Steve Sims
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DRIVER INFORMATION
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| Driver name: |
Steve Sims |
| Owner of: |
Stone Crusher |
| Residence: |
Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Birthplace: |
Chesapeake, Virginia |
| Date of birth: |
June 4, 1974 |
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DRIVER HISTORY
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One of the fastest-rising stars in Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam®, Steve Sims, entered the sport after meeting Dennis Anderson and buying his first truck in 2005. A successful businessman from Virginia Beach, VA, Sims began driving Stone Crusher® in 2006 and rocketed up through the ranks in blazing fashion. Sims continues to thrill fans as one of the top superstars in the sport.
A longtime fan of monster trucks, Sims got started in the sport with a simple trade: he wanted Grave Digger® on display at his son’s birthday party and Dennis Anderson wanted new counter tops. After they made that deal, Anderson later told Sims about a truck that was for sale. Besides his successful career at Custom Stone Company, Sims was now the proud owner of a monster truck. A year later, he added driving duties to his role. Sims also became owner of his Monster Trucks Unlimited team, which has been honored in the sport multiple times as Team of the Year.
As an owner, Sims has developed a reputation of putting everything necessary into his ever-expanding team to keep it in the top ranks: from hiring well-respected Crew Chief Tommy Powers to turn the wrenches to making sure that his fleet of equipment has the best of everything. That commitment to excellence has also been Sims’ mode of operation as a driver; he is now a veteran competitor at the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam World Finals. He was an instant hit as he rocked the house in his first-ever Vegas freestyle at the 2008 Las Vegas World Finals, which was the first time he brought Stone Crusher,. Following his 2008 debut, he finished in the top five during the World Finals freestyle competitions in both 2009 and 2010.
Q&A with Steve Sims
MonsterJam.com: How did you get started competing on the Monster Jam circuit?
Steve Sims: I traded some countertops with Dennis Anderson and that started opening a new window for me. For years, I had been going to the shows, sitting in the stands, and watching them. I wanted to race monster trucks, and I knew that I could. I’ve always had big trucks – big four-wheel drives. Then the opportunity came up. Dennis found out that the Backdraft monster truck was for sale. So we went and purchased it. The next thing you know, here we are and we’ve already been named Team of the Year twice. We never thought that we would actually be able to go this far, as quickly as we did. I didn’t expect that. I just wanted to go out and have fun, and we’re continuing to have fun. At the same time, the business we have was growing, too. We’ve been expanding so that we can have a West Coast team and an East Coast team. Our biggest goal is continue to have fun with all this.
MonsterJam.com: You started out as a team owner. What change got you to become a driver as well?
Steve Sims: At first, I did just own the truck. I would get out in the field and play a little, but the business I have (Custom Stone Company) was going strong and I had a lot to keep up with, so I really didn’t think I had time to drive. I got Gary Wiggins to come out of retirement and get in the seat to drive. He did an awesome job, but then he got injured. So we were sitting there with the truck scheduled and no driver, so I said, “Heck, I’ll get in there.” I loved it! I didn’t want to get out of my truck; so we found that Randy Brown had a chassis and the old Mopar Magic truck was for sale, the original one that Gary had built. So we bought that truck and Randy’s chassis and combined them. All of a sudden, we had a two-truck team. I’ve been hittin’ it ever since.
MonsterJam.com: What do you enjoy doing while on the road with Monster Jam?
Steve Sims: I like being on the road, seeing different towns and meeting different people. We meet a lot of awesome people out here, especially kids. They [the kids] come up and say, “We’ve seen you on Monster Jam,” and we just have a blast. I mean, we’re their heroes for that day. We love to make them smile.
MonsterJam.com: What do you do with your free time?
Steve Sims: In my free time I’m monster truckin’. Monday through Thursday, and sometimes into Friday morning, I’m running the stone business. Then, I either hop in the semi or hop on a plane and go out and do the monster truck shows. Then Monday morning, I’ve got to be back at work. I haven’t taken a lot of vacations. I’ve got a boat that’s been just sitting for the last three years. I’ve done very little fishing, lately. I used to hang out in the Cayman Islands and things like that, until I got into monster trucks. Now, I’m on the road so much that this is kind of my vacation. Day in, day out, I’m dealing with customers, so it’s awesome to get away, come out here, meet all of these great people, and have fun.
MonsterJam.com: What is your greatest memory as a monster truck driver?
Steve Sims: I guess it has to be going to the World Finals and truly doing a good job there [Las Vegas World Finals]. I didn’t really expect to do that well. Actually, I didn’t do well in racing but I did do well in freestyle. Getting out there with all of the top names, and being able to hang with them after such a short time being behind the wheel, really boosted my self-esteem.
MonsterJam.com: Do you have any pre-show rituals that you run though?
Steve Sims: I don’t have any superstitions and I really don’t do anything the same every time. But one thing I do is that I always put my gloves on top of the switch box. If they’re not up there I start raising heck with the crew, but other than that I’m really not superstitious or anything like that.
MonsterJam.com: If you were not competing on the Monster Jam tour, what career path would you follow?
Steve Sims: I’m happy where I’m at. I guess if I weren’t in monster trucks, I’d be on my boat more, maybe doing a little more fishing, a little more scuba diving, and riding four wheelers with the kids. My kids have come into this with me. We’re building my youngest son a mud truck. My older son has already been mud truckin’; he’s got a truck called Young Mud. He’s also been behind the wheel of my truck a few times and he’s done an awesome job. It’s family fun for us.
MonsterJam.com: What’s your favorite food?
Steve Sims: I love seafood. Crab, fish, oysters, shrimp, all of it.
MonsterJam.com: What’s your favorite movie?
Steve Sims: I don’t get time to go out to movies.
MonsterJam.com: What’s your favorite television show?
Steve Sims: Really, I’m so tired when I get home that I start flipping through the television channels and within 15 minutes I’m asleep! But I did an episode of One Tree Hill, so I guess I better start watching that show to see if I can catch my truck on there. I ran through a wedding cake on that show!
MonsterJam.com: What’s your favorite color?
Steve Sims: Blue
TRUCK INFO
• Truck Name: Stone Crusher
• Body: Super Duty
• Chassis: Patrick
• Engine size: 540
• Transmission: Coan
• Shocks: Patrick
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