For students, field trips provide an opportunity to visit far-off places that they’ve never visited before. However, during the fourth grade, Krysten Anderson went on a field trip to a place that was all too familiar.

“My dad brought my fourth-grade class to the Grave Digger shop there in North Carolina. My friends actually went on a field trip to my house. I didn’t really realize how different my life was from the other kids until those kids went on a field trip to come to my house, see my dad’s truck and talk to my dad and get autographs… that was a pretty crazy turning point for me as a kid realizing that ‘wow, my dad is not like other dads.’”

Fast forward several years and Krysten and her brothers Adam, Ryan and Weston Anderson have all followed in the footsteps of their father, Dennis Anderson, who introduced the world to Grave Digger back in 1982.

This May in Orlando at Monster Jam World Finals XXI, the Anderson family will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Grave Digger. Krysten and her brothers are all in the title hunt in their respective series, hoping to earn their way into the event.

While Krysten currently leads the Arena Championship Series Central standings, she admits that at first, when she learned that she would be competing alongside drivers such as Tony Ochs (Soldier Fortune Black Ops), Blake Granger (Max-D) and Elvis Lainez (El Toro Loco), she wasn’t expecting to.

“I was really just hoping that I could finish in the top three. And then we came out of Baltimore, our first weekend after doing four shows, and I had left the weekend in first place.

"I just kept thinking with the mindset of, ‘yeah, I think the boys are just getting warmed up and, any minute now, somebody’s going to catch up to me,’ but I just kept stretching that lead and I’m like, you know, I think I can do this.

"I think I can go all the way and hopefully make a little history as the first female to win the points series.”

Krysten has held the points lead in Arena Championship Series Central for most of the season, but a couple of mistakes in Austin, TX saw Tony Ochs take it from her. She then got it back in Toledo.

“I honestly feel like losing the points lead in the middle of the series like that kinda helped me a little bit, put it in perspective for me that, you know, it can be done, someone can catch me, it doesn’t matter how large that lead is, I can never be too comfortable.”

If Krysten wins her series and makes it to Monster Jam World Finals XXI, she will then be faced with the challenge of competing in a stadium again. Krysten has spent most of her career in the arenas, although she did get to compete in stadiums during the 2021 season.

“I am the most comfortable in the arenas, I feel like that’s where my sixth sense is at. But I think that if I was given enough time that I could be a pretty tough competitor in the stadium as well.

"I really think because of that season that I had last year on stadiums, even though it was a huge learning curve, I feel like I’m not nervous for World Finals because I kind of know what to expect.”

A trip to Monster Jam World Finals XXI could also pit Krysten up against her brothers again.

“Last year, whenever I did the stadium series with my brothers Adam and Ryan… I felt like whenever we lined up for racing or anything, I really, really wanted to beat them the most.”

While they may be competitors, come showtime in Orlando, the Anderson family will all come together following Sunday’s event with a special tribute to their father, Dennis Anderson, and the Grave Digger legacy.

“We’re very excited to be representing our dad at World Finals.

"It’s pretty exciting to think that Grave Digger’s been around this long, and I hope that it’s around for 40 more years. I hope that I don’t get to see the fall of Grave Digger.”

Don’t miss the epic Grave Digger 40th Anniversary Encore and so much more at Monster Jam World Finals XXI! Get your tickets here.