Bigfoot monster truck comes to Riverhead Raceway

There will be two Bigfoot sightings at Riverhead Raceway this weekend.

Appearances by a monster truck known as Bigfoot, that is.

Bigfoot, described by KRS Motorsports as the most popular and famous monster truck in the world, will be joined by Stinger, Instigator, Viper and Metal Monster at the track.

Saturday the monster trucks will run a figure-eight race.

Bigfoot, Thrasher and Viper will take part in a freestyle competition tomorrow afternoon. In the event, the trucks use junk cars as a ramp to perform slap wheelies, which is when a truck jumps an obstacle and the front wheels bounce off the ground when it lands.

They'll also perform doughnuts, which entails rotating the rear or front of the vehicle around the opposite set of wheels in a continuous motion, ideally creating a circular skid-mark pattern of rubber on a roadway. And, of course, they're scheduled to flatten and crush the junk cars as well.

There are several vehicles that use the moniker Bigfoot, which was first introduced in 1979. Bigfoot 4×4, Inc., is owned and operated by its creator, Bob Chandler. Chandler once said that Bigfoot got its name when Chandler asked a friend why he was breaking so many parts on his truck and the friend responded, "It's because of your big foot."

And though the trucks use the same moniker, they are numbered differently to distinguish one Bigfoot from another as they compete in different shows, sometimes on the same date.

For example, Bigfoot 11, which is currently driven by Kevin Koszala, will be competing at Riverhead. In 1995, Bigfoot 11, driven by Eric Tack at the time, established a world- record monster truck distance jump of 117 feet, according to KRS Motorsports.

Over the weekend, KRS provides a "Monster Ride Truck," for a nominal fee for fans of any age. The ride goes through the terrain of Riverhead Raceway.