I was the first and only female to ever drive Grave Digger and Im the only female Anderson. Finally, at the time that I tap my brakes we tap our brakes just like they would do in Motocross and that helps our wheel speed slow down and it also jars the momentum of the truck and it makes it able to level out. One of those few other women is Johnna Dunn, a clutch specialist for Jim Dunn Racing. For the latest in womens sports news and features all year round: Bookmark the On Her Turf blog: www.nbcsports.com/on-her-turf, Follow On Her Turf on Twitter and Instagram, DAYTONA BEACH, Florida The week began with a question of whether Eli Tomac is untouchable in Daytona Supercross races and it was answered emphatically: He is.Eli Tomac now has seven Daytona Supercross trophies. Its that same scheme, the same name, everything. Its the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. He may be Dennis' most accomplished child but he is far from the only sibling to take a Grave Digger for a spin. Ultimately, the drivers want the competition to be just as enjoyable for them as it is for the spectators. How tall and how much weigh Kristen Soltis Anderson? To get the third-place result, Sexton had to overcome a fierce battle with Justin Barcia. I wanted to be part of the art team for Monster Jam and creating the artwork thats on the side of the truck, like the iconic graveyard scene on the side of Grave Digger and create the paint jobs and the wraps for it.. I was driving Grave Digger, which is basically the most iconic truck in monster truck history or Monster Jam history. Krysten has no fear sending that 12,000-pound truck off some jumps to get some serious air time. "I remember being a little girl playing in the pit party down in the dirt next to my dad's truck while he was sitting at the table signing autographs for hours," she says. NBC Sports is proud to celebrate Womens History Month. I know Im still in the infancy of my career, but as far as how long I want to race, Im not really sure. Learning to drive one of these trucks is not an easy task. I could make the first hit and I could roll over and it could all be over right there. Authored by Samuel Reiman on February 16, 2019. Related Articles Will Tetros Twin-Turbo 427 LS Engine Rottler F69A Setup , Content for engine professionals and enthusiasts, monster truck history or Monster Jam history, Choosing the Correct Block for Your LS Engine Build, Americas Best Engine Shops 2022 | H&H Flatheads, UNDERSTANDING OIL CLEARANCES IN ENGINE BEARINGS, Americas Best Engine Shops 2022 | 4 Piston Racing, Randy Bauer Shares His Experience as PERA President, One-on-One with Jim Dunn Racings Johnna Dunn, One-on-One with Katie Coleman of LinCo Diesel Performance, One-on-One with Monster Jam Driver Kayla Blood, One-on-One with Janine Shoffner of J2-Racing, Monster Truck Engines & the Laws of Physics, Industry Insiders: Krysten Anderson (Part 1). The daughter of Dennis Anderson, she grew up around the Grave Digger truck -- one of the most iconic in all of monster truck racing. After the pit party, Anderson has to get suited up for the race. The Players' Tribune, which publishes first-person stories from top athletes, is featuring Monster Jam driver Krysten Anderson. It was something that we always loved to do. I [worry] about doing badly -- that is my biggest fear every time in the truck. She is the daughter of Dennis Anderson and the sister of Adam, Ryan, and Weston Anderson. If youve never been to a Monster Jam event or seen highlights, drivers today break the laws of physics at every show. LABPREP, Dennis Anderson rose from the rural backroads of North Carolina to become the famed Grave Digger driver, but looking back, he realizes he could have spent more time with his family. But Anderson still uses the hashtag #mamatried on social media, which her mom thinks is funny. After five years in the arena series, Anderson made the transition to stadium behind the wheel of Grave Digger, the truck made famous by her father Dennis Anderson, on January 30, 2021. I remember being in the bottom of the rig playing with my monster trucks. Everyone in the family thought it was extremely funny and so the name stuck. One lap earlier, an aborted block pass almost sent both riders to the ground. July 18th, 2022. My brother Adam had a ride where, for $5, you could get on the back of a monster truck.". I had to basically catch up to speed from where my brothers had gone 10 or 15 years to where we are now, where we are doing those two-wheel tricks and doing backflips and corkscrews and nose wheelies and bicycles and everything else. He put on the after burners and I was trying as hard as I could. Krysten is among some of the tallest women we write about, and this has certainly helped her stand out in the crowds. I had a very rough first year, Im not going to lie, Anderson says. Andersons willingness to create carnage on the floor elevated Grave Digger from monster truck to marketing and merchandising. If you ask me to do 15 backflips in a row, I can do 15 backflips in a row, she says. Meet Krysten Anderson, the first and only female driver of Grave Digger. That ones pretty cool when it rolls into the arena, Im not going to lie. If youve ever watched an interview with the Anderson clan their bond is obvious. I got around Tom [Vialle] in the whoops and if got a little sketchy at the midpoint with a light sprinkle. When shes not touring she works as a server in her familys restaurant, Diggers Diner. 