SoBe was a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 monster truck owned by Clear Channel Entertainment and sponsored by the beverage brand of the same name, owned by PepsiCo. It was driven by Kathy Winston. The truck competed exclusively throughout the 2003 season, and also had a dual-sponsorship with Suzuki, which led to the creation of its successor, Team Suzuki the following year.
History[]
Kathy and Bryan Winston were about to become full-time competitors as Clear Channel’s only in-house husband-and-wife monster truck team. However, with Bryan taking over Kathy’s old Inferno ride, the more experienced Winston was left looking for a new identity. Enter SoBe. The energy drink adorned a yellow Chevrolet body with its jade-green lizards, and with extra sponsorship backing from Suzuki, Kathy Winston was ready to turn heads in the new year. SoBe debuted in front of Winston’s homestate crowd, and had a solid weekend in Cleveland; Winston made two final rounds and finished no worse than third in freestyle. San Antonio would not be as kind to the new truck, though, as SoBe struggled to break into the podium and broke before the second day’s freestyle competition. Another mid-pack showing in Pontiac had Kathy hungry for redemption in Providence, and redemption was indeed what she got. Two more final round appearances and a freestyle victory with a perfect score awaited SoBe in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. SoBe finished third in Houston’s freestyle competition the next weekend and notched two more freestyle victories and two more racing runner-ups in Memphis. Pittsburgh’s packed field of trucks would mire SoBe in mid-pack throughout the weekend, but the three freestyle wins Kathy earned for the truck were enough to lock in a World Finals slot. At the World Finals, SoBe met rookie expectations with a mid-pack showing. Winston lost the battle of the Vegas rookies in round one to Spider-Man’s Bobby Zee, but that just motivated her to deliver a great freestyle showing. She nearly stuck SoBe atop the shipping container stack, but as Joe Lowe enthusiastically shouted during the recording of the TV broadcast, she was able to “rock [the truck] off” of the stack and keep going with a run that included a great donut in the middle of the course. Winston was not a disappointment by any means to the Vegas fans that were excited to see another woman trailblazing the World Finals field. SoBe’s last event came six months later, and while Winston was not victorious in Montreal, she was able to finish in the upper half of the freestyle competition. SoBe decided to leave Monster Jam at the end of 2003 and Winston’s truck was converted into Suzuki for the 2004 season.
World Finals appearances[]
- 2003 - Kathy Winston
Trivia[]
- As stated above, Suzuki was part of the SoBe monster truck's sponsorship package.
- After the Pittsburgh show, Winston competed in the second Pontiac show with Demolition Man, as SoBe was in transportation to Las Vegas for World Finals IV.
- SoBe was the first Monster Jam-owned monster truck campaigned solely by a woman over the course of its career. Currently, Whiplash & Wonder Woman are the only other trucks confirmed to hold this distinction.
- It was thought that SoBe's body was originally Firemouth, due to them being the same Chevrolet S-10 body style, however the bodies are completely separate.
- This truck, along with Great Clips Mohawk Warrior are the only two known trucks to have had 2 sponsors at the same time. Great Clips Mohawk Warrior was also sponsored by Moto Metal.
Gallery[]
