Captain's Curse was a 1941 Willys monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports from 2007-2016. Originally debuting at Monster Jam World Finals VIII in 2007, the truck was originally driven by Pablo Huffaker, who drove the truck to win the world freestyle championship. Despite that, the truck was most well-known for being primarily driven by Alex Blackwell from 2008-2016.
Captain's Curse would also become a major staple and a fan favorite in Monster Jam, having appeared in every Monster Jam World Finals since its debut up until 2015, and even being featured in multiple merchandise and video games.
History[]
2007[]
On March 24th, Captain’s Curse made its official debut at Monster Jam World Finals VIII under Pablo Huffaker. During said event, Huffaker and the truck would go on to win the World Freestyle Championship with a score of 34.
After the World Finals, Captain’s Curse would compete select at events being driven by Aaron Basl and touring with Pablo's Grave Digger.
2008[]
Captain’s Curse entered its first full year of competition with Monster Jam. For that season, the truck received a new chassis, as the previous Racesource chassis would be used for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The truck also received a new driver, Alex Blackwell, touring alongside Rod Schmidt’s Grave Digger. The truck would notably win freestyle at the first Minneapolis show, getting a perfect 30.
In March, Blackwell and the truck would be invited to compete at Monster Jam World Finals IX, with Pablo Huffaker, the reigning champion, not returning to defend his title. In fact, Pablo did not compete in the event period, being the second defending champion to not make an appearance the following year behind Madusa in 2006. During said event, Blackwell would qualify for the runner-up position, be eliminated in the semi-final round of racing by John Seasock in Batman, and finish sixth in freestyle. Alex said he had no complaints with how the night went for him.
2009[]
Alex would primarily compete in arena shows, but would run a few stadium events, notably winning freestyle in Oakland with a perfect 30.
In March, Captain’s Curse would again be invited to compete at Monster Jam World Finals X. Alex was one of the favorites to win the event, which he almost did. During that event, Blackwell and the truck would make it all the way to the championship round of racing, facing off against Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction.
World Finals X crash[]
After Alex Blackwell had won his semi-final race against Blue Thunder, he discovered that the truck's brakes were red hot, and they needed at least five minutes to cool down in order for him to run a safe race. However, the officials ignored this request and sent Alex out for the Championship Race anyway. It was during the race when Alex realized that he was unable to stop the truck, which was going a full speed, and he deliberately flipped the truck to avoid crashing head-on into the wall; this impact would have severely injured Alex and multiple spectators in the front row. Luckily, the truck only landed in a section of the stands that was closed off for safety reasons and no spectators were injured and Alex himself was unharmed. Only the fences of the stands were damaged and these were later repaired.
2010[]
After two years of touring alongside Grave Digger, Captain’s Curse received a new touring partner for the 2010 season, being John Seasock’s Batman. The two would go on to win that year’s Team of the Year award, and Blackwell and the truck would go on to win the freestyle competition held at Monster Jam’s inaugural show at the recently opened Cowboy’s Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, TX.
In March, the truck would compete at Monster Jam World Finals XI, and although not winning and finishing high, he would notably suffer a wild crash in racing for the second year in a row, hitting the yellow box-van ramp, and flipping mid-air.
2011[]
In Philadelphia, Alex and the truck would do a halftime performance called "Donuts for Diabetes" for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. For this, he would do multiple donuts in a row, and each one he did, he would raise $500 for the foundation. He would do a total of 39 donuts and raise $19,500 for the foundation.
2012[]
Blackwell continued to drive Captain’s Curse until 2012, when he moved to the recently revived Wolverine. This resulted in Captain’s Curse being shelved for the time being, although the truck did compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIII, with Huffaker returning to drive the truck. He would tie Todd LeDuc for the fastest qualifier, but would finish second because Todd did it first. During said event, both Blackwell and Huffaker would ironically face off against each other in round 2 in racing, with Blackwell getting the victory. Captain’s Curse would go on to finish 21st in freestyle.
Late in the year, it was announced that Captain’s Curse would return to full-time competition for the 2013 Monster Jam season, with Blackwell returning to the driver’s seat. For that occasion, the truck received a brand-new inverted paint scheme, which first competed at Monster Jam’s final show of the 2012 season in Minneapolis.
2013[]
2015[]
The truck made its final Monster Jam World Finals appearance.
In September, it was announced that another pirate themed monster truck would debut in 2016, that being Pirate's Curse. As a result, people began to speculate that Captain's Curse would be retired, and the former truck would serve as its replacement.
2016[]
Both Captain's Curse and Pirate's Curse competed but never together, disproving the retirement rumors however 2016 would mark the final season for Captain's Curse. The truck would mainly compete in arena shows and later competed internationally, with its final event being in Stockholm that November.