134 lb / 61 kg. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Digger! Its got these big, silver, aggressive-looking spikes on it and its got this crazy 3D, mechanical monster coming out of the side of it. My brothers and my dad, as long as their careers have been, theyre always telling me that theyre impressed with me, Anderson said. They also go to take rides of her brothers ride truck. Results and Points after Arlington "I don't really get a lot of backlash from anyone," she says. "I was paying attention more to where Tony was and not where I was, and I hit a crushed car and spun out. Where the heck is this ramp? Finally, the rubber touched the dirt and I was like, Oh man, finally I made it. I knew it was pretty big when I felt like I was in the air for three minutes.. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a3020d069439bf4 My confidence wasnt high. When youre out there on that floor, and you got 50,000 people supporting you good or bad, and you look up in the stands and see that you got the most tee shirts, you win. Her dad created Grave Digger, the truck she drives. But this year, I was making fast times and every time I made a pass, I was shaving time off.. Our other world champion is Linsey Read in Scooby Doo and shes our freestyle champion. Its hard talking someone into to giving you a race when youve never been on a 450 before especially here at Daytona, Hampshire told NBC Sports Will Christien. Krysten Anderson blonde to the bone and runnin on methanol 1st female to drive Grave Digger. "Like in a regular car, the steering wheel controls the front tires, but Monster Truck drivers use the silver toggle on the left to control and turn the rear tires. It drove me insane. From there she planned to pursue a career as a graphic designer for the Monster Jam trucks. Join Facebook to connect with Krysten Anderson and others you may know. Compounding his disappointment, Thrasher was coming off a heat win. I was consistently getting beat by a second there, but when the lights come on here the track comes to me and I really find my flow again., With this win @EliTomac passes @RickyCarmichael for 3rd on the All-Time wins list , Monster Energy 450 Main Event LIVE fueled by @Amazon#SupercrossLIVE #SuperMotocross pic.twitter.com/MIpwPsU24R, Supercross LIVE! [1] Marie Claire declared Anderson one of the "New Guard" of fifty rising female leaders. Its got blue flames and its Ryans identity. Anderson spun yarns about his early days at a Tampa sports bar last month, but the conversation just as easily could have taken place around a campfire or on a front porch adorned with rocking chairs. Q: Aside from Grave Digger, is there another truck on the Monster Jam tour you think has a really cool skin/design? "The most successful people at World Finals just run their own race and pay attention to what's in front of them," she says. "I realized that my life was different from other little girls around the fourth grade," she says. He was outside the top five in practice, rose to fourth in qualification, but once the money was on the line, he won his heat to gain a great gate pick. View the profiles of people named Krysten Anderson. According to Monster Jam, more than 3,000 cars are crushed at Monster Jam events every year. She has said that she could eat seafood every dayand she makes a mean tuna steak. Hey Krysten, if you ever want to hang out just let me know, okay? They needed a Grave Digger driver. Andersons dont settle for a second when they can achieve first. As Orlando hosts the Monster Jam World Finals Friday and Saturday, monster truck legend Dennis Anderson reflects on the legacy his kids carry on. Tomac now also has five consecutively. He readily admits to devoting more money to his truck than to his home as he struggled to make ends meet. Pride, fear, joy, anger and disappointment all mix in an uncommon way, creating unnerving emotions you may not have known existed inside your heart. I can do it now. I was like, Oh, this is big, this is big, this is big. It just kept climbing. Last year Tomac passed Webb late in the 2022 Daytona Supercross race and denied him the win, so the early lead was incredibly important. Second to Grave Digger, its probably one of the more aggressive, meaner-looking trucks. I feel like women in motorsports have a lot to prove or we feel like we have a lot to prove to show that we belong here or that we have a place in motorsports. From just a few months old until I was about five years old, I would travel on the road with my dad in the tractor trailer. He started selling T-shirts in the pit parties and after the races, he started going back out on the floor and freestyling. That led to a separate category for the sport. And, she was also the first female driver for the Grave Digger team. LeDuc goes through the motions of drifting around the crushed cars in the left lane. It has competed on every tour of the Triple Threat series ( Central 2017, West 2018, East 2019) and in the Showdown competition at World Finals 18, 19, and 20. My brother Ryan is the one who invented the nose wheelie. Lawrence had one previous start at Daytona. I've always told my kids, remember, youve got to learn to lose before you can win, but I'm going to tell you that's a hard knot to swallow when you are the flagship truck.. I had to get up to speed and even progress even farther than that in my first year, so it was really challenging and there were sometimes where it was pretty disheartening, but I wouldnt do it any other way.. Theyre excellent drivers. One of the main goals that Id like to accomplish is to retire with at least one world championship under my belt. "My mom never wanted me to be a Monster Jam driver," Anderson says. Im also out here representing all of the girls.. 