Alien Invasion was a custom monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports. Since its debut in 2016, the truck was driven by several drivers over the course of its career, with its primary drivers being Bernard Lyght and Chad Tingler. The truck was a major staple of Monster Jam when it debuted, competing in every season of the Triple Threat Series until 2020.
History[]
Alien Invasion was originally announced in late 2015 as one of several new trucks for the 2016 Monster Jam season, with Chad Tingler as the driver. The truck would later make its debut as part of an encore performance at the opening event of the Fox Sports 1 Championship Series in Atlanta and later competed in select stadium events throughout the first quarter. It would also be driven by Steve Koehler on one occasion at Ford Field in Detroit. Tingler and the truck would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVII in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A second Alien Invasion would be added to the team for the 2017 season, being driven by Bernard Lyght. Lyght and the truck competed in the Triple Threat Series Central, and later in the Double Down Showdown at Monster Jam World Finals XVIII. As for Tingler, he would compete exclusively in that year's International tour.
After Tingler would move to Megalodon for the start of the 2018 season, Lyght was left to assume full-time driving duties for Alien Invasion. Both truck and driver would compete in the Triple Threat Series West, and later the Double Down Showdown Competition at Monster Jam World Finals XIX. A second Alien Invasion would be featured exclusively in that year's Australian tour, with Hayden McLeary campaigning the name on the Raptor’s Rampage chassis.
In 2019, Lyght and Alien Invasion competed in the Triple Threat Series East. Both truck and driver would be invited to compete in the Showdown competition for the third time at Monster Jam World Finals XX. They would also compete in both Speedster competitions. A second Alien Invasion would again be added to the team, being driven by Brock Thomas on the Buddy chassis for that year’s Australian Tour.
In 2020, Alien Invasion competed again in Triple Threat Series East. After the series would abruptly end in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both Lyght and the truck would later go on hiatus due to budget cuts by FELD Entertainment as a result of the pandemic.
After being stored for the rest of the 2020 season and for the first half of the season following, Lyght and Alien Invasion made their return to Monster Jam on July 23, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. In August, during the fourth show at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the truck would jump over the arena obstacle, only to clip it and perform a somersault, before the truck would land on the safety barrier, damaging a portion of the arena in the process. He would later end up in a few more incidents of accidently damaging venues, but with minor damage. Lyght would be suspended from competition for the time being and Dustin Brown would be called in as a replacement for the remaining events. Bari Musawwir would also replace Lyght for the remainder of the season. The truck's most recent event was in Tacoma in September 2021.
In 2022, Lyght would move to Megalodon for the Monster Jam Arena Championship Series East, forcing Alien Invasion into an indefinite hiatus. The reason for this change is unknown, however it is speculated that the problems the truck had last year would prompt FELD to put Alien Invasion on hold. Although the truck has been featured in the 2022 and 2023 Souvenir Yearbooks, a competition return is unlikely. As of 2024, the truck's bio is still on the Monster Jam website.
Past drivers[]
- Chad Tingler (2016-17)
- Steve Koehler (Detroit 2016)
- Bernard Lyght (2017-21)
- Hayden McLeary (Australia 2018)
- Brock Thomas (Australia 2019)
- Bari Musawwir (2021 select shows)
- Dustin Brown (Sacramento 2021)
World Finals appearances[]
| World Finals | Year | Driver(s) | Appearance | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monster Jam World Finals XVII | 2016 | Chad Tingler | Main field |
|
| Monster Jam World Finals XVIII | 2017 | Bernard Lyght | Young Guns Shootout |
|
| Monster Jam World Finals XIX | 2018 | Bernard Lyght | Double Down Showdown |
|
| Monster Jam World Finals XX | 2019 | Bernard Lyght | Showdown |
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- As shown in Alien Invasion's original render, a black panel was seen at the bottom with various lights. This panel would not appear on the truck's actual body, being replaced by a sliver panel, which would eventually be removed.
- The body style used for Alien Invasion was a heavily modified Iron Man.
- Alien Invasion featured 50 feet of green LED lights running throughout its body.
Gallery[]
Main gallery[]
Merchandise gallery[]
.jpg "2017 EP06-Alien Invasion (2).jpg (411 KB)")
