Dig in With Graver: Shreddin’ Track and Sheddin’ Tears with Grave Digger at Acrisure Stadium

Attending Monster Jam is my family tradition.

4 hours ago

Kristy Graver,

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

To me, Grave Digger isn’t just a monster truck; it’s a family member.

When children are born into the Graver brood, they’re given a small, plush version of the 12-by-12-foot, 12,000-pound behemoth. Watch an infant snuggle a Chevy Panel Wagon with a spooky paint job and your heart will overheat.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Monster Jam brought 12 vehicles (including the star-spangled Zombie) when it rolled into Pittsburgh for a Father’s Day weekend throwdown. I was invited to attend Friday’s practice session at Acrisure Stadium, which was a huge thrill for me — like, bigger than those tires!

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

The gridiron was covered with roughly 7,000 cubic yards of dirt. I’m pretty sure I inhaled half of it as I cheered on Grave Digger from my seat at the 50-yard line. It’s not like driver Tyler Menninga could hear me above the bone-rattling roar of the engines, but it’s impossible to silence my inner child. She was having the time of her life!

I still fantasize about monster trucks — which can do backflips, vertical two-wheel skills and speeds up to 100 miles per hour — when I’m sitting in rush hour traffic on the Parkway East.

Like me, Menninga grew up idolizing Grave Digger. Unlike me, the Iowa native’s been behind the wheel of the iconic ride since 2017. He’s won two World Finals and hopes to make it three when the championship takes place in Salt Lake City July 2-4.

In 1982, North Carolina resident Dennis Anderson Frankensteined the original machine out of a 1951 Chevy and some junkyard parts. These days, there’s a fleet of Grave Diggers with fiberglass bodies on the Monster Jam circuit, along with Son-uva Digger, steered by one of Anderson’s offspring, Ryan Anderson.

Nearly a decade ago, I interviewed daughter Krysten Anderson, who helmed the high-octane family heirloom for a spell and won her first overall championship in the Steel City. Women are a minority in the sport, but in 2024, the awesomely named Kayla Blood became the first driver of the new Sparkle Smash monster truck, a pastel-colored, unicorn-shaped beast that’s drawing a new generation of girls, including my daughter.

FORMER STEELER MIKE LOGAN AND GRAVE DIGGER DRIVER TYLER MENNINGA TRADE JERSEYS DURING A PRACTICE SESSION ON JUNE 19 / PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Over the years, Grave Digger has had a huge impact on fans, not to mention thousands of “crush cars.”

At Friday’s event, I was an emotional wreck.

After practice, former Steelers defensive back Mike Logan and Menninga performed a ceremonial jersey swap while Logan’s young sons zoomed around the track in a pair of Grave Digger Power Wheels. (Inner Child Kristy was neon-green with envy!)