As the men in the mammoth trucks at the Monster X show steered their machines inside the dirt-covered hockey rink at the Rabobank Arena Jan. 21, so did the boy in the Mini monster truck. The drivers dared dirt mounds, completed hairpin turns on a dime, and crushed plenty of cars.
When the boy attempted to pass over a series of dummy cars, the crowd cheered him on, hoping that despite his truck’s size he would make it over. He got his truck far enough on the cars to leave the mark of his tire treads alongside the big boys.
Credited as the world’s youngest monster truck driver at 7 years old, Kaid “Kid KJ” Weston operates his own half-scale truck called The Monster Bear.
“I’ve been saying I want to be a monster truck driver since I was 1,” said Kaid
Having been to monster truck shows as early as 1, Kaid, according to his father, became glued to the motorized object at a very early age.
“One thing about KJ,” said father Tod Weston, “he enjoyed it, had a passion for it. He picked it up real easy, like he was born to do it,” said Weston.
Starting off with the novelty Power Wheels cars, Kaid moved on to more sophisticated vehicles as he got older. When he reached the age of 6, Kaid began manning the half scale, 200-horsepower truck he drives today, with hopes of driving a more powerful truck in the near future.
“The next truck I’ll be driving is going to have a V8 supercharged engine with 300-horsepower,” said Kaid.
Though the very act of driving a monster truck may seem dangerous to some, Kaid is equipped and suited with a fire suit, seated in a five-point safety belt system, and his neck secured to avoid any whiplash. His father also carries a kill switch to Kaid’s truck, in case anything was to happen.
“It’s very safe for everyone involved,” said Weston, “There is an art to the drive… It takes a lot of technique.”
As far as Kaid’s off time goes, he spends his time like most other kids, playing video games, riding his bike and attending school where he says the other kids don’t quite believe him when he tells them he’s a monster truck driver. But at the shows, Kaid says other kids praise him.
And though Kaid shows tremendous skill in operating a truck, his father says, “No matter what, he is still 7.”