Grave Digger

**Grave Digger** is a 1950 Chevrolet panel monster truck owned by Feld Motor Sports and created by Dennis Anderson out of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, that competes in Monster Jam events around the United States and other countries. First built as a scrappy mud bogger in 1982, Grave Digger’s popularity grew in the late 80s for its spooky design and Dennis's all-or-nothing driving style; it is often credited as being the “father of freestyle” due to the encore performances Dennis would put on when he’d get eliminated early in racing. Since then, Grave Digger has become arguably the most famous monster truck of all time (a title it shares alongside Bigfoot) and an icon of motorsports in general. Over thirty numbered Grave Digger trucks have been built and maintained at Digger's Dungeon, the Anderson family’s workshop in Poplar Branch.

Grave Digger is best known for its unique airbrushed paint scheme designed by artist Fred Buman in 1985. Inspired by 1970s horror comics, it depicts a foggy graveyard littered with the tombstones of other monster trucks, with a haunted house backlit by a full moon and being overseen by a skull-like ghost’s head. A white, arrow-like racing stripe is in the middle of the truck’s hood, alongside green flames, blazing red headlamps, and a Roman numeral designating the corresponding Grave Digger truck the body is on. Other conventions of Grave Digger include a logo dripping with blood, a bright green chassis, a black Jolly Roger flag placed on the truck’s back, and a slogan reading “Bad to the Bone” on the roof; the George Thorogood and the Destroyers song of the same name traditionally plays as the truck performs.

Grave Digger’s fleet of drivers and chassis began to expand in the early 1990s and has included some of the most successful and prominent in the sport, such as Pablo Huffaker, Lyle Hancock, Charlie Pauken, Gary Porter, Randy Brown, Chad Tingler, Carl Van Horn, Jon Zimmer, and Morgan Kane, among many others. Its current roster includes three of Dennis’s children (Adam, Krysten, and Weston Anderson), Tyler Menninga, Brandon Vinson, and Matt Cody. Dennis’s other son, Ryan Anderson, campaigns the Grave Digger spin-off Son-uva Digger; Grave Digger the Legend, based on the truck’s design from before it received the “Spooky paint job,” was driven by Adam from 2011 to 2015. Dennis retired from competition after an injury in 2017, though he continues to run his own King Sling mega truck and Extreme King Sling exhibition truck.

Grave Digger is one of the most promoted and celebrated monster trucks of all time, making numerous appearances on television, inspiring a vast amount of merchandise, and being a perpetual crowd favorite. Several other vehicles have echoed its design, including a Ford Mustang race car driven by Kevin Harvick for the NASCAR Ally 400 in 2021. It’s considered to be Monster Jam’s flagship truck and has been owned by the league since Dennis sold the name in 1998 amid financial troubles. At least one Grave Digger truck has participated in every Monster Jam World Finals event, international tour, and Championship series; Monster Jam events where no Grave Digger is present are rare, with Saudi Arabia 2017 being one of the most notable recent examples. Its last appearance at a non-USHRA-sanctioned monster truck event was at South Boston Speedway in October 2011.

Since the late 1990s, Dennis and the Grave Digger team have shared a fierce on-track rivalry with Tom Meents and the various trucks he’s driven, including Bulldozer, Goldberg, Team Meents, and his longest-lasting identity, Maximum Destruction/Max-D. Many events were promoted around the two’s competitiveness against each other, though they’ve shared a long-standing friendship off the track.

## History

### 1980s

**[Following paraghraphs need to be rewritten]**

#### Background

In the early 1980s, a teenage Dennis Anderson aspired to be a “big-time farmer” when he met Gary Todd, whose family owned the Currituck Grain Co. The two became friends when Dennis gave Greg a drive home in exchange for a gas tank, after which Dennis would work for the granary as a corn bagger. While Gary had a nice, expensive truck, Dennis had very little money and was constructing his own out of scavenged parts, including the body of a 1951 Ford F-1 pickup truck.

* **In 1982**, Gary badmouthed Dennis’s work during an amicable smack-talking session between the two. Offended, Dennis told him that he’d “take this old junk and dig [him] a grave with it” before spray-painting the name “Grave Digger” onto his truck; he'd then beat Gary in a grudge match in a muddy field. Initially a gray mud-bogging truck, Dennis would later have it painted red and added a yellow logo.

* **In 1984**, Dennis’s mud-bogger was rebuilt into a monster truck, replacing the red pickup body with a 1951 Ford panel van. Since Currituck Grain Co.’s farming vehicles were painted blue and silver, Dennis got his truck painted for free.

* **In 1985,** the "graveyard" paint job was conceived by local airbrush painter Fred Baumann, taking inspiration from 1970s horror comics; Dennis has admitted that he initially hated the new design until Fred clear-coated the body. The red headlights came from a school bus that Dennis was modifying into a hauling rig.

