Taz

Taz in Virginia Beach, May 2009

**Taz**, stylized as **taz** and also known as **Tasmanian Devil**, was a custom-bodied monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and licensed by Warner Bros., based on the *Looney Tunes* animated character of the same name. Debuting in mid-2005, Taz is best known for being the first full-time driving identity of Adam Anderson, son of Grave Digger creator and former driver Dennis Anderson. Adam quickly rose through the ranks of Monster Jam, making Taz one of the most successful trucks of its time and giving it a high prominence in televised events. Taz made six World Finals appearances; Adam won the freestyle championship in 2008, becoming the youngest world champion in Monster Jam history. Taz was retired in late 2010 and converted into Tasmanian Devil, driven by Nicole Johnson.

## History

#### Background

On January 10, 2005, Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced their partnership with Clear Channel Entertainment (Monster Jam's owners at the time) and their intention to create a monster truck based on the Tazmanian Devil, a character from the *Looney Tunes* animated franchise, as well as the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Superman. The Superman truck had already debuted just two days before, while Batman and Taz were planned to debut later in the year; Batman would end up being delayed to next year, while Taz's body was completed by early July.

#### 2005

Taz made its debut in West Lebanon on July 11, 2005, driven by Charlie Pauken on Jason Childress' Bulldozer/High Roller chassis. Pauken continues to drive the truck in the Summer Heat series. Taz makes its first television appearance in Montreal, the 2006 season opener, in October, losing the freestyle tiebreaker to Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction. Adam Anderson becomes the truck's primary driver, beginning in Minneapolis.

#### 2006-07

In 2006, Adam would drive Taz for its first full season, winning freestyle at the second Minneapolis show of the season and in Detroit, running the 106.7 The Drive body at the latter. The two would make their first appearances in the World Finals and European Tour, winning racing at all three events in Arnhem. For the 2007 season, Adam would temporarily leave Taz to drive Grave Digger, filling in for his father who’d gotten injured in Minneapolis last year; Lee O'Donnell would take his place, winning racing in Orlando. Adam would run 106.7 The Fox, another radio sponsor body, on Taz’s chassis in Detroit. Adam returned to Taz in March, competing in the World Finals and European Tour.

#### 2008-09

   In 2008, Adam received a new chassis while Bobby Zee campaigns a second Taz at Toronto on the Team Suzuki/Demolition Man chassis. Aaron Basl would also temporarily drive Taz in Baltimore after his regular truck, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, suffered from mechanical problems; Andy Slifko almost took his place. At World Finals 9, Adam won his first world championship in freestyle, successfully clearing a triple bus stack and recieving a score of 37. This made him the youngest champion in World Finals history, at only 22 years old.

However, at the next World Finals in 2009, Adam would crash inside Thunder Alley in round two of racing, landing sideways on a jersey barrier and striking a tree. Adam would be sent to a local hospital; Chad Tingler would fill in for him in freestyle, only to also get injured while attempting to clear the triple stack. Both drivers would recover and Adam continued to drive Taz for the rest of the year.

#### 2010-11

 File:Taz save 2010.gif
2010 would be Taz's final year of competition. Adam would perform very well at Jacksonville, making it to the final round of racing (only to be beaten by Carl Van Horn in Excaliber) and winning freestyle over Cam McQueen in Nitro Circus by one point; he'd also perform a save off of a bus, earning the Save of the Year award at the end of the season. At World Finals 11, Adam would crash in round two of racing yet again, and would recieve a score of 4 in freestyle after crashing in one hit. In the European Tour, Adam would make his final appearance in Taz in Arnhem, while Frank Krmel filled in for him in Cardiff. Alex Blackwell would drive Taz in West Lebanon, as well as at its final show in Mexico City in November, where he won racing.

Following the end of the 2010 season, Adam would begin running the Grave Digger the Legend body on the Taz chassis. Meanwhile, Taz’s body is recolored to a maroon red and renamed Tasmanian Devil, driven by Nicole Johnson.

## Drivers

* Charlie Pauken (2005)
* Adam Anderson (2005-10)
* Lee O'Donnell (2007)
* Bobby Zee (Toronto 2008)
* Aaron Basl (Baltimore 2008)
* Chad Tingler (World Finals 10 freestyle, Englishtown 2010 (Show 3))
* Frank Krmel (Cardiff 2010)
* Alex Blackwell (West Lebanon 2010, Mexico City 2010)

## Events Competed

#### 2005

* West Lebanon, NY, Jul 11-13
* Stafford Springs, CT, Jul 30-31
* Montreal, QB, Oct 29
* Minneapolis, MN, Dec 3