2017[]
Captain's Curse would quietly retire following 2016, and Pirate's Curse would continue as the truck's spiritual successor until its retirement in 2020. As for Alex Blackwell, he moved to the new Megalodon monster truck and would drive it until 2019.
Post-retirement[]
Despite its retirement, Captain's Curse continued to receive diecast releases by Mattel, and later Spin Master. The truck would appear in Monster Jam Steel Titans and Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 in 2019 and 2021 respectively. The truck also appeared in Monster Jam Showdown in 2024, along with the original red version and a silver version.
Events competed[]
| 2007 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| March 24th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals VIII) | Pablo Huffaker | Debut, won freestyle |
| April 13-15th | Fresno, CA (Monster Jam) | Aaron Basl | |
| April 27-29th | Santa Rosa, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| May 4-6th | Roseburg, OR (Monster Jam) | ||
| May 20th | Salinas, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| June 2nd | Syracuse, NY (Monster Jam) | ||
| June 15-16th | Sioux Falls, SD (Monster Jam) | Won racing, show 2. | |
| July 13-15th | Hagerstown, MD (Monster Jam) | ||
| 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 4-5th | Columbus, OH (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | |
| January 11-12th | Knoxville, TN (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies and Racing, Show 2. | |
| January 19th | Minneapolis, MN (Monster Jam) | Won Freestyle | |
| January 25-26th | Greenville, SC (Monster Jam) | Won Freestyle, Show 3. | |
| February 1-2nd | Fargo, ND (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| February 15-17th | Philadelphia, PA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| February 22-24th | Richmond, VA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| February 29th-March 1st | Tupelo, MS (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| March 14-16th | Wilkes-Barre, PA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| March 28-29th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals IX) | ||
| May 2-4th | San Jose, Costa Rica (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| July 14-16th | West Lebanon, NY (Monster Jam) | ||
| August 6th | Englishtown, NJ (Monster Truck Meltdown) | ||
| August 15-16th | Sunrise, FL (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| September 13th | Englishtown, NJ (Motorsports Spectacular) | ||
| December 6th | Minneapolis, MN (Monster Jam) | ||
| 2009 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 9-10th | Tulsa, OK (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | Won:
|
| January 11th | Wichita, KS (Monster Jam) | Competed on Sunday only
Won:
| |
| January 16-17th | Milwaukee, WI (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 23-25th | Sacramento, CA (Monster Jam) | Won Racing, Show 3. | |
| January 31st | Vancouver, BC (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 6-8th | Edmonton, AB (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 14-15th | Portland, OR (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 20-22nd | Spokane, WA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| February 28th | Oakland, CA (Monster Jam) | Won Freestyle | |
| March 6-8th | Grand Rapids, MI (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| March 13-15th | Reno, NV (Monster Jam) | Won Racing, Shows 2 and 3. | |
| March 28th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals X) | ||
| May 30th | Englishtown, NJ (Night of Thrills) | ||
| June 11-13th | Quincy, IL (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies, Shows 2 and 3. | |
| July 13-15th | West Lebanon, NY (Monster Jam) | ||
| August 1st | Glendale, AZ (Monster Jam) | ||
| August 5th | Englishtown, NJ (Monster Truck Meltdown) | ||
| October 23-24th | Louisville, KY (Monster Jam) | Won Racing, Show 1. | |
| November 7-8th | Mexico City, Mexico (Monster Jam) | ||
| December 5th | Minneapolis, MN (Monster Jam) | ||
| 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 9th | Atlanta, GA (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | |
| January 15-17th | Tacoma, WA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| January 22-24th | Sacramento, CA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| January 30th | Phoenix, AZ (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 6-7th | Hartford, CT (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| February 13-14th | Cleveland, OH (Monster Jam) | Won Freestyle, Show 1 | |
| February 19-20th | Chattanooga, TN (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| February 27th | Arlington, TX (Monster Jam) | Won Freestyle | |
| March 6-7th | El Paso, TX (Monster Jam) | ||
| March 26-27th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XI) | ||
| May 22-24th | Copenhagen, Denmark (Monster Jam) | Won Racing, Show 2. | |
| May 29th | Gothenburg, Sweden (Monster Jam) | ||
| September 11-12th | Antwerp, Belgium (Monster Jam) | Won Donuts, all 3 shows. | |
| September 17-19th | Birmingham, England (Monster Jam) | Won Donuts, all 4 shows. | |
| September 25-26th | Arnhem, Holland (Monster Jam) | ||
| October 9th | Cardiff, Wales (Monster Jam) | ||
| November 13th | Minneapolis, MN (Monster Jam) | ||
| 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 7-9th | Rochester, NY (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | Won:
|
