Slingshot Monster truck to make a dent at Newark Truck Fest
A mother and son are hoping to one day operate their sporting hobby full-time.
Denise and Alan Vaughan operate several monster trucks out of South Muskham.
They will be featuring their trucks including the car-crushing Slingshot at Truck Fest which will happen at the Newark showground on September 30 and October 1.
"I have been involved in this for over 20 years," said Denise.
"My brother Karl first started it when he went to America, came back, and asked, can we build one?
"That is what we started doing, we went out and built one.
"When he sadly passed away in 2012 it was his wish that my son would continue with his truck and that was what Alan has done.
"Alan was the youngest in Europe when he first started."
"I was 18 when I started driving trucks.
"Before that I was always pit crew, going back to when I was just 10 or 11 years old.
"I've now been in the driving seat for 11 years."
Alan said that he enjoyed driving the monster trucks because of the adrenaline rush and the looks on the children's faces when they see the stunts being performed.
"I've been to Bahrain, to Poland, we have been all over Europe and all over the world doing it.
"My favourite trick is called a Slap Wheeley, I jump the cars, hit the grass on the other side, catch the truck on the bounce and stand it on the back wheels.
"I am a fitter, mechanic, and HGV driver.
"The goal is to pack that up completely one day and this will hopefully become my full-time job."
"Things are going good with bookings, next year we have three months booked solid every weekend," said Denise.
"The season will start in February and will go right through until November.
"We are still taking bookings and we are waiting on a response from a job in Paris, France."
When the team goes overseas the truck is transported by ship in a sea container.
Getting the truck out to Bahrain and back took a month each way.
Alan said that the crowds in Bahrain were not used to seeing an event like the monster truck and the crowd was thrilled by the spectacle.
He added that it was probably the busiest show they had ever done.
"As a female, they were curious to see me working with the truck and they came out to watch what I was doing," said Debbie.
The pair also operate eight and ten-seater monster trucks that the public can ride in to experience the thrill of riding high up.
Anyone can go and be a passenger as there is no age or height limit to ride.
Slingshot is a 2004 Chevy Silverado that has a 9 1/2 528 big block EST 1800 horsepower engine.
It is 12 feet tall, 18.6 feet in length, and weighs five tonnes.
You can find out more about the truck at www.slingshotmt.co.uk
"I am looking forward to the event coming up in Newark," said Alan.
"It is my local show, it is only down the road and when we get a good turnout from people who know us.
"There are normally around 1500-2000 lorries at the event.”
"I would like to say a big thank you to Bob Limming and all the crew from Truckfest,” said Denise.
"The crew from live promotions have looked after us all season and we look forward to seeing them for a big barbecue."
