Backwards Bob was a 2008 Ford F-150 monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports. The truck has been known for having both the body and the tires mounted on the chassis in reverse, giving the illusion that the truck is driving backwards, hence the name. Backwards Bob was driven by various drivers over the course of its career and has also been featured in various merchandise and as a playable truck in multiple Monster Jam video games.
History[]
2008[]
Backwards Bob made its debut as part of the Monster Jam World Finals IX encore driven by Monster Mutt and former Jersey Outlaw driver Mike Wine. The truck would later be featured in Monster Jam: Urban Assault.
2009[]
The truck entered its first full year of competition and mainly competed on the west coast. Wine and the truck would get televised appearances in Anaheim and El Paso, alongside additional television appearances in Phoenix and Houston exclusively in Europe. Wine retired at year's end.
The truck later competed in the European Tour under George Balhan, running on the Air Force Afterburner chassis. Dustin Brown would temporarily take over the ride for the second and third Arnhem shows after George smashed his thumb from a hard landing and Damon Bradshaw would drive the truck once in Barcelona.
2010[]
Backwards Bob competed exclusively in that year’s international tour. Dan Evans drove the truck in Costa Rica, while rookie driver Bari Musawwir drove the truck in Panama City, marking Bari's competition debut.
2011[]
Backwards Bob would be run on the Obsession chassis in Anaheim with Rick Swanson driving. Afterwards, Backwards Bob would be placed on hiatus. Swanson would keep the idea, and later created his own reverse truck, Wrongway Rick, in 2012.
2012-2014[]
Despite being inactive, Backwards Bob would still be featured in Monster Jam Souvenir Yearbooks. For that occasion, the character featured on the truck, "Bob", was displayed as the driver.
2015 (Revival)[]
The truck returned to competition under Bryan Wright and Ryan Huffaker. At the time, the truck received an all-new Racesource chassis, until it would be destroyed in a trailer fire. As a result, a spare Backwards Bob body would be run on a spare PEI chassis for the remainder of the season, until a new Backwards Bob was built the following season.
2016[]
Wright left the team to rejoin Monster Trucks Unlimited. Kevin Crocker took over the driving duties following Wright’s departure. Both Crocker and Huffaker would share driving duties for the season, until the fourth quarter, when Ryan Huffaker retired from competition and Crocker began driving Monster Mutt.
2017-2024[]
Backwards Bob was quietly retired following the 2016 season, yet still appeared in merchandise and made video game appearances in Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 and Monster Jam Showdown.
2024[]
After an eight-year absence, the truck made its return for a one-time occasion in Spokane, Washington in November, with Dalton Widner driving it on Jurassic Attack. Similar to Northern Nightmare, the reason for this was to keep the trademark active, or else they would've lost it. The truck won its first ever event championship on Friday night.
Events competed[]
| 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| March 29th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals IX) | Mike Wine | Encore only |
| 2009 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 10th | Anaheim, CA | Mike Wine | Competition debut |
| January 16-18th | Tacoma, WA | ||
| January 24th | Phoenix, AZ | ||
| January 31st | Houston, TX | ||
| February 7-8th | Denver, CO | ||
| February 13-14th | Salt Lake City, UT | ||
| February 20-21st | Oklahoma City, OK | Won:
| |
| March 6-7th | El Paso, TX | ||
| May 30th | Chorzów, Poland | George Balhan | |
| June 6th | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| September 26-27th | Arnhem, Netherlands | George Balhan (Show 1) Dustin Brown (Show 2 and 3) |
George injured his hand from a hard landing during Show 1 freestyle, which led to Dustin Brown filling-in for the rest of the weekend |
| October 24th | Barcelona, Spain | Damon Bradshaw | |
| 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| April 17th | San Jose, Costa Rica | Dan Evans | |
| May 29-30th | Panama City, Panama | Bari Musawwir | Bari Musawwir's first ever event |
