Avenger is a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air monster truck owned and driven by Jim Koehler and currently serves as the flagship truck for Koehler's team, Team Scream Racing, both out of Columbus, Michigan. The truck is also occasionally driven by Cory Rummell and Chris Koehler for independent events. Since its debut in 1997, the truck has become a staple of multiple monster truck leagues, including Monster Truck Throwdown and Monster Jam, the latter of which is where the truck is famous for participating in every Monster Jam World Finals with the same driver, and has also been known for using various paint schemes during the World Finals. The truck has also won two world freestyle championships in 2003 and 2011.
History[]
Avenger was originally built in 1996 by Jim Koehler and would begin competition the following year with Koehler driving. At the time of the truck’s debut, it originally featured a Chevrolet S-10 body style.
In 1999, Avenger collided with Black Widow. Black Widow clipped Avenger's left front tire, breaking the front end, which caused the truck to flip. Jim competes at the Motor Madness World Finals 0 in St. Louis.
In 2000, Avenger would suffer a wild crash in New Orleans, in the finals against nWo, which would damage the truck’s original body. As a result, the truck would receive an updated Chevrolet S-10 body style, which debuted at World Finals I.
In 2002, Avenger would debut the first incarnation of the iconic 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air body in Indianapolis.
In 2003, Jim does double duty by driving Avenger & Grave Digger for Dennis on Saturday night in Philadelphia. Koehler and the truck would rise to stardom when they won that year's freestyle championship with a 37. Jim is one of a few drivers to do double duty at a show. The others are Daron Basl, Brian Barthel, Bill Payne, Brandon Arthur, Rick Raab, Hayden McLeary, Brock Thomas & Allen Pezo.
In 2004, Avenger would debut an orange design for World Finals V. That year would kickstart the tradition of the truck running a special design for every World Finals. However, during the truck’s performance in the freestyle competition, the truck would bend a four-link bar after its second hit, breaking the transmission in the process.
In 2005, Avenger would run a dual-sided paint scheme for World Finals VI, with the right side bearing the orange paint scheme from the previous World Finals, while the other side featured the standard forest green paint scheme. During its freestyle performance, the truck would clip one of the tires of Grave Digger, which was on the semi trailer obstacle, caused the truck to roll over. However, Koehler would jump into the fountain obstacle afterwards, kickstarting another World Finals tradition for Koehler and the truck.
In 2006, Avenger lost both rear tires during freestyle in Indianapolis. The truck featured a chrome paint scheme for World Finals VII. During its freestyle performance, the truck would perform a lawn dart, following a massive leap over the fountain obstacle. That moment would be featured on the World Finals DVD cover.
In 2007, at the World Finals, a slightly lighter shade of green is used for the event. This was the last year the truck ran the dark green body.
In 2008, the truck would receive a new chassis. The previous chassis would be converted into Wrecking Crew. The truck would also receive a new paint scheme, featuring a slightly lighter shade of dark green. Rich Hilgendorf drove Avenger on the Spike Unleashed chassis during the Monster Truck Challenge event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Koehler would win his first stadium event since World Finals IV in Minneapolis.
In 2009, Avenger would debut a blue “scuba” paint scheme for World Finals X. However, Koehler and the truck would experience poor luck during the event, as they would not only be eliminated in the first round of racing by teammate Chris Bergeron in Brutus, but would also score a 4 in freestyle. Meanwhile, another Avenger would be built overseas in Australia. Koehler would drive the truck to the freestyle championship at the South Pacific World Finals.
In 2010, Avenger would run a black paint scheme with white flames at World Finals XI. Mark Schroeder would call it the ''rat rod''. Jim once again wins freestyle in Australia at the World Finals.
In 2011, Avenger would receive a new lime green paint scheme. Rich Hilgendorf dries the truck at the 4 Wheel Jamboree in Indianapolis. The truck would sport a red paint scheme for World Finals XII, with Koehler capturing his second world freestyle championship, tying with Nitro Circus driver Cam McQueen.
In 2012, Avenger runs a yellow body for the World Finals.
