Pirate's Curse was a custom "3D pirate" monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports from 2016-2020 and served as the spiritual successor to Captain's Curse, with both trucks sharing multiple similarities. The truck was driven by various drivers with the most notable being Camden Murphy from 2017-2018, and Justin Hicks from 2019-2020. In its rather short lifespan, the truck won the 2018 Double Down Showdown with Cory Rummell.
History[]
Background[]
Pirate's Curse was originally announced in late 2015, with Steven Sims as the driver. It was rumored that Captain's Curse would be retiring and that this truck would be replacing it. However, Captain's Curse would still compete in 2016, alongside Pirate's Curse for the time being.
2016[]
The truck made its debut on January 9th the following year in Atlanta, competing in the Fox Sports 1 Championship Series. Sims and the truck would later be invited to compete in the Young Guns Shootout at Monster Jam World Finals XVII.
In October, Charlie Pauken would drive the truck for that year's Australian tour.
2017[]
A second Pirate's Curse was added to the team for the 2017 season, being driven by rookie driver Camden Murphy. Murphy and the truck would compete on Triple Threat Series Central, and would go on to finish 2nd in the series standings, right behind Justin Sipes in Megalodon. Murphy would later be invited to compete in the Double Down Showdown at Monster Jam World Finals XVIII.
In May, Chad Tingler drove the truck in La Plata, Argentina.
In June, Steven Sims drove the truck exclusively in Madrid, Spain which marked the final time he drove it.
2018[]
Murphy would compete on Triple Threat Series West West, while another truck would be added to the team, being driven by Cory Rummell on the Rage chassis for Stadium Championship Series 2. Murphy would again finish 2nd in the series standings, behind Tristan England in Earth Shaker, while Rummell would win the racing competition in the second Oakland show and would ultimately finish 10th in his series standings.
In March, both drivers would be invited to compete in the Double Down Showdown at Monster Jam World Finals XIX, with Rummell winning said competition, after Brandon Vinson in Grave Digger was disqualified for a red-light violation.
In October, Murphy would drive the truck on the Australian Tour. Later in December, former Captain's Curse driver Alex Blackwell would interestingly drive the truck for select international shows in December 2018 in La Plata and São Paulo.
2019[]
Murphy left the truck to drive Bakugan Dragonoid, while Rummell began campaigning Megalodon Fire on his Rage chassis. As a result, rookie driver Justin Hicks took over full-time driving duties for Pirate's Curse, as the truck received a new chassis that season. Hicks and the truck would compete in the Triple Threat Series Central, and finished fifth in the series standings, and would later be invited to compete in the ATV competition at Monster Jam World Finals XX.
Meanwhile, Alex Blackwell was originally planned to drive the truck on the International Tour, however he would drive Megalodon. Instead, Pirate's Curse would be run on the previous Storm Damage chassis for that year's International tour with Mike Vaters II driving in Cardiff, Wales, and Buddy Tompkins in Gothenburg, Sweden.
In October, Spin Master released a Superstore exclusive Halloween "Ghost" themed Pirate’s Curse.
2020[]
The truck would again compete in the Triple Threat Series Central with Hicks driving. After the series abruptly ended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hicks was furloughed due to budget cuts by FELD Entertainment, and Hicks quietly retired. Pirate's Curse would also not return to Monster Jam following Hicks' departure, having been effectively shelved since 2020.
As of 2025, the truck's bio is still on the Monster Jam website.
Events competed[]
| 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 9th | Atlanta, GA | Steven Sims | |
| January 16th | Tampa, FL | ||
| January 23rd | Orlando, FL | ||
| January 30th | Indianapolis, IN | ||
| February 6th | Houston, TX | ||
| February 13th | Anaheim, CA | ||
| February 20th | St. Louis, MO | ||
| February 27th | Detroit, MI | ||
| March 5th | Syracuse, NY | ||
| March 17th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XVII) | Young Guns Shootout only | |
| June 18-19th | Manila, The Phillipines | ||
| October 1st | Brisbane, Australia | Charlie Pauken | |
| October 8th | Melbourne, Australia | Won Wheelies, both shows | |
| October 15th | Adelaide, Australia | Won Wheelies | |
| October 22nd | Sydney, Australia | Won Wheelies and Racing | |
| October 29th | Perth, Australia | Won Racing, show 2 | |
| 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 7-8th | Nashville, TN | Camden Murphy | Won:
|
| January 13-14th | Greensboro, NC | ||
| January 20-21st | Louisville, KY | ||
| January 28-29th | Washington, D.C. | Won:
| |
| February 3-5th | Kansas City, MO | Won:
| |
| February 10-12th | Pittsburgh, PA | Won:
| |
| February 17-20th | Rosemont, IL | Won:
| |
| February 24-26th | Baltimore, MD | Won:
| |
| March 3-5th | Allentown, PA | Won:
| |
| March 10-12th | Providence, RI | Won:
| |
| March 23rd | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XVIII) | Double Down Showdown only | |
| April 7-8th | Cincinnati, OH | Won Racing, shows 2 and 3 | |
| April 21-23rd | Uniondale, NY | Won:
| |
| May 6-7th | Moline, IL | Won:
| |
