Captain America was a custom monster truck created by FELD Motorsports and owned by Marvel Comics, and it was driven by Chad Fortune. The truck was based on the comic book character of the same name, and made its debut in Atlanta 2012. Despite a short life span, the truck was very successful, with Chad getting some massive wins along the way, before being retired in2014, when the Marvel sponsorship expired. However, in 2023, Monster Jam would renew their contract with Marvel Comics, giving a possibility of the truck returning.
History[]
2012-2013[]
Captain America was revealed and announced to be competing during the 2012 season, alongside a revived Wolverine. The truck later made its debut in Tulsa and its televised debut in Atlanta. At the event, Chad would notably make it to the championship race, but would lose to Dennis Anderson. Dan Evans drove the truck as a fill-in Harrington. Chad would be invited to World Finals XIII. At said event, he would lose in round 1, ironically to Alex Blackwell in Wolverine, and he would finish 11th in freestyle. Chad would then compete in the inaugural Path of Destruction tour and compete with Team Marvel as the Team Captain during the Team competitions in Arnhem against Team Marvel and Team Destruction, winning shows 2 and 3.
Jon Zimmer drove the truck in San Jose, Costa Rica, while Carl Van Horn also drove it for the tour in Mexico.
The following season, Chad would compete strong again, notably winning racing at Tacoma (Show 3) and would receive an invite to the World Finals XIV, this time losing in round 2, but finishing 20th in freestyle. The truck once again competed in Arnhem for the Team competitions between Team Marvel and Team Destruction, winning show 2.
2014[]
Chad would compete strong, notably performing well at Miami 2014, and would receive an invite to World Finals XV. Although losing in round 1, Chad very notably performed great a freestyle, being one of the few early running truck's to be able to conquer the controversial freestyle track. he would notably be in the lead for fourteen trucks, before being beaten by Scott Buetow. he would also famous ride off the backflip wall, which Chad would later dub the "Grinder". He would finish in a two-way tie for 5th. He later competed in Arnhem for the Team competitions as the Team Captain again, however, Team Marvel would not win any of the three shows. Frank Krmel would drive the truck for the Mexico Tour.
The Marvel contract expired at the end of 2014, retiring all Marrvel trucks, including Captain America and Chad later moved to the new Soldier Fortune truck, converting his chassis into said truck. The Captain America body was repurposed into the new Carolina Crusher truck revived by FELD Motorsports, with the wings, shield and wheel covers all being removed.
Events competed[]
| 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 6-7th | Tulsa, OK | Chad Fortune | Debut show Won Racing, Show 2 |
| January 14th | Atlanta, GA | ||
| January 21st | Tampa, FL | ||
| January 28th | Orlando, FL | ||
| February 4th | Houston, TX | ||
| February 11th | Anaheim, CA | ||
| February 18th | Los Angeles, CA | ||
| February 25th | Oakland, CA | ||
| March 3rd | Indianapolis, IN | ||
| March 10th | Syracuse, NY | ||
| March 24th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XIII) | ||
| April 27-28th | Moline, IL | ||
| June 2nd | Baltimore, MD | ||
| June 9th | Philadelphia, PA | ||
| June 16th | East Rutherford, NY | ||
| July 19th | Harrington, DE | Dan Evans | Won Racing |
| September 28-30th | Mexico City, Mexico | Carl Van Horn | Won:
|
| October 5-7th | Monterrey, Mexico | Won:
| |
| November 30-December 2nd | San Jose, Costa Rica | Jon Zimmer | |
| December 1st | Minneapolis, MN | Chad Fortune | |
| 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 4-6th | Tacoma, WA | Chad Fortune | Won Racing, Show 3 |
| January 12th | Anaheim, CA | ||
| January 19th | Houston, TX | ||
| January 26th | Anaheim, CA | ||
| February 2nd | St. Louis, MO | Won Racing | |
| February 8-10th | Kansas City, MO | Won Racing, all 4 shows | |
| February 16th | Atlanta, GA | ||
| February 23rd | Arlington, TX | ||
| March 2-3rd | El Paso, TX | ||
| March 8-9th | Nampa, ID | ||
| March 23rd | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XIV) | ||
| May 10th | Abu Dhabi, UAE | ||
| September 28-29th | Arnhem, Netherlands | Won Freestyle, Show 2 (as part of Team Marvel) | |
| October 19th | Sydney, Australia | ||
| December 7th | Minneapolis, MN | ||
| 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 3-4th | Nashville, TN | Chad Fortune | |
| January 11-12th | San Antonio, TX | ||
| January 18th | Tampa, FL | ||
| January 25th | New Orleans, LA | ||
| February 1st | Tampa, FL | ||
| February 8th | Miami, FL | ||
| February 14-15th | East Rutherford, NJ | Won Racing, Show 2 | |
| February 22nd | Jacksonville, FL | ||
| March 1st | Detroit, MI | ||
| March 7-8th | Pensacola, FL | ||
| March 21-22nd | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XV) | ||
| April 5-6th | Eugene, OR | ||
| April 11-12th | Lincoln, NE | ||
| June 14th | East Rutherford, NJ | ||
| June 21st | Foxborough, MA | ||
| September 20-21st | Monterrey, Mexico | Frank Krmel | |
| September 26-28th | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| September 27-28th | Arnhem, Netherlands | Chad Fortune | |
| November 8th | Stockholm, Sweden | Final show | |
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chad Fortune | Qualifying: 23rd (18.159) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Wolverine | Freestyle: 11th (25) |
| 2013 | Qualifying: 25th (17.757) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Blue Thunder | Freestyle: 20th (18) | |
| 2014 | Qualifying: 19th (17.313) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Mohawk Warrior | Freestyle: 6th (30.5) | |
Trivia[]
- A signature move Chad Fortune would do at shows is after a run, he would take a Captain America shield as pose as the character.
- The move is derived from his signature Superman poses from when he drove said truck.
- He would sometimes give the shield away to a lucky fan.
- Chad's debut show in Captain America was almost identical to his debut show in Superman, where both trucks debuted in Atlanta, both made it to the championship race, and both would lose said race. However, Superman finished 9th in freestyle with an 18, and Captain America finished 4th in freestyle with a 27.
- A Captain America toy was planned to be made by Hot Wheels in 2003 for the Monster Jam line, although this was eventually cancelled.
- In 2012, Captain America, along with all other Marvel trucks at the time were originally scheduled to compete at a unique event called "Marvel Monster Trucks Live". The event, however, was eventually cancelled a year before it was meant to take place, likely because of the show being too complicated and expensive to create.
Gallery[]