#### 2006

* Des Moines, IA, Jan 6-7
* San Antonio, TX, Jan 14-15
* Memphis, TN, Jan 20-21
* Indianapolis, IN, Jan 28
* Hartford, CT, Feb 3-4
* Pittsburgh, PA, Feb 10-12
* Minneapolis, MN, Feb 18
* El Paso, TX, Mar 11
* World Finals VII, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 25
* Syracuse, NY, Jun 3
* Oberhausen, Germany, Sep 8-10
* Zurich, Switzerland, Sep 22-24
* Arnhem, Netherlands Sep 30-Oct 1
* Antwerp, Belgium, Oct 6-8
* Helsinki, Finland, Oct 13-15
* Lisbon, Portugal, Oct 28-29
* Stockholm, Sweden, Nov 10-12

#### 2007

* San Antonio, TX, Jan 13-14
* Orlando, FL, Jan 27
* Houston, TX, Feb 3
* Philadelphia, PA, Feb 9-11
* Minneapolis, MN, Feb 17
* Jacksonville, FL, Feb 24
* El Paso, TX, Mar 3
* World Finals VIII, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 24
* Virginia Beach, VA (Monsters on the Beach), May 11-13
* Gothenburg, Sweden, Jun 9
* Arnhem, Netherlands, Sep 29-30
* Cardiff, Wales, Oct 27

#### 2008

* Houston, TX, Jan 5
* San Antonio, TX, Jan 11-13
* San Diego, CA, Jan 19
* Toronto, ON, Jan 19-20
* Sacramento, CA, Jan 25-27
* Rockford, IL, Feb 1-2
* Biloxi, MS, Feb 8-9
* Rosemont, IL, Feb 16-17
* Baltimore, MD, Feb 23 (Saturday 7:30pm Show Only)
* Jacksonville, FL, Feb 23
* Providence, RI, Feb 29-Mar 1
* Pensacola, Fl, Mar 7-8
* World Finals IX, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 28-29
* Virginia Beach, VA (Monsters on the Beach), May 9-11
* Syracuse, NY, May 31
* Cardiff, Wales, Jun 7
* Gothenburg, Sweden, Jun 14-15
* Brondby, Denmark, Jun 21
* Brussels, Belgium, Jun 29
* Hagerstown, MD, Jul 18-20
* Houston, TX (Monsters on Mainstreet), Jul 26
* Arnhem, Netherlands, Sep 28-29
* Louisville, KY, Oct 24-25
* Helsinki, Finland, Nov 1-2
* Stockholm, Sweden, Nov 7-9

#### 2009

* Houston, TX, Jan 3
* San Antonio, TX, Jan 10-11
* Minneapolis, MN, Jan 17
* Anaheim, CA, Jan 24
* New Orleans, LA, Jan 31
* Uniondale, NY, Feb 6-8
* Hampton, VA, Feb 13-15
* Tampa, FL, Feb 21
* Jacksonville, FL, Feb 28
* Saginaw, MI, Mar 6-7
* Bridgeport, CN, Mar 14-15
* World Finals X, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 27-28
* Virginia Beach, VA (Monsters on the Beach), May 8-10
* Englishtown, NJ (Night of Thrills), May 30
* West Lebanon, NY, Jul 13-15
* Mobile, AL, Jul 24-25
* Corpus Christi, TX, Jul 31-Aug 1
* Louisville, KY, Oct 23-24
* Minneapolis, MN, Dec 5

#### 2010

* Atlanta, GA, Jan 9
* Detroit, MI, Jan 16
* Columbia, SC, Jan 22-23
* New Orleans, LA, Jan 30
* Fargo, ND, Feb 5-6
* Rosemont, IL, Feb 12-14
* Worcester, MA, Feb 19-21
* Jacksonville, FL, Feb 27
* Winnipeg, MB, Mar 6-7
* World Finals XI, Las Vegas, NV, Mar 26-27
* Naples, FL, Apr 23-25
* Ocala, FL, Apr 30-May 2
* Copenhagen, Denmark, May 22-23
* Gothenburg, Sweden, May 29
* Philadelphia, PA, Jun 12
* Englishtown, NJ (Summer Motorsports Spectacular), Jun 19
* Cincinnati, OH, Jul 10
* West Lebanon, NY, Jul 19-21
* Englishtown, NJ (Summer Motorsports Spectacular), Sep 18
* Manchester, England, Sep 18-19
* Arnhem, Netherlands, Sep 25-26
* Cardiff, Wales, Oct 9
* Mexico City, Mexico, Nov 20-21

## World Finals Appearances

* 2006 - Adam Anderson
* 2007 - Adam Anderson
* 2008 - Adam Anderson (won freestyle)
* 2009 - Adam Anderson (racing), Chad Tingler (freestyle)
* 2010 - Adam Anderson

## Theme Songs

* "Twist" by Korn (2006-2008, West Lebanon 2009, 2010)
* "Ride" by Rob Zombie (2009, Arnhem 2010)
* "If You Dare" by Jim Johnston (2005, World Finals VIII & IX)

