Dennis Montague Anderson (nicknamed "The Icon" by Scott Douglass) (born October 24th, 1960) is a part-time monster truck driver and former owner out of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. He is most famous for being the creator and former owner/driver of Grave Digger, which is the most well-known monster truck on the Monster Jam circuit. Outside of Grave Digger, he also owns King Sling and also operates Dennis Anderson's Extreme Monster Truck Experience at Digger's Dungeon. Dennis rarely drives monster trucks due to health reasons, but when he does, he drives Extreme King Sling.
Career[]
In 1982, Dennis Anderson created his mud racer, Grave Digger 1, using the body from a 1951 Ford pickup. The name came from a trash talking session with his rivals where he boasted "I'll take this old junk and dig you a grave with it".
In 1985, Dennis rebuilt Grave Digger as a true monster truck with 66-inch tires and a new 1951 Ford panel truck body; the first version of the iconic graveyard paint scheme appeared a year later, and Anderson started racing full time. The truck became super popular, despite lack of sponsorship enjoyed by other trucks.
In 1986, Dennis scored his first major victory was in Saint Paul, Minnesota, against the popular Bigfoot on national TV. For more information on the first Grave Digger chassis, see main article: Grave Digger 1.
In 1989, Dennis built Grave Digger 2, which switched to a 1950 Chevrolet panel truck body that has been used for all subsequent Grave Diggers.
In 1991, Dennis debuted Grave Digger 3, the first four-link suspension Grave Digger. Later that year, he would suffer his first major injury, when he broke his kneecap after hitting a wall in Rosemont, Illinois, causing him to miss the 1992 winter season.
In 1992, Dennis would return to debut Grave Digger 7. Late in the year during a race at Louisville Motor Speedway, his truck side-slapped a wall, he ended up cracking several of his ribs near his back, which has caused recurring problems through his career since it has been aggravated by crashes in New Orleans in 1999 and again in 2001 at an independent show in Bloomsburg.
In 1994, Dennis competed at an independent show in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 30th, which marked his first competition appearance outside of the mainland U.S.
In 1996, Dennis debuted Grave Digger 12.
In 1998, Dennis sold parts of his interest in Digger's Dungeon (his shop in Poplar Branch, North Carolina) to the USHRA/Pace Motorsports (now FELD Motorsports). The reason is likely due to legal fees, insurance and medical fees putting Dennis in severe debt from an incident involving Grave Digger 11 in Wildwood, where the truck would tip over with passengers riding, nobody was killed but many were injured.
In 1999, Dennis won the USHRA points championship.
In 2000, Dennis debuted the rebuilt Grave Digger 7, his season would be plagued with mechanical issues. He was invited to the inaugural Monster Jam World Finals, he beat Prowler in the first round but lost in the second round to King Krunch. In freestyle, he posted the first and only perfect freestyle score (in this case, a 40), winning the freestyle championship despite the rough season. Afterwards he drove Grave Digger 12 for the rest of the season.
In 2001, Dennis debuted Grave Digger 14, and drove Mr. Destruction in New Orleans and Houston for the wall of steel stunt. At the Rosemont, Illinois events, he was suffering from back problems, so for the Sunday show, Brian Barthel would fill-in. He was invited to World Finals II, he lost in the first round to his own teammate, Pablo Huffaker (who was driving Blacksmith). In freestyle, he scored a 36, tying Wrenchead.com for second. After the freestyle competition, he brought out two more Grave Diggers for the encore, followed by a performance by rival Tom Meents in Goldberg.
In 2002, Dennis celebrated his 20th anniversary in Grave Digger. At World Finals III, he made it to the semi-finals for the first time, defeating Black Stallion in round 1 and Bulldozer in round 2, but was eliminated by Tom Meents in Team Meents in the third round. In freestyle, he posted another 36, finishing second.
In 2003, Dennis would suffer three different injuries: The first was in New Orleans when his truck pogoed after a large jump and rolled into a dumpster. The corner of the dumpster bent the roll cage down, which in turn banged Dennis on the head, he walked away though. 2 weeks later in Philadelphia, his hand was crushed in an elevator, Jim Koehler performed double duty for Dennis. Later in the year, he broke his wrist in a non-driving accident and missed part of the 2003 season, including World Finals IV. Pablo Huffaker filled in for Dennis. Huffaker was fastest qualifier but was eliminated by Tom Meents in the first round. He got a 20 in freestyle, finishing 11th.
In 2004, Dennis debuted Grave Digger 19. He would win his first racing championship at World Finals V over teammate Pablo Huffaker in Blacksmith. He got a 30 in freestyle, tying Bounty Hunter for second.