### 2000s

**[Following paragraphs have already been rewritten, citations need to be fixed]**

The Grave Digger team celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2002, with Dennis campaigning a new design for the year, featuring images of the truck from previous years on large gray tombstones. Pablo and Pauken debuted two Racesource chassis, #15 and #16, respectively. At World Finals 3, Dennis and Pablo (in Blacksmith) made it to the semi-final round of racing, though Dennis lost to Meents in his new truck, Team Meents, while Pablo received a 10-second penalty after knocking over two turning poles. Dennis got second place in freestyle after wheelieing #14 into a bunch of cars and saving the truck from rolling over; Meents would beat him again by only one point, while Pablo finished third. #17, a Pro Modified 1941 Willys drag racing car, becomes the second non-monster truck in the Grave Digger fleet and competes in IHRA events.

The 20th Anniversary body made its final appearance in Minneapolis in December, where Dennis won both racing and freestyle—it would also be Team Meents’s last show as Tom prepared to debut Maximum Destruction in January. Dennis suffered two injuries in the 2003 winter season when he collided with a dumpster in New Orleans and broke his finger in an elevator in Philadelphia, with the latter putting him out until July; Ricky Ownley filled in for him in Houston and won the racing competition, and Avenger driver Jim Koehler took his place in Philadelphia’s Saturday night show. Pablo drove Grave Digger 16 at World Finals 4 (during racing practice, he’d crashed #14 into a tree in Thunder Alley), while Carl Van Horn drove Blacksmith for the event. Jason Childress joined the team that year.

In 2004, Dennis began driving #19, the first Grave Digger built by Paul Cohen, while Childress took over #14. At World Finals 5, Dennis and Pablo (in Blacksmith again) raced against each other in the final round of racing, with Dennis winning his first world racing championship. Pontbriand retired from driving in 2005, and Van Horn would take his place in #14. Childress would also leave the team in favor of Bulldozer. In February, Dennis's oldest son, Adam Anderson, started his driving career at 19 years old in Vette King. At World Finals 6, Dennis loses the racing finals to his former trainee, Madusa, in her self-named truck; for the encore, he and Meents would bring out their respective teams' trucks and shove them into a semi-trailer.

In October 2005, Grave Digger 7 made its final appearance at a hayride event in Brownsburg, Indiana. In December, Adam made his stadium debut in Taz while Dennis introduced another new truck, Grave Digger 20, alongside a unique "Green Ghost" paint scheme in Minneapolis. In January 2006, Dennis participated in Monster Jam's last-ever event in the Pontiac Silverdome, having an intense crash in racing and winning freestyle with a score of 30. World Finals 7 was Pauken's first time competing in the World Finals since 2000, beginning a tradition of him driving Monster Mutt at the event. Dennis was the fastest qualifier and defeated Meents and Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter to claim his second world racing championship with the new chassis and body, though Meents later stole the freestyle win from him. Rod began driving #19 while Chad Tingler took Van Horn’s place in #14.

At the 2007 season opener in Minneapolis (Dec. 2, 2006), Dennis injured his arm during qualifying and couldn’t compete for the rest of the season; Chad filled in for him in freestyle at the show and would later begin running Dennis’s “Green Ghost” body on #14. While he recovered, the Grave Digger team celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2007 with a new body design featuring a wailing, red-eyed version of the ghost on the trucks’ rooves. Randy began driving #19, and Rod moved into #18. Adam temporarily left Taz, taking control of his father's #20 for the season and winning at several events, including freestyle in Houston and Atlanta.

Dennis returned in March for World Finals 8, running an all-chrome Grave Digger body for the event and taking second place in both competitions (Pablo won freestyle in the new Captain's Curse truck). A 25th Anniversary encore took place near the end of the event, with Grave Diggers 19, 15, 14, 18, and 16 coming out to freestyle all at once. The "Green Ghost" body is retired by the end of the year and displayed in Digger's Dungeon.

In 2008, an updated version of the 25th Anniversary roof design was introduced. At World Finals 9, Dennis set the then-fastest recorded time in Vegas Style history, with a 15.59 ET against Donkey Kong in round one of racing; Adam later won the freestyle championship (driving Taz) with a score of 37, becoming the youngest world champion in Monster Jam history at 22 years old. At the awards ceremony, Dennis won the Stadium Freestyle and Extreme Air of the Year awards for his freestyle at the 2008 season opener in Minneapolis (Dec. 8, 2007). On September 9, 2008, the rights to Grave Digger transferred to Feld Entertainment, who’d purchased Live Nation’s motorsports division and now owned Monster Jam and its respective trucks. In 2009, John Seasock’s former Batman chassis, ironically the same one he beat Dennis with in the final round of World Finals 8 racing, is converted into Grave Digger 22 as a replacement for Pauken’s #15.

