The International Monster Truck Museum & Hall of Fame inducted its very first class of honorees in November 2011. Each year the IMTM will honor another group of the most influential people in the history of monster trucks. This page will show who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame each year, along with all of the nominees from that year.
A common question is “How does the process work?”. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a full description of how individuals are nominated, voted on, and inducted into the Hall of Fame. The IMTM works very hard to ensure that the Hall of Fame is for ALL of the monster truck industry, so we use a process that combines many different opinions and viewpoints and guarantees that no single person’s opinion can dominate the process.
Class of 2011
Bob Chandler – BIGFOOT
Jeff Dane – King Kong
Dan Degrasso – Beast
Jack Willman – Taurus
Everett Jasmer – USA-1
Fred Shafer – Bearfoot
2011 Hall of Fame Nominees: For the first class of the IMTM Hall of Fame, the Board of Directors chose those who are most recognized as the originators of the monster truck industry, and then put in place a Nominating and Voting process for the years to follow.
Check out Photos and Video from the 1st Annual IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held November 19th, 2011.
Class of 2012
Jim Kramer – BIGFOOT
Mike Welch – Monster Mash, Super Pete, etc.
George Carpenter – Promoter, Safety Director, Tech Official
Paul “Pablo” Huffaker – King Krunch, Just Show’n Off, Grave Digger
Dennis Anderson – Grave Digger
2012 Hall of Fame Nominees: Allen Pezo, Andy Brass, Army Armstrong, Billy Joe Miles, Bob George, Dan Patrick, Dave Marquart, David Morris, Dennis Anderson, Diehl Wilson, Gary Cook, Gary Porter, George Carpenter, Jim Kramer, Jon Breen, Kirk Dabney, Mike Welch, Pablo Huffaker, Scott Stephens, Seth Doulton
Check out Photos and Video (Coming Soon) from the 2nd Annual IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held November 3rd, 2012.
Class of 2013
Allen Pezo – Predator
Dan Patrick – Samson
Scott Stephens – King Krunch
Gary Porter – Carolina Crusher, Grave Digger
Army Armstrong – Live Event Announcer, Television Personality
2013 Hall of Fame Nominees: Army Armstrong, Gary Bauer, Andy Brass, John Breen, Kirk Dabney, Seth Doulton, Brett Englemann, Bob George, Bobby Holman, Dave Marquart, Billy Joe Miles, Dan Patrick, Allen Pezo, Gary Porter, Jerry Richmond, Cliff Starbird, Scott Stephens, Alan Tura, Mike Vaters, Diehl Wilson
Check out Photos and Video (Coming Soon) from the 3rd Annual IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held November 9, 2013.
Class of 2014
Diehl Wilson – Virginia Giant
Jon Breen – Mad Dog II, Stomper Bully, etc.
Michael Vaters – Black Stallion
Andy Brass – BIGFOOT
Kirk Dabney – Blue Thunder, Giant, etc.
2014 Hall of Fame Nominees: Andy Brass, John Breen, Kirk Dabney, Seth Doulton, Brett Englemann, Mike Gallaway, Bob George, Bobby Holman, Don Maples, Dave Marquart, Billy Joe Miles, David Morris, Jim Oldaker, Gene Patterson, Charlie Pauken, Cliff Starbird, Alan Tura, Mike Vaters, Diehl Wilson, Terry Woodcock
Check out Photos and Video (Coming Soon) from the 4th Annual IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held November 1, 2014.
Class of 2015
Gene Patterson- Bigfoot, Snakebite, Stomper, etc.
2015 Hall of Fame Nominees: Mark Bendler, Gary Cook, Bennett Clark, Scott Douglass, Seth Doulton, Mike Gallaway, Bob George, Billy Joe Miles, Bobby Holman, Jack Koberna, Dave Marquart, John Moore, David Morris, Mike Nickel, Gene Patterson, Charlie Pauken, Jerry Richmond, Cliff Starbird, Alan Tura, and Terry Woodcock
Check out Photos and Video (Coming Soon) from the 4th Annual IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held November 14, 2015.
