Lucas Oil Crusader (also called simply Crusader) was a Cadillac Escalade monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and sponsored by Lucas Oil Products, Inc. It was driven by Linsey Weenk. Throughout the course of its career, Lucas Oil Crusader competed in every Monster Jam World Finals from its debut in 2011, and became a major staple in Monster Jam up until its retirement by the end of 2020.
History[]
Lucas Oil Crusader was originally created by the end of the 2010 Monster Jam season, with former Blue Thunder driver Linsey Weenk being announced as the driver. The truck would later enter competition beginning the following year on January 8 in Houston. Weenk and the truck would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XII. Later, by the end of the season, Lucas Oil Crusader began campaigning red beadlocks, which were first used on December 10 in Minneapolis.
In 2015, Lucas Oil Crusader was announced as one of sixteen trucks to compete in the inaugural Fox Sports 1 Championship Series. Weenk and the truck would win multiple competitions throughout the series, including three racing championships, two freestyle championships, and one obstacle course championship. Weenk and the truck would go on to finish sixth in the series standings. Lucas Oil Crusader would again compete in the series in 2016, but would suffer from multiple setbacks that season.
In 2017, Lucas Oil Crusader competed in the FS1 Championship Series East. In Arlington, the truck crashed racing Gas Monkey Garage & ended up by the backflip ramp after crashing into the dumpsters. The truck would've landed on the seats if the dumpsters weren't there. Weenk and the truck would go on to win the series, being automatically invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVIII. Lucas Oil Crusader received a new chassis the following season, and competed in Stadium Championship Series 3. During the series, Weenk and the truck would win the freestyle championship in St. Louis, and finished sixth in the standings. They would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIX. In 2019, Lucas Oil Crusader competed in Stadium Championship Series 3, finishing fifth in the series standings.
2020 marked Lucas Oil Crusader’s final year of competition. For that season, Weenk and the truck competed in Stadium Championship Series Red. During the series, Weenk would suffer an injury following the series’ Indianapolis events, resulting in Marc McDonald filling in for him in Minneapolis and Atlanta, where he would win the racing competition. After the series abruptly ended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucas Oil Crusader was placed into hiatus due to budget cuts by FELD Entertainment as a result of the pandemic. The truck would later briefly return to competition at Monster Jam’s return event in Arlington in October. This would also be its final show, as the truck was ultimately retired afterwards.
World Finals appearances[]
- 2011 - Linsey Weenk
- 2012 - Linsey Weenk
- 2013 - Linsey Weenk
- 2014 - Linsey Weenk
- 2015 - Linsey Weenk
- 2016 - Linsey Weenk
- 2017 - Linsey Weenk
- 2018 - Linsey Weenk
- 2019 - Linsey Weenk
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Lucas Oil's sponsorship used to be renewed by the end of the year. As a result, Crusader would be absent from lineups until the sponsorship was completely renewed.
- Crusader's second theme, “Crusader” by Riffmachine, was made specifically for the truck as its theme song. But the song it uses in Monster Jam is an edit that hasn't been released to the public.
- Crusader's first and final events were both held in the state of Texas, which is considered ironic, due to Lucas Oil being based in Corona, California, with a distribution plant in Corydon, Indiana. The truck was usually a Indianapolis each year though.
- Crusader was originally slated for a Spin Master 1:64 scale release in 2019, with a prototype even being made in late 2018, but was cancelled for unknown reasons.
- Linsey Weenk and Crusader were featured in the 2020 film Wheels of Fortune.
- Weenk would not be the only driver named Linsey to drive a Lucas Oil sponsored truck. Linsey Read drove in Lucas Stabilizer from late 2023 - 2024.
Gallery[]
Main gallery[]
.jpg "Salinas 051516 EvanPosocco (22).jpg (323 KB)")
Merchandise gallery[]
.jpg "2017 MU04-Crusader (2).jpg (438 KB)")
.jpg "S-l400 (1).jpg (31 KB)")