### 2010s

Dennis and Meents had a very competitive season in 2010, facing off several times in racing and finishing among the top three freestyle scores at many shows. At World Finals 11, the two competed in the final round of racing; Dennis would defeat his arch-rival and win his fourth world championship, starting a racing winning streak lasting for nine events. Pauken, running the Monster Mutt body on #22, then won the freestyle championship with a near-perfect score of 39. At the end of the World Finals 11 encore, three trucks representing the evolution of Grave Digger came out onto the track: Dennis in #19 with a regular body, Adam in #12 with a 1985 blue and gray body, and Ryan Anderson (Dennis’s second-oldest son, who’d begun driving Monster Mutt that year) in #14 with a 1982 red primer body. While Adam crashed relatively early, Dennis and Ryan performed a spectacular finale in which they hit a van stack from opposite sides and crashed into each other. A photograph of the collision would feature on the cover of the 2011 souvenir yearbook.

2011 would see the return of Carl Van Horn in the new Grave Digger 23, as well as Chad and Porter debut #24 and #25, respectively. Grave Digger starts appearing at IHRA Nitro Jam events, drag racing against the Shockwave jet truck. In Atlanta, Dennis’s racing streak was broken by Frank Krmel in Advance Auto Parter Grinder, though he'd win freestyle with a score of 30. At World Finals 12, #20 blew its engine during racing and was unable to be replaced in time, so #24 was modified for Dennis to be able to compete in freestyle. In October, Randy drove #19 at a non-Monster Jam show in South Boston Speedway; this would be the last time any Feld-owned trucks competed at an independent event, as well as the final appearance of both Grave Digger and Bigfoot at the same show.

2011 also saw the debut of two Grave Digger spin-off trucks. Grave Digger the Legend, inspired by the 1984 paint scheme, was driven by Adam on the former Taz chassis and Tony Farrell on #12. While Adam’s truck had a proper 1951 Ford Panel body, Farrell’s was that of an inaccurate 1950 Chevrolet Panel, much like the World Finals 11 replica. The other, Ryan’s Son-uva Digger, was a concept developed by Dennis since the late 1990s, intended for both Adam and Ryan with the body style of a 1950 Willys panel Jeep (the same model as their grandfather’s hot rod). It debuted in the World Finals 12 encore, where Ryan freestyled and famously completed a perfect backflip near the end of his run. That year’s Baltimore show (July 9) would be the first time that all three Andersons competed in the same event, as well as Son-Uva Digger’s first stadium competition.

On November 1, 2011, Monster Jam revealed three new Grave Digger designs for 2012 as part of its thirtieth anniversary. Dennis ran a paint scheme with the “Grim” mascot character, alternating between green and purple versions each weekend. The rest of the team ran an altered version of the regular scheme with a “30th Anniversary” logo on the side. As part of the celebration, a special intro video depicting a group of torch-bearing cultists leading Grave Digger through a dark tunnel played before the truck came out. Additionally, the Grave Digger section of stadium pit parties was more elaborate than ever, with several items and vehicles being created specifically for them. These included:

* an inflatable archway resembling the ghost;
* full-sized props of the haunted house, dead tree, and tombstones from the truck’s paint scheme;
* a Grave Digger truck made entirely out of K’nex pieces, resembling Dennis’s green 30th Anniversary design;
* large banners with a timeline of Grave Digger’s history;
* a Chevrolet Tahoe and Silverado 1500 Crew Cab with designs inspired by the truck;
* and a working replica of the original red Grave Digger from 1982.

On March 21, three days before World Finals 13, a Grave Digger-themed parade rode down the Las Vegas Strip with three more designs, those being a remake of the original graveyard body (nicknamed “Grandma”) and chrome versions of Dennis’s green and purple trucks. Dennis ran the green body for racing and the purple one for freestyle at the event. For the encore, Grave Diggers 25, 22, 16, 19, 23, and 24, alongside Grave Digger the Legend, crashed into each other and performed simultaneous freestyles, with Dennis (in #25) ramming El Toro Loco out of the trailer it’d gotten stuck in during freestyle. Ryan (in #23) sustained a neck injury when Dennis accidentally landed on top of him, putting him out until November.

Earlier that January, Paul Cohen ran a Grave Digger body on a spare black chassis in Lexington when Randy and #19 could not appear at the event. In February, Van Horn suffered an injury and had his place taken by Daron Basl in Portland, Jon Zimmer in Spokane, and Cohen in Oakland, El Paso, and Fresno. In the summer, Dennis and Adam took part in the inaugural Path of Destruction tour in northeastern stadiums. The two performed very well, with Dennis double-downing in Baltimore and Adam winning racing in East Rutherford. In November, the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame inducted Dennis and Pablo for their contributions to the sport of monster trucks. Coincidentally, the 30th Anniversary body’s last competition appearance in Minneapolis (Dec. 1) would also be the last for the original Maximum Destruction design; while the Grave Digger team went back to usual, Tom and his team prepared to celebrate their tenth anniversary next year.

