The Province

SHE’S MAKING TRUCK HISTORY

Anderson is the first female to get behind the wheel of Grave Digger and compete for Monster Jam title

- RENITA NARAINE Driving.ca

For those unfamiliar with the world of Monster Jam and everything monster truck associated, it's a monstrous event that promises the most high-flying, action-packed motorsport­s experience.

Each of the five tour lineups consist of a mix of drivers and popular trucks. However, each lineup gets a Grave Digger truck, which happens to be one of the most — if not the most — popular Monster Jam monster trucks. And this year, piloting Grave Digger is the first and only female Grave Digger driver, Krysten Anderson, who also happens to be the only female competing for the championsh­ip title.

“I really do encourage people to come out and see us compete live,” Anderson said.

“You might have seen us on TV. You might have seen us on social media, YouTube or on your phone — whatever the case may be. But until you actually come out and experience the monster trucks live — and you've heard it, seen it, smelt it — you haven't experience­d a monster truck yet.”

THE GRAVE DIGGER LEGACY

The 24-year-old from North Carolina was basically born into the sport, and that high flying action and monster truck blood seems to run through her veins. Her father is none other than Dennis Anderson, retired monster truck driver and creator of Grave Digger. If that's not enough — she's got a whole family of Monster Jam truck drivers, including her two older brothers, Adam and Ryan, and younger brother, Weston, who started this year. It's safe to say the siblings are carrying on their father's legacy, and Anderson says they're very happy to do that.

Anderson got her start in Monster Jam back in 2016 when another Grave Digger was to be added to the fleet, as well as another tour. She was turning 18 that year — the eligible age to audition to drive the 12,000-pound trucks — and thought there's really no better time to join the family legacy than the 35th anniversar­y of Grave Digger, which happened to coincide with her father's retirement the following year.

And that she did, making her the first female Grave Digger driver — still the only one. And since then, she has gone on to dominate, winning several accolades such as 2021 save of the year, as well as breaking the Guinness World Record for the highest ramp jump in June 2020. The previous record was 21.33 feet, but Anderson shattered that by jumping well over 33 feet.

Even before piloting Grave Digger, Anderson knew she wanted to be a part of the Monster Jam world, as she had previous plans of studying studio art and graphic design at college, mentioning earlier thoughts of a career as a graphic designer for Monster Jam trucks.

When asked if she still aspires to design, she says she might consider that an option but “it kind of just depends on where I'm at and where I end up. I'm a female, so things are very different for me.”

She adds that whatever she wants to be in the future, whether it's a mom — or something else — she doesn't necessaril­y want to be touring all over the world and driving monster trucks for 20-plus years.

The sport has no age limits, she explains; some people only drive monster trucks for one or two years, but many stick around for five or even 10 years. Her brothers Adam and Ryan have been driving for 17 and 13 years, respective­ly, and her dad drove for 35 years.

While she says there's no set time to retire, it can also be hard on the body, and it's pretty rare to see someone driving for 20- or 30-plus years.

“I don't think I'll drive for as long as my dad did,” she said.

HOME LIFE

While Anderson loves travelling, competing and meeting her fans, she said the worst part of being on the road every weekend is being away from home.

When she isn't driving monster trucks, she's back home in North Carolina with her family, where Anderson drives a lime green Jeep Wrangler Sahara. She has had it for three years and absolutely loves it, but she thinks it may be time for a change.

“I like horsepower. I like to go fast,” she said.

“Growing up, my dad used to have a '69 Chevelle that was really cool, and we used to take rides in it,” she says, adding that her family loves American muscle. “I think it would be cool to have one of those again; it's just really sleek.”

She's also considerin­g a different Jeep.

“There is a Jeep Trackhawk that actually has a Hellcat motor in it, and a Hellcat is really fast,” she said.

“So, I think that would be really cool because it's like a little sleeper vehicle. It looks like a Jeep Cherokee — a regular grocery-getter — and then it's got this big, powerful motor in it that sounds insane. I think that's pretty cool.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG FEMALE DRIVERS

Though Anderson was born into the business, she has surely made a name for herself (she's leading in the point standings for her tour) and is very adamant about encouragin­g young women to come out and compete.

“Don't accept `no' for an answer,” she said.

“I think they shouldn't give up and they shouldn't let anyone underestim­ate them because they're females.”

Fellow competitor and Max-D driver Blake Granger — married to Monster Jam driver Kayla Blood — said, “Everyone's story is going to be different” in regards to how they made their way to Monster Jam, but it's important to go to shows, meet whoever you can and get your name out there. It's important for young kids “to see these female drivers, like Krysten on the tour, and getting the opportunit­y to say, `Wow, we can do this, too.'”

Granger also said, “Monster Jam is always looking for these awesome ladies to come out and beat our guys' butts, so there definitely is opportunit­y out there right now.”

And that's exactly what Anderson is doing.

She is the only female in her point series, and as of April 10, she was in first place and leading seven other men, ahead by 36 points.

“I think that's a true testament to not letting men, or anybody, underestim­ate you or question you based on your gender,” Anderson said, quickly adding, “Don't let anybody make you question yourself. I think Monster Jam is great because this is one of the only motorsport platforms where men and women compete on the same level, on the same track and at the same time,” she said.

“It's a completely equal playing field for the men and women.”

FUTURE OF THE ANDERSON LEGACY

With generation­s fully enthralled in the sport, we couldn't help but wonder if the Andersons would ever consider doing some type of reality show — think Duck Dynasty, but with monster trucks. Truck Dynasty?

“Maybe — I feel like our life at home is pretty interestin­g,” she said.

“Maybe people would be interested to see what it's like and see what my dad does, now that he's retired.

“He's not competing and on TV as often anymore, so we wouldn't be opposed to it.”

As for the future of Grave Digger, Anderson has three nephews who are also obsessed with motorsport­s and monster trucks.

“We have a pretty good inclinatio­n that by the time they turn 18, we'll be passing our steering wheels on to them,” she said.

The monster truck legacy continues!

 ?? MONSTER JAM/FELD ENTERTAINM­ENT ?? Krysten Anderson, 24, was born into the Grave Digger legacy — her father created the popular Monster Jam vehicle.
MONSTER JAM/FELD ENTERTAINM­ENT Krysten Anderson, 24, was born into the Grave Digger legacy — her father created the popular Monster Jam vehicle.

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