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Kirk Dabney and Maximum Overkill set the Land Speed Record Video
Kirk Dabney and Maximum Overkill set the land speed record for a Monster Truck at 84.92 MPH!
November 20, 2009 Kirk Dabney and Maximum Overkill set the land speed record for a Monster Truck at 84.92 MPH at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, LA.Congratulations to Kirk Dabney and crew! More details, photos, and video to follow shortly!Overkill Spy Shots from Kirk Dabney's Off Road Centers
News from Kirk Dabney’s Off Road CentersHere are some of the latest sneak peek shots of the new Maximum Overkill. Kirk Dabney 25 year veteran of monster trucks (shown below) had Overkill on a short winter tour to test the initial setup in late 07’ early 08’.
Not satisfied with the initial suspension geometry, Kirk decided to park Overkill for several months to rework the design. As you can see from the photos all of the spots on the chassis with the grey primer color are parts which were changed.
Kirk decided to relocate all of the shock mounts for better shock dampening and performance. Kirk and his crew also cut approximately two feet of cradle out from in under the truck to give Overkill the lowest center of gravity ever seen in a monster truck. For cosmetic changes, Kirk carried over some flair form his Monster Patrol by adding a fully adjustable drag race wing on the back. Yea, it’s fast! Check out the video:
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Air Force AfterburnerChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
TBD |
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Amsoil T-MaxxChassis:
Patrick Enterprise Driver Name:
Sean R. Duhon |
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AwesomeChassis:
Driver Name:
TBD |
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Bad News Travels FastChassis:
Patrick Driver Name:
Bruce Haney |
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BallisticChassis:
Dan Patrick Driver Name:
Mac Plecker |
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Bear Foot Ride TruckChassis:
Custom Box Tube Frame Driver Name:
Darren K. Crossman |
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Big CrunchChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
Tom Schmidt |
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Blue ThunderChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
Tony Farrell |
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ClydesdaleChassis:
Bennett Clark Design Driver Name:
Bennett Clark |
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CowboyChassis:
Scott Hartsock Custom Chassis Driver Name:
TBD |
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D.C. OutlawChassis:
Custom Boxed Frame/Leaf Springs Driver Name:
Matthew Cooley |
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El Toro LocoChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
Lupe Soza |
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EqualizerChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
Mike Hawkins |
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Grave DiggerChassis:
Driver Name:
Dennis Anderson |
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GunslingerChassis:
Scott Hartsock Custom Chassis Driver Name:
Scott Hartsock |
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Hot TamaleChassis:
Custom Tubular Chassis Driver Name:
Isaiah Morales |
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Hot WheelsChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
Chuck Werner |
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Monster BucksChassis:
Driver Name:
Joe Stathas |
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Monster MuttChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
Mike Wine |
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Monster PatrolChassis:
Patrick Chassis #6 Driver Name:
Kirk Dabney |
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Nail ItChassis:
Driver Name:
Nick DiGuilo |
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NitemareChassis:
Driver Name:
Andy Hoffman |
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OutlawChassis:
Driver Name:
TBD |
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OverkillChassis:
Marty Garza Custom Designed Chassis Driver Name:
Kirk Dabney |
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Project XChassis:
Custom Tubular Chassis Driver Name:
Calvin Poore |
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Razin KaneChassis:
CL Fabrication Driver Name:
Chris Lagana |
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Rock SolidChassis:
Driver Name:
Melissa Stathas |
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SavageChassis:
Driver Name:
Mac Plecker |
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Sudden ImpactChassis:
Donnie Smith Driver Name:
Kevin King |
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SupermanChassis:
Patrick Chassis Driver Name:
Chad Fortune |
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T-MaxxChassis:
Patrick Enterprises Custom Chassis Driver Name:
Carl Van Horne |
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TorqzillaChassis:
Custom Tubular Chassis Driver Name:
Betsy Armstrong |
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War WagonChassis:
Driver Name:
Andy Hoffman |
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Wild ThangChassis:
Custom Tubular Chassis Driver Name:
David Brown |
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Spy Shot of the New Overkill Monster Truck!