In 2013, Jon Zimmer joined the team full-time with the new Grave Digger 26, while Rod left to drive Monster Mutt Rottweiler and #18 was retired. Adam took the racing championship at World Finals 14, finally breaking the streak of bad luck he’d had in Las Vegas since 2009. Four more Grave Digger chassis debuted throughout the next year: 27 for Pauken, 28 for Pablo, 29 for Randy, and 30 for Dennis—all of their previous chassis were retired. In Tampa (Jan. 18, 2014), Dennis, who’d already won racing, performed a no-points dual freestyle with Pauken before introducing the Doom's Day encore truck. Adam took yet another racing win at World Finals 15, becoming the third driver in Monster Jam history (after Tom Meents and John Seasock) to successfully defend their racing championship. Later on in freestyle, Dennis attempted to recreate the massive leap performed by Todd Leduc in Metal Mulisha at the start of his run, only to break the front end upon impact and receive the lowest World Finals freestyle score for Grave Digger to date (an 8.5).

On December 1, 2014, Monster Jam announced that Gary Porter would leave the Grave Digger team and return to driving Carolina Crusher, beginning in late December of that year. Pauken competed in the inaugural Fox Sports 1 Championship Series in 2015, while Colton Eichelberger, Tom Meents’s stepson, inherited Porter’s #25 and competed in the #MoreMonsterJam arena series; they finished in fourth and second place in their respective series and received automatic bids for World Finals 16, alongside Dennis. As the first World Finals in which multiple drivers competed with the same identity, Pauken and Colton received metallic green and purple bodies, respectively. Several Grave Digger-themed items, including a hand-painted guitar, Monster Moto vehicles, and a baseball cap signed by television host Mike Rowe, were auctioned off at the event. BJ Johnson filled in for Van Horn in Fresno.

**[Late 2015-2023 paraghraphs need to be rewritten]**

## Drivers

*(Note: drivers listed in **bold** have/had **at least ten total years** behind the wheel of a Grave Digger truck(s).)*

### Fill-in

* Aaron Basl *(Lancaster 2005)*
* Alex Blackwell *(Prescott Valley 2007 & Grand Rapids 2009)*
* Ryan Anderson *(WF XI encore, WF XIII encore, WF XVIII encore, Philadelphia 2019)*
* Paul Cohen *(Oakland & Fresno 2012)*
* Daron Basl *(Portland 2012)*
* Marc McDonald *(Indianapolis 2014)*
* BJ Johnson *(Fresno 2015)*

### Exhibition

* Gary "BabaBooey" Dell'Abate (Uniondale 1999, Grave Digger 8)
* Debra “Madusa” Miceli (1999 Testing, Grave Digger 9)
* Ricky Carmichael (2004?, Grave Digger 16)
* John Seasock (Cardiff 2007 Promotional, Grave Digger 18)
* Heather Williams (2008 Digger's Dungeon, Grave Digger 15)
* Conan O’Brien (Los Angeles 2012 TV Segment, Grave Digger 22)

## Trucks and vehicles

### Fleet

As of September 2023, there have been fourty versions of Grave Digger to date (though there is no official Grave Digger 13, due to superstition regarding the number's unluckiness). The number of the truck is often displayed on the front of the hood, in the form of a Roman numeral. For more information on a specific truck, click on its number to view its main page.

### Non-fleet trucks & other vehicles

* Grave Digger's Boneyard Shuttle - A temporary repaint of Sam Sturges's Kool Bus, themed to match the team.

* K'nex Grave Digger - A display truck built entirely out of K'nex pieces, based on the green 30th Anniversary design. Mainly featured in pit parties throughout 2012.

* Grave Digger 25.5 - A black FELD chassis piloted by Paul Cohen in the 2012 Lexington, Kentucky shows. The original Grave DIgger was unable to appear at the event, due to scheduling changes.

* Mike Wales's Roadster

* Grave Digger Wild Trax

## Design

> *Further information: List of Grave Digger designs*
>

Among modern-day truck bodies, Grave Digger’s is unique for still being almost entirely hand-painted and lettered; the only decals are for the logos and the design on the roof. No two Grave Digger bodies are the same, and each has different fog patterns and airbrush details. Completing a body takes about 30 hours while, in Adam’s words, it “can [be destroyed in] maybe 50, 30, probably 10 seconds. You feel terrible because it’s a work of art.”

