In the mid-’70s, a former construction contractor named Bob Chandler souped up his Ford F-250 with gargantuan tires and created the first original ’monster truck.’ From humble beginnings to international recognition, he became the homegrown star of the motorsport he invented. Today, Bob still runs the company he founded, BIGFOOT 4×4, with his children and wife, as a truly independent family operation; and the current iteration of the legendary BIGFOOT is still revving up at shows nationwide.
It’s a tremendous success story—the stuff of American Dreams—and you can read all about it over at BIGFOOT’s website. In celebration of the release of the Hundreds X Bigfoot this Friday, we asked Bob C. Chandler, the son of Bob Chandler, to round up his 10 favorite BIGFOOT videos for us below.
Summit BF Freestyle from Texas
“This was the first of 2 events at this location that weekend, but that did not slow BIGFOOT driver Larry Swim down, as he laid down 2 amazing wheelie passes. Then, to follow that up, he had a spectacular freestyle run with some huge air and ending with the truck getting stuck on the back-end in a dirt ramp, sitting still past vertical, over 10 feet in the air!”
1st Car Crush Ever BIGFOOT #1
“This is widely recognized as the first complete car crush with a monster truck ever. Bob Chandler had the original BIGFOOT (there was only 1 back then) and a couple cars in a field and thought that he could run them over. Luckily he could and luckily he filmed the venture. An event promoter ended up seeing the footage and asked me to duplicate it during a live event. The rest is history!”
1999 World Record Airplane Jump
“The record for a monster truck long jump at the time was 141 feet. As part of an air show in Nashville, Tennessee, BIGFOOT and veteran driver Dan Runte were going to attempt to break this record while also flying over a huge jetliner at the same time. Leaving nothing to chance, Dan pushed BIGFOOT to the limit and totally cleared the jetliner easily, shattering the record by more than 50 feet and going 202 feet!”
2012 World Record Long Jump
“After having the long jump record for 11 years, Dan Runte and BIGFOOT looked to regain the title back after it was taken by another truck. This time it was to be done at the iconic 4 Wheel Jamboree held in Indianapolis, Indiana. While this jump did not involve any jetliners, it was nonetheless awesome! Dan and BIGFOOT ended up jumping over 214 feet and taking the world record long jump title back!”
All BIGFOOT Monster Trucks 2015
“Assembling every BIGFOOT monster truck in 1 location is a difficult proposition. With a very busy road schedule, trucks are always out and about, traveling the country and beyond. However, in 2015, for BIGFOOT’s 40th Anniversary, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, every single BIGFOOT was assembled for the first time in over 20 years.”
World’s 1st All-Electric Monster Truck
“This the very first car crush of the very first all-electric, all-battery powered monster truck! To this day, it is the only one in existence.”
BIGFOOT #4 Highlights
“BIGFOOT #4 is one of the most iconic BIGFOOT trucks every made. It started as just another BIGFOOT truck at the time, built to try and keep up with the demand of the ever-increasing work schedule of BIGFOOT. What it ended up being was a truck that went through perhaps more transitions and modifications than any monster truck ever. Not only that, but it was also involved in some of the most memorable monster truck races ever. This video shows most of those races.”
BIGFOOT At Silverdome 72,000 People
“In 1983, BIGFOOT performed at the Pontiac Silverdome in front of over 72,000 people. BIGFOOT ran over 2 junk cars and did a sled pull. This footage is sometimes called “flash attack,” which can be simply explained by watching the video.”
BIGFOOT at Superdome Monster Truck Race 1986
“This event and final race at the massive New Orleans Superdome is legendary in monster truck lore. It brought the brand new sport of monster truck racing down to the southern part of the country, where nothing like it had ever been seen before. Also, in the final race, people thought that BIGFOOT did not stand a chance against an orange truck that had a huge aircraft engine as its power-plant. In the end though, Jim Kramer and BIGFOOT blew away the competition, winning the event.”
Various Mud Runs
“What is better than taking a 10 foot tall, 14000 pound monster truck through the mud? Maybe taking a 15 foot tall, 28,000 pound monster truck through the mud! This video shows all of the above and all of them are fun to watch.”