In 2013, a purple Stepps Towing body is used for the World Finals.
In 2014, at the Atlanta show during qualifying, Avenger got on two wheels & came back the other way, went between the turning cars & hit El Toro Loco (see Unusual Monster Truck Incidents). At the World Finals, Jim runs a purple body.
In 2015, Avenger would be selected as one of sixteen trucks to compete in the inaugural Fox Sports 1 Championship Series, despite not winning any event on the series, the truck was invited to compete at World Finals XVI and ran a white paint scheme. That same year, the scuba paint scheme would be used exclusively in Monsters on the Beach events at Wildwood, New Jersey.
In 2016, Avenger would again compete in the Fox Sports 1 Championship Series, where they would win donut championships in Atlanta, Orlando and Detroit. At the World Finals, Avenger runs a rusty junkyard design with one green fender.
In 2017, Avenger would celebrate its 20th Anniversary, and would debut a special design to commemorate the occasion. Said design would feature the return of the Chevrolet S-10 body style, with gradient flames. The truck competed in the FS1 Championship Series East. For World Finals XVIII, the truck would run a special dark green paint scheme. It would also debut a new chassis designed by Cory Rummell for the event. Koehler and the truck would go on to have what was arguably considered their best World Finals performance, making it all the way to the semi-finals in racing, only to lose to Ryan Anderson and Son-uva Digger. To add to that, the truck would finish third in freestyle. Jim also did his first World Finals backflip at the event. As for the previous chassis, it would be used as a new chassis for Wrecking Crew, and later for the team's newest truck in the stable, Axe.
In 2018, Avenger would resume using its 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air body style. Koehler and the truck competed in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 1, winning freestyle championships in both Anaheim shows and the second Atlanta show. For World Finals XIX, the truck received a special dark green Nomad body. Unfortunately, the truck did one hit, flipping over backwards. In late 2018, Jim's brother Steve drove the truck for one unknown show before retiring.
In 2019, Avenger competed in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 1. For World Finals XX, the truck would debut a special Stepp’s Towing-sponsored, patriotic-themed paint scheme. The truck would also compete in the inaugural high jump competition. Koehler and the truck would later be invited to participate in the inaugural Monster Jam All-Star Challenge in October, being drafted into Team Fire. For that occasion, the truck debuted a special fire paint scheme. Said paint scheme would also be run in Monster Jam’s final stadium show of the year in Minneapolis. Also appearing in the 2019 Monster Spectacular show alongside his son, Chris Koehler.
In 2020, Avenger competed in Stadium Championship Series Red. During the series, Koehler and the truck would score their first overall event championship in the series' opening event in Anaheim and would go on to finish seventh in the standings. After the series abruptly ended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Avenger would compete in select events throughout the remainder of the season. The S-10 design would also be run in select Monster Truck Throwdown events for the remainder of the season. In November, the original chassis was stripped, and resides outside of the shop.
In 2021, Avenger would compete in the Stadium Championship Series. The truck would also run various paint schemes for various events that year. The fire paint scheme from the All-Star Challenge would be run in the second weekend of Houston shows, as well as in Arlington and St. Louis. In Orlando and Indianapolis, the truck would run the patriotic design from World Finals XX. The scuba paint scheme would be run in Jacksonville. The truck would also campaign the S-10 body for select shows, including Monster Jam’s inaugural shows at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It would also debut a special white and green paint scheme sponsored by Global, which would be run in Tampa. Koehler would also win multiple championships in Monster Jam, including two racing championships in both shows in St. Louis.
