Watch as monster truck wheel goes airborne, bounces away mid-stunt

USA Today

25-07-2025

Things got a little chaotic and dangerous when a rogue wheel momentarily became the star of a monster truck show.
The monster truck "The Veteran," much to the dismay of the crowd, lost a wheel after landing a jump in the last section of a Malicious Monster Truck Tour show, which is a three-day event at Thunderbird Stadium in Bremerton, Washington, on July 20.
The Veteran's wheel broke off, bouncing its way across the venue, over a wall, and into the neighboring parking lot, where event attendees parked their vehicles.
Footage captured by an attendee shows both the moment leading up to the tire mishap and the moment right after, when the front left wheel of The Veteran, painted red, white and blue, went airborne and bounced its way over the stadium's east wall and into the neighboring parking lot.
According to reporting by the Kitsap Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network, the wheel came to a full stop after hitting two vehicles — one of which was completely crushed — and a tree.
"There were no injuries," Bill Payne, co-owner and operator of event host Straight Up Racing, told the Kitsap Sun. "But the Kia is probably not going to live."
Straight Up Racing, a Port Orchard-based monster truck team, has held the event at the stadium, located inside the Kitsap County Fairgrounds, for five years.
'If we can afford it, then we're going to just do it out of pocket," Payne said. "If it's something that is unreasonable, then we'll turn it into our insurance and hope for the best that we can continue having these events."
Watch the moment monster truck 'The Veteran' loses its wheel
Michael Groth, who decided to leave the show a little early, was making his way across the parking lot with his son when he heard a loud noise.
"We heard a loud pop, and we turned around, and this huge tire was bouncing over the wall, then over a fence and smashed a car," Groth told the Sun. "We were there five or so seconds before."
As soon as the coast was clear, Groth went to check if anyone had been inside the vehicle.
"It was pretty scary, we got going pretty quick after," Groth told the Sun.
Monster truck team releases statement after tire mishap
Our statement about the tire incident in Bremerton.
The Port Orchard-based monster truck team formally addressed the tire incident on social media, writing that they wanted to get in front of the situation so fans could hear about what happened from them, not "any uninformed or sensationalized source on TV or online."
"Motorsports are unpredictable," Straight Up Racing said in a statement. "The truck involved was running industry-standard wheel restraints. Fact is, there is no piece of metal in existence that will always stand up to the forces involved in monster truck competition."
The group said they "quickly" made contact with both the Kitsap County Fair Board and a fencing company to "collaborate on a plan of action to help reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future."
"Accidents happen, even unprecedented incidents such as this & we will always do everything we can to help further the safety of this great sport we all love," the statement reads. "Our backflip ramp Camera captured the most dramatic angle of the incident. We wanted to prove we are hiding from nothing & want to be as transparent & open about it as possible."
Contributing: Jessica Baugh/ Kitsap Sun