Even the Monster Jam driver in the truck with the word "Loco" in its name knows to slow down when snow and ice make the roads slippery — unlike too many other Minnesotans on the roads this week.
I caught up with Becky McDonough, the monster truck driver of El Toro Loco (the Crazy Bull), at Fox 9 Wednesday. McDonough was at the TV station to promote Saturday's Monster Jam at U.S. Bank Stadium, where people can see her flame-colored wheels. That paint job looks like the inspiration for the hair color you'll see in the video.
The Brainerd native won her first stadium freestyle event in 2016 at U.S. Bank Stadium and is back for more.
McDonough was apparently rolled over when she got to meet the only other person I have interviewed about monster truckin', the now-retired Madusa, the former "Queen of Carnage" who hails from Robbinsdale. When interviewed in 2012, Madusa told me about her less-than-welcoming work environment.
"I did not get any of these guys' respect at all until I won two championships," Madusa said. "Sounds like a song. Before that, it was chaos. I'd come to the arena in the morning and my tires would be flat. They thought that was funny. Little did they know, they made me stronger. They made me come back with a vengeance. Boys don't play nice. No, they don't. They don't like it when a woman beats them at a race or freestyle."
From what McDonough told me, the boys are maturing.
Q: Do you have to have hair that color to drive a monster truck?
A: [Laughter] No. It just happens to work out that it matches perfectly.
