Have you ever wanted to know a whole bunch of facts about the Grave Digger? If so, you are in the right place, because I know a whole bunch of facts about the Grave Digger and I really want to share them all with you. So, settle in and join me on this journey of Grave Digger knowledge. (P.S. you’ll want to get comfortable because as I stated about 1 sentence ago I know a whole bunch of facts)
Let’s start at the beginning, the Grave Digger was originally created by Dennis Anderson in 1979, and guess what—it wasn’t even designed for monster truck racing. When Dennis first created the Grave Digger it was for mud bog racing. Anderson used the body of an old 1952 Ford pickup truck that he lifted and equipped with mud bog tires and a small block Chevy engine.
The Digger reportedly received its name when Anderson, who was fed up with trash talking from fellow drivers said, “I’ll take this old junk and dig you a grave with it.” This was in reference to the age of the old pickup, and the fact that many of the parts were found in the junkyard. Anderson’s competitors loved to make fun of him for tinkering with an old beat up truck, especially since they were driving much newer and “nicer” trucks.
But, let’s keep going because there is certainly a lot more to this monster truck racing legend than a little anecdote about how it got its name. So let’s go deeper and find out more than we ever thought we would want to know about the Grave Digger and its creator, Dennis Anderson.
Dennis Anderson: An Original Icon
Can you imagine being the guy who created one of the most famous monster trucks of all time? Especially when all you started with was a truck made from junkyard scraps. Personally, I can’t even kind of imagine it, but this is the reality of Dennis Anderson.
Dennis is from Kill Devils Hill, North Carolina (which, sidenote, is a really rad name for a town…don’t you agree?) He built his original Grave Digger and began competing in mud bogging when he was only 21 years old, back in 1981. Despite being so young and starting out with so little he has risen to fame in the monster truck world. In fact, even people who don’t follow monster truck racing have probably heard of the Grave Digger….
Actually, after writing that sentence I decided to do a little experiment. I mentioned Grave Digger to several people that I know don’t follow monster truck racing to see if they know what it is. And guess what, they do. Random folks with no knowledge of the monster truck world do know Grave Digger, that’s crazy.
Dennis had a certain flair and once he began competing he quickly rose in popularity. He had a unique driving style and the audience definitely noticed. He pioneered the full-throttle method of Monster Jam racing. He was known for hitting every jump and trick with his pedal to the metal.
Anderson suffered many crashes during his career, due in a large part to his wild racing style (aka his tendency to drive full throttle, spraying mud everywhere). In fact, his intense and all-or-nothing technique landed him with the nickname “One Run Anderson,” because he tended to crash so early on during his events. Unfortunately, this meant that given the destructive nature of his qualifying passes, his monster truck would often have to be left out of competition after sustaining so much damage to its body and performance engine.
Luckily as the freestyle event was adopted by the monster truck races, Anderson was able to modify his racing style to ensure that he would be able to entertain his fans at each event, while at the same time keeping his eyes on the prize and winning the race that he was taking a part in. Although, he never let go of his full-throttle driving that got him noticed in the first place. As a matter of fact the Grave Digger is able to go from 0 mph to 30 mph in 1.52 seconds. For reference and comparison is takes the 2010 Nissan GT-R 1.78 seconds to do that…and that’s on pavement, Grave Digger does it in the dirt. So, way to go Dennis and his Grave Digger.
Over the course of his career, Dennis has received several injuries. His first serious injury happened when he hit a wall and broke his kneecap in 1991. Then, in 1992 his truck side-slapped a wall and he cracked several ribs. His cracked ribs have caused recurring issues throughout his career. In 2003 he rolled into a dumpster and hit his head, but he was luckily able to walk away from that accident. He also injured his wrist in both 2003 and 2006. In 2015 he injured his foot when his truck rolled and in 2017 he suffered internal injuries and had to be treated at the hospital when his truck shut off due to RII malfunction during a backflip attempt and the truck landed directly on the roof and caused the roll cage to sink in.
As Anderson told The Daily Journal back in 2014, “I drive it hard and drive it into the ground. If I drove it for myself, I wouldn’t dare drive it the way I do. I drive it for the fans.”
So, regardless of what else anyone might say about Anderson and his driving style he certainly put on a show, and it was a show the crowds loved.
But, it wasn’t always easy for Anderson, in the early days of the sport, monster truck racing was mostly sideshow action for tractor pulls. He had to hold day jobs and and he was often in debt. But, he worked hard both in and out of the truck. He pushed hard for t-shirts and posters and did all he could to keep his fans hyped. Thanks to all of his hard work and his unique and exciting driving style he was able to gain a huge following even without any sponsorships. Sponsorships that his competitors did have. Eventually, thanks to his skill and determination he received an offer from TNT Motorsports, the monster truck PR company at the time. This offer meant that Anderson would now have a guaranteed payday every time he raced and TNT Motorsports started to promote the truck for its syndicated television series, Tuff Trax.