Class of 2016
2016 Hall of Fame Nominees: Jeff Bainter, Gary Bauer, Jesse Birgy, Mark Bendler, Bennett Clark, Jan Gabriel, Mike Gallaway, Marty Garza, Bob George, Bobby Holman, Jack Koberna, Don Maples, Dave Marquart, Mike Nickell, Jim Oldaker, Charlie Pauken, Jim Ries, Jerry Richmond, Cliff Starbird, Terry Woodcock
Class of 2017
Seth Doulton- Skoal Bandits, Gulf Super Special, Am/Pm Boss
Jim Ries- AM/PM Rocket, Ecology Eliminator
Mike Gallaway- Live Event Announcer/TV Personality
Gary Cook- Equalizer
Jeff Bainter- High Voltage, Captain USA
2017 Hall of Fame Nominees: Jeff Bainter, Gary Bauer, Mark Bendler, Jesse Birgby, Bennett Clark, Gary Cook, Jan Gabriel, Mike Gallaway, Marty Garza, Bobby Holman, Jack Koberna, Dave Marquart, Don Maples, Mike Nickels, Jim Oldaker, Jim Ries, John Moore, Mike Speller, Cliff Starbird, William Townes
Class of 2018
Mike Nickell-Excaliber
Marty Garza-Overkill
Gary Bauer-Lon-Ranger, Nitemare Express, Screamin’ Demon
Jack Koberna- The Beast, Cyborg, Tuff’ E’ Nuff
2018 Hall of Fame Nominees: Gary Bauer, Mark Bender, Jesse Birgy, Kevin Dabney, Scott Douglass, Jan Gabriel, Marty Garza, Jake Henke, Bobby Holman, Jack Koberna, George Link, Charlie Mancuso, Don Maples, Dave Marquart, Dave Matthews, Mike Nickell, Dan Runte, Mike Speller, Cliff Starbird, and William Townes.
Class of 2019
Dan Runte – Bigfoot
Jesse Birgy – Playn’ For Keeps
Cliff Starbird – Frankenstein, Monster Vette, Wild-Stang
Aaron Polburn – Thunder Nationals, Live Event Announcer
2019 Hall of Fame Nominees: Mark Bendler, Jesse Birgy, Steve Combs, Kevin Dabney, Scott Douglass, Jan Gabriel, Mark Hall, Tim Hall, Scott Hess, Bobby Holman, Don Maples, Dave Marquart, Dave Matthews, John Moore, Aaron Polburn, Dan Runte, Frank Schettini, Mike Speller, Cliff Starbird, William Townes.
Class of 2020
Dave Marquart – Excaliber
Scott Hess – Hess’ Hercules II, Bearfoot
Mark Bendler – Kodiak
Kevin Dabney – Blue Thunder, Mega Force, Thunderstruck
2020 Hall of Fame Nominees: Mark Bendler, Steve Combs, Kevin Dabney, Steve Dane, Scott Douglass, Jan Gabriel, Mark Hall, Tim Hall, Scott Hess, Steve Hess, Bobby Holman, George Link, Charlie Mancuso, Dave Marquart, Don Maples, Dave Matthews, Tom Meents, John Moore, Mike Speller, William Townes
Class of 2021
Tim Hall – Hall Brothers Racing
Mark Hall – Raminator, Executioner, Big Boss
Bobby Holman – Holman’s Beast
John Moore – No Problem!
2021 Hall of Fame Nominees: Steve Combs, Scott Douglass, Rob Fuchs, Jan Gabriel, Mark Hall, Tim Hall, Dale Harris, Steve Hess, Bobby Holman, Charlie Mancuso, Don Maples, Dave Matthews, Tom Meents, John Moore, Frank Schettini, Doug Spanier, William Townes, Mike Speller, Guy Wood, Steve Wood
Class of 2022
Steve Hess – Nitemare
Don Maples – Samson 1
Charlie Mancuso – USHRA, Monster Jam
Steve Combs – Knight Stalker
2022 Hall of Fame Nominees: John Borba, Steve Combs, Steve Dane, Scott Douglass, Rob Fuchs, Jan Gabriel, Dale Harris, Steve Hess, Bruce Hubley, Charlie Mancuso, Don Maples, Dave Matthews, Tom Meents, Doug Spanier, Mike Speller, William Townes, Dave Wieczorek, Gary Wiggins, Guy Wood, Steve Wood
Class of 2023
William Townes – Virginia Beach Beast
Frank Schettini – Big Dummy
Guy Wood – Bulldozer, Tropical Thunder, Heartland Express, Aces High
Landmark Award: Mark Boyce – Boyce Equipment & Parts Co. Inc. Supplier of Military Axels and Components
Landmark Award: Vince Nowack – Nowack Company. Supplier of Hydraulic Components
2023 Hall of Fame Nominees: Dave Matthews, Mike Wales, Dave Wieczorek, Paul Shafer, Doug Spanier, Rob Fuchs, Frank Schettini, Rod Litzau, Gary Wiggins, Scott Douglas, Guy Wood, Steve Wood, Jan Gabriel, William Townes, Mike Speller.
