Jester is a 2013 Cadillac Escalade monster truck owned by Tomfoolery Motorsports and driven by Matt Pagliarulo. Since its debut in 2015, the truck has become a fan favorite for its various paint schemes over the course of its career. The truck is also a staple of various leagues, including Monster Truck Throwdown and Monster Jam, where it has competed in two Showdown competitions. It currently competes alongside its teammate truck, Kraken, which is driven by Matt's son Nick.
History[]
Background[]
Construction on Jester originally began in 2013 and continued into the following year. Once finished, the truck would perform a series of test runs prior to receiving its paint scheme.
2015[]
Jester would later make its official debut at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida on January 3, 2015, with Matt Pagliarulo behind the wheel. At the time of its debut, the truck featured an orange paint scheme and would compete alongside Razin Kane Monster Trucks since they are also from Florida.
2016[]
Jester would receive a special leprechaun-themed paint scheme for Monster Jam World Finals XVII in spirit of St. Patrick’s Day.
2017[]
Jester received a new green paint scheme and competed in Monster Jam Stadium Championship Series 3. During the series, Pagliarulo and the truck would win the wheelie competition in Anaheim, and would also compete in the final event of Stadium Championship Series 4 in El Paso. They would ultimately finish sixth in the standings and would later be invited to compete in the Double Down Showdown at World Finals XVIII. For that occasion, Jester received a special paint scheme featuring 3D diamonds on the side panels. The truck would also feature a special Halloween-themed paint scheme at Monster Truck Throwdown’s final event of the year in Julian, North Carolina.
2018[]
Jester competed on Stadium Championship Series 1. Throughout the year, Jester would receive slight changes to its paint scheme, which were most notable in the jester character and the logo. Pagliarulo and the truck would later be invited to compete in the Double Down Showdown at World Finals XIX, where Jester received a new purple paint scheme. Said paint scheme would also be used exclusively in Nashville that year, while the truck continued to run the green paint scheme. Meanwhile, Jester received a new chassis in the summer, with its previous chassis being converted into its new teammate truck, Kraken. The truck ran as Maximum Exposure for an art show.
2019[]
Jester would run the purple paint scheme throughout the season, as Pagliarulo and the truck competed on Stadium Championship Series 3 along with his son Nick Pagliarulo in Kraken. Despite not competing at World Finals XX in Orlando that year, Jester would be featured as a display truck, where it received a new blue paint scheme. Said paint scheme would be used in competition later in the season, beginning that October in Houston.
2020[]
Jester competed on Stadium Championship Series Green. During the series, Pagliarulo and the truck would experience great success in the series’ opening show in Tampa, as they won both the freestyle and overall event championships. Jester would later go on to finish ninth in the series standings after the entire Monster Jam season prematurely ended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jester later competed in select events throughout the remainder of the season. They were later featured at Monster Jam's return show in Arlington.
2022[]
Jester competed on Stadium Championship Series Red and also makes an appearance in Arena Series East in Louisville. The truck would also be driven by other drivers in select events, Greg Winchenbach driving exclusively in Nashville and Aaron Cain driving exclusively in Detroit. The truck, however, finished in last place in the points standings. For Monster Jam World Finals XXI, the truck received a new candy apple red paint scheme. For the Pensacola and Duluth shows, Matt's son Michael would make his Monster Jam driving debut in Jester. In October, the truck would run a blue version of the 2017 Halloween design at a Monster Jam show in Orlando.
2023[]
Jester debuts a new chassis and runs on Stadium Series Red. The red body makes it competition debut in Oakland. The green body would make its return for the remaining events of the season. Michael drove Jester once again for the non-points arena shows on the series, picking up a skills challenge win in Raleigh. He would drive the truck again in South Carolina at an independent show, also sporting the green body. For Monster Jam World Finals XXII, the truck received a new 4th of July Uncle Sam paint scheme.
2024[]
Jester competed on Stadium Championship Series East, alongside Kraken. The red body returns. Starting in Miami, a darker red body is used. The truck made its video game debut in Monster Jam Showdown using its Independence Day scheme. Michael drives the truck in Denver and Philadelphia. Matt finished 11th in the final standings above his son, which is a career best. He would be invited to compete in the Last Chance Qualifying event at the World Finals & would debut a new silver design. The green body would make its return at the following event in East Rutherford. In the summer, Brooke Pagliarulo did her first monster truck show & drove the red Jester. In Anderson, South Carolina, the truck runs a red version of the Halloween design driven by Brooke.
2025[]
The truck/team would celebrate their 10th anniversary, and had plans to run all previous schemes throughout the season on the west stadium tour however, this would not happen to save on storage and money. Despite this, the truck would run a new logo with the letters and diamonds on the truck featuring the different designs ran by the truck. Matt finished 12th in the final standings. The black body from the World Finals makes its debut in Canfield, Ohio.
World Finals designs[]
- 2016 - Green St. Patrick's Day body.
- 2017 - 3D diamonds and special "Welcome to Fabulous Monster Jam Las Vegas" hood design.
- 2018 - Purple body.
- 2019 - Blue body.
- 2022 - Candy apple red body.
- 2023 - White/pearlescent body (Independence Day themed) - Also appeared in Monster Jam Showdown.
- 2024 - Silver body.
- 2025 - Black body.
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | N/A | Display only |
| 2017 | Matt Pagliarulo | Double Down Showdown: defeated in round 2 by El Toro Loco |
| 2018 | Double Down Showdown: defeated in round 1 by Grave Digger | |
| 2019 | N/A | Display only |
| 2022 | ||
| 2023 | ||
| 2024 | Matt Pagliarulo | Last Chance Qualifying: defeated in round 1 by Megalodon |
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Jester, as an Escalade monster truck, is often nicknamed "The Jestalade".
- Jester's hauler originally had cheeseburgers painted on the side since it was formerly used by Shockwave (who was sponsored by the 1950's-style fast food chain Cheeburger Cheeburger for a while).
- The truck, just like Avenger, always unveils a new design at the World Finals, even though Jester has never competed in the event.
- The creation of the truck came out of years of planning & considering different ideas for a new truck.
- Matt & his wife always talked about different names & concepts for a truck incase they ever built one. In 2010, while riding their motorcycle, Matt's wife looked at her helmet, which had a jester character and a brightly colored hat. She said a jester themed monster truck would be pretty interesting. Over many months, Matt & his wife talked about color schemes & types of characters & whether it should be a funny or scary character.
Gallery[]
.png "Screenshot 2018-07-27-01-41-57 (1).png (402 KB)")
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Merchandise[]
.jpg "2016 64-Jester (2).jpg (423 KB)")
.jpg "2018 EP07-Jester (2).jpg (439 KB)")
.jpg "2019 AF-Jester (2).jpg (421 KB)")
.jpg "2019 SE-DD Dragon-Jester (7).jpg (434 KB)")