In 1991, TNT entertainment officially joined the US Hot Rod Association. For Dennis Anderson, this meant that he would now start participating in all the USHRA tours.
Anderson went on to win many awards, including:
* Motor Madness World Finals Points Champion – 1999
* USHRA World Finals Freestyle Champion – 2000
* USHRA World Finals Racing Champion – 2004, 2006, 2010
Anderson is now retired, his last event was in Tampa, Florida on January 14, 2017; but during the entirety of his career he never lost his balls to the walls racing style that he had from the beginning. He always remained the guy that fans loved to watch.
Oh, and in case anyone cares, Dennis Anderson now has a networth of $3 million. No biggie.
The History of the Grave Digger
The Grave Digger’s big break came pretty quickly in its career when a monster truck driver failed to appear for a show and Anderson was given the opportunity to drive in his place. He crushed some cars, the crowd went wild and the event producer went on to include the Grave Digger in subsequent events. After that, Anderson decided to leave mud bogging and pursue monster truck driving instead.
In 1984 the Grave Digger became a true monster truck when the Ford pickup was replaced by a 1957 Ford Panel van and had an even larger engine and tires. At this point in time the Grave Digger sported a blue and silver paint job, not the green and black “graveyard” themed look everyone knows it for now. That look appeared in 1986 after Dennis commissioned his friend to create the iconic paint scheme, which was inspired by 1950s horror comics.
Although the dates for when Anderson and the Grave Digger rose to true fame vary among fans, most people recognize 1986 as the break out year. It was in 1986 that Anderson and his Digger took on Bigfoot, a rival monster truck.
Grave Digger vs. Bigfoot
The rivalry between Grave Digger and Bigfoot quickly became one of the strongest in the sport. Producers played up the rivalry between these two drivers and their trucks to help create drama–and it worked.
At this time Bigfoot was the truck everyone wanted a piece of, the “King of the Monster Trucks.” And Grave Digger was the unsponsored, but fan loved, truck that was on the rise.
The tables began to turn and Grave Digger skyrocketed in fame when Anderson and his Digger beat Bigfoot during a competition in Minnesota. This competition was aired by ESPN and Anderson beat Bigfoot. Bigfoot was number one, the guy to beat…and the Grave Digger beat him.
Anderson was now, The Man. And his truck was, The Truck.
To this day the Grave Digger vs. Bigfoot rivalry is still the most talked about rivalry in the sport, in spite of the fact that the two have not competed against each other since the 1990’s.
Grave Digger’s Red Lights
Let’s talk for a minute about one of the Grave Digger’s most iconic features. A feature that has been there since the beginning, a feature that has always signaled to Grave Digger fans that something amazing is about to happen. I’m talking about the red headlights. Early on in his career Anderson figured out that the red taillights from a school bus fit perfectly on his truck, and the rest, as they say, is history.
When he was still competing in TNT, Army Armstrong, one of the announcers at these events started a rumor that whenever the red lights were switched on, it meant that the truck was ready to go into action and that its driver—Dennis Anderson—would go all the way. Fans immediately began to notice this fact. Anderson responded by ensuring that the lights were off if something was not right with his monster truck. But, this lead to his team receiving letters from fans expressing concern about the lights being off during certain events. They didn’t like the idea that the truck was not functioning properly or that Anderson was not ready.
This caused the team to make some changes and led to them ensuring that the those signature red headlights remained on for all of their shows.
Grave Digger 2 and Beyond
In 1989 Grave Digger 2 was built and the decision was made to switch the body from the Ford Panel van to a Chevy Panel van. (Clearly it was a good choice because the Chevy Panel van is the body that has been used in all subsequent Grave Diggers.) 2 years later Anderson debuted Grave Digger 3, the first four-link Grave Digger while on his first very tour with the US Hot Rod Association.
The 1990s saw the Grave Digger’s popularity continue to rise across the country, in fact Grave Digger became so popular that Anderson had to hire additional drivers to race more Grave Diggers across the country, and he built Grave Diggers 4, 5 and 8 for his team to drive. Anderson himself never really drove any of those Grave Diggers, instead Anderson drove Grave Digger 7, which was a direct successor to Grave Digger 3, for most of that decade.
In 1993 Anderson and Grave Digger 7 were highly featured on the TV series Monster Wars. At the beginning of the season Anderson was in the lead but breakages and disqualifications led to him coming in 5th.
In 1998 Anderson reached an agreement to sell his brand to Pace Motorsports (which is now Feld Motorsports). Anderson continued to drive and be the most visible member of the team, he also remained in charge of the drivers and their training.
After purchasing the brand, Feld Motorsports began to use Grave Digger as the flagship in its Monster Jam series.
To this day the Grave Digger has managed to remain in the spotlight. It’s fans from the early days have remained loyal and new fans are able to discover the awesome wonder of the Grave Digger all the time. Even though Dennis is now retired he still remains behind the scenes and in the pit, he is never far from his beloved Grave Digger, the truck that began as a bunch of junkyard scraps and has now become a legend.