Class of 2024
Jeffrey Cook – Founder of the International Monster Truck Museum & Hall of Fame, War Wagon, Shotgun Harry
Rob Fuchs – First Blood
Scott Douglass – Announcer/Television Personality
Landmark Award: Mike Sage, SCS Gearbox
Landmark Award: Jan Gabriel, Television Producer/Personality
2024 Hall of Fame Nominees: Brett Engleman, Dave Wieczorek, Doug Spanier, Gary Wiggins, Jan Gabriel, Jeffrey Cook, Jocelyn Perrin, Kreg Christensen, Mike Speller, Mike Wales, Paul Shafer, Rob Fuchs, Rod Litzau, Scott Douglass, Steve Wood.
The Hall of Fame Nomination & Induction Process
An official Nominating Committee will be utilized, consisting of 20 people from all aspects of the monster truck industry. This committee will consist of select current & former drivers, promoters, media and other people who have worked in, and/or studied the history of the industry.
Members of the Nominating Committee have an incredibly important task as they must research monster truck history, compare the accomplishments of all candidates, seek and consider input from others in the industry, and ultimately arrive at a list of chosen candidates and summarize the qualifications of each.
Select members of the committee will be retained for the following year, while others will be switched out for new members in order to keep a fresh perspective in the nominating process and to involve more people in the industry as part of the selection process.
Beginning in April-May each year, the Nominating Committee will begin narrowing the great number of candidates who have excelled in the monster truck industry over the years, down to an official voting ballot of 15 names.
Each committee member will submit a form listing 15 names they wish to nominate, along with a brief explanation of the qualifications of each. When all nominating forms have been received, the IMTM will tabulate the results and the 15 names submitted most across all committee member forms, will be the official IMTM Hall of Fame Nominees.
Following the completion of the nominating process, an official voting ballot will be created, listing all 15 nominees. Members of the Board of Directors (all together weighted as 50% of the total vote), and previous living Hall of Fame Inductees (all together weighted as 50% of the total vote) will each receive a voting ballot. They will vote for 3 of the 20 nominees and return their ballot. The 3 nominees receiving the most votes* will be inducted into the IMTM Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame Eligibility
With such a large group of worthy candidates from all reaches of the sport, the Board of Directors has created the following eligibility guidelines for the Nominating Committee to consider:
– Candidates will be primarily considered based on all contributions to, and accomplishments in, any aspect of the monster truck industry, and will not be inducted by a group (i.e. inducted as a driver, promoter, media, etc.). Because people in monster trucks often work in multiple roles over their career, consideration should be given to their entire body of work.
– Consideration should also be weighted to the timeline of their involvement in the history of the sport (preference given to those who began their monster truck career earlier)
– Nominees not receiving enough votes for induction into the Hall of Fame in a given year will not automatically be nominated for the following year. Each year the slate is wiped clean, and the process begins again.
– There is no limit to how many times a candidate may be nominated but fail to receive enough votes for induction. These candidates will always remain eligible for nomination in future years.
As the years pass and a greater number of the sport’s most influential figures have been inducted, the Board of Directors will consider putting in place additional eligibility requirements, should they become necessary, to limit the pool of candidates to only the best and brightest.
(*A maximum of one non-monster truck owner/driver will be inducted each year)
The Landmark Award
In 2023, the IMTM Board of Directors announced the creation of The Landmark Award to honor individuals who have made a significant contribution to the success and growth of monster trucks. In this context, “Landmark” is defined as “an event, discovery, or change marking an important stage or turning point” and “a significant or historic event, juncture or achievement”. There are many people who have been important to our industry who we will be able to recognize with this honor.
Each year the Board of Directors will seek input on this award and then choose 2 individuals to be honored at the annual IMTM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Landmark Award recipients will be honored in a special display at the International Monster Truck Museum in Butler, Indiana.