Fred Baumann, the graveyard scheme's creator, was reportedly an avid reader of old horror comics and used them as inspiration for Grave Digger’s campy paint scheme. His first paint job was in 1985, and he continued to make Grave Digger’s bodies until he died circa 1999—his last one ran on #8 until it was destroyed in a rollover in Uniondale in February 2000.[*citation needed*] Since then, New Jersey native Jim McShea has been Grave Digger’s primary painter since 1999 after Mike Wales hired him to make the body for WCW Nitro Machine. Before wraps and decals became the norm for truck bodies, he was responsible for painting other trucks such as Wrenchhead.com, El Toro Loco, Blue Thunder, Sting, and the original Spider-Man; since then, he’s almost exclusively worked on Grave Digger. McShea’s paint jobs use stencils for consistency, while Baumann’s were mostly freehanded.

Both sides of Grave Digger have the same design layout, featuring a tombstone-laden cemetery covered in a thick green and white fog, with a horse-drawn carriage entering through its gates. A haunted house with green rooves and orange windows sits precariously atop a large hill with a dead tree, backlit by a full moon and surrounded by even more graves. The inscriptions on the tombstones include the names of:

* Actual trucks that Grave Digger has defeated in racing (primarily ones owned by Monster Jam, though independently-owned trucks have appeared in the past);
* The Anderson family (Dennis on his own, and Adam, Ryan, Krysten, and Weston on one with an angel statue);
* Monster Jam itself (formerly Pace Motorsports, SFX, and Clear Channel Entertainment);
* Monster Jam’s die-cast toy manufacturer (Hot Wheels from 2001 to 2018, Spin Master since 2019);
* The now-defunct www.gravedigger.com (even after its closure in 2017);
* And Fred Bumann/Jim McShea’s business logo.

At the rear side of Grave Digger are its sponsorship graves, another dead tree, a gray wordmark logo dripping in red blood**,** a USHRA logo with a Jolly Rodger replacing the right checkered flag, and a skull-like ghost face formed in the fog and watching the graveyard from above. The appearance of this ghost (occasionally called the “Spooky Mound”)[*citation needed*] has varied a lot over the years, particularly in terms of its mouth shape, eyehole size, and complexion of white or gray. An alternate variant of the ghost, with red eyes and a wailing expression, was created for Grave Digger’s twenty-fifth anniversary in 2007 and appeared on the trucks’ rooves until around 2020. Very few bodies without the ghost on the sides have run, with Dennis’s exclusive Anniversary bodies being some of the only exceptions.

Grave Digger’s hood has a green “spooky flame” paint job outlined in red, with the silver headlight rims outlined in black flames. A black Roman numeral, designating the Grave Digger chassis the body is on, is outlined in green and painted near the tip of the silver arrow in the middle. The truck’s "ominous" red seal beam headlights originally came from an old school bus that Dennis was modifying into a hauling rig for it. It took about 30 minutes for him and a friend to swap them out with the truck’s regular white headlights, and they celebrated over them for the rest of the night.

While the primary elements of Grave Digger's design have remained the same for almost 40 years, the details and other aspects of the truck’s appearance have undergone many changes. Now-staple elements of its design, such as a 1950 Chevrolet panel body, bright green chassis, and a black Jolly Rodger flag in the back, were all introduced between 1989 and 1993.[*citation needed*] The paint scheme received its first noteworthy update in 1997, as #12’s longer body allowed space for a purple mist in the graveyard’s sky and a horizontal logo; every other Grave Digger would inherit this new design by the end of the century. A more detailed roof design, with green flames, a vertical logo, and artwork of either the “Grim” mascot or the ghost (mainly Grim since 2020), was introduced in 2008. Most Grave Diggers have run green beadlocks and black or silver shock absorbers, though Pablo Huffaker traditionally ran purple and red ones, respectively, on his trucks.

### Slogans and theme songs

On the original red pickup Grave Digger, Dennis painted the phrase, “We ain’t bad, but the bad don’t mess with us!!” on the tailgate with a model car brush in yellow. He’s described it as “kind of being cocky without being cocky.” This slogan continued onto the panel van body under the rear doors, though by 1985, it was now “We’re not the Badest [*sic*], But the Bad don’t mess with us.” While the slogan was retired from use alongside #1, it has reappeared on the retro Grave Digger trucks from the World Finals 11 and 21 encores.

Beginning with #3 In 1990, almost every Grave Digger has sported a “Bad to the Bone” slogan on the lower corner of the roof, usually in a font resembling several bones arranged into the logo. It’s taken from the name of a blues rock song by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released in September 1982 (coincidentally the same year the first Grave Digger was built); it’s also a slang phrase meaning “someone, usually a male, who is aggressive or rebellious and often attractively so.” Said song traditionally plays as the truck performs, usually with an extended introduction, such as the tolling cemetery bell from the AC/DC song “Hells Bells.” In the late 2000s, an edit of the song that replaced the first verse with a guitar solo was used interchangeably with the regular version.