July 14, 2007 - This spy shot was taken at Kirk Dabney's Off Road Centers in Russellville Al. Keep checking back as we receive more information on the "NEW" Overkill Monster truck.
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The "Monsters of Motorsports" Monster Truck Event in the Works
January 17, 2007 - In December 2006, Creative Sports and Entertainment,
Inc. approached Fred Reep, President of R/C Monster Motorsports, Inc. to design
and develop
a “real” monster truck racing event. Creative Sports and Entertainment, Inc. was
impressed by the partnerships, events and races that R/C Monster Motorsports
accomplished and fostered. Accepting the challenge, Fred Reep designed and
developed the concept of “Monsters
of Motorsports” with long time friend Kirk Dabney, driver of Monster Patrol.
The "Monsters of Motorsports" will be a one of a kind monster truck racing event. Please check back for the official "Monsters of Motorsports" press release due to be released with more event details. See you there! If you have any questions please contact Fred Reep, President, R/C Monster Motorsports, Inc. and Program Director, The "Monsters of Motorsports"
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Monster Patrol, Wild Thang and R/C Monster Motorsports Rocked the Man’s Expo
December
4, 2006 - Long time friends Kirk Dabney and Fred Reep teamed up together
once again to put on a spectacular event. This time the location was The Man’s
Expo in Melbourne, Florida. Monster Patrol, Wild Thang, and R/C Monster
Motorsports rocked The Man’s Expo. Kirk Dabney had Monster Patrol and Wild Thang
on display while R/C Monster Motorsports put on an R/C Monster truck racing
competition.
Forty-eight R/C Monster Trucks from across Florida participated in the race
competition. All pre-registered drivers received a limited edition plaque
recognizing the event, designed by Bari Musawwir and autographed by Kirk Dabney.
Concourse was the first event slated for the day. The Hooter’s Girls of
Melbourne were on hand to Judge the Concourse competition. Mike Herndon’s
Incredible Hulk would be the Hooter’s Girls favorite to win first place in
Concourse.
Side
by Side R/C Monster Truck Racing would be fierce at The Man’s Expo with a
modified Chicago Style track layout. Bari Musawwir’s Monster Mutt would have the
weekend off due to a blown engine. However, Zeek Heard let Bari pilot his
Superman to top qualifier and first place win’s in Big Block and the Tuff Truck
competition. Tommy Feichtel was top qualifier and winner in Small Block class
driving his Digger’s Dungeon Traxxas T-Maxx.
In Carpet Drags, Bari once again showed what the Man of Steel could do by
putting Superman in the winner’s circle in Big Block class. James Wilmont pushed
Nitro Cruiser to the limits to win the Small Block competition. James also set
track record with a time of 1.295 seconds. In Truck Pulls, Steve Tash took first
place with his Byron’s Revolocity in a pull off against Carney Sparks. Shawn
Callahan took first place with Cocoa Style in Big Block truck pulling with a
distance of 25’4” @100 lbs.
Be sure to check back frequently to find out when R/C Monster Motorsports will
be teaming up with The Man’s Expo again.
Click here to view a photo gallery of
the race. Click here for a complete list of
drivers for the event. Click here for a
complete list of race event results. Only the top five places are shown in the
results.
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Catching up: Kirk Dabney Achieves 23 Years in the Monster Truck Business
Many of you are familiar with Kirk Dabney as the
driver of the Overkill and Monster Patrol Monster Trucks for Paul Shafer
Motorsports. However, you may not be aware that this man is a seasoned veteran
that is celebrating his 23rd year as a Monster Truck competitor. Kirk along with
his brother Kevin is responsible for many monster truck firsts.
Kirk began his Monster Truck career in 1984. His first monster was built to help promote his Carolina Custom Off-Road shop located in Fayetteville, NC. Kirk’s first Monster was actually not a truck, but rather a car. Kirk and Kevin built Blue Thunder, a 1968 Camaro that started on 5-ton axels and five and a half foot tall Goodyear turf tires. The Camaro body was mounted to a Dodge truck frame and powered by a Dodge 440 engine with a 727 Torque Flight Transmission. The engine featured a tunnel ram intake with dual carburetors and nitrous injection system. Soon after Blue Thunder’s public debut, the Dabney’s switched the tires over to 66”x43” Goodyear Terra tires. Blue Thunder was the first Monster Car ever built. Using a Camaro body wasn’t the only innovation that Blue Thunder Featured.
