Bounty Hunter is a 2005 Ford Expedition monster truck owned and driven by Jimmy Creten of 2Xtreme Racing out of Tonganoxie, Kansas. 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[]
1990's:[]
Bounty Hunter was originally created in 1995, 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. Creten would later acquire the original Dragon Slayer chassis from the team and convert it into the second Bounty Hunter the following year. The truck would later receive a new paint scheme the year after.
2000's:[]
A brand-new Bounty Hunter was constructed for the 2000 season, featuring a PEI chassis and a 1999 Dodge Dakota body style with a blue and white paint scheme.
In 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, but would lose to Tom Meents and Team Meents.
In 2003, Bounty Hunter debuted a brand-new chassis. Creten and the truck would be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals IV, where they would again make it all the way to the championship race, only to lose again, this time to Brian Barthel and Wolverine.
In 2004, Bounty Hunter would receive an updated paint scheme. Creten and the truck would again be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals V. Despite being eliminated in the semi-finals by Dennis Anderson and Grave Digger, Bounty Hunter would finish second in freestyle. In Tacoma 2005, Linsey Weenk drives the truck with Jimmy. Linsey drives the truck again in Franklin. Creten and Bounty Hunter would finally earn their first World Finals championship the following year, winning the freestyle competition in a tiebreaker with Tony Farrell in Blue Thunder at Monster Jam World Finals VI.
In 2006, Bounty Hunter would debut another new paint scheme. Creten and the truck would make their third championship round appearance in Monster Jam World Finals VII, only to be defeated by Anderson and Grave Digger.
The Bounty Hunter name would expand to two trucks beginning in the 2008 season, with Darren Migues behind the wheel of the second truck. Creten and the truck would make their fourth Championship Round appearance in Monster Jam World Finals IX, losing to John Seasock and Batman.
2010's:[]
In 2011, Creten would finish in the Championship Round for the fifth time at Monster Jam World Finals XII, losing to Meents in Maximum Destruction. The following year, Migues’ Bounty Hunter would receive a new grey paint scheme. Creten and the truck would compete in Monster Jam 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.
In 2013, Creten would campaign a special grey paint scheme for his Bounty Hunter at Monster Jam 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. The following year, Bounty Hunter would debut a new yellow paint scheme, which would be reminiscent of the original design from 2004-05. This scheme would be campaigned by Creten, while Migues would debut a new black matte paint scheme for his Bounty Hunter.
In 2015, Bounty Hunter celebrated its twentieth anniversary. 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 Monster Jam 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.
In 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 in Monster Jam 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.
Both Bounty Hunter trucks would again receive new paint schemes for the 2017 season. 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.
Creten’s chassis would undergo a major rebuild for the 2018 season, taking on a more slim appearance. Creten would compete in the first two shows for Monster Jam 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. Creten would be invited to compete in the main field competition at Monster Jam World Finals XIX, while Minton would be invited to compete in the Double Down Showdown.
In 2019, Bounty Hunter competed in Monster Jam 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. They would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam 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. 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. Later that winter, the truck would debut a new “steampunk”-themed paint scheme, which would be run for the following season.
2020's:[]
In 2020, Bounty Hunter competed in Monster Jam 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. In July, a second Bounty Hunter would debut on an all-new Chevrolet Silverado body style, being campaigned again by Minton on Jekyll & Hyde.
In 2022, Jimmy Creten is no longer featured in the trucks and drivers page in Monster Jam. He currently does independent shows with 2Xtreme Racing.
In 2024, Jimmy confirmed he will be taking the first half of 2024 off due to recovery from his surgery, Rob Poutre will drive his Bounty Hunter for the time being.
Drivers[]
Current drivers[]
- Jimmy Creten (1995-present)
- Rob Poutre (2024)
- Austin Minton
Former/temporary drivers[]
- Linsey Weenk (Tacoma & Franklin 2005)
- Darren Migues (2008 - 2014)
- Michael Vaters (Harrisburg 2012)
- JR McNeal (Montreal 2012)
- Matt Cody (2016)
- Tim Missentzis (2016)
- Todd Morey (2017)
- George Balhan (Anaheim 2017)
- Trent Montgomery (2014-2017)
- Alex Bardin (Nashville 2019)
- David Olfert (2019 - 2020)
- Jay McPherson
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
World Finals appearances[]
- 2002 - Jimmy Creten
- 2003 - Jimmy Creten
- 2004 - Jimmy Creten
- 2005 - Jimmy Creten (won freestyle)
- 2006 - Jimmy Creten
- 2007 - Jimmy Creten
- 2008 - Jimmy Creten
- 2009 - Jimmy Creten
- 2010 - Jimmy Creten
- 2011 - Jimmy Creten
- 2012 - Jimmy Creten
- 2013 - Jimmy Creten
- 2014 - Jimmy Creten
- 2015 - Jimmy Creten
- 2016 - Jimmy Creten
- 2017 - Jimmy Creten
- 2018 - Jimmy Creten; Austin Minton (Double Down Showdown only)
- 2019 - Jimmy Creten (won racing)
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 2000hp.
- Bounty Hunter has been in the championship race at the World Finals a total of 6 times, acquiring the World Finals racing championship in 2019. The truck has more second place wins at the World Finals than any other, with 8.
- Bounty Hunter has never crossed the finish line first at a World Finals championship race, as his racing championship came off of the fact that Bari Musawwir in Zombie Fire red-lighted in the final race.
- 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.
- Jimmy Creten’s current chassis is a redesign of the PEI chassis he had been competing in since 2003.
- The 2019 body debuted at the Monster Jam World Finals 19. 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 Thor (South Coast Monster Trucks).
Gallery[]
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