| May 13-14th | La Plata, Argentina | Chad Tingler | Won Racing, show 2 |
| June 17th | Madrid, Spain | Steven Sims | Won Racing |
| November 4-5th | Helsinki, Finland | Camden Murphy | Won:
|
| 2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 5-7th | Salt Lake City, UT | Camden Murphy | Won Overall, show 2 |
| January 12-14th | Tacoma, WA | Won:
| |
| January 13th | Tampa, FL | Cory Rummell | |
| January 19-21st | Sacramento, CA | Camden Murphy | Won Donuts, show 3 |
| January 20th | Orlando, FL | Cory Rummell | |
| January 26-28th | Spokane, WA | Camden Murphy | Won:
|
| January 27th | San Diego, CA | Cory Rummell | |
| February 2-3rd | Fargo, ND | Camden Murphy | Won Donuts, show 2 |
| February 3rd | Anaheim, CA | Cory Rummell | |
| February 9-11th | Denver, CO | Camden Murphy | Won:
|
| February 10th | Oakland, CA | Cory Rummell | Won Racing, show 2 |
| February 16-18th | Albuquerque, NM | Camden Murphy | Won:
|
| February 17th | Nampa, ID | Cory Rummell | |
| February 24-25th | Portland, OR | Camden Murphy | Won:
|
| March 2-4th | Tucson, AZ | Won Racing, shows 2 and 3 | |
| March 2-5th | Rosemont, IL | Won:
| |
| March 9-10th | Fresno, CA | Won Racing, all 3 shows | |
| March 22-24th | Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XIX) | Double Down Showdown | |
| Cory Rummell | Won Double Down Showdown | ||
| October 6th | Adelaide, Australia | Camden Murphy | |
| October 13th | Sydney, Australia | ||
| October 20th | Melbourne, Australia | ||
| December 8-9th | La Plata, Argentina | Alex Blackwell | |
| December 15th | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 5-6th | Nashville, TN | Justin Hicks | |
| January 11-13th | Kansas City, MO | ||
| January 18-19th | Milwaukee, WI | ||
| January 25-27th | Newark, NJ | ||
| February 1-3rd | Charleston, WV | Won Racing, Show 2 | |
| February 8-10th | Pittsburgh, PA | ||
| February 16-17th | Cleveland, OH | ||
| March 1-4th | Rosemont, IL | Won Racing, Show 3 | |
| March 9-10th | Raleigh, NC | ||
| March 23-25th | Grand Rapids, MI | ||
| March 30-31st | Cincinnati, OH | ||
| April 6-7th | Columbus, OH | ||
| May 18th | Cardiff, Wales | Mike Vaters II | |
| June 15th | Gothenburg, Sweden | Buddy Tompkins | |
| November 1-3rd | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Justin Hicks | |
| 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Driver | Notes |
| January 4-5th | Nashville, TN | Justin Hicks | |
| January 10-11th | Charlotte, NC | ||
| January 18-19th | Milwaukee, WI | Won Donuts, Show 3 | |
| January 24-26th | Newark, NJ | ||
| Jan 31-Feb 2nd | Uniondale, NY | Won Donuts, Show 4 | |
| February 7-9th | Pittsburgh, PA | ||
| February 15-16th | Cleveland, OH | ||
| February 22-23rd | Peoria, IL | Won:
| |
| Feb 28-Mar 2nd | Rosemont, IL | Final event appearance | |
Designs/liveries[]
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Steven Sims | Young Guns Shootout: defeated in Round 2 by Monster Mutt Dalmatian (DNF, DQ) | ||
| 2017 | Camden Murphy | Double Down Showdown: defeats Max-D in Round 1, however was disqualified for a red-light violation | ||
| 2018 | Camden Murphy | Double Down Showdown: defeated in the semi-finals by Grave Digger | ||
| Cory Rummell | Double Down Showdown: defeated by Grave Digger in the finals. However, Grave Digger was disqualified for a red-light violation | Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Mutant | Freestyle: 20th (5.858) | |
| 2019 | Justin Hicks | ATV: 8th (4) | ||
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
- When Pirate's Curse was first revealed, there were rumors stating that the other pirate-themed "Curse" truck owned by FELD Motorsports, Captain's Curse, would be retired, and this truck would serve as its replacement. These rumors were later debunked as Captain's Curse continued to compete throughout the 2016 season, alongside Pirate's Curse. Captain's Curse would be retired by the end of the season, however, as driver Alex Blackwell would move to Megalodon for the 2017 season.
- To add to that, the colors for the chassis and props on Pirate's Curse are inverted in comparison to Captain's Curse's chassis and prop colors. While Captain's Curse featured a red chassis, red rims and black wheels, Pirate's Curse used a black chassis, black rims and red wheels.
- As shown in Pirate's Curse's original renderings, the rims were originally intended to be gold.
- Pirate's Curse was the first truck in the Hot Wheels Monster Jam 1:64 scale diecast line to receive the updated tire design, which featured realistic grooves, as well as the BKT tires logo engraved on the sides, along with the Hot Wheels logo.
- Pirate's Curse had rather poor luck when it came to the Double Down Showdown/Young Guns Shootout during its first two years in competition. In 2016, Sims would come out as the fastest qualifier but was disqualified after red-lighting in round two, crashing in the process. The following year, Murphy red-lighted a total of three times, twice in qualifying and once in round one.
- Coinciding with Pirate's Curse's theme song, the name of the character/mascot used for the truck was Captain Black.
- The mascot used for Pirate's Curse was derived from Captain's Curse, being the original skeleton pirate seen on the right side of the truck.
Gallery[]
Main gallery[]
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Merchandise gallery[]
.jpg "2016 38-Pirates CurseBKT (2).jpg (407 KB)")
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