Damon Bradshaw (born July 19th, 1972) is a former driver out of Nampa, Idaho. He was best known as the driver of Air Force Afterburner and Monster Energy. He won the 2009 world freestyle championship.
Career[]
Supercross[]
Before getting into monster trucks, Damon first began his motorsports career as a professional dirt bike racer, debuting in 1991 and gaining the nickname "The Beast from the East".
In 1997, Damon was forced to retire from supercross due to injuries.
Monster trucks[]
Damon made his first appearance behind the wheel of a monster truck at the 2005 Monsters on the Beach event in Virginia. There, he drove An Escalade during a racing test pass.
In 2006, Damon was chosen to be the new driver of Air Force Afterburner, replacing Paul Cohen, who had gotten injured. He made his television debut at the 2007 season opener in Minneapolis.
In 2007, Damon would be involved in two incidents where his truck engulfed in flames. Luckily, he was uninjured in both accidents, one of which earned the freestyle win in Jacksonville in a tie with Adam Anderson. He also won racing in El Paso. Damon made his World Finals debut at World Finals VIII, where he finished in a three-way tie for third place in freestyle alongside Linsey Weenk and Marc McDonald. Damon earned the 'Rookie of the Year' award at the end of the season.
In 2008, Damon was invited to go on the European Tour where he drove El Toro Loco, as Air Force Afterburner could not compete overseas on account of its sponsorship with the United States Air Force.
In 2009, Damon would win the world freestyle championship in just his third year of driving at World Finals X. Later in the year, Damon again piloted El Toro Loco on the European Tour. During the tour, he also had a session driving Backwards Bob in Barcelona, Spain.
In 2010, Damon entered the season as the freestyle champion. He won freestyle at both the first San Antonio show and the second Anaheim show, as well as racing at the first ever event in Arlington. Damon was unable to defend his freestyle championship at World Finals XI, though he managed to finish in a tie for second place with George Balhan. He drove El Toro Loco for a third and final year on the European Tour.
In 2011, Damon ran his final year behind the wheel of Air Force Afterburner. He would clean sweep both shows in San Antonio.
In 2012, Damon would be made the driver of the new Monster Energy following the retirement of Air Force Afterburner. He made it to the championship race at World Finals XIII, but would lose to Tom Meents.
In 2015, Damon would form a well-documented rivalry with Linsey Weenk during the Fox Sports 1 Series.
In 2016, Damon would finish runner-up at World Finals XVII, although many believe he or Dennis Anderson should have won. Damon would retire at the end of 2016 after he was unable to work out a new contract with Monster Jam for 2017.
Currently, Damon has returned to the motocross scene and regularly appears on the Swapmoto Live YouTube channel.
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Truck | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Air Force Afterburner | Qualifying: 17th (17.34) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Batman | Freestyle: 5th (29) |
| 2008 | Qualifying: 6th (16.75) | Racing: defeated in Round 3 by Batman | Freestyle: 16th (18) | |
| 2009 | Qualifying: 12th (17.13) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 1st (36) | |
| 2010 | Qualifying: 7th (16.32) | Racing: defeated in Round 3 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 3rd (31) | |
| 2011 | Qualifying: 13th (16.63) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle | Freestyle: 3rd (30) | |
| 2012 | Monster Energy | Qualifying: 3rd (16.272) | Racing: defeated in Finals by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 8th (27) |
| 2013 | Qualifying: 17th (17.220) | Racing: defeated in Round 1 by Grave Digger the Legend | Freestyle: 10th (24) | |
| 2014 | Qualifying: 2nd (16.279) | Racing: defeated in Round 3 by Iron Man | Freestyle: 20th (21.5) | |
| 2015 | Qualifying: 2nd (16.167) | Racing: defeated in Round 3 by Son-uva Digger | Freestyle: 9th (27.5) | |
| 2016 | Qualifying: 1st (15.815) | Racing: defeated in Round 3 by Monster Energy (Saucier) | Freestyle: 2nd (32.5) | |
Trivia[]
- TJ Tripp, who was a driver of Ice Cream Man, served as one of Damon's crew chiefs.
- Damon was allegedly the driver of Doom's Day in the encore at the 2014 event in Jacksonville, although this is not confirmed.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120602074156/http://www.monsterjam.com/Bios/Drivers/Damon_Bradshaw/
- In European episodes of Monster Jam, Damon was billed from McCall, Idaho.
- Damon was known to hit the brakes and lock up the tires whilst in the air after a jump. This was carried over from his time in supercross.
Awards[]
- 2007 Rookie of the Year
- 2009 Monster Jam World Finals freestyle champion
- 2013 WOW Factor of the Year (with Linsey Weenk)
Gallery[]