#### One-off Themes

* "Keep Away" by Godsmack (Syracuse 2008)
* "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace (Monsters on Mainstreet 2008)
* "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited (Monster on the Beach 2008)
* "Antisaint" by Chevelle (Hagerstown 2008)
* "T.N.T." by AC/DC (Minneapolis 2009 (Show 1))
* "Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends" by Fall Out Boy (Worchester 2010 (Show 3))
* "Bulls On Parade" by Rage Against The Machine (Naples 2010)
* "Jesus Built My Hot Rod” by Ministry (Cardiff 2010)

## Trivia

* Much like Batman and Superman, Taz was designed by Fraser Campbell in 2003, with its Hot Wheels toy coming out the following year. While the overall design of the toy was essentially the same as the actual truck's, the former has a softer shape and more pronounced snout, while the latter is slimmer and more detailed.

* File:Anaheim027.jpg  Contrary to popular belief, the red Tasmanian Devil truck was also licensed by Warner Bros. and themed after the relatively obscure DC Comics character.
	+ Despite this, the *Looney Tunes* character was still used to represent Tasmanian Devil in the 2012 souvenir yearbook.
	+ Tasmanian Devil would be replaced by Scooby-Doo, based on another Warner Bros. cartoon character, in 2013.

* As part of the 2016 Season Kickoff, a video uploaded to Monster Jam's YouTube channel announced Adam joining the Grave Digger team. In the video, Adam acted out a scene where he was deciding what to wear, pulling out a Taz driver's shirt before dismissing it and tossing it away.

* In 2009, an Australian version of Taz, owned by KC's Fireworks, made its debut on the former MotorStorm chassis. Its design was similar to the United States version, but with more saturated colors and a rounder shape. It would be retired after 2012, though its body was remolded to be used as Tassie Devil and Tom Cat.

* In December of 2018, the Taz body mold was reused for El Oso Loco, owned by Harper Motorsports. In 2023, it was reused again for Wadded Up Motorsports's Outfoxed.

## Gallery

66072838 116384279422873 4929897014585205333 n.jpgOriginal concept art.5wwww2.jpgOriginal Taz chassis in 2005.Allmstaff0516.jpgCantaz205a6.jpgAt its stadium debut at Montreal in 2005, under Charlie Pauken.IK8m4m.jpgTazWF7.jpgTaz at World Finals 7.2420740838 8fd358a6fd z.jpgTaz in Europe 2006.2db86f150b91330691f70ac692d49a67.jpgTazmonsterjam sb.jpg1923263 539218664429 2131 n.jpgDung209a3.jpgIn Digger's Dungeon, without the name.IwXl13.jpg20220410 013817.jpgBobby Zee's Taz running on Frank Krmel's former chassis.1923740 19443805322 6965 n.jpgScreenshot 2018-05-10-15-22-36.png3518591134 8d939e3980 b.jpgDantaz211a0.jpg2362676857 47f75a10df b.jpgTaz.jpgTaz, circa 2009.TT09.jpgTazFinal.jpgThe truck at its last event in Mexico City, 2010.2004-1 07-Taz (2).jpg2004 Hot Wheels toy. This version had a red mouth.2004-1 07-Taz (1).jpgWith concept art in the top left corner.Taz2009.jpg2005 Hot Wheels toy. The red has been removed to make it more accurate to the real truck.Tazplush.jpgPlush truck.8c4d12b25666c7a28764ed31345b2f30.pngLogo.Tazshirt.jpgA Taz shirt in 2015, five years after the truck's discontinuation.TazTailgate.pngTailgate 2009-2010: Note the copyright disclaimer under *Devil*.
## References

1. ↑ Screenshot of Taz in the World Finals 9 TV broadcast: 2005 cartoon concept.png
2. ↑ Announcement on ushra.com: https://web.archive.org/web/20050204110527/http://www.ushra.com/articleDetail?id=Article.2005-01-10.2353
3. ↑ Taz freestyle at World Finals 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YivFiRwLCSQ
4. ↑ Taz freestyle at World Finals 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKi-PPYhVOo
5. ↑ *Source needed*
6. ↑ Taz in World Finals 10 racing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rroO0V6sDDY
7. ↑ Taz freestyle at World Finals 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8I-H2aQGvQ
8. ↑ Taz freestyle at Jacksonville 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb4h9fsOTDs
9. ↑ Taz in World Finals 11 racing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVzqxrdDolg
10. ↑ Taz freestyle at World Finals 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUKP8Sw97tw
11. ↑ Taz concept art from 2003, in the 2005 yearbook: File:66072838 116384279422873 4929897014585205333 n.jpg
12. ↑ Tasmanian Devil Hot Wheels toy from 2012, with a small DC Comics copyright notice under the logo: 2012 Tasmanian Devil (2).jpg
13. ↑ File:20230815 164829.png