The Blue Thunder Monster Camaro was themed after the popular Blue Thunder movie that featured a high tech helicopter. As such, Kirk’s Blue Thunder had many high tech features as well.
The main controller for the vehicle was actually a tiller
stick from a helicopter. The stick controlled the front and rear steering, tilt
front end, and activation for the Nitrous system all with one hand.
Blue Thunder also featured an innovative suspension as well. Instead of leaf
springs, Blue Thunder utilized air bags with four link suspension. Although air
bags had been in use prior, Blue Thunder was the first monster to utilize a four
link suspension. In conjunction with airbags, the Dabney’s utilized a hydraulic
shock at each wheel of the truck in order to control ride height. In fact the
amazing “green knob” regulators, that other teams have taken credit for
innovating, were used by the Dabney’s to control hydraulic flow to these
cylinders back in 1984. Blue Thunder’s radical appearance and performance made
it an instant hit on the USHRA series.
In 1986, The Dabney’s built a new monster, Mega Force. The Dabney’s continued to
divert from popular trends as Mega Force used a 1985 Nissan extended cab pick up
body. Mega Force had its own share of stunning features, most notably its size.
The truck stood 14’ tall due to 80” tall Firestone tires. The body also featured
a tilt bed. Another interesting feature was that Mega Force used two small block
Chevy engines, one under the hood and one in the bed. The engine under the hood
was basically a stock 350 and used to maneuver the truck around the pit area.
The engine in the bed was a supercharged, alcohol-injected 377, with 1100 horse
power which was used for performances. Mega Force was the first monster truck to
utilize Clark Planetaries. Mega Force’s axels were Clark 20 ton axels from a
military fork lift. Because Clark axels were a traditional pinion arrangement
instead of a high pinion, like Rockwell 5-ton, the Dabney’s built a right angle
drive system that used the axel turned 90 degrees with the pinion facing up. A
right angle gearbox was mounted on top of each axel and transferred the transfer
case outputs into the differentials. Ultimately, the Dabney’s started using
Clark planetary ends in conjunction with 5-ton Rockwell’s and were the first to
do so. In fact their decision to try the combination came about by accident.
Some teams had already begun to match 5-ton Rockwell’s to Rockwell planetary
ends, but those setups required custom axel shafts to be made. Therefore, many
teams could not afford to adapt to planetaries by going that route. Hence one
day the two brothers’ were working in the shop. Kevin was working on Mega Force
and Kirk was working on Blue Thunder. They both had their axle assemblies apart
and parts were all over the shop floor. When they each went to put their axels
back together, they found that they couldn’t tell the difference between the
Clark and Rockwell inner shafts. Thus they tried mating a 5-ton center section
to Clark planetaries. The first truck they did this for was for the customer who
owned the Gentle Ben Monster Truck. The Dabney’s built several other axel sets
for many other Monster Trucks as well. Thus the ever-popular Clark / Rockwell
hybrid axel was born.
1986 brought about some changes to Blue Thunder as well. SRO the promoter behind the USHRA convinced Kirk to spruce up Blue Thunder’s image. Blue Thunder then became Thunder Beast. The Camaro body was repainted a brilliant red base coat. Fred Brumann, originator of the “Grave Yard” paint scheme on Dennis Anderson’s Grave Digger, was hired to add custom mural work and lettering. Thunder Beast was also given a set of Clark planetaries added to its 5-ton axles and was modified to run on 73” Firestones to make it even more visually impressive. The engine and transmission were also updated to a Donovan and Turbo 400 so that the drive train was a closer match to the make of the body. Kirk had teething problems with the new combination and Thunder Beast did not generate the fan following that was predicted due to the fact that the machine’s identity seemed to have been lost during the transformation from Blue Thunder to Thunder Beast. Kirk soon abandoned the concept and used the axels and tires to build a new truck, the Duraliner Giant.