In 2005, Dennis received a bye-run at World Finals VI and was put in the second round. He beat An Escalade in round 2, Blacksmith in round 3, Bounty Hunter in round 4, but was beat by Madusa in the finals. He got a 23 in freestyle, finishing 12th, tied with Power Forward. He debuted Grave Digger 20 in Minneapolis.
In 2006, Dennis ran a new paint scheme later nicknamed "Green Ghost". At World Finals VII he was the fastest qualifier, and then beat Maximum Destruction in round 2, Safe Auto Minimizer in round 3, Hot Wheels in the semi-finals after rolling over, and Bounty Hunter for the championship race. In freestyle, he got a 33, finishing second. In December, he injured his wrist in Minneapolis after his truck smacked hard into an ATV roller and his wrist smacked into a roll bar inside the cab.
In 2007, Dennis's son Adam filled in for him until World Finals VIII after sitting out most of the season due to a shoulder injury suffered in an unrelated incident. He debuted Grave Digger 25th Anniversary and beat An Escalade in round 2, Safe Auto Minimizer in round 3, and Captain's Curse in the semi-finals, but lost to Batman in the finals. He got a 30 in freestyle, finishing second to teammate Pablo Huffaker in Captain's Curse. After the competition, Dennis Anderson sent Pablo Huffaker, Randy Brown, Charlie Pauken, Chad Tingler, and Rod Schmidt out for the teams 25th Anniversary encore.
In 2008, Dennis' son Adam became the youngest world champion at age 22 by winning World Finals IX freestyle in Taz with a score of 37. As for Dennis himself, he had trouble in the turns in qualifying and had to start in the first round. He beat Donkey Kong, setting a track record, which holds to this day (15.59 ET), but was eliminated by King Krunch, due to a 5 second penalty. He finished fourth in freestyle. Dennis later appeared on the television show America's Toughest Jobs that year. The premise of the show revolved around contestants taking part in jobs that were considered the hardest in the country. Dennis served as the 'boss' for the contestants in the fourth episode, revolving around monster truck driving and coached them in various challenges such as basic acceleration, RII switches, tire changing, racing and sky wheelies, with the challenges themselves taking place at the Salinas Sports Complex, where Monster Jam hosts events yearly. As some of the contestants were not familiar with monster trucks, they would often fail some of the challenges, resulting in Dennis becoming very angry at points, due to them not following the instructions correctly and sternly ordering them to step out of the trucks. In the tire changing challenge, some of the contestants knocked Grave Digger off the jack and broke it, resulting in it having to be replaced. At separate times, two of the contestants almost ran officials over, causing Dennis to become very furious. Adam Anderson would also appear in the episode, but only for brief moments.
In 2009, Dennis was eliminated in the first round by Air Force Afterburner and tied David Smith in 10th with a score of 23.
In 2010 at Monster Jam World Finals XI, Dennis won his 3rd and final World Finals racing championship in the first and only time he and Tom Meents faced off in the championship race. He scored an 11 in freestyle, while fellow Grave Digger teammate Charlie Pauken won freestyle in Monster Mutt in Grave Digger 22. At the end of the year, he announced and debuted a new mud truck: King Sling.
In 2011, Dennis went on a winning streak that lasted from his championship until Atlanta when he was defeated by Frank Krmel. At World Finals XII, he lost in round 3 with Bounty Hunter. He got a 21 in freestyle. His normal chassis blew its engine in racing, so he used Grave Digger 24 in freestyle. He later would take part in the History Channel series Around the World in 80 Ways.
In 2012, Dennis celebrated his 30th anniversary and ran two different body styles which would alternate each weekend. One being purple, the other green. At Monster Jam World Finals XIII, Dennis ran a green chrome body in racing and a purple chrome body for freestyle, both featured a 3D skull. He was beaten in round 2 by Monster Energy, scored a 25 in freestyle, and would also participate in a parade down the Las Vegas Strip commemorating the 30th anniversary as well as the encore. That November, he along with teammate Pablo Huffaker, were inducted into the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame.
In 2013, Dennis competed at World Finals XIV beat Bad Habit in round 1, but lost in and got a 24 in freestyle.
In 2014, Dennis debuted Grave Digger 30. He decided to put King Sling on hold, as to not jeopardize the Grave Digger name and his family dynasty. At World Finals XV, he was the fastest qualifier, was defeated in the semi-finals by his son, Adam. His son Adam would win his 2nd racing championship over Tom Meents. At that event, he copied Todd Leduc's massive leap (dubbed the "Leduc Leap") but crashed nose first into the ground on the first hit, he scored an 8.5 which was the lowest he ever scored at the World Finals.
In 2015, Dennis hurt his foot in Jacksonville, when his truck rolled his foot slipped off the peddle and hit the frame. He took two weeks before the World Finals and had surgery in the summer.
