All photos credited to Bigfoot 4x4, Inc.
In early January, Team Bigfoot received a delivery from Concussion Motorsports, which set of a lot of questions and speculation as to what was in the works.
Now, 12 months later, one incredible beast was started and rolled out of the shop in Hazelwood, Missouri. Fans of the Bigfoot monster truck spent all year wondering what the truck would be about. Turns out, the truck was about moving forward, trying new things, and making the competition be aware that the team that started it all was ready to go into the next season full-bore.
The truck that started the entire monster truck revolution unveiled the brand new Bigfoot 18 on Tuesday afternoon for the first time.
Driver Dan Runte rolled out his new truck out of the shop three months after winning the Special Events Monster Truck Thunder Drags championship, which would be the final title he would win in Bigfoot 16, which he piloted since 2007.
The truck was set up different from any truck that had been built out of the Bigfoot shop. The Concussion Motorsports chassis is six inches longer in wheelbase than the current fleet of Bigfoot trucks. The reason a chassis was used outside of the current shop was because the team wanted to use new ideas and try new things, but did not want to start completely from scratch building a new truck.
So, once the new chassis arrived in-house, not only was the team concerned with keeping the trucks repaired and running well after each weekend competing, but now had the task of building a new suspension, drive train, and everything else that goes along with a monster truck.
One month ago, the fabrication and test fitting was complete, and the new chassis was sent out to be sanded down and painted.
Soon after, a fresh, jet black chassis arrived back at the headquarters, thus beginning the final assembly of an all new truck.
The 572 cu. in. Ford Racing engine was installed alongside the Abruzzi two-speed transmission, plus transfer case to make that power reach all four planetary hubs. Finally, on November 30, the team waited and fired up the new motor in Bigfoot 18 for the first time.
All the while, one question still remained by fans...what would the new truck look like?
Fans soon began wondering more about the new body, and the team would only reply back by saying it's an extreme body. Fans soon were trying to get clues as to what it would be, but the only thing Bigfoot would reveal was that it was a Ford.
Finally, after months of work, and days of waiting, the new body was put on as well as the four 66"-tall tires, given the new truck it's full look.
What came out of the shop simply could be described in one word...BREATHTAKING.
Bigfoot was right on in describing the body, as the new look would be a cross between a monster truck and a desert racer. The description of a Ford body was spot on, as the look would be that of a desert-racing Ford F150 Raptor. The bedsides and front fenders are set high and cut wide for the large tires, just as the real Raptor truck on the market.
The desert-style body also has flares on the front and back of the cab, and to complete the look of the truck a bolt-on wheelie bar will be put on, which is the team's signature freestyle maneuver.
Lead driver Dan Runte is already looking forward to getting into his new truck and performing for the fans.
" I think it will take a little bit of time to get dialed in and it’s going to take me a while to get used to it, but I’m so ready it’s not even funny. This thing’s gonna be an animal," Runte said in a previous interview.
Despite the new truck being officially seen for the first time on Tuesday, there is still more work to be done before the new machine ever goes to the line for a race.
Testing still needs to be done so Runte can get used to the new truck, as well as the team work on dialing in the new machine in both shock setup and also handling.
Runte is not scheduled to perform any events for the last month of 2011, which will give the team some time to test on their own before the first quarter of action takes place.
Fellow Bigfoot driver Larry Swim will now move into the #16 truck that Runte has piloted the last four years. With Rick Long not driving the #15 truck, there are still questions that remain as to who will fill the remaining trucks. Darron Schnell is in charge of driving Bigfoot #11 with the new Vi-Cor sponsorship, while Kyle Doyle is driving Bigfoot #10 which will run the Firestone colors.
While these minor details have yet to be determined, one thing is for certain, the newest Bigfoot truck in the fleet is sure to be a crowd-pleaser long before the lights go green for a race. Runte is ready, Bigfoot is ready.
The question is, are the fans ready?
Written by:
