True Giant: Bigfoot Visits Area; Driver Climbing The Ladder

March 23, 2012

Bigfoot — one of the true giants in the monster truck world — made a stop at sponsor Alto Products in Atmore Thursday afternoon.

Bigfoot #10  is a 4-wheel drive behemoth that achieves its superior power from Atmore-made Alto Products transmission clutch plates. It is a methanol-fueled fiberglass truck sitting on eight custom nitrogen charged shocks with 66-inch Firestone tires. Over 700 hours of computer design work went into Bigfoot #10.

COMING SATURDAY: Coming up Saturday morning on NorthEscambia.com, we’ll learn more about the role Atmore’s Alto Products plays in Team Bigfoot and the rest of the monster truck industry.

For a photo gallery, click here.

The truck’s driver is JR Adams, a 32-year old Madison, Indiana, resident and father of one. Adams (pictured left) arrived at the Bigfoot team in February of 2011 as a bit of an unknown variable. He had, for a short while, been a driver for the Paul Shafer Motorsports team out of Portage, Indiana. A handful of former PSM drivers have gravitated to the Bigfoot organization (including current star driver Larry Swim) to take a shot at working towards one of the most desirable positions in the monster truck industry: driving for Team Bigfoot.

This had become the case for Adams as well. His time spent away from the monster truck industry had only fueled his drive to get back on the road, and when he heard through the grapevine that Team BIGFOOT was in need of a new display truck driver for their Firestone Bigfoot #8 display program, Adams made a call to St. Louis.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking being the new guy at a place that’s as well respected as Bigfoot,” said Adams. “This place has a heck of a professional reputation, so you’re thinking to yourself  ‘Wow, I better bring my A-game’.”

Adams started off his career at Bigfoot assisting some of the team’s drivers at first-quarter indoor events, before transitioning to the role as the driver of the BIGFOOT #8 display truck, one of the team’s most vital positions.

As Bigfoot VP of Sponsorships & Business Development Bob Trent explained, “Our Firestone display program is the cornerstone of our business, and has been for some time. We depend on our display drivers as much as our race drivers to represent our team and our sponsors all across North America. It’s not a job to be taken lightly!”

Adams’ performance operating Bigfoot #8 continually met the team’s expectations, in addition to pleasing the scores of Firestone retailers that he and the truck visited throughout 2011. As the year began to draw down, a realignment in the team’s race driver roster set the stage for an early opening during the first quarter of 2012. Adams made sure he was in place to make the next great leap forward in his career, particularly as the normal route calls for two or three years of display and car crush experience first.

“When I found out that I might have the opportunity to step into one of the team’s race trucks already, I wanted to be sure I was ready. I finally got to do my first car crush performance (in Bigfoot #10) at a Firestone retailer in San Marcos, Texas, in November. It was a great time, and the truck felt amazing – and I knew I definitely wanted to get back into the driving seat.”

Now in the driver’s seat of Bigfoot #10, Adams is now climbing the driving ladder which typically consists of several months of exhibition car crushing and freestyle performances, a path that numerous championship Bigfoot drivers have traveled. Needless to say, Adams is excited about the opportunity.

“I feel like I’ve worked hard to get here, and it is incredibly exciting to have this opportunity in front of me,” Adams said. “I owe a huge thanks to everyone at Bigfoot for giving me a chance and helping me learn and grow and get to the point I’m at now. I’m enjoying every minute of this, but it’s still kind of hard for me to believe that I’m already here.”

For a photo gallery, click here.

Pictured:  Bigfoot #10 paid a visit to sponsor Alto Products in Atmore on Thursday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

3 Responses to “True Giant: Bigfoot Visits Area; Driver Climbing The Ladder”

  1. 429SCJ on March 23rd, 2012 9:27 pm

    A nice truck, but I like the original #1. C.W. you are right, I had to look hard to find Big Foot on the body.

  2. Alto Employee on March 23rd, 2012 5:16 pm

    Great article William! What a cool treat for Alto Employees!

  3. CW on March 23rd, 2012 10:19 am

    If they keep covering it with ads it eventually won’t even say “Bigfoot” on it anymore.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports