BIGFOOT 50x50 Day 17, 2008: “Changes”

It’s never been easy for the monster truck industry to maintain a long standing, large scale points series. Racing, no matter the discipline, is an inherently expensive endeavor. Nearing the end of the 2007 season, MLMT held a press conference to announce their 2008 plans. Their plans included several new policies and massive expansion. Months after, promoter Rich Schaefer would leave the MLMT organization to go back to his Monster Truck Challenge series. Between Schaefer’s decision to step down, scheduled dates not being locked in, and no major sponsor, MLMT was forced to postpone and ultimately cancel their 2008 season.

All was not lost, as there still were plenty of places for Team BIGFOOT to strut their stuff and go for gold. AMP, Edge Motorsports, Checkered Flag, Schaefer’s Monster Truck Challenge, Monster Nationals, and Special Events all had points series of their own. And in typical BIGFOOT fashion, championship gold was bound to find its way to the BIGFOOT trophy case. This year, it came in the form of Rodney Tweety and BIGFOOT 10 winning AMP Tour’s Monster Truck Thunder Slam Overall Championship. 2008 would also see some fresh faces in the form of Darron Schnell and Larry Swim. Darron would start off his duties in BIGFOOT 8, while Larry would take over 14.

In another set of losses to the BIGFOOT Family, veteran driver Dave Harkey would pass away on April 19. In his twelve years with BIGFOOT he would take a turn on most every vehicle in the fleet from SafariFoot to the racing trucks like BIGFOOT 14. Dave was also the driver for 14 during the Crush Out Breast Cancer campaign in 2006. His loss was felt across the monster truck community, and he was memorialized at the annual MTRA banquet and meeting with a tribute video, a memorial plaque given to his daughter Tamra, and kind words by friend and future BIGFOOT driver, Kyle Doyle.

Another loss came in the form of an unsung hero behind the scenes at BIGFOOT 4x4. Marilyn Young, who worked for over twenty-four years at BIGFOOT, would pass away on May 13. Marilyn was an integral part of the BIGFOOT machine, being the one that made sure bills were paid, paperwork was in order before and after trips, hotel reservations, scheduling and just making sure that life on the road was as easy as it could be for the crew on the road. And she wasn’t at all shy about busting someone’s ass for losing a receipt. Her loss would be felt by the entire BIGFOOT organization.

On July 26, Jim Kramer was inducted into Rich Schaefer’s Monster Truck Challenge Hall of Fame at Gateway Raceway. He was inducted alongside Taurus creator, Jack Willman Sr., and Bear Foot creator, Fred Shafer. Unfortunately, Jim couldn’t make it to the show, Jim’s wife, Julie, and their children, Kate and Ross were on hand alongside Bob Chandler to induct Jim and speak on his behalf.

Entering new territory, Midwest Four-Wheel Drive completed work on a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado HD2500 in time to show off at SEMA. The truck featured a four-link suspension, four-wheel steering, fiberglass front and rear fenders, more than thirty inches of lift, and a Duramax Hi Output Turbo Engine. The truck was a big hit at SEMA, and won many awards including the Mothers Choice Award for Excellence in Automotive Design and the GM 2008 SEMA Design Award for Best GM Truck.