1st female Point Series Champion. High school field? But the truck driver possessed an innate sense for business. It is a high intensity, fast-paced event that challenges both the drivers and their machines. She's obviously been surrounded by the Grave Digger brand since she was a child, but now aims at defining her own name. Hes been doing that for a few years and I actually named and designed my brothers truck, Bog Hog, and named and designed my dads mega truck King Sling. While theres no doubting Krystens drive and passion for Grave Digger and Monster Jam competition, she did at one point have other thoughts about her future career. She cant go on the road without her makeup bag and you would be hard pressed to catch her without her nails done. The 4 Piston Racing facility in Danville, IN houses two buildings one is 12,000 sq.-ft. and the other is 2,500 sq.-ft. Krysten drives as part of the Triple Threat Series. They had never, ever had a female drive Grave Digger before and they thought who better than Dennis only daughter Krysten. She got her drag racing license before she got her regular license, and that tells you everything you need to know about Johnna Dunn. in political science in 2005; she obtained her M.A. ", "Seeing all those people decked out in head-to-toe Grave Digger gear, chanting, 'Digger! In 2020, Krysten broke the World Record for the highest leap in a Monster Truck at 33 feet and 9.6 inches. I'm a father of 2 little boys that LOVE Monster Trucks. I could care less about anything else. But these question were far from her mind when Anderson climbed up into the most famous truck in the stadium at Houston. "I'm an Anderson -- everyone looks at me the same way they look at Adam, Ryan and my dad. They're the ones who are also holding the RII, a remote ignition interrupter, which means they are able to shut the truck off if they see that it's in a bad situation. Pro Mega Truck racing has just started to take off in the last couple of years, but its growing immensely. I told the guys we were going to get a holeshot no matter what. She often gets recognized by fans when shes working at the dinertalk about a Monster Jam fans dream. Feld Motor Sports. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'monstertruckguide_com-box-4','ezslot_8',110,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-monstertruckguide_com-box-4-0');Outlaw Country music is a subgenre of country music. He put his elbows wide and kept the lead. Spinning in a circle may be the simplest of all tricks in the monster truck world, but one tip got her on track. We have two women sitting in world championship chairs right now and that hasnt happened in over 20 years. "When I think about where Grave Digger started in this tiny North Carolina town, literally up the road from my house, I can't believe it. In 2020, Krysten broke the World Record for the highest leap in a Monster Truck at 33 feet and 9.6 inches. Tomac looked beatable at the start of the day. Best Bets: Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, Boyz II . Power Rankings after Arlington The females compete on the same platform, in the same competition, in the same trucks, with the same amount of time as the males doing the sport. It makes me so mad because theres some people who pick it up right away. Brothers Adam Anderson and Ryan Anderson spent the 2000s and 2010s raking up Freestyle and Racing World Championships. For the seventh time overall and fifth consecutively, Tomac won the race most riders in the field equates to NASCARs Daytona 500. Krysten is now 23 and has been driving the Grave Digger monster truck for four years. Ive been working my butt off and a lot of people doubted me, but I ended up getting third place and the crowd is sick. So, I was rushing through a love relationship with them, buying them go-karts, buying them stuff. Its the same horsepower, but much faster and its meant for more speed and racing through the mud and obstacle course. It was then that we were introduced to Katie Coleman, a cylinder head specialist at the shop, but an industry vet with 15+ years of experience. Krysten has many young girl fans that look up to and admire her. Photo from Live Nation. But, maybe hands down the coolest venue that Ive ever got to compete in, and Im really proud that I got to compete in it before Monster Jam stopped going there, is the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. In 2022, she would win Arena Championship Series Central, becoming the first (and so far only) woman ever to win a championship series in Monster Jam. in government from Johns Hopkins University in 2009. Weight. That is where every world champion had been crowned to date all the way up until we moved to the Camping World Stadium in Florida. Standing at 5 feet, 7 inches, just a little taller than the tires on the monster truck she drives and lets fly in stadiums and arenas around the world, she learned the basics of commanding a 12-foot-wide, 12,000-pound vehicle at Monster Jam's training facility in Illinois. Find out more about this up and coming diesel drag racing star. Even after partnering with a promoter and growing the hobby into a fleet of trucks, he worried about where he might be in five or 10 years, fearing he would end up broke and selling everything for parts. Her original plan was to go to college and study studio art and graphic design. I can never quit. Theres pressure from your own team, the fans and typically, the athletes themselves are their own biggest critics. Its like your family being involved in commercial fishing or something your whole life. I think with a little time, Krysten is going to prove to the world exactly what she has the ability to do. 