ThunderROARus is a custom 3D dinosaur monster truck that is owned by FELD Motorsports and is driven by Colt Stephens and Tony Ochs, making its debut in 2023. The truck famously features a unique fictional backstory, with a story being told by Monster Jam that the truck was created by former technicians that "went rogue". Since its debut, ThunderROARus has become very successful with Monster Jam's major promotion of the truck and winning the world freestyle championship in its debut season, quickly becoming a staple name in the league.
History[]
In 2023, ThunderROARus made its debut on January 7th, with Colt Stephens driving the truck on Stadium Series Blue and Tony Ochs driving a second truck on Arena Series Central. Colt would eventually finish ninth in his points series, and Tony would finish fourth on his series. Colt would later be invited to compete at Monster Jam World Finals XXII, making his first World Finals appearance since 2017, where he would famously win the freestyle championship. Colton Eichelberger would also make his Monster Jam return and drive the truck (On the Monster Jam Stunt Truck chassis) at said event where he would successfully jump over nine trucks in an opening ceremony for the main field competitions as an advertisement for the 2023 Spin Master ThunderROARus Drop playset. In Dayton, Ohio, Colt was the first to do a backflip, since it was the first year the miniflip was used. Colt Stephens drove the truck in the Superstar Challenge on Team Neon in Anaheim on November 11. The truck also attempted a forward momentum backflip to open the show, with Tom Meents driving on the stunt truck chassis. He would fail the stunt & landed on the Monster Jam Stunt Truck, crushing the chassis.
In 2024, Colt competes on Stadium Series West, while Tony runs on Arena Series West. The truck made its video game debut in Monster Jam's newest game since 2021: Monster Jam Showdown. Shelby Fisher, Colt's crew chief, made an appearance on Inside Monster Jam. Tony would finish 3rd on Arena Series West. Colt finished 5th on Stadium Series West. Tony was invited to compete in the Last Chance Qualifying event at the World Finals with a brand new inverted paint scheme. Colt Stephens would win his second world championship in ThunderROARus, this time in the high jump event. In Allentown, Pennsylvania, Tony swept the second show. This is only the second time he has done this his career. In Pensacola, Florida at show 1, he accidently turned the truck off in the skills challenge, which resulted in the truck flipping over. Tony said in his winning interview that he was disappointed that he ruined the $20,000 body.
In 2025, Colt will compete on the East stadium tour & Tony will compete on the East arena tour.
Past/temporary drivers[]
- Colton Eichelberger (World Finals XXII opening ceremony)
- Tom Meents (2023 Monster Jam Superstar Challenge opening ceremony)
- Dax Shepard (Los Angeles exhibition in 2023)
World Finals appearances[]
- 2023 - Colt Stephens (main field; Won freestyle)
- Colton Eichelberger (Opening ceremony only)
- 2024 - Colt Stephens (main field/high jump; won high jump)
- Tony Ochs (Last Chance Qualifying)
Video game appearances[]
Trivia[]
ThunderROARus Roar played in Monster Jam's website.
- Jayme Dalsing would reveal that the truck was originally thought to be called "Thundersaurus". however, it was eventually changed to adding the ROAR in the name to make the "metallic dinosaur" theme work better.
- The mouth of ThunderROARus is designed to be able to open manually open and close, with it being opened for pit parties and closed for competition so the driver can see.
- The roar used in the background of teasers and promotional media is the same roar of the Indominus Rex from Jurassic World.
- ThunderROARus is one of 5 trucks to win a World Championship in its debut year, along with Goldberg, Team Meents, Captain's Curse and Northern Nightmare.
Gallery[]
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Videos[]
