BIGFOOT 50x50 Day 5, 2020: “Lockdown”

BIGFOOT’s 45th anniversary started off with a newcomer to the driver’s seat. Rebecca Schnell, Darron’s wife and Dan Runte understudy, would be joining her husband on the European side of the Hot Wheels tour. Rebecca would make her driving debut in Birmingham, England, would be in Hot Wheels Racing 15, while Darron would pilot BIGFOOT 19.

Stateside, the tour would kick off in St. Charles, Missouri with Christian Norman in Hot Wheels Racing 18, Rodney Tweedy in BIGFOOT 14 and A.J. Straatman in Summit 21, with special guests Bob and Marilyn Chandler making an appearance. Also of note, "Diesel Dave" Radzierez, driver of XDP Diesel and Wrecking Crew would serve as Summit 21's interim driver for a number of Toughest Monster Truck Tour events in early 2020 as well.

By March, the world was grinding to a halt due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Lockdown mandates were in place and this affected just about every form of sport and live entertainment. For now, the monster trucks would have to be parked. The annual BIGFOOT open house would be postponed multiple times before ultimately being cancelled.

Throughout the first half of the year, BIGFOOT hinted at a mysterious "Project X” on their socials. By May it was unveiled that Project X was in fact BIGFOOT 10 who was being resurrected to be used as a display for the city of Pacific. On June 20, BIGFOOT Plaza would officially be opened to the public and the truck sits as a permanent fixture off Interstate 44 in Pacific.

As the world slowly reopened, BIGFOOT would be getting its wheels turning as well. Tours would start to open up and people were beginning to have a little fun again. On October 1st, BIGFOOT 5 could be found down at Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Beech Bend Raceway Park at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival. On October 10th, Rebecca Schnell and BIGFOOT 15 did a community appreciation car crush at B&H Market near BIGFOOT HQ.

On December 3rd, the Hot Wheels Ultimate Drive-Thru attraction would open at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Many monsters were on display but BIGFOOT was out in full force. BIGFOOTs 1, 5, 12, Snake Bite 14, Hot Wheels Racing 18, and Odyssey 20 were on display for the contactless attraction.