The Monster Truck Jam: The Women Who Are In It To Win It


Watching live motorsport events is always an exciting time, especially when it is the infamous Monster Truck Jam. With events held all over North America and a few worldwide in exotic locations as Saudi Arabia and Japan, it has quickly gained notoriety around the world. The Monster Truck Jam focuses on two types of events: racing and freestyle. The intermission shows are also part of the attraction, but perhaps the most interesting fact, besides the trucks, of course, are the drivers. Now, you may think this is a male-dominated sport but in fact, there are a ton of women who are sitting behind the wheel of these gargantuan trucks and they are ready to win. These women participate in the Monster Jam Tour and find just as much success as the men, and contain a wildly competitive streak, making them fierce competition. These are no shrinking violets, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to look and feel like strong empowered women. They may be in full wardrobe and makeup but that is simply their version of armor as they prepare to take on their competitors. Let’s meet some of these women taking over the motorsport world.

Pioneer woman: Nicole Johnson

First up, we have Nicole Johnson who was one of the first women to join the Monster Truck Jam. However, she did not start out driving monster trucks right out of the gate. Instead, she took a more measured approach and began with rock crawling.It was when her husband Frank got involved with monster truck racing that Nicole realized she may have just found her true passion. Frank was a spotter for the Red Bull Rock Crawling team in the early 2000s.


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Nicole Johnson Gets Behind the Wheel


Once her husband began working with monster trucks, she quickly realized that she needed to participate as well and not simply a member of the crew. She wanted to be behind the wheel and compete with the big dogs. She began rock crawling in 2004 with the help of her husband, together they won the Pro Rock Women’s National Championship.

Thus, her thirst for racing began. She quickly went pro for Rock Crawling and in 2007, she made it to the World Extreme Competition Series. She quickly rose through the ranks of pro-drivers and broke the gender gap by being the first woman to finish the King of Hammers race in 2008.


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Her Foray into Monster Jam


Rock crawling was not enough to keep Nicole busy, so in 2010 she began monster truck racing. Her first Monster Jam found her behind the wheel of the Tasmanian Devil, and thus her star was born. In her first year, she won the award for Monster Jam Rising Star in 2011.

She has gone on to rack up the awards like Crash Madness when she spectacularly crashed her Scooby Doo truck and many others. She has truly paved the way for other women to join this male-dominated world and find great success. So how did she achieve this?

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Rookie for the Win


During her first season in the Monster Jam circuit, she entered a number of events. She won nine of them, which was an impressive feat for a rookie. She was immediately a record breaker. No rookie, let alone a female rookie had that many wins during a racing season.

This meant that she was ready to push herself even more in the following season and potentially win all the events she entered. It took real drive and determination to work her way through the ranks of drivers so quickly.

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Wreck of the Season


As mentioned, Nicole won the not so coveted award of ‘Crash Madness of the Year’ while competing at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in 2013. During this event, she was concentrating intensely and somehow managed to lose control causing her to crash her Scooby-Doo Monster Truck in a spectacular manner.

The Monster Truck Jam likes to award the best crash, not so much as a bragging right, but as a keep your head in the game sort of prize. She’s just lucky she was not injured. She says that it is something she will tell to her future grandchildren, hopefully, they take it as a word of warning.
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The College Years


Nicole isn’t all about monster trucks though, she actually attended Brigham Young University in Utah, which is where she met her husband. She met him while she was completing her Bachelor of Science in Construction Management.

Perhaps it was fate that brought the two of them together so that they could go on to become the monster truck power couple that they are. He also introduced her to motorsports so perhaps he can be credited with a bit of her love for the sports.
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Outside of the Octagon


These female drivers have lives outside of Monster Truck, and when they are not busy touring, Nicole is actually a licensed real estate agent in Las Vegas, Nevada. It probably doesn’t hurt that she is a fairly recognizable celebrity in the extreme sports world, but everyone needs a day job.

Nicole is a very successful real estate agent, and her clients love looking at the trophies that she keeps in her office. She has really shown that if you believe in something, you can do it.
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Scooby-Doo


While Nicole is a busy wife and mother, there is one thing she truly loves, outside of her family of course! And that is her Scooby Doo Monster Truck. She has spent so much time in it, that it has become like a second home to her. Also, it has a tail that wags, and really is a giant dog, ears, tongue and all.

