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Charlie Pauken’s monster truck career began nearly 20 years ago when he was still riding his bicycle around his hometown of Maumee, Ohio. During his travels, he met up with Mike Nicoll and Dave Marquart, the two men behind the original Excaliber.

“Everyone had tall trucks, so I took my bicycle and chopped it up, made it a high roller bicycle,” he said. “I was always fabricating – go karts, mini-bikes, everything.”

Nicoll and Marquart were building a monster truck in their backyard, and Pauken was always eager to help.

“They would alternate weekends because they both had regular jobs,” he said. “I ended up going on the road with them one time because they needed help. I saw the show, thought ‘This is cool, awesome! I have to be a part of this.’ I started helping them out here and there.”

Pauken’s work picked up after the owners capsized the truck trying to float it in a quarry.

“I’d heard about [what they were doing], and I went out to see it and they were dragging it up the beach,” Pauken said. “Mike Nicoll came to me and said ‘Chuck, you need to help us!’” Chuck agreed, and he was hired to help out.

“From there,” he continued, “I went to shows and did all the grunt work – tiring up and cleaning the truck. We were always working on it trying to better it. If anything broke, we’d always throw our ideas together and fix it to where it never happened again. That was the Excaliber thing – trying to make everything better than it was before.”
His move into driving came shortly thereafter.
“We were at a show, and the first day Dave Marquart went out and broke the truck. The next day he woke up and said ‘You’re driving today. If I go out tonight I’ll roll the truck trying to beat these guys.’”

“So I drove,” he said. “I didn’t eat breakfast that day because I didn’t think I could. I did what they told me to do and they thought it went perfect. From there I started doing more and more shows. They felt that confident with me that they sent me on the road myself.”

Pauken worked for them for seven years and then entered a partnership with Tim Bush for another four years. Time took its toll on Pauken and the Excaliber.

“I got to a point where I felt like I’d done everything I could at a Thunder Nationals show. I could pretty much rule freestyle and racing; I had it down to a science. I could clear the cars in reverse and in forward, and take the steering wheel off and start a donut from a standstill and tell you exactly where on the floor that truck would end up.”

“I felt like I was at my peak with what I could do with it, and I wanted to go off on a high note,” he said. “I was also getting tired of being on the road, traveling, and doing it all myself.”

This was in 1997, and the truck was sold. Charlie wasn’t home for more than a few months when his phone started ringing again. Charlie got the ultimate call and the ultimate opportunity: a chance to represent Dennis Anderson’s Grave Digger team.

“I was getting the itch. I love to drive, I love to perform, I love the fans. There’s nothing like putting a smile on a kid’s face. That’s priceless right there,” he said.

So he joined the Grave Digger team, where he’s been ever since.

“I love being part of the Digger team. It’s known, respected, feared; it’s cool. I always looked up to Dennis even when I was driving from the start.” And to nobody’s surprise, Pauken lives for freestyle.

“It’s basically a showmanship. I like to be meticulous. I like to plan it out to a point, but I still like to go out there and mix it up a little. Anyone can drive, but when you go out there and bring it to the edge and bring it back, that’s driving!” he said.

Charlie has been a large part in the overseas expansion of Monster Jam, representing Digger in Paris, France in 2003 and on the inaugural tour in 2004.

“It’s a great learning experience, and to see what’s out there worldwide and to see how much we affect other countries was amazing,” he said. “It was amazing for me to go overseas and watch the election. They have banners up for our president overseas.”

Charlie also introduced a new member of his family. He and his wife Dawn celebrated the birth of their first child, ‘Little Chuckie’, on March 20, 2005.

“He’s just a joy to have. I’ve always wanted a kid and this is a great part of my life – completing a part of me,” he said.

“I normally go to Vegas,” he said. “But since the baby was due pretty close, I’d rather not be that that far from home. So they gave a show in Saginaw, Michigan which is two hours from my house.”

Charlie’s wife Dawn accompanied him and then only made it through Friday night’s show when she awoke in the middle of the night with contractions. Charlie and Dawn left the show and drove back home to Toledo where she delivered later that weekend.

“He’s very happy, very content. He’s already been to his first monster truck show in Toledo,” he said.

Universally considered one of the best to ever drive a monster truck, Pauken entered his ninth season driving Grave Digger in 2006. Keep your eye on this freestyling wizard who continually redefines the boundaries of possibility. He agrees that Gravedigger XV is the perfect fit for his style of driving.