Built in 1987, Duraliner Giant was perhaps the most traditional truck the
Dabney’s had built to date. Duraliner Giant was indeed a giant as the 1986 Ford
pickup body stood over 13 feet tall. Kirk had negotiated a sponsorship with
Duraliner and promoted the truck as the Duraliner Giant for three years.
Duraliner Giant received updates along the way as the body was changed to the
87’-88’ body style.
By the end of the eighties, Monster Truck competition turned into all out
racing. By 1990, Kirk had decided that he needed to change to fit the needs of
the industry. Kirk sold the Duraliner Giant to an individual in Kentucky who now
runs the truck as a ride truck called Kentucky Thunder. Kirk then purchased
Scott Hess’s Bearfoot racer leaf spring truck. Kirk rebuilt Bearfoot into the
Giant. Kirk kept the drive train and built an all new chassis to the exact
dimensions of Hess’s Bearfoot frame. Kirk ran a Ford body to keep the following
he had generated with his Duraliner Giant fans.
In 1991 Kirk decided to expand his operation by purchasing Steve Hess’s second
Nitmare Monster Truck. Nitemare was also a leaf spring truck that Kirk
eventually renamed Thunder Struck. Kirk competed with Giant and Thunder Struck
in the Thunder Nationals circuit in the early nineties.
In 1993, Kirk decided to enter the highly competitive Penda Series which took
place at Special Events shows in spring, summer, and fall. Kirk purchased the
Nitemare race truck from Steve Hess and promoted the truck as Nitemare and as
USA-1 for a short time during the 93’ season.
In 1994, Kirk purchased yet another truck, Marty Garza’s Extreme Overkill. This was perhaps the most sophisticated truck ever to be built with its low center of gravity chassis and swing arm suspension. Kirk promoted Extreme Overkill for the next three years, winning many events along the way. In 1997, Extreme Overkill was updated to the new F-150 body style and given a new paint scheme.
At one point, Kirk had three different teams with himself driving Extreme Overkill, Bobby Zee driving Nitemare, and Roger Grate driving Thunder Struck. Eventually Kirk sold Nitemare and Thunder Struck. Kirk then purchased a Patrick chassis truck and ran it as a second Overkill. For a short time in 1997 Kirk promoted his Garza chassis Extreme Overkill and his Patrick chassis Overkill until the Garza chassis was sold to Paul Stender.
In 1998, Kirk teamed up with Paul Shafer Motorsports to run his truck as Monster Patrol. Kirk has worked with Paul ever since and is extremely happy with the support that Paul Shafer Motorsports gives him. That support shows in the all new state of the art ORI Monster Truck that Kirk recently built. This truck backed by Paul Shaffer Motorsports utilizes some of the best components currently available in the industry as well as many innovative chassis and suspension geometry concepts.
The ORI Monster Truck can be found on display at Kirk’s new off-road shop in
Alabama, Off-Road Centers franchises. This leads us to the latest development in
Kirk’s career. It would seem as though Kirk’s career has come full circle
starting in off-road customizing to becoming a full time racer and now getting
back into off road customizing once again.
Kirk has recently started Extreme Chassis Works in Russellville, Alabama, which
builds custom Street Monsters for customers. Kirk has built many customized
4x4’s and even some pro-street trucks over the years. After having to
practically re-engineer an OEM frame and suspension in order to achieve the
desired lift that Kirk’s customers want, Kirk decided to begin building an all
tube chassis with four link suspension which use the customer’s OEM body. These
chassis’s and suspensions are replicas of full size monsters in which the Street
Monsters emulate. Extreme Chassis Works also makes competition Monster and ride
truck chassis. Extreme Chassis Works has the ability to build a turn key
competition truck if you desire.
Kirk continues to run Monster Patrol on a full time basis. Kirk has stated that
Overkill fans shouldn’t worry because Kirk has plans in the works to bring back
the Overkill name back into competition once again.
Kirk has watched the Monster Truck Industry evolve from it’s beginnings to what
it is today, all from within the business. It is always nice to see such a
talented competitor stay in the Monster Truck industry and the Monster Truck
industry is in deed better for having Kirk Dabney involved in it. We look
forward to what Kirk and his team comes up with next!
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