It was growing up on a farm that led popular Californian Dan Rodoni to eventually work on monster trucks and get behind the wheel driving them. Rodoni was raised in Santa Cruz, California, on a family-owned brussels sprouts farm. This is where he had his first job wrenching and fabricating, working on farm equipment, trucks, and tractors. Rodoni always had a passion for large trucks and was known in his hometown for driving some of the biggest, lifted trucks most people had ever seen. His passion for lifted trucks and his natural mechanical ability led Rodoni to pursue a four-wheel-drive business. He left the family farming business in 1995 and started a four-wheel-drive shop called Central Coast Four Wheel Drive. Rodoni owned and operated it quite successfully for more than 10 years. During the same time, he thrilled monster truck fans while he was behind the wheel of his truck, The Patriot. Throughout the western United States and throughout the sport, Rodoni is well-known for The Patriot as his great successes at Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam^® events have been televised on Speed. 

Q&A with Dan Rodoni  

MonsterJam.com: How did you get started competing on the Monster Jam circuit?  

Dan Rodoni:   I got my start in monster trucks in 2001 by helping the Team Meents crew in the evenings and on weekends when the team was on the West Coast. I traveled with the team when I could, in 2001-2003, and decided to build my own truck in 2003. In 2003, after a trip to the Texas-based Race Source shop and the home of Pablo Huffaker, plans were under way to build The Patriot. The chassis was finished in fall 2003 and we spent the next six months getting the truck ready for the first show. I made my debut in Yakima, Washington, driving the Patriot in June 2004. 

MonsterJam.com: What do you enjoy most about competing in Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam?  

Dan Rodoni:  As a team, we have made several modifications and upgrades to the trucks over the years and continually strive to be as competitive as we can be. I love this sport and am grateful to be a part of such a great group of people. I can’t begin to describe the feeling I get from 50,000 fans going crazy after one of my freestyles. It is impossible to put into words. My success is only as good as my help, and I have a great team!  

MonsterJam.com: What do you do with your free time?  

Dan Rodoni:  I’m an a vid hunter and I enjoy archery, and, of course, 4x4s. 

MonsterJam.com: What is your greatest memory as a monster truck driver?  

Dan Rodoni: In 2005 at the Monster Jam awards banquet, I was awarded “Rookie of the Year” and nominated for donut of the year. I then decided to expand the team to two trucks. My favorite stop on the Monster Jam tour has to be Anaheim’s Angels Stadium. It was there in 2005 that I captured my first stadium racing win during my rookie year, in front of my family and 45,000 fans. Then in 2009, it was again in Angels Stadium, where I was one point short of a televised stadium freestyle victory; so that is another favorite worth mentioning. 

MonsterJam.com: What’s your favorite food?  

Dan Rodoni: Italian 

MonsterJam.com: What’s your favorite movie?  

Dan Rodoni: Tequila Sunrise  

MonsterJam.com: What’s your favorite color?  

Dan Rodoni:  Blue and green 

TRUCK INFO  

Truck Name: The Patriot 

Body: 2010 Chevy Silverado 

Chassis: RaceSource 

Engine size:  540 CI Dart Motor 

Transmission:  Coan 2-speed Monsterglide 

Shocks: RaceSource Triple Bypass 

Sponsors:  Central Coast Four Wheel Drive, South Bay Driveline, Dart Machine, Bayside Oil, M2D Camo, Permacool, MSD