An Insider’s Look at Grave Digger
Grave Digger currently runs a 2-speed automatic Powerglide transmission. It also boasts one of the most expensive engines in the sport. The engine is located in the center as a way of helping to lower its center of gravity and comes with a 1,500 horsepower rating.
Unlike other trucks which require the driver to use the crawl space beneath the truck to access their seat, Grave Digger has been customized with a swing-out door. The driver’s seat is found in the center to help enhance the driver’s safety.
The gas pedal is fitted with a special toe hook that makes it easier for the driver to pull upwards in the event that the truck gets stuck.
Other features inside the Grave Digger are pretty comparable to other monster trucks.
How Many Grave Digger Trucks Are There?
There are currently 9 Grave Digger trucks in circulation. This number allows them to make appearances at more events, including some that are overseas.
They’ve got to give the people what they want, right? And the people want the Grave Digger.
Who Currently Drives and Owns Grave Digger?
As I briefly mentioned before Dennis Anderson reached an agreement with Feld Motorsports and sold them his brand. Randy Brown Motorsports is now also a partial owner of Grave Digger. So, once you add in Anderson Boys Racing (aka Dennis and his family) the Grave Digger has three official owners.
The 2 Grave Digger Spin-offs, Son-Uva Digger and Grave Digger: The Legend, are also owned by Feld Motorsports and Anderson Boys Racing. Son-Uva Digger and Grave Digger: The Legend made their debut in 2011, being driven by Dennis’s sons Ryan and Adam respectively.
The 2019 lineup of Grave Digger drivers is: Adam Anderson, Krysten Anderson, Randy Brown, Morgan Kane, Tyler Menninga, Charlie Pauken, Brandon Vinson and Chad Tingler-who is overseas. Carl Van Horn is also in the lineup as a backup driver.
Adam and Krysten are the son and daughter of Dennis Anderson. Adam used to be the driver of Grave Digger: The Legend until he switched to the Grave Digger team in 2015.
There have been several drivers over the years, a lot of people want to get on the Grave Digger driving team. I mean, wouldn’t you? If you were a monster truck driver and you had a chance to do what you love for a super successful, well-loved team why would you pass that up? I know I wouldn’t. Side note: Grave Digger, if you’re hiring…I’m interested. I don’t have any experience at all though so I hope that’s not a problem.
Digger’s Dungeon
Digger’s Dungeon is a monster truck destination spot located in North Carolina about 30 minutes away from Dennis’s hometown, Kill Devils Hill. If you are a fan of the Grave Digger then this is definitely a place you need to add to your bucket list. There are several former Grave Diggers on display, including Grave Digger 1. Digger’s Dungeon is also the place where Team Digger works on developing new Monster Jam technology. Today’s Grave Diggers are able to jump 40 feet high and a distance of 125 feet…talk about some sweet technology.
At Digger’s Dungeon you can sit in a display Grave Digger to see what it’s like inside and take a ride in R.I.P Tide, a ride truck owned by the Andersons. During the ride you get to go up a dirt ramp and over a school bus. I’m not going to lie, that sounds pretty dope.
The man himself, Dennis Anderson, will occasionally visit Digger’s Dungeon and sign autographs…so if the odds are in your favor maybe this will happen while you’re there.
So, who wants to plan a trip to Digger’s Dungeon with me? We can also hit up Digger’s Diner which is located next door. The ceiling of Digger’s Diner is decorated with signed Grave Digger hoods. I’ve also heard great things about their fries…
Grave Digger Trivia
*Grave Digger’s theme song is “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood and the Destroyers
-This song is also the trucks motto
*There have been a total of 39 Grave Digger trucks built.
*Grave Digger, regardless of who is driving, is traditionally the last truck to freestyle, providing a sort of “grand finale.”
*Grave Digger is notorious for ending freestyle in a crash, more so than other trucks. This is one of the things the fans love about it.
*The Grave Digger has been active for more than 35 years.
*Grave Digger is one of very few trucks to have competed in every Monster Jam since the official start of Monster Jam in 1992
*Team Digger has won a record 7 Racing championships at the Monster Jam World Finals
*Grave Digger accomplished the impossible at the Monster Jam Finals XVII by winning a “Double Down” with victories in both the 2016 World Racing championship and the 2016 World Freestyle championship
*The first Grave Digger Hot Wheel was released in 2000.
*The tombstones on the side of Grave Digger represent different trucks that Grave Digger has defeated in racing finals throughout the years.
*The ghost on the side of Grave Digger has been referred to as the “Spooky Mound”
*Grave Digger is special for being the only Feld-owned truck to have each body hand painted
-It takes 60 hours to paint each one
*Grave Digger 13 was never built due to superstition about unlucky number 13, although Grave Digger 7 was nicknamed Grave Digger 13 after it was rebuilt in 2000
*Grave Digger is one of 3 trucks owned by Feld that was sold to them, as opposed to created by them
*Grave Digger has appeared in every single Monster Jam video game
