After 7 Years of competition Grave Digger #35 has finally been laid to rest. The truck has been one of the most influential trucks in the Grave Digger fleet, with it marking the end of an era in the history of the black and green wrecking machine.
Grave Digger 35, seen at SEMA 2017.
Originally being unveiled at the 2017 SEMA show, it would make its anticipated competition debut inside US Bank Stadium on Stadium Championship Series 1 in 2018. The truck served as the spiritual successor to Grave Digger 32, and its the last chassis fabricated in the Diggers Dungeon. This alone makes it an influential piece but its storied history solidifies its place amongst the greatest Grave Diggers. During the season, Anderson would finish second to arch rival Neil Elliott in Max-D, and would go on to compete at the World Finals later that year. Despite qualifying amongst the bottom of the pack Anderson would trudge through the bracket to defeat Tyler Menninga for a second time. Ironically not only had Tyler Menninga lost in the Championship Race for a second time in a row, but had lost inside Adam’s previous chassis, Grave Digger 32.
Grave Digger 35 would return a year later in 2019 as Adam Anderson would campaign the truck on Stadium Championship Series 2 and renew his rivalry with the Max-D team and Neil Elliott. However it would be Anderson who would take home the points series win this time, with its final stop of the points season seeing Adam’s younger brother Ryan Anderson filling in for him and helping secure his brothers series championship. At World Finals, the team left with no championships to their name. Adam would campaign #35 for another season in 2020, however due to the pandemic the season was cut short.
Monster Jam would stop hosting shows until later in the year. Before that, Monster Jam hosted a special event on the Discovery channel called “Breaking World Records”, which saw Adam Anderson drive Grave Digger 35 and successfully achieve the Longest Monster Truck Wheelie World Record. When Monster Jam would make its return in October of 2020, Krysten Anderson became the sole Grave Digger driver for the time being, as Adam Anderson would be moved to Megalodon. This put Grave Digger 35 on hiatus, and would not return until June 12th of 2021 in Indianapolis, where Adam Anderson returned to driving Grave Digger.
2022 marked the full season return of Grave Digger 35, and would compete on Stadium Championship Series Red alongside Tom Meents and Todd LeDuc. The three would have an epic rivalry throughout the season, however Anderson would ultimately finish second to Tom Meents’ final points series championship win. At World Finals 21, he would use his truck in the 40th Anniversary Grave Digger encore, which would see him jump over 5 other Grave Digger trucks. On October 29th, 2022, Brandon Vinson would end up driving Grave Digger 35 for Adam Anderson.
In 2023, team Grave Digger 35 and Adam Anderson remained on Stadium Championship Series Red, and the two took home their second Championship Series win. The two would compete at the World Finals and the inaugural Superstar Challenge, which saw the debut of the Grave Digger Neon scheme. During the Best Trick competition, Anderson would successfully attempt a reverse backflip, with him finishing second to Tyler Menninga’s moonwalk to backflip. In September of 2023, Weston Anderson would drive Grave Digger 35 for Adam Anderson, where he would win freestyle with a spectacular crash.
Heading into 2024 it was revealed that Grave Digger 35 would soon be retired. This was mentioned on the 50th Episode of Inside Monster Jam, where Adam Anderson revealed that the chassis would be retired soon after the World Finals. The truck had been put through ALOT over its 7 years of competition, and by this time all other Grave Digger’s had been converted into a regular CRD chassis. Grave Digger 35’s final season would take place on Stadium Championship Series West, competing alongside his brother Ryan Anderson for the first time in a full season. Despite finishing second in the series, Anderson pushed #35 to new heights as he constantly put it through its paces. After Detroit, Adam Anderson would take time off due to injury, leaving Charlie Pauken to fill in at Arlington, El Paso and Birmingham, marking his first time driving Grave Digger 35. Interestingly, Ryan Anderson would once again campaign #35 this time in Albuquerque, New Mexico as part of a not-for-points arena show. Tyler Menninga would also get to drive #35 in Seattle, Washington, marking his first and only time he has driven the truck. For the final two stops of the tour Adam Anderson had returned, and would finish out the season strong. Anderson would make another stop at the World Finals, and campaign Grave Digger 35 for its final stadium events beginning in East Rutherford and ending in Nashville. During these events, Anderson would take home a Racing win in East Rutherford and a Skills Challenge win in Kansas City, and most notably tied for the freestyle win with his brother which saw him lose in the tiebreaker.
The trucks final shows would be seen in Lexington, Kentucky, as Krysten Anderson would drive the truck for the first time. On Sunday, she announced that the truck would be retired. The fate of this truck remains to be seen. The new chassis will be tested at Monster Jam University this summer, and will presumably debut in the October stadium shows, or next year on the Stadium Championship Series. Whatever the case is, we look forward to seeing the new Grave Digger debuting soon.
