You're kind of enjoying sitting there in your dented-up Dodge Neon. Although you're in the thick of a stagnant mass of Interstate 5 City Exit traffic, the radio's playing that therapeutic anthem for the lovelorn, Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine." You're even singing along.
But before Rawls can bellow the last self-absorbed stanza, the station cuts to commercial:
Volume and reverb increase. Shattering glass sounds echo throughout the car.
"IT'S MONSTER JAM TIME!"
Whether you call them hillbilly hot rods or SUVs on steroids, you can't deny that there's something intriguing about monster trucks. Perhaps it's the ridiculously tall tires or the fact that they can conquer just about any type of terrain.
It all began in the mid-1970s, when Bob Chandler, then in St. Louis, Mo., found ways to break even the toughest of trucks, and discovered there wasn't any place in the Midwest to get 4X4 parts and service. Recognizing a potential market, the Chandlers started Midwest Four Wheel Drive. They used their Ford 4X4 as a work truck and a promotional tool for the business, trying out new parts, and making the truck bigger and better. Soon the truck itself became an attraction. In 1981, Chandler decided to try to drive his Bigfoot truck over a couple of junk cars. A few months later, he duplicated the stunt in a stadium show. The rest is history.
Discover how far monster trucks have evolved Friday, Saturday and SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!
TACOMA DOME, FRIDAY, JAN. 4-SATURDAY, JAN. 5 7:30 P.M., 1 P.M. SUNDAY, JAN. 6, $5-$20, 2727 E. D ST., TACOMA, 800.745.3000
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