Performance, as we all know, comes in many shapes and sizes. For most circle track applications, a 358-cube or so powerplant built under strict rules is the means. In drag racing, the size grows to 500 or more inches, plus volatile fuels in some categories. Sports car and prototype racing opens up some additional possibilities in design, often under factory-authorized engineering. Then there are monster trucks.
Monster trucks are those things you either love or hate. Often categorized with pro wrestling and rodeos due to their arena settings, a machine that appears to be a pickup truck on steroids is put to the task of jumping, crunching, bouncing, and sometimes rolling its way through a set course. These festivities often include the complete and total destruction of derelict automobiles and other items strategically placed on that course. Little kids scream, fans cheer, and the heroes are awarded based on driving execution and elapsed time.
To be honest, my performance roots had never gotten me close to any of these things except at trade shows and an occasional Englishtown, New Jersey, Raceway Park "Night of Thrills" event. Then, in the weeks preceding the '02 Daytona 500, Dave Elshoff of Dodge Motorsports called.
"Are you going to be down in Florida for the 500?"
"No, I hadn't planned on it," was my reply, as I still spend most of my time working in Tennessee and didn't get credentials from NASCAR. That plan changed...fast.
"Well, if you decide to come down, we're going to have our new monster truck called "Raminator" out on the beach, and we'll let you drive it..."
For brothers Mark and Tim Hall, the Raminator is the culmination of years of competition. Racing in venues across the nation, these Dodge stalwarts campaigned a machine they called the Executioner through 2001. The "Raminator" name was selected from hundreds of entries submitted by DaimlerChrysler employees, beating out such luminaries as "The Deiter Beater" and "Ram, Bam, Thank You, Ma'am!" The new name is accompanied by a sizable level of support from Dodge, who is returning to the monster wars for the first time in five years.
"We want to be here; there are a lot of Dodge fans in this sport," says Bill Tracy, a senior executive in Dodge's motorsports program. "This is a way for us to support them, and to introduce them to the new Ram."
Indeed, one part of the deal is reminiscent of the old Super Stock Clinic program from the '60s. The truck will be displayed at various dealerships as part of its extensive '02 tour, which includes 40-plus events in three different sanctioning bodies. In "Executioner" trim, the Hall Brothers Racing team was named the 2001 Monster Truck Racing Association (MTRA) Truck of the Year, driver Mark was the 2001 MTRA Driver of the Year, and the team took home the 2001 MTRA Safety Award to boot. The brothers have no intention of ending that record with the name change.
"You know, there's no other form of motorsports that has the number of moving parts one of these trucks has," says Tim. "We like to say that if you're not working on it, you're probably overlooking something."
The day was a perfect one in Florida: mild February temperatures and blue skies. Bob Stuart, our art director, is a rabid monster fan, traveling to various events around the Sunshine State; he came along to shoot some photos. I bribed him by stating I might be able to figure out a way for him to get a chance at the throttle.
The site Dodge had selected was north of Daytona at Ormond Beach, a place historically symbolic as the site of land-speed contests during the first half of the last century. By the time we got there, a small group of journalists, Dodge officials, photographers, and beach combers were checking out the red beast on the beach.