Okay friends, let’s talk for a minute about Wildflower because it’s currently one of the hottest trucks on the Monster Jam circuit and that deems is worthy of discussing. So, have you heard of it? If you know monster trucks at all, or if you follow Monster Jam then I bet you have. And if for some reason you haven’t then you should probably pay closer attention when you’re watching Monster Jam events because although it’s a relatively new truck, it’s quickly becoming one of the most popular independent trucks on the circuit.
So, to summarize that paragraph from just a second ago; if you haven’t heard about Wildflower get your life together and learn more about this dope truck and its equally dope driver.
Luckily for
1. Wildflower came onto the Monster Jam scene in 2014
Wildflower was debuted in 2014 at the Monster Jam Finals 15. Even though it was debuted at this time it’s
In September 2015 Rosalee was able to take over and Detour was officially retired.
Detour was a Ford monster truck owned by Rosalee’s father, Kelvin. It is also the truck that Rosalee drove around in while on the Ellen Show…but we’ll talk about that some more later on in the tour.
2. Wildflower’s Driver is Rosalee Ramer and she’s amazing
Yeah, I said it and I meant it. it’s a straight up fact that Rosalee is amazing. Merriam-Webster defines amazing as, “causing astonishment, great wonder, or surprise.” All those words definitely describe Rosalee and her driving and I dare you to prove otherwise.
I. Dare. You.
To help me prove my point let’s journey back in time to when Rosalee was but a wee lass. A wee lass that grew up around monster trucks. As I mentioned before her father, Kelvin, is a monster truck driver and as young as age 3 Rosalee was out with her dad, holding the flashlight for him as he worked on his own monster truck, Time Flys. As Rosalee grew older she began helping her dad with more than just holding the flashlight. In fact as Rosalee tells it, “He told me I couldn’t drive unless I learned to work on them, so that’s exactly what I did.”
At age 11 Rosalee began driving her trophy kart, “Time Flys Jr” and by age 13 she was driving around, crushing cars in a monster truck. There was no turning back after that. At age 14 she signed on with WGAS Motorsport circuit, was awarded rookie of the year, and has competed year-round ever since.
At age 14, you guys…that’s crazy. Years before she even had her license this girl was driving around in a gigantic monster truck. Amazing, Rosalee is amazing.
Remember how I mentioned earlier that Rosalee and Detour were on the Ellen Show? Well if not, I just reminded you about it so we should be ready to talk about that fact some more. In 2014, when Rosalee was 16, she appeared on the Ellen Show. Ellen interviewed her and then had her drive a monster truck around in the parking lot. It was pretty epic and Ellen’s face is priceless when she sees Rosalee driving over cars. I would definitely recommend watching the video.
Rosalee began her first official Monster Jam season in 2016 and at one of her first events she nearly beat legendary driver Dennis Anderson. Rosalee held the high score for most of the event and was only knocked down to second place when Dennis beat her score by one point at the very end of the event.
As well as crushing it during her first Monster Jam season Rosalee proved herself to be even more amazing by starting her freshman year at Georgia Tech at the same time. Ever since she began studying mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech Rosalee has had to make sure that her classes were only scheduled Monday through Thursday so that she would be able to head to the airport every Thursday night and fly to whatever Monster Jam event she needed to be at for the weekend. Needless to say Rosalee had to get really good at doing her homework on a plane, especially since she hopes her Tech education will help her land an internship at either Porsche or GM.
When Rosalee started at Georgia Tech none of her classmates or teachers knew about her awesome “weekend gig.” In fact it wasn’t until Rosalee and her dorm mates exchanged instagram handles that the truth came out. Rosalee’s dorm mate and friend told The New Yorker, “We all did the whole Instagram thing and Rosalee had over three thousand followers, so we Googled her.”
Imagine what it must have been like to be a part of that Googling group. I’ve never known someone and later found out they were secretly a super famous monster truck driver but I think it would be quite the shock to discover. I mean a super cool shock obviously, but still a shock.
3. The name Wildflower was partially inspired by Rosalee’s own name
Rosa means “rose” in Spanish and Rosalee is certainly what you would call a wild flower. Plus, as Rosalee told The Mercury News, “I thought that the concept was cool, of having this big truck and it has a bright pink flower on the side — it’s all nice and girly. And then, the background of my truck is barbed wire and vines with thorns. The thorns are dark purple. I have the vines on my tires, as well. They’re dark purple on black, you can barely see them. So, it’s bright pink, happy, and right underneath that are thorns. I really like that idea”.