| 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 29th | Anaheim, CA | Rick Swanson | Was run on Obsession |
| 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 2-3rd | Manchester, NH | Bryan Wright | |
| January 3rd | Miami, FL | Ryan Huffaker | |
| January 10th | Detroit, MI | Bryan Wright | |
| January 16-18th | Rochester, NY | ||
| January 24-25th | Washington, D.C. | ||
| January 31st | Houston, TX | ||
| February 6-8th | Denver, CO | ||
| February 13-15th | Pittsburgh, PA | ||
| February 20-21st | Richmond, VA | ||
| February 27-March 1st | Wilkes-Barre, PA | ||
| March 6-8th | Toledo, OH | Won wheelies, show 1 donuts, shows 1 and 4 | |
| March 13-15th | Lafayette, LA | ||
| April 11-12th | Cedar Rapids, IA | Won donuts, shows 1 and 2. | |
| April 18-19th | Lincoln, NE | ||
| May 16-17th | Moline, IL | Frank Krmel | |
| July 17-19th | Hagerstown, MD | Bryan Wright | |
| July 25-26th | Stafford Springs, CT | ||
| 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 8-9th | Greensboro, NC | Kevin Crocker | |
| January 15-16th | Little Rock, AR | ||
| January 23-24th | Roanoke, VA | ||
| January 29-30th | Greenville, SC | ||
| February 6-7th | Hartford, CT | Won Wheelies, Show 1. | |
| February 12-14th | Pittsburgh, PA | ||
| February 19-21st | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Won Donuts, Show 1. | |
| February 27th | Lexington, KY | ||
| March 4-5th | Florence, SC | Won Donuts, Show 2. | |
| March 4-6th | Toledo, OH | ||
| April 1-3rd | Lafayette, LA | ||
| April 15-16th | Lincoln, NE | ||
| April 22-23rd | Erie, PA | ||
| April 30-May 1st | Manchester, NH | ||
| May 15th | Salinas, CA | ||
| June 9-10th | Myrtle Beach, SC | Won Racing, Show 2. | |
| August 5-6th | New Weston, OH | ||
| September 24-25th | Corpus Christi, TX | ||
| October 21-22nd | Wichita Falls, TX | ||
| October 29-30th | Cedar Rapids, IA | Won: Donuts, Shows 1 and 3 Freestyle, Show 2 | |
| November 4-5th | Rockford, IL | Won Donuts, Show 3. | |
| November 11-13th | Jackson, MS | ||
| December 9-10th | Montgomery, AL | Won Racing, Show 1. | |
| 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| November 8th-10th | Spokane, WA | Dalton Widner | Won:
|
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Mike Wine | Encore only |
Video game appearances[]
- Monster Jam: Urban Assault
- Monster Jam: Path of Destruction
- Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
- Monster Jam Showdown (DLC)
Trivia[]
- The name of the truck is a play on the haircut style of the same name.
- Backwards Bob's debut at the World Finals IX encore would be omitted from public viewing after the Spitfire truck it ran alongside received a lawsuit from an unknown party for its name. The encore has since only been viewable through fan recordings. However, some portions of FELD recordings have subtlety been used in public Monster Jam media, the most notable being the Inside Monster Jam podcast episode with Bari Musawwir, using high quality footage from the encore (seen at 16:14).
- Backwards Bob's backup chassis used throughout the 2015 season was the previous Northern Nightmare chassis, which had also suffered a fire.
- Despite the truck's name, no driver named Bob has ever driven the truck.
- For Hot Wheels releases, Backwards Bob featured both the body and tires facing the same way as the chassis. Despite this, the truck would be packaged backwards. This issue was fixed by Spin Master for their release of Backwards Bob in 2020.
- As shown in both toys and video games, the tailgate of Backwards Bob showcased the phrase “Here I Come.” The phrase never appeared on the actual truck, as the tailgate was either nonexistent or transparent to improve the driver’s vision.
- During the Monster Jam World Finals XVII pit party, FELD Motorsports CEO Kenneth Feld asked why Backwards Bob was facing the “wrong way.” He then instructed the event manager to park the truck “properly” after deeming the truck’s overall concept as “too silly.” To add to that, Backwards Bob was displayed away from the main pit party area.
- With the body being on backwards, the truck appears to do the opposite trick as to what the driver is actually doing. When the truck does a stoppie, it looks like a reverse wheelie. A moonwalk looks like the truck is doing a wheelie.
Gallery[]
Merchandise[]
