Rebecca “Becky” Epidendio (born Rebecca McDonough on August 14th, 1987) is a monster truck crew member and driver out of Brainerd, Minnesota. She was best known for driving the yellow El Toro Loco from 2013-2016, and the truck overall from 2012-2020. She is the wife of Donald Epidendio and currently serves as a crew member for his truck, Titan.
History[]
Becky McDonough got into monster trucks by turning to fellow female driver Debra Miceli, driver of Madusa.[2]
In 2006, after completing her technician training, Becky first got involved hands-on with monster trucks at the age of 18 as Courtney Jolly's crew chief for Pastrana 199. This was part of her plan to have an all-female crew. Though Jolly left the sport in 2008, McDonough then moved to the newest Pastrana truck, becoming the crew chief for Nitro Circus.[2]
In 2010, Becky made her driving debut in San Jose, Costa Rica, driving Donkey Kong.
In 2011, Becky began driving the new Dragon's Breath truck.
In 2012, Becky began to drive El Toro Loco and competed in the first ever Young Guns Shootout.
In 2013, Becky piloted a special yellow El Toro Loco as one of three designs that year.
In 2014, Becky began a relationship with Donald Epidendio.
In 2015, Becky competed in the inaugural More Monster Jam Tour where she would finish 7th.
In 2016, Becky moved to the Fox Sports 1 Championship Series and she scored two points, both from donut contests in Tampa and Indianapolis placing her 6th overall in the standings. She would get her first ever stadium freestyle victory in December in Minneapolis (her home event), during the second show she would deliver a winning freestyle performance and performed consecutive backflips. She would also take both wheelie contests.
In 2017, Becky began running the normal El Toro Loco body and would compete on Stadium Championship Series 3 where she would finish 4th. In March, she would become the first woman to win a race at the World Finals since 2009, defeating Colton Eichelberger and Max-D, however crashed into the racing encore ramp, leaving her unable to compete in round 2, therefore, Colton Eichelberger would come back for round 2. In October, she drove Scooby-Doo! in Alxa, China.
In 2018, Becky competed on Stadium Championship Series 3 and would finish 5th. In April, she won her first overall event championship of her career and another freestyle win in Minneapolis, Minnesota to go along with her wheelie and freestyle wins. In December, she drove Wonder Woman in Costa Rica.
In 2019, Becky once again competed on Stadium Championship Series 3, and would finish 7th. In March, she won the overall event championship at Atlanta show 1. In Raleigh, she filled in for Kayla Blood in Soldier Fortune.
In 2020, Becky competed on Stadium Championship Series Red, and would be placed 10th after the series was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that year, she and Donald Epidendio got married.
On January 8th, 2021, Becky announced her retirement from Monster Jam on Instagram. On August 13th, she debuted Miss Titan at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California, due to her upcoming truck, Vixen, not being ready in time. To this day, Vixen has not been completed, and it is unknown if it will.
In 2022, Becky returned to drive Tiger Shark in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
In 2023, Becky would drive multiple SUR trucks, such as Weekend Warrior and The Cali Kid.
In 2024, Becky purchased a CRD chassis kit for $24,000 and began construction on it shortly thereafter. On July 23rd, Becky announced that she was pregnant with her first child and would give birth to a boy on October 28th.[3] As a result, she has been on hiatus from driving, but still serves as a crew member for Titan. In December, the chassis was completed.
World Finals appearances[]
- 2012 - El Toro Loco (YGS)
- 2013 - El Toro Loco (Yellow) (YGS)
- 2014 - El Toro Loco (Yellow) (YGS)
- 2015 - El Toro Loco (Yellow) (YGS)
- 2016 - El Toro Loco (Yellow) (YGS)
- 2017 - El Toro Loco
- 2018 - El Toro Loco
- 2019 - El Toro Loco
Trivia[]
- Becky's El Toro Loco was known for having a pink bandana around one of the horns.
- Becky also owns Vixen, a clothing company principally focused to female motorsports enthusiasts.
- She would sometimes give one of the horns away to a fan similar to other El Toro Loco drivers.
- Becky has competed in the most Young Gun Shootouts (5). She never won it.
- In ninth grade, Becky attended her first Monster Jam show as a spectator.
- The following year, she began a car services and welding class.
Gallery[]
.jpg "MJAT cards ElToroLoco(1).jpg (362 KB)")