In 2022, Avenger competes in Stadium Championship Series Yellow and celebrates the truck's 25th anniversary. The World Finals XX design would be used once more during the series' second weekend of events in Houston and the Glendale show, while the scuba paint scheme would be used during the series' second weekend in Anaheim. The World Finals XX design would return for the third time that year at the third weekend at said location. The truck would also bring back its fire body to the Miami shows. The S-10 body would return for the Syracuse show, and the World Finals XI "Rat Rod" body would return for the tour's final stop in East Rutherford. He would finish in eighth in the point standings and would later get an invite to World Finals XXI. During the World Finals, he would debut a new sliver and green glow in the dark 25th anniversary body. He would also bring back the World Finals XVII Junkyard design, XVIII 20th Anniversary design (which he would use in High Jump), and multiple destroyed fiberglass pieces of former bodies to display for the pit party. He would use the 20th Anniversary body on the Brutus chassis for the high jump competition to preserve his actual chassis and new body for freestyle, where he would finish 15th after a big jump off a small ramp where he would break a tire. In turn, the tire would also damage his right header. The World Finals 25th Anniversary body would return in Cleveland.
In 2023, Jim competed on the blue Stadium Tour. For the 2nd weekend in San Diego & also San Antonio, the truck ran the World Finals XX design. For the Indianapolis shows, the truck debuts a brand-new Garner-Towing sponsored Chevrolet C-10 body. The fire body was used during the first two Anaheim shows in February & also in Glendale. The dark green 20th anniversary World Finals body returns for the Arlington show. The black rat rod body from WF 11 returned in Kansas City. Jim & the truck finish 8th again in the final standings. He would be invited to the World Finals in Nashville, debuting a brand-new country music themed design. Chris Koehler drives the truck at various independent shows. Jim would also be invited to compete at the Superstar Challenge in Anaheim on November 11. The truck would run a purple body that was similar to the one used at World Finals XV.
In 2024, Jim Koehler competed on the west stadium tour & finished 11th. The fire body is run in San Diego at shows 3 & 4. The dark green World Finals XVIII S-10 body is run in Anaheim at shows 3 & 4. In Detroit, a special Detroit Lions body is run. The fire body is run in Arlington. In El Paso, Salt Lake City and in Anaheim for shows 5 & 6, a half green & half orange body ran as a throwback to the World Finals VI body is used. The dark green S-10 body returns in Seattle. Jim would win freestyle at said show, which was his first freestyle win since the February Houston show in 2021. He would be invited to World Finals XXlll in Los Angeles with a brand-new graffiti paint scheme. Bari Musawwir's crew chief helped design it. He would not be invited to compete in the high jump for the first time. He would win the Stadium Freestyle of the Year award. His son Chris would drive the truck in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan & in West Lebanon, New York. The Nitro body would return in Clear Brook, Virginia, in Dunbar, Pennsylvania & also Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Joe Foley would run the standard green '57 Chevy body in Fremont, Michigan. Avenger Fire does its first independent shows in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
In 2025, Jim will compete on the East stadium tour.
World Finals appearances/designs[]
- 1999 - World Finals "0"
- 2000 - Chevrolet S-10 (debuts the body)
- 2001 - dark green S-10 (with a Dale Earnhardt flag)
- 2002-2003 - dark green Bel-Air (standard season body) (won freestyle in 2003)
- 2004 - orange Avenger (Also an at an October Halloween show in 2004).
- 2005 - orange/dark green split Avenger (A throwback was ran at Anaheim 2024 shows 5 & 6).
- 2006 - chrome Avenger
- 2007 - toxic green Avenger
- 2008 - light green Avenger
- 2009 - scuba blue Avenger (Also ran at Wildwood, New Jersey 2015 & 2019, Jacksonville 2021, Anaheim 2022 shows 3-4)
- 2010 - flat black with white flames Avenger (Dubbed the “Rat Rod” by Mark Schroeder, Also ran at an exhibition at the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame Museum and at East Rutherford 2022)
- 2011 - Candy apple red Avenger (won freestyle)
- 2012 - Yellow with red flames Avenger
- 2013 - Dark red with different colored pin striping Avenger
- 2014 - Purple FS1-themed Avenger
- 2015 - White skeleton Avenger
- 2016 - Hand-painted "Junkyard blue" Avenger with rust (Ran at select events in 2017 and displayed at World Finals XXI pit party)
- 2017 - Dark green retro S-10 body with chrome logo (Also ran at World Finals XXI high jump competition)
- 2018 - Green custom Nomad Avenger (Hood of body used for World Finals XXI qualifying)
- 2019 - Stepp's Towing red, white and blue Avenger (main + high jump) (Also ran at Orlando 2021, Indianapolis 2021, Houston 2022, Anaheim shows 5-6 2022, and San Diego 3-4-San Antonio 2023
- 2022 - Silver 25th Anniversary glow in the dark Avenger (main + high jump) (Also ran at Cleveland 2022)
- 2023 - Gray country music themed Avenger (main field & high jump)
- 2024 - Graffiti Avenger (main field)
Other special bodies[]
- 1997-2000 - 1994 Chevrolet
- 2000-2001 - dark green S-10 (In 2001, it had the #3 flag in honor of former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Sr. who passed away in the Daytona 500 1 month before the World Finals).
