Tristan England was a self-described country kid, raised on a cattle farm, when his dad “got the bug” for motorsports. Like father, like son—it didn’t take long for England to crave that adrenaline rush, too.
England started dirt-track racing at 12 years old and spent many hours of his childhood helping his dad and hero, Shane England, work on the monster truck he created: Big Kahuna. Now, as a second-generation Monster Jam driver with a multitude of world and regional championships under his 10-gallon hat, England will be racing the JCB DIGatron at The Dome on January 17 and 18.
His good luck charm? A photo of his son, Crash, who is currently in first grade and has big ambitions to follow in his father’s—and grandfather’s—tire tracks.
England recently spoke with SLM about his upcoming Monster Jam dates in St. Louis, why kids love the pit, and monster trucks as a family business.
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What are you most excited about for the shows at The Dome? I always like the energy at The Dome, because it’s one of the biggest floors that we have. Plus, there’s so much history in St. Louis for Monster Jam. Tom Meents, or Maximum Destruction (Max-D), as most people know him, is the professor of Monster Jam University, where we teach all the skills and the tricks of Monster Jam. He’s a 14-time world champion, and he’s won so many times in St. Louis. So it’s close to home for him, but it kind of also feels close to home for some of us who are close to Tom, because it’s just how much history is in that building and what he’s done for the sport. So St. Louis was always one of his favorites, and it’s become one of ours as well. This is only my third time to compete inside The Dome, but I’ve wrenched on trucks in The Dome, and I put dirt inside The Dome that built the ramps and tinkered on trucks. So to be able to drive and compete at The Dome is super cool.
What is the most common question kids ask? How [I] got started. It’s because of my dad. I wanted to follow my father’s footsteps. But I always tell kids to get in there with the club and help or, if you’re inspired, go to the University of Northwestern Ohio, where our technical school is. You can learn all of the ins and outs of Monster Jam trucks, and you can come and work on a team. Who knows? You might even be wrenching on JCB DIGatron for me. Or one day, you might even step into that driver’s seat.
Your son also wants to be a Monster Jam driver one day. What’s it like hearing that? It’s crazy—I can’t wrap my head around the fact that I get to drive a Monster Jam truck for a career. They didn’t tell me in school that I could do this, so that’s why I tell kids, Don’t ever shortchange your dreams. They can be achieved, as long as you put your heart, determination, and grit into anything that you do. I can’t believe any of the stuff that I get to do behind the wheel and even off the track. How many lives we get to touch with just racing Monster Jam trucks is unimaginable. Always listen to your parents—they really do know what they’re talking about, because they’ve already lived life.
You’re now a world champion, but as any parent knows, life changes the minute you have a kid. How has becoming a dad changed the way you approach work? I have become an emotional teddy bear. I used to be such a tough guy, and I’m still fearless, but it’s just knowing that he’s watching and knowing how much emotion he has for the sport. We play with the Spin Master toys in the living room every week. We play on my simulator at home, and he tells me what’s cool and what’s not. I can’t wait to see what his brain comes up with in the future, and hopefully, he wants to follow his father’s footsteps as I did mine.
You’re on the road a lot with Monster Jam. How do you stay connected as a family? Are there any travel routines that make that distance easier? There’s a picture of my 6-year-old inside the cab of my truck that my wife gifted me, and it says, Drive safe, Daddy. So he’s always riding with me so I know that I can’t let him down. I also know he’s always watching on YouTube Live. And I’m super thankful for FaceTime because as soon as I get out of the cab, they’re the first people I call. There have been so many times when we’ve gotten done with practice, and he’s halfway across country or the world, and he just finished his soccer game and made like three goals, and I’m like, Dang, I missed it. But at least I’m making the effort to call and make sure everything’s all good. Although I can’t call my wife during the game most of the time; I have to call somebody else because she is super soccer mom, and she’s screaming and yelling for them and very into it.
When you are home, what does life look like? We love to go to my dad’s shop together, where he has all his monster truck stuff, and we’ll tinker on anything. My son has go-karts down there, so we’re getting him into that. I mean, his name’s Crash—he’s gotta live up to his name.
For families coming to Monster Jam at The Dome, what’s one thing you think kids will be most excited to see? And what might surprise parents? The most exciting thing about Monster Jam is that we try to bring in a new fleet of trucks every time we come through, so we don’t want everybody to see the same exact thing every year. Another thing I think is going to be interesting is who’s there: We have Adam Anderson coming back with Grave Digger. Adam Anderson is the son of Dennis “the Icon” Anderson, and so that’s a super cool highlight. Plus, Anderson is the funniest—fans will get a good joke out of him through a Pit Party line for sure. And then the best man of my wedding, Camden Murphy, the Classroom Crusher, we’re all three on this tour together. We’re just a couple of monster truck guys who are ready to get wild in St. Louis, and we don’t care what our trucks look like, because we’ve been there enough times that we’re going to put our heart on our sleeve when we drive and not care what happens to the truck. But, you know, we’ll thank the crew later.
Monster Jam is loud, fast, and full of adrenaline, but there are a lot of safety and preparation behind the scenes. What do you want kids to know about how drivers train and stay safe? Monster Jam training has come a long way over the past few years. When I first started, I was probably a buck 80—super scrawny guy but was able to take the beating of the trucks. Now, I’m in the greatest shape of my life, and that’s because of me wanting to do better for myself and my family. There’s no actual workout to be a Monster Jam driver, but the fitter you are, the better your body’s going to take it. It takes a very hard toll on your body that not a lot of people talk about, because it just looks super fun.
Give us your top tips for kids coming to Monster Jam for the first time. Wear your headphones, come to the Pit Party beforehand, and bring your best judgment because you are going to be the judges. It’s in your hands—you can borrow Mom or Dad’s phone if you don’t have a phone—and you get to vote for us. But if your favorite’s Grave Digger, you can’t give Grave Digger a 10 just because Adam’s funny. You have to vote on skill and what we do out there on the track.
