Grave Digger the Legend was a 1951 Ford Panel Van monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports. It was the first spinoff truck of Grave Digger and was based on the original Grave Digger 1 blue and silver paint scheme from 1984. It was notably driven by Adam Anderson and Tony Farrell. Since its debut in 2011, the truck became a staple and fan favorite in Monster Jam, being invited to compete in every Monster Jam World Finals from its introduction up until its retirement in 2015 and has also won two world racing championships in 2013 and 2014.
History[]
Grave Digger the Legend was originally announced in late 2010 as one of several new trucks for the 2011 Monster Jam season, with Adam Anderson as the driver. The truck's first design would first debut at the Monster Jam World Finals XI encore under Adam Anderson, but did not yet feature "the Legend" wording under the Grave Digger logo. For this reason, this encore truck (and the future 2017 encore truck) are simply dubbed Grave Digger 1 (encore). The body used would be a 1950 Chevrolet panel van body, as the mold for the 1951 Ford panel van body was not yet completed. Adam's truck made its debut at Manchester, New Hampshire on January 7 and now used the full Grave Digger the Legend name. At the time of its debut, the truck was run on the previous Taz chassis. Meanwhile, a second Grave Digger the Legend would be added to the team on the previous Grave Digger XII chassis and would also utilize the 1950 Chevrolet panel van mold - with Tony Farrell driving, and that one would debut at Council Bluffs, Iowa on the same date that Adam's truck debuted. Adam would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XII. Following the World Finals, Farrell would retire from competition, as his truck would be replaced by Ryan Anderson in the recently-introduced Son-Uva Digger.
At the start of the 2012 season, Rod Schmidt would drive a second Grave Digger the Legend on his Grave Digger XVIII chassis exclusively in Birmingham, Alabama. In the later half of quarter 1, the 1950's panel van mold would be completed and would replace the make-shift Grave Digger the Legend bodies that were running on the standard Grave Digger body molds. Norm Miller drives the truck in Nampa-Reno. Post-first quarter, Anderson would be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIII, where both truck and driver would be eliminated in the semi-finals round of racing by Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction and finished sixth in freestyle.
In 2013, Anderson and Grave Digger the Legend would be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIV, where they would win the world racing championship, defeating Marc McDonald in the black El Toro Loco.
In 2014, the truck would receive a new chassis and both it and Anderson would go on to defend their world championship by winning racing at Monster Jam World Finals XV, defeating Tom Meents in Max-D.
2015 marked Grave Digger the Legend's final year of competition, as Anderson announced that he would be joining the Grave Digger team later that year. Adam's crew chief, Cole Venard, would drive the truck in Orlando and Ocala, Florida. By the end of the season, the chassis was refurbished, converted and renumbered as Grave Digger XXXII. Grave Digger the Legend would be retired afterwards.
In 2017, the truck would return (without "the Legend" wording) under Adam Anderson for the Grave Digger 35th Anniversary encore at Monster Jam World Finals XVIII on the 1951 Ford panel van mold and act as Grave Digger 1 like it did in the 2010 encore.
In 2022, the truck would once again return on the 1950 Chevrolet panel van mold for the first time in over a decade and utilize the full name, despite having not used it for the 35th anniversary encore and would be driven by Brandon Vinson on a standard Feld CRD chassis.
World Finals appearances[]
- 2010 - Adam Anderson (encore only, not labeled 'The Legend')
- 2011 - Adam Anderson
- 2012 - Adam Anderson
- 2013 - Adam Anderson (won racing)
- 2014 - Adam Anderson (won racing)
- 2015 - Adam Anderson
- 2017 - Adam Anderson (encore only, not labeled 'The Legend")
- 2022 - Brandon Vinson (encore only)
Video game appearances[]
- Monster Jam (mobile game)
- Monster Jam Battlegrounds
- Monster Jam Steel Titans
- Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
Trivia[]
- In a video for the 2016 Monster Jam Season Kickoff, the name would be featured on a shirt where Adam Anderson was deciding what to wear for the year. He would find a Taz shirt first, then toss it away, then he would find a Grave Digger the Legend shirt, but then throw that away too, before deciding on a team Grave Digger crew shirt.
- Grave Digger the Legend was intended to receive a new purple paint scheme for the 2014 Monster Jam season, featuring the iconic Grave Digger ghost on the side panels. This design would eventually be cancelled due to much protest from fans, most notably from the Anderson family themselves.
- Despite this, the purple paint scheme was still featured in merchandise, including T-shirts and the 2014 Souvenir Yearbook, suggesting that the cancelation was a last-minute decision.
- In 2023, it was announced that the canceled design would be produced by Spin Master in the subseries "Alternate Dimensions" in Series 32.
Gallery[]
Main gallery[]
Merchandise gallery[]