- 2002-2003 - dark green Bel-Air
- 2003-2004 - Avenger occasionally runs the S-10 pickup truck body.
- 2009 - Avenger runs a neon teal body for the Monster Mash tour.
- 2009 - Avenger runs an alternate green body with a Fig Newton sponsorship.
- 2015 - Avenger runs a "Rockin' 0 Points!" body for the Fox Sports 1 Championship series.
- 2016 - Avenger runs a "Rockin 50 Years!" body for Jim Koehler's 50th birthday.
- 2017 - Avenger runs a 20th Anniversary S-10 body (same color as the standard Avenger, in contrast to the WF18 body, which is darker green, Also ran at a Select 2018 Events Canadian Monster Spectacular show in 2018, Select 2020 Monster Truck Throwdown events, Atlanta 2021, Wichita 2021, Syracuse 2022 and Wilks-Barre 2022)
- 2019 - fire-themed All-Star Challenge body runs for the All-Star Challenge (Also ran at Minneapolis December 2019, Houston 2021 shows 3-4, Arlington March 2021, St. Louis 2021, Miami 2022, Anaheim 2023, San Diego 2024 shows 3-4, Arlington 2024, and Edmonton 2024)
- 2021 - A "Global" sponsored body debuts on a display chassis for the Tampa shows.
- 2023 - A Garner's Towing body debuts in Indianapolis on the Over Bored C10 body sponsored by Jamey Garner's (driver of Over Bored) towing company of the same name.
- 2023 - A purple body similar to World Finals 15 is used for the Superstar Challenge in Anaheim on November 11, and would return in Clear Brook, Virginia 2024.
- 2024 - A Detroit Lions body debuts in Detroit. Various World Finals bodies are used throughout the Monster Jam season.
All-Star Challenge/Superstar Challenge appearances[]
- 2019- Jim Koehler (Team Fire)
- 2023 - Jim Koehler (Team Nitro)
Video game appearances[]
- Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction
- Monster 4X4: Masters of Metal
- Monster Jam (video game)
- Monster Jam: Urban Assault
- Monster Jam: Path of Destruction
- Monster Jam (mobile game)
- Monster Jam Battlegrounds
- Monster Jam: Crush It!
- Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
- Monster Jam Showdown
Trivia[]
- Allen Pezo debuted a truck named Avenger, ironically the same year Koehler did. Pezo would let Koehler keep the name and renamed his truck to Carnivore after learning that the name was from his father's drag racing car, and Jim decided to continue the Avenger name by naming his monster truck after his dad's car.
- With its first championship at World Finals IV, Avenger is the only truck to finish last place both the year immediately preceding and following the same year winning a championship (in the case of the latter, tying last with Blue Thunder and Team Suzuki at World Finals V).
- Avenger is the only truck to compete at every single Monster Jam World Finals (including the 1999 Motor Madness World Finals) while being driven by the same driver.
- Avenger has won the "Extreme Air of the Year" at the World Finals 6 years in a row from 2012-2017. The streak would be ended by Rosalee Ramer (Wild Flower) in 2018. He would win it again in 2022.
- Avenger's body featured suicide doors (doors that open from hinges on the rear) from 2003-2005.
