Bounty Hunter is a 2005 Ford Expedition monster truck owned by 2Xtreme Racing and driven by Jimmy Creten. Since its debut, the truck has served as the flagship truck for 2Xtreme Racing and has become a staple of multiple leagues, including the 2Xtreme Monster Truck Series and formerly Monster Jam, where the truck has won two world championships, being the freestyle championship in 2005 and the racing championship in 2019. The truck has also been featured in multiple merchandise and video games.
History[]
1995[]
Bounty Hunter was originally created after Jimmy Creten purchased the previous Shark Attack truck from Rick Brickei. At the time of its debut, the truck would originally compete in small events in the Midwest alongside Team KCM.
1996[]
Creten would debut a new chassis for Bounty Hunter, based on Kreg Christensen's Dragon Slayer. The first truck would become 2Xtreme, then later sold to Christensen to become Misbehavin'.
1997[]
The truck would later receive a new paint scheme.
2000[]
A brand-new Bounty Hunter would debut, featuring a PEI chassis and a 1999 Dodge Dakota body style with a blue and white paint scheme. The new truck was previously 2Xtreme the prior year. That same year, the truck made its televised debut in Pontiac, however the truck's freestyle was cut from broadcast despite finishing 2nd overall. The only known footage that exists of the freestyle is from a commercial with the clip being partially obscured by a translucent Wendy's logo.
2001[]
Jay McPherson drives Bounty Hunter while Jimmy Creten was driving Scarlet Bandit due to Dawn Creten being on maternity leave. Both trucks receive a sponsorship from Checker Auto Parts, which later merges and becomes Checker Schuck's Kragen.
2002[]
Bounty Hunter would debut a new design, featuring a Ford Expedition with the iconic cowboy character on the sides. It was that year in which Bounty Hunter would rise to stardom on the Monster Jam circuit. Both Creten and the truck would be invited to compete in their first Monster Jam World Finals, where they would make it all the way to the championship race, losing to Tom Meents and Team Meents.
2003[]
Bounty Hunter debuted a brand-new chassis. Creten and the truck would be invited to compete in World Finals IV, where they would again make it all the way to the championship race. During the race, Creten was unable to recover in time after spinning out in the turn, losing to Brian Barthel and Wolverine.
2004[]
Bounty Hunter would receive an updated paint scheme. Creten and the truck would again be invited to compete at World Finals V. Despite being eliminated in the semi-finals by Dennis Anderson and Grave Digger, Bounty Hunter would finish second in freestyle.
2005[]
Linsey Weenk drives the truck with Jimmy in Tacoma, then drove the truck again in Franklin. In the semi-finals in racing at World Finals VI, Creten hit the turning pole against Dennis Anderson in Grave Digger, losing to him again for the second straight year. Creten and Bounty Hunter would finally earn their first World Finals championship, winning the freestyle competition in a tiebreaker with Tony Farrell in Blue Thunder.
2006[]
Bounty Hunter would debut another new paint scheme. Creten and the truck would make their third championship round appearance in World Finals VII, only to be defeated by Dennis Anderson and Grave Digger. A Silverado body debuts at the end of 2007 but wouldn't be used until the start of 2008.
2008[]
The Bounty Hunter name would also expand to two trucks, with Darren Migues behind the wheel of the second truck. Creten and the truck would make their fourth championship round appearance at World Finals IX after Maximum Destruction was unable to return, he would lose to John Seasock and Batman. In July, Checker Schuck's Kragen is bought out by O'Reilly Automotive, ending the partnership with 2Xtreme Racing before the 2009 season.
2009[]
Creten would win racing at every stadium event that he competed in. He finished second to Damon Bradshaw and Air Force Afterburner in freestyle at World Finals X.
2010[]
Rookie Nick Owens would drive Bounty Hunter in Laredo, Texas and Forest, Mississippi.
2011[]
Creten would finish 2nd in the championship round for the fifth time at World Finals XII, losing to Meents in Maximum Destruction.
2012[]
Migues’ Bounty Hunter would receive a new gray paint scheme.
In March, Creten and the truck would compete at World Finals XIII, where they would debut a dual-sided blue-transparent paint scheme. During the said event, the truck would successfully attempt its first backflip in competition. Jimmy would finish second behind Cam McQueen in Northern Nightmare.
