BOZEMAN — The monster trucks are back in town, and I spoke with some of the drivers for Monsters of Destruction.
“Our mom used to drive us around to all the shows when we were like 12 years old, then we learned how to work on them,” says Kylie Thurber.
Kylie and Kelsie Thurber are twins who drive monster trucks together. They tell me they’ve been in the sport for around 12 years and it’s now their full-time job.
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“So we drove this semi and trailer all the way from Wyoming. We’ve been all up and down the west coast. And, as we know, we’re the only female team on their own,” says Kelsie.
Kelsie tells me she usually she works as the crew girl while Kylie drives: “Yeah, every time the truck comes back it’s pretty much broken. So that’s my job, to fix it.”
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The twins travel with a trailer that holds enough parts to rebuild an entire monster truck. Including the tires, which can be larger than a person. And although Kelsie is usually the crew girl, both twins will be driving in this weekend’s Monsters of Destruction show.
“She is driving the veteran this weekend, and I’m driving first responder, which is over there,” says Kylie.
The Veteran drives with a purpose. At all their shows, the twins sell toys to the kids. The money collected is then donated to various veteran organizations.
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Kylie tells me another way monster truck driving is impactful—inspiring young women.
“I like when the little girls come up and they get really excited to see a girl driver,” she says.
If you were curious what happens at these monster truck shows? There will be five monster trucks, and 15 tough trucks, which are souped-up cars that locals have entered into the competition.
Kylie says everyone competes in two competitions. They start with racing, where two trucks drive down the track at the same time, “Which the fans really love. And then freestyle where everyone kinda goes crazy and does whatever they want, which is my favorite.”
Which I got to experience because after our conversation, they strapped me to their ride-along truck, called the Hillbilly Hauler, and took me for a joyride.
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Monsters of Destruction has shows all weekend at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds starting Friday, May 31. You can visit the website for times and details.
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