Soldier Fortune is a custom futuristic military vehicle monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports. It is driven by Kayla Blood out of Lafayette, Louisiana and previously Chad Fortune out of Valparaiso, Indiana. Since its debut in 2015, the truck has served as a dedication to all men and women who served in the United States military. It has also become a staple and a fan favorite in Monster Jam since its introduction, having competed in five Monster Jam World Finals.
History[]
Soldier Fortune was originally announced in late 2014 as a new truck for the 2015 Monster Jam season, with Chad Fortune as the driver. The truck made its competition debut the following year on January 3rd at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. It would go on to have a strong debut season, winning the racing competition in New Orleans and later breaking the rear end completely off in freestyle. Fortune and the truck were later invited to compete at Monster Jam World Finals XVI. The following year, Soldier Fortune received a spin-off truck, Soldier Fortune Black Ops, which was driven by Tony Ochs from 2016-2022. Meanwhile, Fortune and the truck competed in the FS1 Championship Series, and would later be invited to compete at Monster Jam World Finals XVII.
Soldier Fortune received a new chassis for the 2017 season, as Fortune and the truck competed in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 4, finishing fifth in the series standings. They would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVIII. The following year, Soldier Fortune competed in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 3. During the series, Fortune and the truck would win a skills challenge competition in Tampa, as well as an overall event championship in Worcester. Soldier Fortune would go on to finish seventh in the series standings. Despite not being invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIX, the truck would be featured in the event as part of the Rampage encore.
A second Soldier Fortune was added to the team for the 2019 season, who was slated to be driven by Jackie Carrizosa, but was replaced by Kayla Blood, where she competed on Triple Threat Series Central. Becky McDonough fills in for Kayla in Raleigh. Blood and the truck would go on to finish third in the series standings, and would later be invited to compete in the ATV competition at Monster Jam World Finals XX. Meanwhile, the truck received a Fire & Ice spin-off, Soldier Fortune Ice, which was first unveiled to the public during the Friday night encore at the World Finals. Said truck would later compete in select Triple Threat Series events in Los Angeles, San Jose and Rosemont under Tony Ochs. Joe Urie would fill-in for Tony at one of the Rosemont shows after a ATV accident. As for Fortune, he would eventually step away from full-time driving.
In 2020, Blood competed on Triple Threat Series East and again finished third in the series standings, notably having a well documented rivalry with Tyler Menninga and Blake Granger. Meanwhile, Fortune was slated to drive in that year’s International tour, but the said tour would eventually be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the 2020 Monster Jam season prematurely ending in March. Fortune and Blood would then be furloughed by FELD Entertainment due to budget cuts as a result of the pandemic, resulting in Soldier Fortune being placed on hiatus as a result. Blood and the truck would eventually return to competition the following year on July 18th at East Rutherford, where she would also take home a surprise racing championship. They would later compete in select events throughout the 2021 season.
In 2022, Soldier Fortune competed on Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series Yellow, marking Kayla Blood's stadium series debut during the series, Blood and the truck would win their first major freestyle championship during the series' second weekend of Anaheim events. She would finish seventh in the point standings. Kayla and the truck would be invited to compete at Monster Jam World Finals XXI. During qualifying on the new over-under racing track, Kayla came dangerously close to missing the over-jump, but would instead be kicked up by the rear tires, sliding off the ramp and onto the ground. She would lose in round 1 and would finish 12th in freestyle. Kayla and the truck would also make an appearance on Jay Leno's Garage in Anaheim, where Kayla taught Jay how to drive a monster truck.
In 2023, Kayla drives the truck on the red stadium tour. She would win freestyle in Anaheim again. She would also win freestyle in Philadelphia. She would finish 5th in the final standings. Kayla would be invited to World Finals 22. In Hidalgo, Texas at show 2, the truck's left rear wheel came off in racing. Kayla competed on Team Nitro in the Superstar Challenge on November 11 in Anaheim.
In 2024, Kayla will compete on the west stadium tour. The truck suffered multiple mechanical issues at the season opener in San Francisco.
World Finals appearances[]
- 2015 - Chad Fortune
- 2016 - Chad Fortune
- 2017 - Chad Fortune
- 2018 - Chad Fortune (encore only)
- 2019 - Kayla Blood (ATV only)
- 2022 - Kayla Blood (main field)
- 2023 - Kayla Blood (main field & high jump)
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- The first Soldier Fortune chassis was the previous Captain America chassis.
- The body style of Soldier Fortune closely resembles the design of the Warthog vehicle from the video game franchise HALO.
- A second Soldier Fortune spin-off was also planned to debut with a desert-themed design, but this truck ultimately never came to fruition. The truck would receive a Spin Master 1:64 scale diecast release in 2021. A 1:24 scale version was also made.
- Fittingly, driver Kayla Blood originally served in the Louisiana National Guard.
- Beginning in late 2016, the mini-gun turret would be removed from the truck as a result of FELD Entertainment (the promoter of Monster Jam) making the decision to censor firearms, as well as any connections with firearms on trucks.
- Rookie driver Jackie Carrizosa was originally slated to drive Soldier Fortune during the 2019 Monster Jam Triple Threat Series Central. However, following Carrizosa’s involvement in an NSFW WorldStarHipHop video, she would be released only three days later and replaced by Kayla Blood.
- Kayla Blood will sometimes do push ups on top of the truck after a successful performance.
Gallery[]
Merchandise gallery[]
.jpg "2016 09-Soldier Fortune (2).jpg (410 KB)")
.jpg "2018 TF06-Soldier Fortune (2).jpg (409 KB)")
.jpg "2018 SE-SS 3-Soldier Fortune (2).jpg (433 KB)")
.jpg "2021 LT Solider Fortune Desert (2).jpg (445 KB)")