It is instantly recognizable. Now, that you’ve heard about the pioneer of female monster truck driving let’s go ahead and meet some of the other fearless women who have joined the Monster Jam World.
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Kayla “Blood” Granger


As her name might suggest, she is not afraid of getting into her monster truck and giving it her all in the famed Octagon. Coming from Louisiana, she is well-versed in outdoor motorsports like riding around on ATVs. When she began to watch Monster Jam on television she realized she needed to give it a try.

Competing since 2016, Kayla’s truck has been dubbed the Soldier of Fortune. The name seems pretty apt for a driver with “Blood” as a nickname. Although, apparently it comes from those that do MMA with her. She’s a fighter on and off stage.
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Canadian Ami Houde


Monster Jam has events all over the world, so it’s no wonder that Canadian Ami Houde saw the sport and decided she needed to get involved. She comes by it pretty honestly, as her Canadian father is a  Motocross Champion in his own right, so she’s grown up with it.

She’s all about fighting for what you want, and lives her life according to the mantra, “experience is what you call your mistakes”. Her monster truck is named Zombie, which falls in line with the “never give up” mindset she employs when she enters the Octagon.
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Cynthia Gauthier


Cynthia Gauthier is one of the new arrivals on the Monster Jam scene. She has a love of all extreme sports that gets her adrenaline pumping, and monster truck driving is no exception. She’s definitely got talent which is why she scooped the win at the Monster Jam Rising Star in 2018.

Her rising stardom hasn’t been without trouble though, as she was badly injured during a motorcycle accident. Instead of letting this hold her back though, she lifted herself up and dedicated herself to recover.
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Brianna Mahon


Brianna Mahon has been best friends with fellow driver Cynthia Gauthier for a while, so the fact that the two get to tour together while working for Monster Jam is a dream come true.

Briana is from Illinois and drives the Whip Lash. If you haven’t guessed from the name, Brianna’s specialty is actually doing a backflip in her truck, which she first managed in 2016 while competing in the World Finals. Luckily, she hasn’t had any major injuries from performing these daring feats.
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Myranda Cozad


Myranda is more of a homebody than her fans might realize. She loves spending her offseason time with her family and just hanging out. She is also incredibly girly. When she goes on tour she has to have all of her makeup and clothing.

She comes from Iowa and has spent a lot of her childhood and teen years participating in motorsports like drag racing. It makes sense that she would end up racing in the Scooby-Doo designed monster truck, it is kind of cute.
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Krysten Anderson


Krysten is a legacy, as her father is a former monster truck driver but she never intended to be one herself. Instead, she actually aspired to become a graphic designer and designing those wild decals seen on monster trucks. It seems like she had a change of heart and decided to get behind the wheel like her dad.

She can often be heard calling her dad before each race to get a good pep talk and any help she might need.
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Rosalee Ramer


Rosalee Ramer has begun planning for her departure from monster truck driving. She is clearly a woman with an end goal. Now she drives a monster truck that is decorated in wildflowers and races in the freestyle events. But, she is also at university cramming to be a mechanical engineer and has an internship with General Motors.

Rosalee is going to be designing monster trucks before too long, and since she knows them inside and out it will be interesting to see what she creates in the future.
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Haley Gauley


Oklahoma girl Haley Gauley goes by the name of Wonder Woman… well at least that is the name of her monster truck, but she definitely fits the part. This talented lady not only races monster trucks but is also a massage therapist, and well-versed in deep tissue massage.

She has always been involved in athletic pursuits from hiking to bodybuilding. This might explain why she enjoys being in California so much and even thinks of it as her second residence.
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Linsey Read


Linsey Read can be found driving the Scooby-Doo truck. Her husband and she are both involved in the racing world, except that he focused on sprint cars rather than monster trucks. She’s a busy mom in her off time, and can be found chopping wood for fitness and designing new styles for her clothing line which she and her husband created.

She’s been involved in monster truck racing since 2016, so is fairly new to the scene.