Terminal Velocity is a 1941 Willy's monster truck owned by Send It Motorsports and driven by Jon Zimmer Jr.
History[]
Background[]
Prior to being created as a full-sized monster truck, Terminal Velocity was originally created as a virtual monster truck for Rigs of Rods as early as April 15th, 2018.[1] It originally competed in the North American Monster Trucks (NAMT), using a 1961 Chevrolet K-10 body style. It then received a Chevrolet Silverado body style for the NAMT World Finals, before receiving its 1941 Willy's body style for virtual Outlaw Monster Truck Drags events in 2020.
2020[]
Terminal Velocity was built in early 2020 on the former Wild Side chassis. The truck made its competition debut that August with Jon Zimmer Jr. behind the wheel.
2021[]
The truck entered its first full year of competition and would later make its first Monster Jam appearance on May 21st in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[2] There, it would win the skills challenge competition during the Sunday afternoon show. Zimmer and the truck would also win that year's Monster Truck Throwdown championship.
2022[]
Terminal Velocity competed in the Monster Jam Arena Championship Series Central. During the series, Zimmer Jr. and the truck would win multiple overall event championships. Zimmer Jr. would finish in 5th place. They also made two appearances on the Arena Championship Series East in Hampton and Little Rock.
2023[]
Jr. drives Terminal Velocity on Arena Series Central. In Allentown, Pennsylvania, he tied Brandan Tulachka's score in freestyle at one of the shows.[3] This is a rare occurrence ever since the JudgesZone.com scoring system has been introduced. On the series, he would have a very notable rivalry with Brandon Vinson throughout the year, both being in a tight points chase that would eventually come down to the final weekend of the series in Green Bay. However, Brandon would eventually win the series over him, with Jon finishing in second place, being the highest ranked independent Monster Jam driver of the 2023 season.[4] Although the truck did not get an invitation to the main field, it did compete in the two-wheel skills competition at World Finals XXII. The truck almost won the competition, finishing 2nd to Tyler Menninga in Grave Digger.[5] In August, the former chassis is used for the team's newest truck, Tannerite, driven by Tanner Swinhart as Zimmer left the team. Later in November, the truck comes back on the former Bad Habit Relapse chassis on a new Ford Super-Duty body for two shows. The truck would then be converted into a display truck for All Star Monster Truck Tour the following year.
2024[]
Jr. competed with his dad in the new Uproar truck on the All Star Monster Truck Championship Series. The truck would re-debut on a new Concussion chassis that is an exact replica of the original chassis, with the original body making a return as well. The truck would go on to win the series in March. The truck made its Monster Jam return in Nashville. This would be Jon Zimmer Jr's first Monster Jam stadium show, along with his dad's new Uproar truck. Later in the year, the truck would compete at the Cook Out Monster Truck Bash. The truck would be the fastest qualifier, and would go on to win the racing championship in spectacular fashion, almost completely dismembering the rear end at the final jump after the rear steering cylinder gave out moments before. The truck continued to compete at select shows for the rest of the year.
2025[]
Jr. competes on the Arena Series Central. This would be the truck's first time competing for first quarter in Monster Jam under Send It Motorsports. He would pull off his first career clean sweep in Toledo. In Hampton, the truck starts using shortened bedsides & no tailgate. In May, Terminal Velocity would become the first independent monster truck to win a Monster Jam points series, and earned the third bid to Monster Jam World Finals XXIV, where it debuted a new blue scheme. This body was heavily damaged on day 1, so the bedsides were shortened and the orange cab was reinstalled for day 2. Jr. continued to run the blue bedsides for several events afterwards, including the Monster Truck Bash, where he won a second consecutive racing championship, as well as the freestyle championship, becoming the fifth driver to double down at the event. The truck begins using a blue wheel. Zimmer Jr. gets his first stadium racing win in Syracuse. In Wheatland, the truck debuts a new hybrid chassis that is a mixture of an Eddie and a Concussion.
2026[]
Zimmer Jr. will drive the truck on Arena Championship Series East.
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jon Zimmer Jr. | Skills: 2nd (7.055) |
| 2025 | Jon Zimmer Jr. | Qualifying: 18th (27.826)
Racing: defeated in Saturday's championship race by Wild Side Skills: 4th (6.660) Freestyle: 7th (7.801) |
Trivia[]
- With 65 overall wins as of July 12, 2025, Terminal Velocity holds the record of having the most overall event wins won in Monster Jam by an independently owned truck.
- During donuts, Jon commonly opened his truck door and he held the steering wheel out.
- The truck was planned to be a part of the 2024 Monster Jam season, but due to contract errors, the plans would soon fall, however new contracts were signed for Q2 events.
Gallery[]
.jpeg "Terminal Velocity Newark NJ (if my picture replaced yours I'm so sorry).jpeg (295 KB)")