In 2001, Clear Channel produced original theme songs for Grave Digger, Team Meents, Power Forward, and Gunslinger. The latter three were used in competition until 2006, while Grave Digger’s, titled “Six Feet Under,” was only used in the end credits of the *Grave Digger 20th Anniversary* DVD and at one event (Fargo 2007).

[Other "theme songs", must check if these are correct before including them:]

* "Winner Take All" by Chris Lang (Baltimore 2023 Intro)
* "I Don't Wanna Stop" by Ozzy Osbourne (Stockholm 2009 wheelies competitions)
* "Bad to the Bone" (Live At The Cincinnati Garden 1986) by George Thorogood and the Destroyers (Toronto 2007)
* ”Keep Away” by Godsmack (Miami 2005)
* "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N’ Roses (Sierra Vista 1999)
* "My Head Is In Mississippi" by ZZ Top (Sierra Vista 1998)
* "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited (Tampa 1998)
* "We Will Rock You" by Queen (Hawaii 1994)

## Cultural influence and legacy

[Write about Grave Digger's influence on the industry, popularity even outside of Monster Jam]

### Merchandising

In the early 2000s, longtime Monster Jam illustrator Neil Vandenberg designed the “Grim” character as a mascot for the truck, evoking elements of its paint scheme into a superhero-like design. A promotional comic from 2004 portrays Grim as the “spirit of a champion” who embodies Grave Digger and arises during the truck’s most exciting moments. Grim has since become a staple element of the truck’s design, featuring on most of its rooves since 2008 and appearing on the sides of Dennis’s 30th Anniversary bodies from 2012. Previous Grave Digger mascots were also inspired by the Grim Reaper, including a white-cloaked one on the rear doors and roof of #1 and #3, respectively, and a now-infamous live-action one in the *USHRA Monster Wars* television series from 1993.[*citation needed*]

### Controversy and parody

[Mention allegations of "Grave Digger bias" (including Jim Miller) and parodies like Identity Theft & Digger's Destruction, source-citing is especially important here]

