RON BACHMANN INDUCTED into the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame

By Editor | November 11, 2025 |

By Steven Spencer

Local Monster Truck legend Ron Bachmann was recently inducted into the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Bachmann moved to Jerseyville in the 1990s and worked with the BIGFOOT 4×4 family from 1984 until 2018.
BIGFOOT 4×4, INC expressed their gratitude to Bachmann on their website and social media, and recognized some of his most significant contributions to the Monster Truck industry.
“The BIGFOOT Family would like to congratulate the late Ron Bachmann on his induction into the International Monster Truck Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Ron was a long-time BIGFOOT employee and friend who contributed more to the Monster Truck Industry than most people know. Ron traveled the world not only as a BIGFOOT ambassador but as an ambassador of the entire sport,” the site reads. “Ron introduced BIGFOOT and Monster Trucks to the NHRA and NASCAR, the CMAs and CMTs, Major League Baseball and the NHL, along with millions of other fans all over the world! There were so many amazing things Ron did over his long career that it would take an entire book to list them all. Among his many accomplishments, Ron brought BIGFOOT to Mt. Fuji in Japan and was the first Monster Truck driver to represent major corporate sponsors with BIGFOOT #12, the world’s first Monster Truck specifically build for Displays. Ron also pulled a BIGFOOT truck across the parking lot in his cowboy boots (to the chagrin of the Strongman competitors who were unable to move the truck at all). However, in our eyes, his greatest contributions to all of us were his constant smiles and his inability to recognize a stranger – he always made everyone feel welcome. Whether you knew him as Ron, Puppy, Lurch, or Big Man he was always a guy you wouldn’t forget. Once again, congrats on this well-deserved induction!”
BIGFOOT has ties to the area dating back to the early 1980s when Jim Kramer became a BIGFOOT driver, but Bachmann was the local with the longest career behind the wheel.
An article in the July 17, 2025, Jersey County Journal described Bachmann’s time with BIGFOOT and connection to the community:
“In terms of the local with the longest BIGFOOT career, that honor goes to Ron Bachmann, who worked for the company from 1984 until 2018. Although Ron grew up in St. Louis County, he moved to Jerseyville in the 1990s and married a local girl, Michele Beatty.
Standing a bit over 7 foot in his boots with a linebacker’s physique (he played collegiate football before injuring a knee), Ron stood out in a crowd. Around the BIGFOOT shop, Ron was called Lurch. But around here, he was known as Puppy. Even his license plate identified him as “1 LRG PUP.” The name was courtesy of a friend who once described Ron as “a big ole pup.”
Although several BIGFOOT trucks were introduced during Puppy’s career, he was most often associated with BIGFOOT 12, which debuted at the 1993 Super Bowl in Los Angeles. The truck (and Puppy) made appearances at the Indy 500, the CMA/CMT Awards, and in Alan Jackson’s video Who’s Cheatin’ Who.
Puppy also brought BIGFOOT to Jersey County on several occasions, including the fair and the Jersey County Historical Society’s Apple Festival.
When Puppy passed away in 2018, BIGFOOT 12 was parked at his visitation and hauled to Oak Grove Cemetery where Puppy was laid to rest.”
You can read more about Bachmann’s career with BIGFOOT at: bigfoot-4×4.myshopify.com/blogs/news/ron-bachmann-into-the-monster-truck-hall-of-fame and you find out more about the Monster Truck Hall of Fame at monstermuseum.org.