In 2016, Dennis would debut a chrome body. World Finals XVII would unknowingly end up being his final World Finals appearance. He beat Monster Mutt in round 1, but was defeated by Max-D in round 2. In freestyle he scored a 31.5 finishing third. His son Adam would win the freestyle championship, although some believed that Dennis should have won. In June, Dennis made his European competition debut in Barcelona, Spain. Later that tour he would win freestyle in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the wheelie contest in Stockholm, Sweden.
In 2017, Dennis' daughter Krysten started driving Grave Digger and the truck celebrated its 35th anniversary. His final Monster Jam event was on January 14th, 2017, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. He failed a backflip and the cage caved in. This gave Dennis internal injuries; he was rushed to the hospital where he learned that he had ruptured a main artery in his pancreas, which was caused by a bad landing earlier in his freestyle. Later that year at World Finals XVIII, it was stated by Dennis himself before the 35th anniversary encore started that he is not done yet but will no longer compete at the World Finals, quoting, "Last year's World Finals was the last time I will compete in, but I'm not going anywhere." making World Finals XVII his final last appearance in the event. However, during the 2018 Monster Jam Season Kickoff on September 18th, 2017, he announced his full retirement from driving, however stated that he will remain behind the scenes and in the pits.
In 2019, Dennis briefly returned to driving in his new King Sling mega truck, though was required to stop a few months later, and had to undergo surgery in June.
In January 2020, Dennis was announced as the first inductee for the Monster Jam Hall of Fame in Tampa, Florida alongside veteran announcer, Scott Douglass. The formal induction ceremony would take place in February of 2021 due to the pandemic. He returned to driving King Sling in September 2020.
In 2021, Dennis announces the creation of the new Dennis Anderson's Extreme Monster Truck Experience. He would return one final time in February behind the wheel of Grave Digger 36 to complete a lap around the track before being inducted into the Monster Jam Hall of Fame in Orlando, Florida. In May, he began driving Extreme King Sling.
In 2022, Dennis constructed and completed the Rust in Peace Museum in Digger's Dungeon. He would also have a replica built of Grave Digger 1 (blue/silver) whilst restoring the actual Grave Digger 1 chassis (minus the body as the original painter has since passed away). That year, his youngest son Weston Anderson would begin competing in Monster Jam and go on to win Arena Championship Series East. Weston's rookie season is hailed as one of the best in the history of Monster Jam and his driving style is very reminiscent of Dennis'. At World Finals XXI, he served as a professional judge alongside Scott Douglass and Linsey Read.
In 2023, Dennis would display his Extreme King Sling truck at Monster Jam World Finals XXII in Nashville, Tennessee. In October, he sold the Extreme King Sling operation to Jimmy Creten and Mike Harper to run in select events they promote, Dennis still owns the King Sling name and drives the truck.
World Finals appearances[]
- 1999 - Grave Digger 12 (Prior to the inaugural "Monster Jam World Finals")
- 2000 - Grave Digger 7 (won freestyle)
- 2001 - Grave Digger 14 (encore only: Grave Digger 7 & Grave Digger 12)
- 2002 - Grave Digger 20th Anniversary
- 2004 - Grave Digger 19 (won racing)
- 2005 - Grave Digger 19 (encore only: Grave Digger 16)
- 2006 - Grave Digger 20 (won racing)
- 2007 - Grave Digger 25th Anniversary
- 2008 - Grave Digger 20
- 2009 - Grave Digger 20
- 2010 - Grave Digger 20 (won racing) (encore only: Grave Digger 19)
- 2011 - Grave Digger 20 (racing only) & Grave Digger 24 (freestyle only)
- 2012 - Grave Digger 30th Anniversary
- 2013 - Grave Digger 20
- 2014 - Grave Digger 30
- 2015 - Grave Digger 30
- 2016 - Grave Digger 30
Trivia[]
- Despite being a top contender in the TNT Series and the USHRA, Dennis did not bring the Grave Digger name a championship until 1999, almost 11 years after going full blown monster truck.
- Dennis has raced against his rival Tom Meents four times at the World Finals:
- World Finals III (Semi-finals, Tom won)
- World Finals VII (Round 2, Dennis won)
- World Finals XI (Finals, Dennis won)
- World Finals XVII (Round 2, Tom won)
- Dennis rarely did the international events until 2016 on the European tour. Although he traveled worldwide for the History Channel series Around the World in 80 Ways.
- According to one quote from the Grave Digger: Domination video, his favorite drink is implied to be Mountain Dew. The same video also implies his favorite food is pizza during a scene where Eric Meagher steals "his best piece". However, according to the archived Monster Jam website, Dennis stated that his actual favorite food was seafood.
- Anderson holds the record for the fastest qualifying and racing times in the history of Monster Jam World Finals racing at Las Vegas.
- He used to own the Mudweiser mud bog truck.
Gallery[]
