By Nikebia Brown-Joseph Staff Writer
On Feb. 28, students from Detroit International Academy for Young Women visited Ford Field and got the chance to check out the Monster Truck Jam before it opened to the public.
Entering the arena/stadium, the chill from outside was very apparent. A fine layer of dust covered many of the seats due to the dirt that had been shipped in the week before. Students settled into their seats to begin a question-and-answer session with truck drivers Dustin Brown and Bari Musawwir.
Brown, who drives Monster Mutt, has been working with monster trucks for about 10 years. He began as a crew member and worked his way up through the ranks.
Musawwir, who drives Zombie, became a monster truck fan at a young age. He was first noticed driving hobbyist radio control cars.
Rigorous training is necessary to become a driver, as well as a background in motorsports. It took Musawwir four years and two test sessions to become certified. When it comes to tricks, both Musawwir and Brown agree that the backflip is hardest to perfect.
So what about the magnificent machines? They are almost completely custom built and many hours of hard work goes into their creation.
“State of the art machines and computer designed,” Brown said.
To enter the truck, the seats are tailor made to fit each driver’s body exactly and include a five-point safety harness. One of the biggest improvements in the past few years has been to the shocks. They are designed to take falls from 40 or 50 feet in the air. A full tank requires 20 gallons of methanol alcohol and the trucks’ speed only reach up to about 75 m.p.h. Not including the driver, each truck usually has two crew members.