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However, shes been surrounded by monster truck culture her entire life. Tomac stayed on his back tire until a little mistake with 12 minutes remaining on the clock allowed Tomac to pass. Krysten realized she couldnt pass on such an amazing opportunity..and so she officially entered into the family business. He is not dating anyone. on April 23-24 Renita Naraine. My dad has created such a legacy and such an awesome career. My two older brothers, Adam and Ryan, are also involved in Monster Jam and they race for the Digger team. A lap later, Sexton bobbled exiting a turn and the two made contact again. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'monstertruckguide_com-box-3','ezslot_9',106,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-monstertruckguide_com-box-3-0'); But even though being part of a Monster Jam family dynasty has opened doors for Krysten she had earned her fans an amazing reputation all on her own. Krysten is the only daughter of monster truck, Monster Jam and Grave Digger legend, Dennis Anderson. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. That same emotion will grip Dennis Anderson, 58, Friday and Saturday when he watches three of his four children - 21-year-old Krysten, 29-year-old Ryan and 33-year-old Adam - compete in the . Obviously, my dad doesnt really need any introduction, Anderson says. "She hoped I'd go on to college and be a veterinarian.". Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas is my favorite stadium. Theres no female, theres no male. I basically had an idea of it from my dad and my brothers and what they told me and what its like and this and that, but I had never fully understood how complicated they can be until I actually sat in the seat of one. In 2021, she made her Stadium Tour debut at Houston on January 30. "I don't try to overthink anything. Kristen Lynne Soltis Anderson is a Republican pollster, television personality, and writer whose work has appeared in The Daily Beast,[3] Politico,[4] and HuffPost. As eluded to earlier, Krysten had immediate pressure to perform. Anderson is only the third female driver to compete full-time in the Stadium series. The front clip is an old Jeep Willys and its black and blue. She had been on the circuit for a while, but he had been too busy. The monster truck driver has competed in the last three Feld Entertainment Monster Jam World Finals, as well as the All-Star Challenge in 2019. Originally from Currituck, North Carolina, Krysten became an official driver back in 2017, which is around the same time as Dennis's accident. I fell completely in love with it and I put my art portfolio away and I said college would always be there for me and I could always go back, and I might go back one day. I'm not thinking about what could happen when I get out there because you never know what could go down while out on the track. 291 talking about this. Once the truck had peaked at its highest point and the truck had hadnt started coming down yet, I was like, Oh my God, how high in the air am I right now?, Once it finally started falling and coming back down to earth, I was like, I am still falling right now. Only Cory Rummell in a truck named Rage was better the second night with his 9.551. Tampa: Cooper Webb gets first 2023 win People travel from all over the world to go to Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas and see that event and watch that production. [9], In 2014, she left The Winston Group and founded research organization Echelon Insights with Patrick Ruffini. I couldnt even make it down the track correctly, she told ESPN in 2018. Its definitely a family affair. Its easy to understand why her fans love her and why her fellow drivers enjoy being around her as well. San Diego: Tomac, Jett Lawrence double down A lot of times I didn't have as much patience with my family as I did with my fans and, and it took me a little while to realize that, Anderson said. His dreams of being a farmer eventually gave way to his hobby of mud bogging and staging shows at local fairgrounds. He possesses a folksy charm that can endear him to an audience of two or a stadium full of what he likes to call concrete crews and city slickers.. Diggers Diner is located next to Diggers Dungeon in Poplar, North Carolina. "When we pull up on the line," Anderson says, "we have no idea what's going to happen. In 1979, Dennis Anderson created Grave Digger and has since gone on to win numerous Monster Jam World Championships. Krysten's diet is quite intense as she has cut out several things from her diet, including gluten, fish, and dairy products. I love the city of Nashville. I hope when it comes time for me to retire Ill have multiple World Championships under my belt..