Blue Thunder was a monster truck

Monster truck

A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...

 that raced in the USHRA Monster Jam

Monster Jam

Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show operated by Feld Entertainment. The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association and takes place primarily in the United States and around the world...

 series. It was sponsored by the truck division of Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 and Live Nation

Live Nation

Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....

. The truck has several similarities with the monster truck Bigfoot

Bigfoot (truck)

Bigfoot, introduced in 1979, is regarded as the original monster truck. Other trucks with the name "Bigfoot" have been introduced in the years since, and it remains the most well-known monster truck moniker in the United States. Bigfoot 4x4, Inc. is owned and operated by its creator, Bob Chandler.-...

. Some fans saw Blue Thunder as a replacement for Bigfoot in the Monster Jam series. The truck had been moderately successful and won several major events during its existence. However, it has not yet won a championship. Blue Thunder is used by Ford Motor Company for promotional purposes along with competition. The truck is currently driven by Todd Leduc.

Truck history

Ford Motor Company teamed up with Live Nation to create a monster truck that would highlight its "Ford Tough" campaign. The body style would be based on the F series Ford pickup with the body style being changed with each model year. Patrick Chassis was chosen to construct the chassis for Blue Thunder . The drive line consists of a Merlin 540ci blown & injected engine with a Dedenbear two speed automatic transmission. This setup has caused some controversy, as Merlin engines are based on the Big Block Chevrolet. The tires on Blue Thunder are 66" Goodyear Terra Tires. Construction of two trucks with the "Blue Thunder" name were completed. The debut of Blue Thunder was January 6, 2001 at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Since its debut, it has placed in the finals every year. It performs at more than 20 events per year and is displayed at various promotional events. It also has been licensed for various toys and for two upcoming video games

Drivers

• Lyle Hancock
• Norm Miller
• Bobby Zoellner
• George Balhan
• Tony Farrell
• Linsey Weenk
• Frank Krmel
• Lee O'Donnell (on one occasion)
• Todd Leduc

When the Blue Thunder debuted in 2001, Lyle Hancock was the primary driver. Through the years, Norm Miller, Bobby Zoellner, George Balhan and Tony Farrell have also been drivers. In July 2007, it was announced that Linsey Weenk of CSK Motorsports joined Live Nation Motorsports to drive Blue Thunder. He debuted at Monsters on Mainstreet in Kankakee, IL Speedway. The current driver is Todd Leduc.

Monster Jam World Finals

• 2001

1. Driver: Lyle Hancock
2. Racing: Lost to Goldberg in the Finals
3. Freestyle: N/A

• 2002

1. Driver: Lyle Hancock
2. Racing: N/A *Broke after intros.*
3. Freestyle: Scored 35 - Tied for Third

• 2003

1. Driver: Lyle Hancock
2. Racing: Lost to Madusa in Round 1
3. Freestyle: Scored 34 - Third

• 2004

1. Driver: Tony Farrell
2. Racing: Lost to Blacksmith in Round 2
3. Freestyle: Scored 9 - Three Way Tie Last

• 2005

1. Driver: Tony Farrell
2. Racing: Lost to Bounty Hunter in Quarter-Finals
3. Freestyle: Scored 31 Tied First Place With Bounty Hunter. Scored 36 ,Second Place, In Tie breaker

• 2006

1. Driver: Tony Farrell
2. Racing: Lost to Taz in Round 2
3. Freestyle: Scored 24 - Sixth

• 2007

1. Driver: Tony Farrell
2. Racing: Lost to Monster Mutt Round 2
3. Freestyle: Scored 21 - Three way tie Tenth

• 2008

1. Driver: Linsey Weenk
2. Racing: Lost to Bounty Hunter in Round 2
3. Freestyle: Scored 30 - Tied Grave Digger for fourth

• 2009

1. Driver: Linsey Weenk
2. Racing: Lost to Captain's Curse in Semi-Finals
3. Freestyle: Scored 28 - fourth

• 2010

1. Driver: Linsey Weenk
2. Racing: Lost to Maximum Destruction in Semi-Finals
3. Freestyle: Scored 25 - Tied Iron Man and Avenger for fifth

Other monster trucks named Blue Thunder

There was also an earlier monster truck under the same name campaigned by Kevin Dabney and Kirk Dabney which had a Camaro body and raced in the 1980s . The two vehicles are unrelated although the name of the current truck may have been derived from the earlier vehicle.

See also

• Monster Truck
  Monster truck
  A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
  
  
• List of Monster Trucks

http://www.monsterjam.com/Bios/Trucks/Blue_Thunder/
http://www.monsterjam.com/Bios/Drivers/Tony_Farrell/
http://www.monsterjam.com/Bios/Drivers/Linsey_Weenk/
http://www.monsterjam.com/Bios/Drivers/Frank_Krmel,_Jr/

External links

• Monster Truck Online