## References

1. ↑ Dennis Anderson explains Grave Digger's origins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvN9ajMR2t8
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ryan Anderson explains Grave Digger's origins: https://youtu.be/sL9UyqZ4N-U?t=2352
3. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CT5zwD6Lqa-/
4. ↑ https://youtu.be/PFKrqtVr7QY?t=1109
5. ↑ Dennis in World Finals 3 racing, March 2003: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otfrCkkmBKY
6. ↑ Dennis's freestyle at World Finals 3, March 2003: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o\_7D9xzoTSM
7. ↑ World Finals 3 results: https://web.archive.org/web/20090304031639/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2003-10-24.3635
8. ↑ Minneapolis 2002 (December) results: https://web.archive.org/web/20090304041901/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2003-10-24.5902
9. ↑ New Orleans 2003 results: https://web.archive.org/web/20090304031219/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2003-10-20.0116
10. ↑ News article about Dennis's injury in Philadelphia: https://web.archive.org/web/20060218200132/http://www.gravedigger.com/articleDetail?id=Article.2004-02-23.3518
11. ↑ Quote from Jim Koehler on driving Grave Digger: https://www.facebook.com/TeamScreamMonsterTrucks/photos/pb.100044408912032.-2207520000/2201360663279059/?type=3
12. ↑ News article announcing Pablo as Grave Digger's driver instead of Dennis: https://web.archive.org/web/20060218200119/http://www.gravedigger.com/articleDetail?id=Article.2004-02-23.3356
13. ↑ Results from Uniondale 2005: https://web.archive.org/web/20090304032215/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2005-02-11.5309
14. ↑ Fan footage of Adam driving Vette King in Uniondale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdNEBWFeiyo
15. ↑ World Finals 6 results: https://web.archive.org/web/20090304042636/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2005-03-18.4517
16. ↑ Dennis and Tom in the World Finals 6 encore, March 2005: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz00m6WJrlc
17. ↑ http://www.hauntedhayrides.org/gravedigger.html
18. ↑ News article on Grave Digger XX (20): https://web.archive.org/web/20070819002443/http://www.gravedigger.com/news/Article.2005-11-08.4926
19. ↑ Pontiac 2006 results: https://web.archive.org/web/20090304032409/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2006-01-02.3901
20. ↑ Dennis's freestyle at World Finals 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tIc54cjw3k
21. ↑ Tom Meents wins the World Finals 7 freestyle championship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsP8JqUROJo
22. ↑ World Finals 7 results: https://web.archive.org/web/20090304032642/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2006-01-16.4555
23. ↑ Dennis with a bandaged arm after qualifying in Minneapolis, December 2006: File:Dennis injury minny 06.png
24. ↑ Minneapolis 2006 (December) results: https://web.archive.org/web/20080926082500/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2006-09-26.5551
25. ↑ "Green Ghost" body on Grave Digger 14: File:Gd green ghost 9.jpg
26. ↑ Adam's winning freestyle in Houston, January 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNS8i1cw1dc
27. ↑ Adam's winning freestyle in Atlanta, January 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eajZteOn20
28. ↑ Chrome 25th Anniversary body being set on the truck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cDRzWLmrVI
29. ↑ Dennis in the World Finals 8 racing finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TeVxIi98Rs
30. ↑ Dennis's freestyle at World Finals 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K\_ZYlUoh9CY
31. ↑ World Finals 8 results: https://web.archive.org/web/20081212104905/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/Result.2006-05-30.2709
32. ↑ Fan-recorded footage of the World Finals 8 encore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oVxd1i4RNw
33. ↑ World Finals 9 results: https://web.archive.org/web/20081212104921/http://www.monsterjamonline.com/results/result.2008-03-29.1525936541
34. ↑ Fan footage of Dennis's freestyle in Minneapolis, December 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_4QnvTCN4QM
35. ↑ Dennis wins the 2008 Extreme Air of the Year award: https://youtu.be/YDUsymGqiEs?t=120
36. ↑ Dennis wins the 2008 Stadium Freestyle of the Year award: https://youtu.be/2QOegu9GRO0?t=116
37. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/live-nation-sells-motor-sports-division-1304081/
38. ↑ https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2008/09/10/Finance/Live-Nation-Sells-Motorsports-Division-To-Feld-Entertainment.aspx
39. ↑ Dennis wins racing at World Finals 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0WjW8SVNJg
40. ↑ Pauken's winning freestyle at World Finals 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvD9aCunVw0
41. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiYhf-G8xro
42. ↑ Dennis's freestyle in Grave Digger 24 at World Finals 12, March 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24udHtq7EmM
43. ↑ Photo gallery of South Boston 2011 from allmonster.com: https://www.allmonster.com/2011/10/south-boston-virginia-vaters-monster-motorsports-october-1-2011/
44. ↑ Dennis talks about Son-uva Digger and shows concept art, circa 1996: https://youtu.be/6roMWA1RBpQ?t=149
45. ↑ Son-uva Digger debut encore at World Finals 12, March 2011: https://youtu.be/V\_GaeXnLky8?t=192
46. ↑ Archived announcement on monsterjam.com: https://web.archive.org/web/20111206063353mp\_/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2011/11/01/1
47. ↑ Incomplete intro video: https://youtu.be/S0poDIyPEl0?t=66
48. ↑ Grave Digger 30th Anniversary parade in Las Vegas, March 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kQIWJxnWTw
49. ↑ Dennis in World Finals 13 racing, March 2012: https://youtu.be/sMeLFOZrUwM?t=82
50. ↑ Dennis's freestyle at World Finals 13, March 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZMPQuF9rtY
51. ↑ El Toro Loco gets stuck in the trailer: https://youtu.be/PBjqPviUqA4?t=139
52. ↑ Official footage of the World Finals 13 encore: https://youtu.be/S0poDIyPEl0
53. ↑ Fan footage of the World Finals 13 encore, showcasing the track setup and Ryan being tended to after his injury: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpBpu4eGY8s
54. ↑ The black-chassised Grave Digger in Lexington, January 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkTYngp0b1o
