entries for the contest included Canuck Crusher, Northern Lights Out, and Canuck Chaos. The winning name was submitted by fan Greg Duclos out of Thornhill, Ontario.
Northern Nightmare traditionally ran a hockey stick on the back of the truck as a flagpole at every World Finals event. A hockey puck was also featured on the front of the truck.
The original Northern Nightmare chassis, which was originally Nitro Circus and Pastrana 199, had an extra passenger seat behind the driver’s seat. This was due to the original trucks being used for the VIP driving experience at previous World Finals in which they competed.
Northern Nightmare’s original chassis later served as a spare chassis for Backwards Bob in 2015, after said truck's original chassis was destroyed in a hauler fire.
Northern Nightmare was originally slated to return to competition exclusively at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario on October 2-3, 2021. However, said event would be canceled due to capacity restrictions imposed by authorities in Canada as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Had the event happened, the truck would have been driven by Cynthia Gauthier. McQueen was originally slated to drive the truck, but was replaced by Gauthier after contracting COVID-19, resulting in him being unable to compete.
Northern Nightmare was the only F-150 model truck to have both a roof visor and roof racerback (commonly present on Ford Super Duty model trucks, most notably on Stone Crusher and the Built Ford Tough Blue Thunder). Neither of these additions have been implemented on the truck's diecast releases.