Nitro Circus was a 2008 Ford F-150 monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and Travis Pastrana, based around Pastrana's show of the same name.
It was the successor to Pastrana 199 and debuted at World Finals X under Pastrana. His friend, Cam McQueen, then drove the truck full-time in the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Nitro Circus accomplished several achievements throughout its rather short lifespan, becoming the first monster truck to successfully perform a backflip in competition, doing so in 2010 at Jacksonville and World Finals XII the following year.
History[]
2009[]
Nitro Circus makes its unofficial debut during an episode of the TV series Nitro Circus in February 2009. During that episode, Travis Pastrana would unsuccessfully attempt a backflip with the truck.
Just over a month later, Nitro Circus makes its official competition debut during the freestyle competition at World Finals X, serving as the successor to Pastrana 199. Travis Pastrana pilots the truck and goes on to finish fifth in freestyle with a score of 26. Following the World Finals, Nitro Circus would compete exclusively in that year’s European Tour on the Safe Auto Minimizer chassis. Marc McDonald would drive the truck in Cardiff and Gothenburg, followed by Lee O'Donnell in Arnhem where he won racing during the third show and finally Cam McQueen in Barcelona.
2010[]
Nitro Circus enters its first full year of competition with Cam McQueen behind the wheel. McQueen would win racing in New Orleans and would make history by successfully executing the first backflip in competition in Jacksonville later on in the season. Both McQueen and Nitro Circus would later be invited to compete at World Finals XI with the truck competing in the full event.
2011[]
In the truck's final year of competition, McQueen would be invited to compete at World Finals XII, where he would successfully complete a backflip again, making Nitro Circus the first truck to do so in World Finals history. McQueen would go on to tie with Jim Koehler in Avenger with a score of 32, but would lose the tiebreaker by a single point.
Alex Blackwell would later drive the truck in Quincy for the Friday and Saturday shows. Afterwards, Travis Pastrana returned to drive the truck in Baltimore, which would be Nitro Circus' last show.
2012[]
Nitro Circus is converted into Northern Nightmare.
Events competed[]
| 2009 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| March 28th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals X) | Travis Pastrana | Freestyle only Competition debut |
| June 6th | Cardiff, Wales | Marc McDonald | |
| June 13th | Gothenburg, Sweden | ||
| September 26-27th | Arnhem, Netherlands | Lee O'Donnell | Won Racing, Show 3 |
| October 24th | Barcelona, Spain | Cam McQueen | |
| 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 9th | Atlanta, GA | Cam McQueen | |
| January 16th | Detroit, MI | ||
| January 22-23rd | Columbia, SC | Won:
| |
| January 30th | New Orleans, LA | Won Racing | |
| February 5-6th | Fargo, ND | Won:
| |
| February 12-14th | Rosemont, IL | Won Racing, Show 2 | |
| February 19-21st | Worcester, MA | Won Wheelies, Shows 1 and 3 | |
| February 27th | Jacksonville, FL | ||
| March 6-7th | Winnipeg, MB | Won Wheelies, Show 2 | |
| March 27th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XI) | ||
| May 22-23rd | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
| May 29th | Gothenburg, Sweden | ||
| September 25-26th | Arnhem, Netherlands | Won:
| |
| October 9th | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 8th | Houston, TX | Cam McQueen | |
| January 14-15th | Columbia, SC | Won:
| |
| January 22nd | Tampa, FL | ||
| January 29th | Orlando, FL | ||
| February 4-5th | Fargo, ND | Won:
| |
| February 12th | Anaheim, CA | ||
| February 19th | Los Angeles, CA | ||
| February 26th | Jacksonville, FL | ||
| March 11-12th | Baton Rouge, LA | ||
| March 26th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XII) | ||
| June 9-11th | Quincy, IL | Alex Blackwell | Friday and Saturday shows only Won Racing, Show 2 |
| June 25th | Syracuse, NY | Cam McQueen | |
| July 9th | Baltimore, MD | Travis Pastrana | Final show |
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Travis Pastrana | Qualifying: N/A | Racing: N/A | Freestyle: 5th (26) |
| 2010 | Cam McQueen | Qualifying: 14th (16.87) | Racing: defeated in Round 1 by Gunslinger | Freestyle: 16th (10) |
| 2011 | Qualifying: 14th (16.72) | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Lucas Oil Crusader | Freestyle: 2nd (32) | |
Trivia[]
- Nitro Circus is one of three trucks to make its official debut at the World Finals, the others being Hot Wheels (2002) and Captain's Curse (2007).
- As Nitro Circus used the former Pastrana 199 chassis, the truck featured two extra passenger seats inside of it. This was due to the original truck being used for the VIP driving experience at previous World Finals, as well as for camera mounting.
- The reason why Nitro Circus ran a single cab Ford F-150 for the 2009 and 2010 European tours is due to Disney XD running on its original chassis.
- The truck's theme song ("The State of Massachusetts" by Dropkick Murphy's) was also the theme song for the Nitro Circus television show.
- Travis Pastrana drove the truck in both its first and last event.
Gallery[]