“I thought that the concept was cool, of having this big truck and it has a bright pink flower on the side — it’s all nice and girly. And then, the background of my truck is barbed wire and vines with thorns. The thorns are dark purple. I have the vines on my tires, as well. They’re dark purple on black, you can barely see them. So, it’s bright pink, happy, and right underneath that are thorns. I really like that idea”.
Rosalee ramer
So in essence, the name and decor of Wildflower is just a continuation of Rosalee as a person. Bright, happy and feminine but with an unexpected hardcore edge.
Also, in a very fitting turn of events, Wildflower’s theme song is “Wildflower” by the Janedear Girls and I think the lyrics go very well with Rosalee’s persona and her rad truck
“Hey, I’m a wildflower, growin’ in the sunshine
Soakin’ up the way of life I was raised in
Runnin’ barefoot, bloomin’ in a summer shower
Ponytail dancin’, I can’t help it, I’m a wildflower”
Rosalee can’t help it ya’ll, she’s a wildflower and she was born to stand out.
4. Wildflower is part of the “Living the Dream” racing team
Wildflower, which is made from a 1932 Ford Pickup is one of only two trucks that are part of the team.
The Living the Dream racing team was founded by Rosalee’s father, Kelvin. Kelvin’s love of Monster Trucks began in 1984 and in 1998 he began driving a ride truck for Sam Sturges. Kelvin made sure the ride truck had a car seat mounted in it so 1-year-old Rosalee could drive with him…she loved it. Kelvin is an amazing driver in his own right and has even earned the nickname “wheelie king” due to all the amazing wheelies he has shown off over the years. As stated before, Kelvin played a huge part in Rosalee’s love of Monster Trucks and to this day remains her number one fan.
As Rosalee told the Santa Cruz Mercury News, “ My dad was always 100 percent behind me. If I wanted to do what he was doing, that was OK. You really do need, I’ve learned, someone to look up to. I was very lucky that I could look up to my dad for a lot of that.
As well as being Rosalee’s inspiration and biggest supporter, Kelvin also drives a truck for the Living the Dream Racing team. His truck is named Time Flys.
5. When Wildflower rides it scores very well
I already mentioned before how Rosalee and her Wildflower very nearly beat the king of Monster Jam himself, Dennis Anderson, during one of their very first events but Wildflower’s amazing track record doesn’t stop there. With Rosalee’s amazing monster truck backstory I don’t think it’s any surprise to anyone that the Wildflower has done quite well in the majority of its events.
Rosalee won her first Monster Jam Competition in 2015 and went on to be a 4-time Monster Jam event winner. Rosalee’s amazing success led to her receiving an invitation to the Monster Jam World Final’s Double Down Showdown 2016. This is a competition for rookie drivers and Rosalee is the youngest female driver to ever compete in it.
In 2017 Wildflower competed in the Fox Sports 1 West Monster Jam Tour; champions of this event receive an invitation to the Monster Jam World Finals. Speaking of which, Wildflower and Rosalee made it into the Monster Jam World Finals 18.
During the Monster Jam World Finals 18, Wildflower finished in the top 10 for freestyle. Rosalee is the first female to have achieved this honor since 2009. Can we say, “monster truck lady boss?” I mean, I know I can because I just said it so now it’s your turn to try it out.
Monster. Truck. Lady. Boss.
In 2018 Wildflower ran in Monster Jam Stadium Tour 2 and Rosalee once again made it into the World Finals.
Wildflower is currently competing in the 2019 Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 2 and if history tells us anything I would say there’s a pretty good chance Rosalee and Wildflower and going to be in the World Finals again this year.
One Final Ode to Wildflower
Well if you made it all the way to this point then I think it’s safe to assume you enjoyed my written tour of Wildflower and Rosalee. If you didn’t enjoy it then
But, for those of you still reading and enjoying let me just say a few final words about the truck that brought us together today, Wildflower. This 5-ton truck is the total package, with its five-hundred-and-seventy-two-cubic-inch, eight-cylinder, custom-molded, super-charged engine this truck has not only style but power as well. And Rosalee has the skill to make the most of her truck’s power. She has worked hard to develop that skill over the course of her entire life and she has most certainly earned her place in the Monster Jam world. Rosalee has made a name for herself and for Wildflower and both of them have proved themselves worthy of the praise and cheers that rise up from the fans in the stands.
Oh and speaking of the fans Rosalee once told the Georgia Tech news, “It’s an unusual sport where fans have total access to the drivers. I love interacting with the people at the events—both my fans and my family.”
I think it’s part of that down to earth personality that makes Rosalee such a fan favorite…that and the fact that she drives like a total bad-a** rockstar.