2013[]
Creten would campaign a special gray paint scheme for his Bounty Hunter at World Finals XIV. However, the truck would suffer a blown engine in racing and would be unable to compete for the remainder of the event. Said paint scheme would run throughout the remainder of the season.
2014[]
Bounty Hunter would debut a new yellow paint scheme, which would be reminiscent of the original design from 2004-2005. This scheme would be campaigned by Creten, while Migues would debut a new matte black paint scheme for his Bounty Hunter. Jeff Souza drove the truck around this time.
2015[]
Bounty Hunter celebrated its 20th anniversary, while Migues would leave 2Xtreme Racing to drive for his own team, and Trent Montgomery took over the second Bounty Hunter following Migues’ departure. Creten and the truck would compete in World Finals XVI, where they would debut a dual-sided yellow-blue paint scheme. They would also win the No Limits Monster Truck Championship later that year.
2016[]
Both Bounty Hunter trucks would debut new paint schemes for the season. Creten's paint scheme would feature reversed colors, while Montgomery would campaign a white and blue paint scheme for his Bounty Hunter. Creten and the truck would compete at World Finals XVII, where they would debut a new “American Sniper” paint scheme, sponsored by the Chris Kyle Foundation. Montgomery would later leave 2Xtreme Racing, and Matt Cody and Tim Missentzis would drive his Bounty Hunter for the time being.
2017[]
Both Bounty Hunter trucks would again receive new paint schemes. Creten’s truck would feature a new Punisher-themed design and would compete in the FS1 Championship Series West. Todd Morey would take over the second Bounty Hunter, which debuted a new University of Northwestern Ohio-sponsored paint scheme, competing in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 3. Morey would suffer an injury towards the series’ final events. George Balhan and Trent Montgomery would fill in for the series’ Anaheim and Oakland shows, respectively. Morey would also drive the truck during the second Tampa event as part of Stadium Championship Series 4.
2018[]
Creten’s chassis would undergo a major rebuild, taking on a slimmer appearance with the shocks sticking up through the hood & out of the body in the rear. Creten would compete in the first two shows on Stadium Championship Series 2 in Tampa and Orlando, respectively. In Tampa, he would make it all the way to the championship race, but would lose to Chuck Werner in El Toro Loco, however, he would win racing in Orlando, defeating Charlie Pauken and Grave Digger.
Creten would later compete in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 3 for the remainder of the first quarter, where he would score his first overall event championship in the series’ Jacksonville show. Meanwhile, Austin Minton would campaign a second Bounty Hunter on the Jekyll & Hyde chassis in Stadium Championship Series 4.
In March, Creten would be invited to compete in the main field competition at World Finals XIX, while Minton would be invited to compete in the Double Down Showdown.
2019[]
Bounty Hunter competed on Stadium Championship Series 1. During the series, Creten and the truck would win a racing championship during the Saturday show in Detroit and ultimately finished sixth in the series standings. Joe Foley drove the truck in Watertown.
The truck would be invited to compete at World Finals XX, where the truck would debut a special paint scheme sponsored by Five Finger Death Punch. Despite qualifying second to last, Creten would finally capture his first world racing championship against Bari Musawwir in Zombie Fire, after being disqualified for a red-light violation. Bari did cross the line first. Even with the win, Bounty Hunter never crossed the finish line first in the championship race.
The second Bounty Hunter would be driven by multiple drivers for select shows following the first quarter. Alex Bardin would also drive the truck in Nashville. David Olfert would drive the truck for the majority of the fall season, winning his first overall event championship. Veteran driver Rod Schmidt would comeback from retirement to drive the truck in Mansfield, Ohio on the All Star Monster Truck Tour. Joe Foley drives the truck in Watertown. Later that winter, the truck would debut a new “steampunk”-themed paint scheme, which would be run for the following season.
2020[]
Bounty Hunter competed on Stadium Championship Series Green. During the series, Creten and the truck won two racing championships in San Diego and Jacksonville, as well as an overall event championship during the second show in Miami. After the series abruptly ended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bounty Hunter would compete in select shows for the remainder of the season. Afterwards, 2Xtreme Racing would pull out of Monster Jam completely.
