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 late 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 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 began turning in more impressive freestyle performances, including a joint-third placing one at Jacksonville. At World Finals X, Damon would win the freestyle championship in just his third year of driving. 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.
In 2010, Damon entered the season as the freestyle champion, but was unable to defend his title at World Finals XI. 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[]
- 2007 - Air Force Afterburner
- 2008 - Air Force Afterburner
- 2009 - Air Force Afterburner (won freestyle)
- 2010 - Air Force Afterburner
- 2011 - Air Force Afterburner
- 2012 - Monster Energy
- 2013 - Monster Energy
- 2014 - Monster Energy
- 2015 - Monster Energy
- 2016 - Monster Energy
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.
Accomplishments[]
- 2007 Monster Jam Rookie of the Year.
- 2009 Monster Jam world freestyle champion.
Gallery[]
