Retired Monster Truck owner & driver of Awesome Kong, King Kong, the Undertaker & the Punisher, Jeff Dane, retired from the sport in 1995. Jeff was one of the original Monster Truck builders, who along with people like Fred Shafer, Evert Jasmer & Bob Chandler, started the Monster Truck sport.
There are many innovations which Jeff came up with, where he claims the credit was not given to him for coming up with these ideas. He says he had the first monster truck with a rear engine in it. His was the first monster truck to have the driver seat in the center of truck. He was first to have a cooling system which flows through frame & roll cage, & first to ever run over cars at a motor sports event in front of a crowd. BIGFOOT was pulling sleds at truck pulls while King Kong was crushing cars at shows.
Q)How did you get into Monster Truck Racing ?
A)”It happened, when standard car crushing wasn’t good enough anymore, about
3 years into the sport of monster trucking. 1977-78-79, standard car crushing. 1980-up, racing took hold.”
Q)What was going through your mind the first time you crushed some cars ?
A)”I’m already almost 10 feet off the ground, my center of gravity is going to be a lot worst when I’m of the cars, lets not roll”
Q)Where you nervous ?
A)”Scared so bad, that you sweat a lot from the danger & the loss of money to repair the damage.”
Q)How did the crowd react ?
A)”My first car crush’s were in a field with few people, But at shows, in the beginning the crowd went wild.”
Q)Did you enjoy the fame & fortune of the sport ?
A)”I enjoyed being my own boss, and in the beginning the pay was great.”
Q)How would you prepare for a race ?
A)”About two hours before the races began, I wouldn’t eat or drink anything, because for the next 3 hours during the show, you don’t have time for rest room brakes.”
Q)How many years did you race for ?
A)”Feb. 95 was my last show. Feb 80 was my first official show where I was required to wear a helmet and a fire suit. From 76 to 79 I did a lot of fairs and car shows with no racing.
Q)Why did you quit ?
A)”I lost interest in the sport due to the decline in pay. MONEY MOTIVATES.”
Q)Did you find it hard to keep your trucks up to date, with all technical advances that the sport was seeing ?
A)”You could count it like clock work that every two years you would have to redo or replace the outdated parts and sometimes the entire truck.”
Q)Did you prefer racing the truck or doing display work ?
A)”In the time of displays ie; car shows & fairs, the money was great. When the trucks started competing, I never liked to just sit with the truck not being able to race.”
Q)Did you ever roll any of the trucks ?
A)”I never rolled a truck over but came close. My employees had eight rollovers, one of which the truck fell off the trailer, which was covered with snow.”
Q)What was going through your mind when you saw someone else roll their truck ?
A)”When I saw someone else roll a truck, all I could think about was the time and the
money that was lost due to the damage.”
Q)Are there any particular moments in your racing career, which stick in your mind ?
A)”Meeting Ted Nugent, Mickey Thompson, Lee Majors, and others. Seeing other monster trucks using updates and safety that I designed.”
Q)What did you enjoy most about being a monster truck driver ?
A)”Coming home to my family after two months on the road.”
Q)What was the worst thing about it ?
A)”Dealing with the employee problems and having to manage and drive the trucks while being on the road”
Q)Did you prefer the early years of the sport, or the later years ?
A)”From a money standpoint, the money was a lot better in the early years. Later on the speed of the truck was what I enjoyed.”
Q)Did you think that the sport is as popular as it was 10 years ago ?
A)”Absolutely not.”
Q)What are your views on the sport now ?
A)”I believe there are to many racers with all the money and not enough racers with any money.”
Q)What about the future of the sport ? Do you think there is anything left to do to advance it any further ?
A)”Getting insurance for the events is going to be a factor on indoor events, you might see indoor events eliminated altogether. A lot more third party organizing and no truck owners in any top level positions that are responsible for making self helping decisions. i.e.; Bob Chandler.”
Q)Are there any other comments you wish to make ?
A)”I wish the sport well, it was a great ride while it lasted, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on its survival.”