- Avenger’s paint scheme has an inconsistency from body to body. Sometimes the skull will be placed behind the logo on the side of the truck, and sometimes the skull is placed right in front of the logo on the side. This inconsistency began with the Scuba design for World Finals X, whereas every other body prior had the skull on the side placed behind the Avenger logo.
- YouTube gained some minor controversy in 2016 after several amateur videos of Avenger's World Finals 17 freestyle were muted for copyright reasons due to the song that was playing during Avenger's freestyle, ''Let Me Hear You Scream'' by Ozzy Osbourne. One of these videos was a full freestyle compilation uploaded by YouTube user TLITD31. When the video was originally uploaded, YouTube muted the entire video solely due to Avenger's freestyle, so the user had to re-upload the video with Avenger's freestyle clip self-muted out. (Any monster truck theme that uses Ozzy Osbourne on YouTube will be instantly copyrighted and the video will be either muted or taken down, this can be said for most trucks such as Avenger, Brutus, Krazy Train, and more)
- Avenger was the first fully independently owned truck to win a World Finals championship. Jim Koehler won the freestyle championship at Monster Jam World Finals IV.
- Despite it being in the Fire & Ice series, Spin Master's release of Avenger Fire did not have the special fire chassis and wheels, unlike other releases in the series.
- At World Finals XVI, Avenger had an onboard shot of the chassis, with a BKT sticker. Jim didn't have BKT tires on the truck yet, and next to the BKT sticker, he wrote "I WISH".
- The truck briefly ran as Metaldyne, a temporary name for Avenger.
- The Avenger 25th Anniversary body that ran in World Finals 2022 was designed by Jam Customs LLC, who also happens to be a good friend to the team.
- The skull on the silver 25th Anniversary was sized down by accident and was never corrected.
- Avenger also ran as Route 66 for one show in 2004.
- Avenger was the first truck Frank Krmel drove. It was likely in the early 2000's, but it is unknown what year or where it was.
- When Chris Koehler drives the truck, he always uses the S10 body & it's always at independent shows.
- The World Finals 22 Nashville design is featured in Monster Jam Showdown.
Gallery[]
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_9-59_screenshot.png "Monster Jam - El Paso Freestyle 2023 (Show 1) 9-59 screenshot.png (1.67 MB)")
.jpg "Monster Truck Throwdown - Jim Koehler talks Silverdome memories and Avenger 20 8-32 screenshot (1).jpg (156 KB)")
World Finals designs[]
Merchandise[]
.jpg "2002 Avenger (2).jpg (378 KB)")
.jpg "2005 43-Avenger (2).jpg (427 KB)")
.jpg "2006 35-Avenger (2).jpg (408 KB)")
.jpg "2017 FL06-Avenger (2).jpg (442 KB)")
.jpg "2009 63-Avenger-Light (2).jpg (402 KB)")
.jpg "2016 06-Avenger (2).jpg (409 KB)")
.jpg "2007 21-Avenger (2).jpg (409 KB)")
.jpg "2010 52-Avenger (2).jpg (406 KB)")
.jpg "2010 SE-EB Avenger (2).jpg (365 KB)")
.jpg "2018 SE-MP Smash-Up StadiumA (5).jpg (423 KB)")
.jpg "2012 Avenger-Red (2).jpg (421 KB)")
.jpg "2014 60-Avenger (2).jpg (428 KB)")
.jpg "2015 10-Avenger (2).jpg (440 KB)")
.jpg "2016 31-Avenger (2).jpg (393 KB)")
.jpg "2017 TF06-Avenger (2).jpg (411 KB)")
.jpg "2017 SE-25 Avenger (2).jpg (398 KB)")
.jpg "2017 CH04-Avenger (2).jpg (435 KB)")
.jpg "2018 TF05-Avenger (2).jpg (436 KB)")
.jpg "2018 EP14-Avenger (2).jpg (443 KB)")
.jpg "2019 LT-Avenger (2).jpg (150 KB)")
.jpg "RR Avenger (5).jpg (225 KB)")
.jpg "2010 SE-MD Avenger (3).jpg (446 KB)")