| January 15th | Anaheim, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 29th | Phoenix, AZ (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 5th | Houston, TX (Monster Jam) | Won Racing and Freestyle. | |
| February 11-12th | Rockford, IL (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 19-20th | London, ON (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| February 26th | Arlington, TX (Monster Jam) | ||
| March 4-5th | Wichita Falls, TX (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| March 12th | Syracuse, NY (Monster Jam) | Won Freestyle | |
| March 25-26th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XII) | ||
| April 8-10th | Naples, FL (Monster Jam) | Won Racing, Show 1. | |
| April 15-17th | Ocala, FL (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| April 29-30th | Moline, IL (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| May 28-29th | Philadelphia, PA (Monster Jam) | ||
| June 18th | Englishtown, NJ (Night of Thrills) | ||
| July 9th | Baltimore, MD (Monster Jam) | ||
| July 23rd | Cincinnati, OH (Monster Jam) | ||
| 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver |
| March 23-24th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XIII) | Pablo Huffaker |
| December 1st | Minneapolis, MN (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell |
| 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 4-5th | Manchester, NH (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | Won:
|
| January 12th | Houston, TX (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 19th | San Diego, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 26th | Vancouver, BC (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 2nd | St. Louis, MO (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 9-10th | Edmonton, AB (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 16th | Atlanta, GA (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 23rd | Jacksonville, FL (Monster Jam) | ||
| March 23rd | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XIV) | ||
| June 1-2nd | Halifax, NS (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| June 7-9th | Bangor, ME (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| June 21-22nd | Erie, PA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| July 20-21st | Hagerstown, MD (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies, Show 2. | |
| August 2-3rd | New Weston, OH (Monster Jam) | ||
| September 28-29th | Arnhem, Holland (Monster Jam) | Member of Team Destruction. | |
| November 15-16th | Hampton, VA (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies, Shows 1 and 2. | |
| December 7th | Minneapolis, MN (Monster Jam) | ||
| 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 4th | Houston, TX (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | |
| January 11-12th | San Antonio, TX (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 18th | San Diego, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 25th | Indianapolis, IN (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 1st | Tampa, FL (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 8th | Anaheim, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 14-16th | Salt Lake City, UT (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 22nd | Oakland, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| March 1-2nd | El Paso, TX (Monster Jam) | Won Racing, Show 1. | |
| March 8-10th | London, ON (Monster Jam) | Won Freestyle, Show 1. | |
| March 20-22nd | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XV) | ||
| April 4-5th | Louisville, KY (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| April 26-27th | Austin, TX (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies, Show 2. | |
| June 14th | East Rutherford, NJ (Monster Jam) | ||
| July 13-16th | West Lebanon, NY (Monster Jam) | ||
| September 13-14th | Calgary, AB (Monster Jam) | ||
| October 3-4th | Philadelphia, PA (Monster Jam) | Won Racing, Shows 2 and 3. | |
| 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 3-4th | Nashville, TN (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | Won Wheelies, Show 2. |
| January 17th | San Diego, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 24th | Anaheim, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 31st | San Diego, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 7th | Tampa, FL (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies. | |
| February 13-14th | Memphis, TN (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 21st | Jacksonville, FL (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies. | |
| February 28-March 1st | Tupelo, MS (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| March 6-8th | Baton Rouge, LA (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| March 27-28th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XVI) | ||
| April 11th | Santa Clara, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| April 17-18th | Wichita Falls, TX (Monster Jam) | ||
| April 24-26th | Bangor, ME (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| May 16-17th | Moline, IL (Monster Jam) | Won Obstacle Course, Show 1. | |
| May 30-31st | Halifax, NS (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| June 13th | East Rutherford, NJ (Monster Jam) | Won Wheelies. | |
| 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 8-9th | Charlotte, NC (Monster Jam) | Alex Blackwell | |
| January 15-17th | Hidalgo, TX (Monster Jam) | Won Donuts, Shows 1 and 2. | |
| January 23-24th | San Antonio, TX (Monster Jam) | ||