55. ↑ Lexington 2012 line-up, featuring Randy Brown: https://web.archive.org/web/20111201051741/http://www.monsterjam.com/Events/2012/01/14/Lexington,\_KY/
56. ↑ Daron Basl driving Grave Digger in Portland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N44Jox95ZiI
57. ↑ Baltimore 2012 episode of *Monster Jam*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKLsinBOVDM
58. ↑ East Rutherford 2012 episode of *Monster Jam*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYoXdlU1XQI
59. ↑ Pablo's induction speech for the IMTHF, November 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyISFGQlBFY
60. ↑ Dennis's induction speech for the IMTHF, November 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr7PLeka9uM
61. ↑ Dennis's freestyle in Minneapolis, December 2012: https://youtu.be/xbkqvdcHOZg?t=2725
62. ↑ Tampa 2014 episode of *Monster Jam*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae1f8QcEihU
63. ↑ Doom's Day encore at Tampa, January 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YXcqoFlYFY
64. ↑ Dennis's freestyle at World Finals 15, March 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQW7Q-gUkc0
65. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20141213151507/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2014/12/01/1/
66. ↑ Fox Sports 1 Championship Series results, March 2015: https://web.archive.org/web/20150404013224/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2015/03/08/1/
67. ↑ #MoreMonsterJam series results, March 2015: https://web.archive.org/web/20150403151508/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2015/03/08/2/
68. ↑ World Finals 16 competitors list, March 2015: https://web.archive.org/web/20150404005458/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2015/03/23/1/
69. ↑ New bodies from World Finals 16, March 2015: https://web.archive.org/web/20150412051916/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2015/03/30/1/
70. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20141109230704/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2014/03/07/2/
71. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150403213115/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2015/03/16/1/
72. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150403213117/http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2015/03/11/1/
73. ↑ BJ Johnson driving Grave Digger in Fresno, March 2015: https://youtu.be/N3JgVtOBaRo?t=146
74. ↑ Fresno 2015 lineup, featuring Carl Van Horn: https://web.archive.org/web/20150117152106/http://www.monsterjam.com/Events/2015/03/13/Fresno,\_CA/
75. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWa5ZRauTtI
76. ↑ Fraley, Jason. “Driver marks 40 years of ‘Grave Digger’ as Monster Jam revs into FedEx Field”. *WTOP News*, June 8, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
77. ↑ “Grave Digger Drove in the Ocean Before @whistlindiesel !!” YouTube, uploaded by Tom Bailey, 11 April 2023. https://youtu.be/sL9UyqZ4N-U?t=1652; timecode is 27:33. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.
78. ↑ McKim, Melonie. “Weekend Race Recap: Uniondale, NY (February 18-19, 2000)”. *United States Hot Rod Association.* Archived September 12, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
79. ↑ @mcsheajim\_art. “TBT my first monster truck i [sic] painted, 97/98ish thanks to Mike Wales RIP 🙏. It was a fun project on a tight deadline, Hmmmmm funny the deadlines hav’nt [sic] stopped yet !!!” *Instagram*. 16 May 2019. Accessed 16 Sep. 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxhin1hAdxH/
80. ↑ Stacy, Joel. “Bringing the Monster to Life”. *United States Hot Rod Association*, 7 Dec. 2001. Archived 12 Sept. 2023, at the Wayback Machine
81. ↑ @mcsheajim\_art. “First truck was WCW Nitro Van then started doin [sic] the digger truck. From there it was on, Wrench head [*sic*], Sting, Blue Thunder, Bulldozer, El Toro Loco, Spiderman an [*sic*] more. Then Vinyl came along, then the wraps. 😞lol an all i [*sic*] was left doin was Grave Digger, poor me LOL”. *Instagram*. 18 Jun. 2020. Accessed 14 Sep. 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBl5UamAWvt/.
82. ↑ 82.0 82.1 *Grave Digger Domination*. Dir. Dawnielle Robles. Dennis Anderson. Simitar Entertainment, 1997. VHS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFKrqtVr7QY&t=1109s; timecode is 18:30. Video is of a 2001 VHS reissue by Warner Home Video.
83. ↑ “GRAVE DIGGER: Inside the Legendary Monster Truck.” YouTube, uploaded by Donut, 29 Oct. 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1thfmpxXOyM&t=274s; timecode is 4:34.
84. ↑ 84.0 84.1 *Grave Digger 30th Anniversary*. Dennis Anderson. Feld Motor Sports, Inc., 2011. DVD (disc two, Bonus Features, Photo Gallery).
85. ↑ "bad to the bone". *Dictionary.com*, March 12, 2018. https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/bad-to-the-bone/. Accessed September 16, 2023.
86. ↑ “Gravedigger - Monster Jam 2007 - Fargo, ND.” *YouTube*, uploaded by jaisonf, 5 Feb. 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DlASx39Dqg. “Six Feet Under” can be heard as Grave Digger’s theme throughout the video.
87. ↑ @neilvandenbergart. “…Shown here is my addition to this iconic truck scheme with the “Grim” head logo added to the roof. Grim was originally designed to be a monster truck version of the classic Grim Reaper figure, taking some of the iconic elements of the Reaper and updating them and [*sic*] beefing them up to represent the Grave Digger monster truck. The glowing red eyes representDigger’s [*sic*] classic red headlights. The longer leaner skull shape more closely resembled the tapered and narrow hood. The tattered purple robes symbolize the busted up [*sic*] body of Grave Digger after a run. The beefed-up, muscled body showcases the size and strength of the Grave Digger monster truck. The huge skull feet represent Digger’s big tires.” *Instagram*. 31 Dec. 2022. Accessed 13 Sep. 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm26Yp2jsde/?hl=en
88. ↑ @neilvandenbergart. “…One of the absolute coolest things that I ever got to work on for Grave Digger was the Grave Digger/Grim comic book. This was originally created for the Monster Jam Souvenir Program and later reproduced as a handout to help celebrate the Monster Jam Creatures campaign.” *Instagram*. 31 Dec. 2022. Accessed 13 Sep. 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm27JoDD39L/?img\_index=1