On April 24, 2008, Jeremy Slifko turned 18 years old. The next day Jeremy celebrated his birthday as few others ever have, getting behind the wheel of a Monster Jam machine to begin his racing and freestyle career as the sport’s latest addition to a growing list, the roster of second generation drivers in the sport.
Jeremy Slifko’s debut in Naples, FL, driving Backdraft was a dream come true, and the icing on his birthday cake had to be his first ever race. On a long, treacherous, and fast Chicago style oval at the huge Florida Sports Park, Jeremy Slifko won the first round of racing he ever completed in, defeating his father, no less, as he drove Backdraft to the win over Andy Slifko’s Eradicator.

For Jeremy his move into the driver’s seat, even at such a young age, seems natural. He’s been on the road with his Dad for years and has been serving as Andy Slifko’s crew chief, learning the how the machine works, and just as importantly, how to keep it running in top condition. “I started out putting lug nuts on and now I’m building chassis’ so I’ve definitely come along way, and now I finally get to drive one,” Jeremy told me. He says, that at least for him, being a mechanic on his Dad’s trucks first, before becoming a driver, is the right way to move into a Monster Jam driver’s seat. “It makes a big difference when you drive. When I went out (in Naples last weekend) and I had a rear steer problem I knew exactly what to do to fix it. A lot of guys don’t know and they just keep driving and they end up rolling it over early. So if you can correct the problem before you end up rolling it and can go a little longer it’s better for the crowd.”

Like so many of today’s new breed of Monster Jam drivers Jeremy Slifko was thrilled to see Adam Anderson, only four years older than he is, win his first World Championship last month in Las Vegas. Slifko says that what made him appreciate Adam’s win even more is that, like he has done himself, Adam began working on Monster Jam pieces on the road and in the shop long before he ever started competing as a driver. “It’s great,” Slifko exclaimed when talking about Anderson taking the freestyle world title. “It shows that if you know how to work on the truck, if you have an understanding of how it works, that the truck will actually do what you want it to do, and you can make it work for you.” Adam certainly made Taz do everything he wanted it to do on that historic night in Sam Boyd Stadium.

For newcomer Jeremy Slifko the career has just started, three rugged events in southwest Florida now under his belt. He and his father agreed that when the time came for Jeremy to get into the driver’s seat that they wanted him battling against the best right out of the box. There was no plan to find smaller circuits and lesser competition for him to start racing and freestyling against. The Slifko’s agreed he would learn under fire, and pay his dues against the top stars of Monster Jam right from the beginning of his career. So in his first weekend of competition he took on headlining, World Finals caliber talent like Randy Brown in Grave Digger, Steve Sims in Stone Crusher, Scott Hartsock in Gunslinger, Randy Moore in War Wizard and Carl Van Horn in Mopar Magic, just to name a few. Slifko seemed to fit right in, was impressive throughout his first weekend as a driver, and hopes he made an impact on the established superstars he competed against. “I hope that they give me a little respect. I guess we’ll really find out a little later down the road,“ Slifko stated. “It’s not so much that I’m a new guy, I’m just moving up in the ranks. They know I’ve been around it, they’re not afraid of me coming over into their lane in a race, they know I actually know what’s going on. They know that I can pretty much handle the truck; well, hopefully they think I can handle the truck.”

As you might expect the young Slifko was on cloud nine all weekend, finally debuting as a Monster Jam driver. But he admitted that getting on the track and actually competing in front of the huge crowds against top level competition is a world apart from just learning the truck on a test course. “Oh it’s definitely different. You don’t know what it feels like until you actually hit the cars,” Slifko recalled. “Then you get a whole lot more respect for these guys who’ve been doing it for a long time, how hard they hit and how much air they get.”

For Jeremy Slifko, at the age of 18, he now embarks on the career he’s dreamt of, and trained for, and he plans to stay in the seat for a long time to come. “Oh yeah, I hope it’s for as long as I can, you know even when I get old if I’m in a wheel chair they can still put me in a truck,” Slifko said.

His papa, veteran driver Andy Slifko, could not be prouder. “It’s super,” was Andy’s reaction when I asked him what it felt like to see his son in action. “This is what I’ve been striving for the whole time with these trucks, just to put him and my other son in a truck sooner or later, and me sit back here and watch ‘em.”

I also asked Andy why he thought that we see so many sons and daughters following in their father’s footsteps, not just in Monster Jam, but in motorsports in general. Slifko says it’s just the nature of these being such big family sports, where the whole clan often is involved in Dad’s career. “You get to work hand in hand, which makes a big difference,” Andy explained. “You’re not kicking your kids aside to go racing, you bring them in as a part of the racing. And you breed it into them once you are into it for a little bit. You get to know the game, you bring them into it, and then they know the game.” Knowing the trucks so well that his son is now getting into, and knowing how safe they are, is a big factor in Dad enjoying his son’s move into cockpit as well. “Definitely. I mean the truck that he’s driving, 18 times I’ve rolled it over in one year. And I never got hurt. And he’s strong,” Andy says in exuding confidence not only in Jeremy’s talent, but in the safety of the pieces he will be flying through arenas and stadiums in.

Like his son, Andy Slifko says it was absolutely required that Jeremy learn these machines as a mechanic before being give the chance to drive. How important does he think it is to know the truck on the inside before you compete in it? “Very critical” Andy answered. “That’s why my second son isn’t driving right now. I told him he needs to be on a crew for at least three months before he gets behind that wheel. He’s still kicking me around a bit about it, but he’s still not driving.” Slifko wants to make sure that he hands his operation over to the next generation knowing that they are doing things the right way. Then a few years down the road Andy, Dennis Anderson, Dan Evans, and other drivers will be watching their kids take this sport to new heights, following the trails they‘ve all blazed for their offspring.