Photo courtesy of Earthborne JCB
Earthborne JCB guests enjoyed Monster Jam at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, also known as the LINC, on May 4.
Earthborne JCB hosted a "Monster Pre-Jam," May 2, 2024, at its Warrington, Pa., facility, featuring the JCB DIGatron monster truck.
The event was held ahead of Monster Jam at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, also known as the LINC, on May 4.
During the May 2 party, Earthborne JCB's guests and employees were given the unique opportunity to not only see the JCB DIGatron monster truck that would compete at the LINC, but also meet its renowned driver, Tristan England, the 2023 Monster Jam World Finals racing champion.
"Monster Jam's world-famous Tristan England and the JCB DIGatron are here today to hang out with our team and customers, sign autographs, take pictures and get us all excited for Saturday's main event" said Doug Taylor, owner, and president of Earthborne JCB. "They are in town for the show down at the LINC, and a lot of our customers are going to be there to see Tristan in the big Monster Jam competition do all his tricks, back flips and all the crazy stunts he does in that machine."
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Taylor added that a pit party also was due to be held at the stadium to give Earthborne JCB's customers another opportunity to meet England, look over his monster truck and check out other JCB machines marketed by the dealership.
"We sent machines over to the LINC last week to help the Feld Motorsports team set up for the show, and our team has loved stopping by to watch the progress of them building the track," Taylor said. "Those machines will be out on display and we encourage everyone to bring their kids and grandchildren to have a fun time! These shows are always a big thrill for folks."
Taylor said that monster trucks are right up his company's alley.
"They're like the trucks and heavy equipment found at Earthborne. My friends always laugh and say I've never really grown up, and I'm still playing with trucks and equipment."
Monster trucks even played a pivotal role in Earthborne becoming a JCB dealer more than 20 years ago, when it repaired one of the unique sport vehicles owned by singer and music producer Wyclef Jean, according to Taylor.
"Wyclef had a monster truck in the area that had broken down. [He] brought it in because its suspension was destroyed," Taylor said. "My father, Rick, fabricated a new suspension system for the truck, after which we began working with Wyclef's team and took that monster truck to shows all over the country."
Later, Taylor had the sport truck displayed in front of Earthborne's old facility on Pa. Highway 611 in Warrington. As it happened, a JCB official spotted the machine and stopped by the dealership with his children to check it out.
"They were really excited to see the monster truck," he said. "We got to talking with the man and he asked us if we would like to become a JCB dealer. The rest is history. A monster truck brought JCB into our lives and our family's lives, and here we are with JCB's monster truck celebrating both the manufacturer and the big business that we have built at Earthborne JCB."
Tristan England Meets Fans
A self-described "crazy adrenaline junkie that never sits still," the 28-year-old England won Monster Jam tour championships in 2018, 2019 and 2023, including his first World Finals racing title last year.
"I've been around the motorsport since I was knee high," he said at Earthborne JCB's Monster Pre-Jam. "My dad got me involved in it. He created his first truck in 2012 and I was his crew guy along with our family and friends. I went around the country with him doing it and knew it was something that I would love to get into."
Realizing that traditional college was not for him, but with the ability to work on practically any sport truck, he decided to go on the road with the Monster Jam series and attend Monster Jam University, where the sport's athletes hone their skills and abilities to reach the pinnacle of competition excellence.
England graduated from the training school in 2015, joined Feld Entertainment, the production company that stages Monster Jams, and began his career as a recovery driver. By 2017, he was able to get behind the wheel of his own Shaker monster truck, which allowed him to begin racking up a list of achievements, including the first of his world titles.
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"Now I get to drive the greatest piece of machinery there is — especially in the Monster Jam world — the JCB DIGatron," added the Texas-born England.
"The DIGatron gives me the feel of a very futuristic backhoe and JCB Fastrac mix," he added. "The JCB Fastracs are the fastest tractors I have driven, but nothing compared to the 1,500 hp DIGatron. I do have the bucket on the front, something that is very intimidating to our competitors because it imitates a mouth. In addition, I also have the digger arm in the back. Hopefully, one day I can put some work in and maybe get my arm to move so I can set myself back upright, but for now we are having fun with our DIGatron on Monster Jam's East Coast tour."
England also feels a kinship with JCB, the heavy equipment maker based across the pond in England, and looks forward to Spin Master, a Canadian toy company, in association with Feld, introducing a new line of Monster Jam model trucks soon.
"It hits home for me that Feld Entertainment and JCB are coming together to create this model truck not only for kids but for our amazing dealers and customers to get JCB's name out there," he explained.
Fans of England come to see him perform a variety of stunts in his JCB DIGatron, with which he utilizes a driving style that he calls "controlled chaos."
"I like to let it all hang out," he said before the Philadelphia show. "This is the last stop for our series, and we will finish the tour in second place. It is an amazing feat to even finish in the top five among these athletic drivers. But our JCB DIGatron is going to get tore up this weekend."
As a result, with the series now ended, his team is preparing a brand-new body for the upcoming Monster World Finals, which, he said, is "going to be awesome and it's going to look cool!" CEG
Photo courtesy of Earthborne JCB
(L-R): Glen Taylor, Tristan England and Doug Taylor, owner and president of Earthborne JCB.
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