Chandler, meanwhile, took the extreme measure of filing suit against TNT Motorsports for banning his new truck, saying that the rules implemented at that time would "set monster truck racing back 10 years.
Finally, TNT balked and the truck was allowed to compete once again during the summer of , but had to follow the other guideline put in at the time the truck was banned of having an engine no larger than cubic-inches.
The controversy had finally gone away once the truck was back on the track, but at the same time, the truck influenced the drivers and teams to build more sophisticated trucks that could compete and win against the new Bigfoot. In , the tube frame chassis became the industry standard for monster trucks, and as years passed, innovations and improvements have made the sport what it is today. Today's monster trucks are now more well-designed, more powerful and safer because of what Bob Chandler started back in When you look at the old-style monster trucks, fans can appreciate how the industry began and can honor it's heritage.
However, much like many forms of competition, the industry had to change with the times. Chandler happened to be the first one to make such a change, and the other drivers were not prepared for it. It is now mostly used for displays and special events, but is still recognized as the first modern-day monster truck. The truck was innovative for it's design. The truck was controversial because of it's domination. Enjoy our content? Bigfoot 8 would be temporarily banned from TNT Motorsports due to it's extreme technological advantage over almost all other trucks on the circuit.
In , Bigfoot created the first 3D-bodied monster truck Snake Bite. The truck ran on various Bigfoot chassis and served as the teammate to the team. In , Sky Hartley and Eric Meagher were hired by the team. Three brand new trucks were introduced as well. Andy Brass driving Bigfoot 11 won the PENDA Points Series under the name Wildfoot ; the name was used as the series allowed only one truck to use the same name, and the team also had Bigfoot 10 competing.
Bigfoot 12 , a dedicated display truck, and Bigfoot 14 also debuted that year. In , Brass, Patterson and Conn finished their final seasons with Bigfoot. Bigfoot 6 was also retired. Bigfoot 15 made its competition debut. Meanwhile, Bigfoot 7 was rebuilt into a display truck featuring 10 foot tall tires similar to 5. Gene Patterson also returned to driving Bigfoot.
Meanwhile, while on tour in Brazil, Bigfoot 9 was seized by customs. It was never returned to the team. In , the team set multiple world records. He recorded the longest monster truck jump and fastest monster truck land speed after jumping over a Boeing airplane in Smyrna, TN. He also set the world record for the highest monster truck jump in Las Vegas. Bigfoot 11 also set a record for the longest wheelie in a monster truck.
Lonny Childress left the team. Teammates Gene Patterson and Sky Hartley left the team. Bigfoot 3 was also retired and was eventually sold. In , Dan Runte and Bigfoot 14 won the same series Tack won the year before. In , Bigfoot 5 was inducted into the Guinness Book Of World Records as the tallest and widest pickup truck, a record which remains to this date.
Ken Koelling retired from racing. Nigel Morris also joined the team as he debuted his own truck, Bigfoot 17 , the first official Bigfoot truck to exclusively tour in Europe. Bigfoot 8 was retired from competition and became a display truck. Eric Tack officially left the team. In , The team celebrated its 30th anniversary with a 's-inspired paint scheme on Dan Runte's Bigfoot.
Also, AJ Straatmann drove Bigfoot for a couple months. In , multiple achievements were received by the team. Straatman joined the team full time. Dave Harkey retired from racing. Bigfoot 4 was sold. In , Darron Schnell was hired by the team. Later that year, former driver Dave Harkey tragically died at the age of In , Straatmann left the team.
In , Amber Walker began driving for the team using the Ms. Bigfoot body design. Swim won another Checkered Flag Productions Championship with Rick Long won the racing championship of the Monster Truck Nationals with In , Walker left the team. Long repeated as MTN racing champion again driving Runte won another championship for the team this time, the 4 Wheel Jamboree Nationals Racing Championship. In , Bigfoot 18 debuts.
Runte later won the Toughest Monster Truck Tour with The truck bruised its way over the clunkers without so much as a whimper. History had been made. On the heels of BIGFOOT 1 and 2 was a growing field of imitators, capitalizing on the growing popularity of this new form of motorized entertainment. As the monster truck industry began to establish itself, the performance of the trucks themselves seems quite modest in contrast to the high-flying, high-speed events of today.
Utilizing a fabricated heavy duty box frame, in addition to planetary equipped axles right from the get-go, BIGFOOT 4 was the next step in monster truck technology. Bob Chandler decided to end this competition once and for all. It was a major hit with fans. Bob then decided to purpose build a truck to handle these goliath tires. Existing monster truck designs were not exactly prime examples of high technology at the time. They featured stiff leaf spring-based suspensions that were rough and offered little in the way of travel, which of course took its toll on drivers.
Most trucks at the time also utilized steel pickup truck bodies, mounted atop heavy steel frames. All of that combined with heavy military axles and full-cleat tires added up to one thing: a very cumbersome monster truck, often in excess of 15,lbs.
Despite their heavy weight, the high-horsepower engines that teams were using in the trucks were propelling them to speeds in excess of 60mph.
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