War of the Monster Tanks

(Reupload - originally posted Sept. 19, 2018). In 1986, inspired by a cartoon in a 4-wheel drive magazine, William Townes built the "Virginia Beach Beast", a combination of a Chevy Blazer and an M-4 tracked base. Dubbed a "monster tank" by the fans & event announcers, this vehicle made quite an impression on the monster truck & tractor pull circuit. In the following years, more monster tanks would appear across North America, as a new division of monster vehicle competition emerged. In a few short years, however, the monster tanks would become almost extinct, as these much heavier, and comparatively slower vehicles would be unable to contend with the quickly-evolving monster trucks. This video features some of the best from this brief era in the sport, including such greats as the Bigfoot "Fastrax", William Townes' "Virginia Beach Beast", Allen Gaines' "Orange Blossom Special Express", Ernie Brookins' "Trak Attack", Butch Lowe's "Car Killer", George Cole's "Gator", Michelle Ely's "Daddy's Girl", Mike Vaters' "Battle Kat", and many more.