In July, a second Bounty Hunter would debut on an all-new Chevrolet Silverado body style, being campaigned again by Minton on Jekyll & Hyde.
2022[]
Both Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter were removed from Monster Jam's website, as he is currently promoting independent shows with 2Xtreme Racing.
2024[]
Rob Poutre would temporarily become the main driver of Bounty Hunter due to Jimmy Creten taking the first quarter of the year off to recover from a surgery.
In February, Creten returned to drive in Las Vegas, Nevada, but wouldn't drive again after that until late April in Kansas City, Kansas.
In July, Kory Kinal makes his driving debut, driving the truck on multiple occasions.
2025[]
Dan Dahlgren drives the truck at show 2 in Tucson after Shark Bite suffered damage after a forward roll. The truck uses the 5 Finger Death Punch design. The truck debuts a 30th anniversary retro design based off of the 2004-2005 design.
In August, Jeremiah Paras makes his driving debut, driving the truck on multiple occasions.
Driver[]
- Jimmy Creten (Since 1995)
Former drivers[]
- Jay McPherson (2001; 2008-2013 various occasions)
- Darren Migues (2008-2014)
- Trent Montgomery (2014-2017)
- Todd Morey (2017)
- Austin Minton (2017-2019)
- David Olfert (2019-2020)
- Rob Poutre (2024 fill-in)
- Kory Kinal (2024 fill-in)
- Jeremiah Paras (2025 fill-in)
Fill-in drivers[]
- Linsey Weenk (Tacoma & Franklin 2005)
- Nick Owens (Laredo & Forest 2010)
- Jay Snyder (Wichita 2011)
- Michael Vaters (Harrisburg 2012)
- JR McNeal (Montreal 2012)
- Jeff Souza (2014 unknown)
- Matt Cody (2016)
- Tim Missentzis (Springfield 2016)
- George Balhan (Anaheim 2017 Show 3)
- Christian Norman (Elk River 2017)
- Alex Bardin (Nashville 2019)
- Rod Schmidt (Mansfield 2019)
- Joe Foley (Watertown 2019)
- Dan Dahlgren (Tucson 2025)
- Kreg Christensen (Unknown)
Special drivers[]
- Jeff Hammond (2008 Chevy Event in Texas)
- Clint Bowyer (2008 Chevy Event in Texas)
Other trucks[]
Over the years, the Bounty Hunter name has been run by multiple teams, most of which were only used once.
World Finals bodies[]
Similar to Avenger and Titan, Bounty Hunter has run special designs at the Monster Jam World Finals from 2012-2019.
- 2012 - Double-sided Bounty Hunter (Half blue, half transparent)
- 2013 - Gray Bounty Hunter
- 2014 - Bubba Burger/Hedman Headers Bounty Hunter
- 2015 - Bounty Hunter 20th Anniversary (Half blue, half yellow)
- 2016 - American Sniper Bounty Hunter
- 2018 - Special blue and gold Bounty Hunter (Pit parties only)
- 2019 - Five Finger Death Punch Bounty Hunter (Won racing)
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Jimmy Creten | Qualifying: 15th (DNQ) | Racing: defeated in finals by Team Meents | Freestyle: 9th (22) | |
| 2003 | Qualifying: 1st (16.96) | Racing: defeated in finals by Wolverine | Freestyle: 13th (14) | ||
| 2004 | Qualifying: 3rd (16.94) | Racing: defeated in semi-finals by Grave Digger | Freestyle: 4th (30) | ||
| 2005 | Qualifying: 1st (16.58) | Racing: defeated in semi-finals by Grave Digger | Freestyle: 1st (31) | ||
| 2006 | Qualifying: 2nd (16.46) | Racing: defeated in finals by Grave Digger | Freestyle: 21st (12) | ||
| 2007 | Qualifying: 1st (15.84) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Hot Wheels | Freestyle: 22nd (8) | ||
| 2008 | Qualifying: 21st (25.75) | Racing: defeated in finals by Batman | Freestyle: 20th (12) | ||
| 2009 | Qualifying: 2nd (16.53) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Blue Thunder | Freestyle: 2nd (32) | ||
| 2010 | Qualifying: 23rd (DNF) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 8th (26) | ||
| 2011 | Qualifying: 9th (16.44) | Racing: defeated in finals by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 5th (28) | ||
| 2012 | Qualifying: 10th (16.714) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Son-uva Digger | Freestyle: 2nd (32) | ||
