Predator is a custom 3D body monster truck owned by the race team of the same name and driven by team owner Allen Pezo & also his son Brandan. Predator was one of the first 3D body trucks and is also one of the longest running and most famous. The truck has competed in four Monster Jam World Finals events and has been in most Monster Jam video games. Its teammate trucks, Prowler and Pouncer, use the same 3D body with different paint schemes based on other big cat species.
History[]
1988[]
Predator debuted as a blue stock Chevrolet with leaf springs.
1990[]
The Predator tank with the same scheme as the truck debuts.
1992[]
Allen's first tube chassis Predator debuts, but with a white Chevrolet body. A separate leaf-sprung Predator competes on the Thunder Nationals circuit. The tank is repainted white to match the new Predator.
1993[]
The first 3D Predator custom panther body debuts on one of the first PEI chassis. Dave Rappach drives Predator at least once. The first tube chassis Predator competes as Hyperactive at events where both trucks were present. A third tube chassis debuts and is also run at smaller shows as Predator, using a regular Chevrolet pickup body instead.
1995[]
Predator debuts its second PEI chassis and fourth tube chassis overall. The truck originally ran cantilever suspension in the rear, but this would be replaced with regular gas shocks shortly afterwards. All Predator trucks use the 3D cat body by this point. The original tube chassis and first PEI chassis are converted to gas shocks.
1997[]
The original PEI chassis becomes Avenger. The third tube chassis becomes Radioactive.
1998[]
The original tube chassis Predator is sold to Calvin Carrington and becomes Undertaker. The Thunder Nationals chassis is sold to Brian Garno to become Warlock.
1999[]
Prowler, a clone of the 1995 Predator, and the Predator ride truck debuts. The first PEI chassis is sold to Brian Garno to become Carnivore.
2000[]
Allen Pezo competed in the televised event in Orlando. He would win the freestyle event with a score of 30. Predator takes part in the first Monster Jam World Finals. That same year, Allen runs a Dodge Ram Predator for the ProMT series as 3D bodies are not allowed. This body is occasionally run to this day.
2001[]
Predator takes part in the second Monster Jam World Finals.
2002[]
Predator takes part in the third Monster Jam World Finals & gets stuck on the semi trailer in freestyle.
2003[]
The original PEI chassis is bought back and runs as both Predator and Lone Eagle. Its front suspension is modified the following year, and its chassis is repainted to a dark indigo.
2004[]
Ron Nelson would run versions of both Predator and Prowler on his former Bustin' Loose truck.
2005[]
Predator would win racing during the televised event in Atlanta.
2006[]
The truck makes its final Monster Jam World Finals appearance. Pouncer debuts on the Prowler chassis.
2007[]
Allen builds an all-new Predator with a new scheme and new chassis, being the team's sixth overall tube chassis, with the body being based off a Dodge, rather than a Chevrolet. This becomes the main Predator chassis. The previous Predator chassis is reused as Pouncer.
2008[]
Dale Mitchell began driving the truck.
2009[]
Robert Parker drives the truck in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
2010[]
Allen Pezo brings a rebuilt Predator 1 to the Domination in the Dome event and does an exhibition car crush.
2012[]
The truck competes in Jacksonville, but for unknown reasons, its freestyle run (along with Raminator's) is not shown on the television episode. In Bridgeport, John Barich Jr. drives the truck. Steve Reynolds also drives the truck in Rockford, marking his final monster truck appearance as a driver. Allen gets a surprising racing win in Phoenix over Ryan Anderson in Son-uva Digger.
2016[]
The ProMT body starts to be used by the team more frequently. The original PEI chassis competes as Lone Eagle before being sold to an undisclosed owner.
2017[]
Two Predators are run. Pezo's main truck runs one alongside Prowler on Arena Championship Series 6 and a second Predator body is run on the Pouncer chassis in the Monster Nationals Series with Dalton Van Skyhawk driving. This would be the team's last year in Monster Jam.
2018[]
The team misses the first quarter of competition, but comes back in the summer.
2019[]
The truck makes its Traxxas Monster Truck Destruction Tour debut. The original Prowler chassis is sold to the Plato family to eventually become Skull Krusher after an almost total rebuild.
2020[]
The truck competes with Monster Truck Wars. The main truck also starts to run the Lone Eagle body.
2022[]
Both the 3D body and the ProMT body are ran throughout most of the year competing side by side. A new scheme is debuted, sporting vibrant flames and utilizes a newer RAM cab and bed. Allen drove Predator & Pouncer in Indianapolis.
2023[]
A new state of the art chassis is announced to be in the works.
Trailer highway accident[]
In August, the truck along with Pezo were involved in an incident where the hauler tipped over on the highway. Nobody was injured.
2025[]
Brandan Pezo starts driving the truck while his dad drives Pouncer.
Drivers[]
Current drivers[]
- Allen Pezo (Since 1988)
- Brandan Pezo (Since 2025)
Former drivers[]
- David Rappach (1993)
- Dale Mitchell (2008-2015)
- Larry Birch III (2010)
- Ron Nelson (2011)
- Dalton VanSkyock (2017)
Fill-in drivers[]
- Robert Parker (Toronto 2009)
- John Barich Jr. (Bridgeport 2012)
- Steve Reynolds (Rockford 2012)
- Jeff Cook (Albany 2013)
- Wayne Smozanek (Unknown)
- Dave Pezo (Unknown)
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Drivers | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Allen Pezo | Qualifying: 7th (4.19) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Monster Patrol | |
| 1994 | Defeated in round 1 by Kodiak | |||
| 2000 | Qualifying: n/a | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Goldberg (dnf) | Freestyle: 7th (29) | |
| 2001 | Qualifying: 8th (17.48) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Wolverine | Freestyle: 12th (22) | |
| 2002 | Qualifying: 12th (24.38) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Hot Wheels | Freestyle: 10th (21) | |
| 2006 | Qualifying: 23rd (23.22) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Bounty Hunter | Freestyle: 15th (17) | |
Video game appearances[]
- Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction
- Monster 4X4: Masters of Metal
- Monster Jam (video game)
- Monster Jam: Path of Destruction
Trivia[]
- The truck is featured in a VHS tape called Awesome Monster Trucks. On YouTube, it's referred to as Secrets of Monster Trucks.
- Predatorracinginc.com is the website for the team, which also features Prowler, Pouncer, the Predator ride truck & Lone Eagle. The site hasn't been updated since 2016.
- The 2008 version of the truck had a glow in the dark logo.
- As of 2025, Brandan Pezo became the third Pezo family member to drive the truck.
Gallery[]
.jpg "CouncilBluffs 030417 JoshKirsher-1876 (1).jpg (456 KB)")
.jpg "1993 OM-Predator (2).jpg (381 KB)")
Videos[]
