Monster of a job

Rich Gordon’s heavy-equipment skills got him exactly what he wanted about 15 years ago: a foot in the door of the monster-truck world.

His ability to use “skidsters,” high-lifts and front-end loaders to shape all kinds of manmade barriers and obstacles has allowed Gordon, of Kalispell, to literally carve a niche for himself as a valuable player in the monster-truck sports-entertainment industry.

When a monster-truck event came to Kalispell in the mid-1990s, Gordon saw his opportunity.

“When the promoter saw me running heavy equipment and making the track right, he was impressed,” Gordon recalled. “I took it on my own to show him what I could do.”

After that, there was no turning back. He has traveled all over the United States and into Canada and Mexico to build monster-truck tracks. It’s an intense gig most of the time — working 47 hours in two days — to get ready for a show, but Gordon thrives on the extreme sport.

At the recent Monster Truck Summer Nationals in Kalispell, it was Gordon who set up the track that allowed renowned driver Larry Quick to pull off what is considered the first-ever true backflip in a monster truck.

Since Gordon was the go-to guy for building the Kalispell track, he arranged to get a huge tank from Ureco to use as the obstacle over which Quick flipped his truck. Networking is a big part of Gordon’s job. He knows exactly where to get a piece of Caterpillar equipment for a job, or which excavator to call in if needed.

The key to building a successful monster-truck track is precision.

“You have to take the time to measure everything,” he said. “That way it’s a fair race. It’s all in the way it’s laid out and built. The cars have to spaced just right.”

Most monster-truck shows involve trucks with extremely large wheels and suspension crushing smaller vehicles. Sometimes only one truck is on the course at a time; other times two drivers race each other. It’s the freestyle events that are the crowd-pleasers.

Gordon, who has raced monster trucks in the past and plans to drive again, has his goal in mind — to go for the world-record long jump in a monster truck. And he plans to do the jump in Kalispell when the time comes. The record belongs to Dan Runte, the current driver of Bigfoot, the truck trademarked as the original monster truck.

“I’ll either make it or I’ll crash. No one’s ever accused me of being quite right and there’s no reason to start now,” he said with a laugh.

Gordon is an adrenaline junkie.

“I did bullriding for 12 years, but there were too many doctor’s bills, so I had to get into something safer,” he said.

Since drivers are required to wear fire suits, safety harnesses, helmets and head and neck restraints, Gordon figures driving a monster truck is a lot safer than getting bucked off a bull.

Gordon is having the frames built for two monster trucks at Digger’s Dungeon in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., the home base for the phenomenal monster truck known as the Grave Digger. Once the frames are intact, Gordon will finish building the trucks.

“I’ll have two brand spankin’ new trucks,” he said. “Then, I’ll compete.”

He dreams of competing in shows in monster-sized arenas, where top drivers command $2 per spectator to perform for the crowd.

With some events drawing more than 100,000 spectators, that’s some serious money.

Gordon also wants to bring more monster-truck events to Kalispell and is working on a proposal to revamp the county fairgrounds to better accommodate not only monster-truck shows but also snowmobile and motocross events.

“Next year, the [Kalispell] show will be phenomenal,” he promised.

He sees monster-truck shows as family-friendly entertainment.

“It’s all about family and kids,” he said. “Kids are the biggest fans.”

Gordon’s own children, Cody, 6, and Anika, 8, have grown up around monster trucks and love the shows, he said. They also have the inside track for autographs from some of the most well-known monster-truck drivers.

“The drivers are all great guys,” he added.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com