She has all the skills and the competitive drive necessary to make it in the world of Monster Jam. The daughter of Dennis Anderson, she grew up around the Grave Digger truck -- one of the most iconic in all of monster truck racing. 1st female to drive Grave Digger. She told the people at Monster Jam she was interested and got a spot behind the wheel, making her the first female Grave Digger driver in the trucks 35-year history and the fourth Anderson to drive the iconic rig. I think everyone in the team feels that we should perform and win instead of like, its a luxury to win. From all over the place, moms and dads, people my brothers age, kids.. I think people start to realize that IndyCar is a pretty fun place to be and not a bad way to go racing, Ward said. Its a family affair. It turns out shes pretty good at handling the various vehicles, and even better at enjoying the adrenaline rush that comes with flying a motorized machine through the air or revving it up for a flip. As she herself pointed out, its hard for people to not take her seriously when shes part of the Anderson Dynasty. This is no exhibition or staged theatrics. Weve got intense bits of the season. And I found her in a magazine and just reached out to her.. After finishing last in the opening night with a score of 6.071 to Todd LeDuc and Monster Energys 9.437, Anderson improved massively in Night 2 and scored a 8.919. He worked as an ESPN analyst for 20 years, from 1993 to 2014. In 1979, Dennis Anderson created the Grave Digger and has since gone on to win numerous Monster Jam World Championships. We come back between most races. Everyone in the family thought it was extremely funny and so the name stuck. But were also pretty realistic that you cant rob Peter to pay Paul, so were not always going to be able to hire from motorsports and especially other IndyCar teams. Monster Jams reek of traditional masculinity, but entering that land of American flags and Budweiser has its value. The Monster Jam Triple Threat Series runs through early March, and Anderson hopes to tour with Monster Jam in the summer. NBC Sports is proud to celebrate Womens History Month. Adding 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi as a teammate to Pato OWard and Felix Rosenqvist, the team will be running three full-time cars for the first time (and a fourth Indy 500 entry for Tony Kanaan). Krysten Anderson loves the adrenaline rush of being a Monster Jam driver, but fulfilling the expectations of her more famous fathers fans gives her some anxiety. How much he loves IndyCar. The only woman to drive Grave Digger, a monster truck in Monster Jam, Krysten Anderson competes against her two . Hes a great personality to the team. It was almost inevitable Krysten Anderson would become involved with Monster Jam, but the thought of following in the tire tracks of her dad, Grave Digger creator and flagship driver Dennis Anderson, and her two brothers never crossed her mind. It was one of those things where you didnt want it to be a What if? she said. Ive grown in leaps and bounds over the span of four years.. At a Monster Jam, theres lots of beer, obnoxiously loud engines, and so many wheelies. TAMPA She stands 5 feet, 7 inches, just a little taller than the tires on the monster truck she wheels in stadiums and arenas around the world. Thats when she realized, "The most successful people at World Finals just run their own race and pay attention to what's in front of them. She was paying more attention to where Tony was and not where she was, and she hit a crushed car and spun out. Tickets available through TicketsWest. Something told me to do it, she said. Ryan and Adam Anderson are also wildly successful Monster Jam champions as well. I think that it is very important to see that the company emphasizes bringing the right people in, and the right people are women.. I think maybe here in a few more years Ill be at a very competitive level. Progress always comes painfully slow, but then when you look back over a larger period of time, youre like, Oh hey, weve done a hell of a lot. . No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried. In 2019, she continued her quest to carry on the family legacy Saturday at the Monster Jam Triple Threat Series at Amalie Arena. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life . In 2021, she made her Stadium Tour debut at Houston on January 30. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? But Anderson still uses the hashtag #mamatried on social media, which her mom thinks is funny. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Yet 22-year-old Krysten Anderson longs to be as big as her father in the world of motorsports entertainment. Arrow McLaren still has done much of its hiring through the paddocks traditional word of mouth manner. Ward said the schedule was among the reasons that engineer Ryan Kelly chose to join Rossis car after multiple seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. Your IP: After Dennis Anderson's retirement, his sons and all Grave Digger Team pilots have driven Grave Digger. The only time I ever really get nervous in the truck is right before Im about to go out, Anderson told ESPN. Anderson now rises in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, where he currently resides, whilst his daughter takes over the driving of Grave Digger to much acclaim. Monster Jam Triple Threat Series When:7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8; 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena Tickets: $15-$55 Info: bonsecoursarena.com. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. My two brothers are world champions. I think the vibe is fantastic. Personal Life: wife, girlfriend, dating, divorce, kids Dennis Anderson With Family To me, Monster Jam is like the in-person equivalent of watching reality TV. You can tell that Krysten and her brothers genuinely enjoy one another and have a good time together. I need to do this here or I need to do that there she said. Her original plan was to go to college and study studio art and graphic design. Dirt is something Anderson never thought shed be so familiar with. Its a big Anderson machine around there.. But, after high school, she got a call from Monster Jam asking her if she was interested in attending Monster Jam University. So we just have to keep that, and well be all right.. In 2022, she would win Arena Championship Series Central, becoming the first (and so far only) woman ever to win a championship series in Monster Jam. So thats infectious for everybody.. (Its) retaining the people youve got, he said. Posted at 01:41h . No ones ever going to say weve got everything figured out. Shes a complete unicorn and super hard worker. It turns out piloting monster trucks came naturally to her, and she became the first female, and the fourth Anderson, to drive Grave Digger. Is it going to wreck when it lands?. 