| 2013 | Qualifying: 10th (16.684) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Spider-Man | |||
| 2014 | Qualifying: 11th (16.833) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 26th (10.5) | ||
| 2015 | Qualifying: 19th (16.989) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Monster Energy (Saucier) | Freestyle: 25th (13) | ||
| 2016 | Qualifying: 12th (16.267) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Soldier Fortune | Freestyle: 30th (14) | ||
| 2017 | Qualifying: 31st (17.453) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Son-uva Digger | Freestyle: 18th (7.098) | ||
| 2018 | Qualifying: 14th (16.609) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Monster Mutt Dalmatian | Freestyle: 28th (3.833) | ||
| Austin Minton | Double Down Showdown: defeated in round 1 by Pirate's Curse | ||||
| 2019 | Jimmy Creten | Qualifying: 23rd (14.157) | Racing: defeated by Zombie Fire in the finals (Won via DQ) | Freestyle: 11th (11.978) | |
Video game appearances[]
- Monster 4X4: Masters of Metal (Planned, but cancelled)
- Monster Jam (Video game)
- Monster Jam: Urban Assault
- Monster Jam: Path of Destruction
- Monster Jam (Mobile game)
- Monster Jam Battlegrounds
- Monster Jam: Crush It!
Trivia[]
- Bounty Hunter used to have one of the most powerful engines in the circuit with a billed 2,000hp.
- Bounty Hunter has been in the championship race at the World Finals 6 times, acquiring the World Finals racing championship in 2019. The truck has more second place finishes at the World Finals than any other, with 8. (5 in racing, 3 in freestyle).
- Razin Kane was used as a one-time Bounty Hunter in 2012. Other one-time trucks run as Bounty Hunter include Outlaw and Shocker.
- In August 2014, Zane Rettew would drive Trent Montgomery's Bounty Hunter for one show in Pennsylvania while Montgomery would be filling in for Jimmy Creten at another show.
- The first iteration of Bounty Hunter featured Yosemite Sam on the side panels, fitting in with how Creten's first truck, Plum Nuts, featured Tasmanian Devil on the side panels, another Looney Tunes character.
- The skull on the 2016 Bounty Hunter is the Chris Kyle American Sniper logo, which is a variant of the Punisher logo. Jimmy has kept the skull on several trucks with other variants, one such being Five Finger Death Punch.
- Todd Morey's 2017 Bounty Hunter was made specifically for him. The body used the colors and sponsor of the college he attended, ironic enough being UNOH, which would also sponsor Monster Jam at the time.
- Jimmy Creten’s current chassis is a redesign of the PEI chassis he had been competing in since 2010.
- The 2019 body debuted at the Monster Jam World Finals XIX. Oddly enough, the body was only featured at both pit parties, but never used for the actual event. This was due to it being used later as part of a special auction.
- Bounty Hunter 2 still competes today as Skitzo.
- One year in Anaheim, Jimmy Creten started his freestyle with a backflip, which never happens, even before Jamey Garner started doing it often. It is a risky move to do, but he landed it.
- The Rev Tredz release of the truck from Hot Wheels was infamous for its reuse of the WCW Nitro machine mold from 2000. Due to the body being a Chevy Astro Van, sporting lights on the roof and flames accents on the sides, this greatly effected the overall appearance of the truck with some of the decals even overlapping onto the molded flames
Gallery[]
.jpg "20170812 120747(1).jpg (516 KB)")
.jpg "Arlington021316 Stern (29).jpg (161 KB)")
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Merchandise[]
.jpg "2003 35-Bounty Hunter (2).jpg (371 KB)")
.jpg "2005 15-Bounty Hunter (2).jpg (426 KB)")
.jpg "2007 10-Bounty Hunter (2).jpg (417 KB)")
.jpg "2010 SE-MD Bounty Hunter (3).jpg (475 KB)")
.jpg "2019 AF-Bounty HunterA (2).jpg (419 KB)")
.jpg "2019 AF-Bounty HunterB (3).jpg (373 KB)")
.jpg "2019 SE-DD Higher Education-Bounty Hunter (7).jpg (425 KB)")
Miscellaneous[]
Videos[]
