Bustin' Loose is a Chevrolet monster truck owned and driven by Ron Nelson out of Conroe, Texas.
History[]
It ran from 1996-2005 and again from 2016 to the present. The initial build was a former King Krunch chassis, specifically the display truck from the early 1990's, modified into a race truck. It was formerly known as Texas Longhorn and Bowtie Bandit, but the name "Bustin' Loose" was chosen after a contest to rename the truck was held. The truck underwent multiple paint jobs during its initial tenure, sometimes changing multiple times per year, but it was always purple and green in some form or fashion. The truck would add orange to its paint scheme in late 1999, which is the look that it is perhaps best known for. In 2002, it received a new, smaller body with the same previous paint job. It would keep this same body until 2016. The truck is probably most known for its crash during the 1999 St. Louis episode of Motor Madness, where Nelson drove on two wheels across the floor in an attempt to save the truck, before ultimately crashing. It also won multiple freestyle competitions in the Astrodome, the first of which is one of the lowest winning scores at a major stadium event, being a 19. Some say Reptoid was the winner & that would've given him the double down, which likely wasn't a term used at the time. In 2004, the truck ran as Predator. The truck was officially retired in 2005, however in 2015, there was rumor that Nelson would begin construction on a brand new Bustin' Loose. Sure enough, the truck officially re-debuted with a partially rebuilt chassis. This time, the paint design was very different from before, now more of a western themed truck rather than a "paint splatter" design like before (though it ran with the "paint splatter" design briefly in 2015). Since 2018, it also runs as Dirt Eater and has had yet another chassis rebuild. So far, both Bustin' Loose and Dirt Eater have yet to make a Monster Jam debut/return. Nelson has also driven the Bustin' Loose truck under various Allen Pezo-owned identities, such as Prowler.
World Finals appearances[]
- 1999 - Ron Nelson
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- The bull rider on the side of the truck is actually Ron Nelson.
Gallery[]