'Grave Digger' was created after a tussle with his friends. Verified. Maybe I could do my own female version of Grave Digger, with more pinks and purples, she said. Shes been quoted saying her dad is her role model and she makes frequent Instagram posts about how much she loves and appreciates her mom. I started winning. Anderson was the third of her siblings to follow in her dads tire tracks when she joined the tour in 2016. Three years later, Im still doing it.. Greenville Journal. Especially me being the first and only female to drive Grave Digger, I feel like I have extra eyes on me., Anderson has heard the questions that surround her new role: How will she do? Why is she driving Grave Digger?. When you want to build a high-powered racing team, software is really, really important, Ward said. The Arrow McLaren organizational hierarchy was restructured with last years departure of Taylor Kiel (who left to become team manager for Ganassi). On her first and only attempt, she traveled 33.8 feet in the air, crushing the existing record by 12.5 feet. Andersons resilience has paid off. But that all changed with one phone call. But if supporting women is (which, ofc) give it a shot, because Krysten has been preparing for her time on the track since day 1. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Grave Digger will return to the Spokane Arena for the Monster Jam Triple Threat Series. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. I started kicking the boys butts. The Pirates Curse, Alien Invasion, EarthShaker and Megalodon Monster Jam Triple Threat teams are all new to Spokane. Im never afraid to try anything: to jump big, to flip. Some grew up loving Grave Digger as a child and now bring their children to see Andersons children repeat his freestyling feats. Now add a family legacy, an iconic truck, gender politics, as well as a shortened 2020 season that limited her seat time and youll start to understand the pressure of Andersons Stadium Series debut. A female driver hasnt yet won a Series Championship, but Krysten certainly has her eyes on the prize. Thats exciting. Subscribe to our free Breaking Sports News newsletter. Still, now the driver of the legend is Dennis's daughter, Krysten Anderson. Bucs-Browns: Previewing Tampa Bays game Friday against Cleveland. Its pretty amazing to me with how involved he is with every aspect of the IndyCar organization, the F1 organization. Since arriving in the fall of 2019 at the former Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, she said she has watched Arrow McLaren grow while maintaining its gritty origins. Krysten was just fresh out of high school. "She hoped I'd go on to college and be a veterinarian.". The next night, she finished second in the Freestyle Competition. Im not thinking about what could happen when I get out there because you never know what could go down while out on the track. 1 mechanic out of F1. And, she was also the first female driver for the Grave Digger team. Although, she still paints and draws during her free time at home. The 2019 lineup of Grave Digger drivers is: Adam Anderson, Krysten Anderson, Randy Brown, Morgan Kane, Tyler Menninga, Charlie Pauken, Brandon Vinson and Chad Tingler-who is overseas. Daughter of Monster Jam Hall of Famer Dennis Anderson, Krysten got her chance behind the wheel of a Monster Jam truck in 2017, winning her first Freestyle competition in just her second event. (Feld Entertainment). I also like going through haunted houses. I mean Im not even sure what tuna steak is but Im sure she cooks it like a boss. Id be like Ive been in this situation. Krysten is the first female to compete as a driver of Grave Digger. With sponsorship dollars generally on the rise in IndyCar, and manufacturer money pouring into rival series such as IMSA and F1, it likely never has been harder for hiring across U.S. motorsports. The drivers also practiced a new element of the Triple Threat Series, the two-wheel skills competition, which is taking the place of last years wheelie competition. Three of Dennis' children have followed in his footsteps to become drivers. They explained that it was the 35th anniversary of Grave Digger, they had never had a female Grave Digger driver, and as the only female Anderson, dads only girl, I was really excited. Its really exciting to be part of a group that still has ties to everyone being very hungry and ambitious and could do all sorts of roles and do whatever needed to be done. That helps winnow down the applicant pool for hiring by an executive team that includes Ward, competition director Billy Vincent, operations director Max Neyron, performance director Nick Snyder, marketing vice president Mo Murray and general manager Brian Barnhart (Murray and Barnhardt also have joined within the last few months). If I sit and think too long, I get nervous and lose my composure, so I just casually put my gear on and let my instincts take over.. Have you ever wondered how rich Dennis Anderson is, as of mid-2016? If were not on the road tearing the trucks up, were back at the shop working on them, or Im up serving pancakes, spilling coffee. As a driver on the Monster Jam Triple Threat Series, shes a triple threat in another way too, driving the Grave Digger monster truck, ATV and speedster. Honestly, this team comes from humble beginnings in the IndyCar world. Its Grave Digger 24/7, she said. It can be a lot of pressure sometimes, but it fuels me when I have a rough show and Im getting the feedback of it, Anderson said. Do I need to put the truck in reverse? I messaged her on Instagram, Hey, I think youre super cool, youre really killing it, and if you ever want to work in IndyCar, let me know, Gundlach told NBC Sports. She is the daughter of Dennis Anderson and the sister of Adam, Ryan, and Weston Anderson. Shell operate a Monster Jam truck, a speedster and an ATV, hoping to do all manner of two-wheel tricks and acrobatic flips in the machines. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Adam and Krysten keep the Anderson legacy alive by driving Grave Diggers and Ryan drives Son-uva Digger. WHEN: Saturday, Shows at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Pit Party from 10:30 a.m.-noon (Must have 1:00 PM event ticket and pit pass for entry). My brothers are World Champions. Still being a bad influence from beyond the grave! I dont know how hes in so many places at once, seemingly. Gracie is a rock star and can do anything, Gundlach said. It is a fun group. After a year on the Triple Threat Series in small arenas, it was Anderson's time to shine at the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas in 2018. Shell be behind the wheel when the Monster Jam Triple Threat Series stops at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena Feb. 8 and 9. That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried.'". There was no escape for Krysten as she began to realize since fourth grade that her life is different from the other girls in their neighborhood. Hes happy to be here; were happy to have him.. Follow. It turns out piloting monster trucks came naturally to her, and she became the first female, and the fourth Anderson, to drive Grave Digger. Im really happy to be working with (Todd) because its a different culture for her. 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