| January 30th | Anaheim, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 6th | San Diego, CA (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 12-14th | Denver, CO (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 20th | New Orleans, LA (Monster Jam) | ||
| February 27th | Vancouver, BC (Monster Jam) | ||
| March 5-6th | El Paso, TX (Monster Jam) | Won Donuts, Show 2. | |
| April 1-3rd | Huntsville, AL (Monster Jam) | Won:
| |
| April 8th | Chattanooga (Monster Jam) | ||
| June 4th | Barcelona, Spain (Monster Jam) | ||
| June 11th | Madrid, Spain (Monster Jam) | ||
| July 2nd | Rotterdam, NL (Monster Jam) | ||
| September 3rd | Cardiff, Wales (Monster Jam) | ||
| September 17th | Gothenburg, Sweden (Monster Jam) | ||
| October 8th | Frankfurt, Germany (Monster Jam) | ||
| November 12th | Stockholm, Sweden (Monster Jam) | Final event. | |
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Pablo Huffaker | Qualifying: 11th (16.75) | Racing: defeated in the Semi-Finals by Grave Digger | Freestyle: 1st (34) |
| 2008 | Alex Blackwell | Qualifying: 2nd (16.56) | Racing: defeated in the Semi-Finals by Batman | Freestyle: 6th (29) |
| 2009 | Qualifying: 14th (17.28) | Racing: defeated by Maximum Destruction in the finals (DNF) | ||
| 2010 | Qualifying: 13th (16.78) | Racing: defeated in Round 1 by Stone Crusher | Freestyle: 17th (9) | |
| 2011 | Qualifying: 15th (16.73) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 21st (10) | |
| 2012 | Pablo Huffaker | Qualifying: 2nd (16.201) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Wolverine | Freestyle: 21st (15) |
| 2013 | Alex Blackwell | Qualifying: 3rd (16.483) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Stone Crusher | Freestyle: 19th (19) |
| 2014 | Qualifying: 12th (16.841) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Grave Digger the Legend | Freestyle: 16th (22.5) | |
| 2015 | Qualifying: 8th (16.515) | Racing: defeated in Round 1 by Max-D | Freestyle: 21st (15.5) | |
| 2016 | none | display only | ||
Video game appearances[]
- 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
- Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
- Monster Jam Showdown (DLC)
Trivia[]
- Captain's Curse would occasionally attach a parrot figurine onto the truck.
- Captain's Curse is one of the three trucks to make its official debut at the World Finals, the other two being Hot Wheels (2002) and Nitro Circus (2009).
- Captain's Curse is also the only one of these trucks to win a world championship, notably doing so at said debut show.
- The truck's World Finals X crash would be infamous for being censored in America, mainly the SPEED broadcast and the DVD release. It would only be viewable via recordings from people who were at the event at the time. However, uncensored footage would later be on a European airing on BRAVO. High quality footage of the crash would later be found and uploaded to the public in 2022 by Taz91.
- For unknown reasons, the Willys design for Captain's Curse would oddly be missing the grill exclusively for the 2011 season.
- Following Captain's Curse's redesign in 2013, the catchphrase “Fear the Curse'' was showcased on the truck’s tailgate. However, it was neither advertised nor mentioned by Monster Jam since its addition.
- While most chassis owned by FELD Motorsports are built in-house, Captain's Curse's chassis features a custom cab, featuring a slimmer design that allowed for the ease of maintenance when fitting the truck's body onto its chassis.
- Captain's Curse is one of the only three trucks owned by FELD Motorsports to use a 1941 Willys body style, the other two being Blacksmith and Whiplash.
- However, PACE Motorsports used a 1941 Willys body style for their own Wall of Steel stunts truck, Mr. Destruction.
- From 2008-2010, Captain's Curse was equipped with a T-shirt cannon that was located in the bed of the truck. Before starting its run, the truck would come to a stop and fire a Captain's Curse-themed T-shirt into the stands. This was featured exclusively in World Finals events.
- Following the introduction of Pirate's Curse in September 2015, there were rumors stating that Captain's Curse would be retired, and the former truck would serve as its replacement. These rumors were later debunked as Captain's Curse continued to compete throughout the 2016 season, alongside Pirate's Curse.
- Following Captain's Curse's retirement by the end of the 2016 season, a cancelled render was later discovered, featuring a custom 3D pirate ship concept body style for the truck.
- Ironically, with the truck recording the highest score at its debut show at World Finals VIII, the truck would eventually record the lowest score at its final show at Stockholm 2016.
- In video games and in most merchandising between 2007-2012, the truck's roof displayed "Monster Jam World Finals 2007 Freestyle Champion". The truck never ran with this in real life for unknown reasons, despite this being the standard at the time for championship winning trucks.
- Captain's Curse was 1 of 5 trucks to win a world championship in its debut season. The others are Northern Nightmare, Team Meents, Goldberg and ThunderROARus.
Gallery[]
Main gallery[]
22888.jpeg "Images (1)22888.jpeg (48 KB)")
Merchandise gallery[]
.jpg "2014 SE-DD Captains Curse-Zombie 1 (2).jpg (454 KB)")
.jpg "2017 CH06-Captains Curse (2).jpg (439 KB)")
.jpg "2010 SE-MD Captains Curse (3).jpg (444 KB)")
.jpg "2019 RR-Captains Curse (2).jpg (152 KB)")
Miscellaneous[]
Videos[]
