Fox Sports 1 Cleatus (also referred to as FS1 Cleatus or simply Cleatus) was a 2008 Ford F-150 monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and sponsored by Fox Sports. It was driven by several drivers over the course of its career, including Frank Krmel, Colt Stephens, and Marc McDonald. The truck was originally created in 2014 to coincide with FS1 serving as the official sports network for Monster Jam until the end of the 2018 season. The truck also competed in five Monster Jam World Finals events.
History[]
In late 2013, it was announced that Fox Sports 1 would become the new sports network for Monster Jam as the said network would replace the league's previous network, Speed Channel. To coincide with the newly-established sponsorship, Cleatus was created as a result and later announced as a new truck for the 2014 Monster Jam season, with Frank Krmel as the driver.
Cleatus entered its first full year of competition in 2014, making its debut on January 3 of that year at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The truck would go on to have a strong rookie season under Krmel, as both truck and driver were later invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XV.
In 2016, Cleatus would compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVII under Neil Elliott on his Max-D chassis. Meanwhile, Brandon Vinson would drive the truck as a fill-in for El Paso. That year would also mark Krmel's final year of driving the truck, as he retired by the end of the season. He would eventually be succeeded by previous Doom's Day driver Colt Stephens, who first drove the truck at the final stadium event of the year in Minneapolis. The truck would also receive a slightly updated design, featuring the updated FS1 logo.
Cleatus would receive a brand-new paint scheme for the 2017 season. Stephens and the truck would then compete in the FS1 Championship Series West, where they would win the racing competition in San Diego. They would go on to finish sixth in the series standings and were later invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XVIII.
In 2018, Stephens moved to the Zombie team, and later BroDozer. As a result, El Toro Loco driver Marc McDonald took over the driving duties as both McDonald and Cleatus competed in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 3. During the series, they would win multiple championships and went on to finish in the runner-up position in the standings, behind Morgan Kane in Grave Digger. They would later be invited to compete in Monster Jam World Finals XIX. 2018 also marked the final year of competition for Cleatus, as Fox Sports' license with Monster Jam expired, and NBC Sports became the league's new sports network. The truck would be retired following the World Finals, as McDonald returned to drive El Toro Loco for the remainder of the season.
World Finals Appearances[]
- 2014 - Frank Krmel
- 2015 - Frank Krmel
- 2016 - Neil Elliott
- 2017 - Colt Stephens
- 2018 - Marc McDonald
Trivia[]
- The truck was named after the robot character that serves as the official mascot for Fox NFL Sunday.
- As shown in original renderings, Cleatus was originally intended to use a Cadillac Escalade body style.
- Cleatus never appeared on SPEED channel, as the truck was built to celebrate Monster Jam's transfer to Fox Sports 1, which replaced SPEED immediately after ceasing operations.
- Krmel's chassis was formerly his Donkey Kong, Blue Thunder, and Advance Auto Parts Grinder chassis.
- The 2016 design was originally intended to debut at the start of the season. However, for unknown reasons, it would not be used until the final show of the season in Minneapolis.
Gallery[]
Merchandise Gallery[]
.jpg "2015 26-Cleatus (2).jpg (421 KB)")
.jpg "2018 CL03-Cleatus (2).jpg (423 KB)")
