MIAMI, Okla. – Think you have what it takes to drive a monster truck in a packed arena? The event coordinator of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Outlaw Nationals isn’t so sure.

“You have to actually be born with some talent if you’re going to do any good. I mean, anybody can try it but not succeed,” said events coordinator John Darnell.

And if you’re going to get behind the wheel of a monster truck, it doesn’t hurt to start learning at a young age. That was the case for 20-year-old Zack Garner, driver of the Wild Side monster truck for the Outlaw Nationals who were putting on a show at the Miami Fairgrounds.

“We found one for sale, and so dad went and bought it. And it went from that to me thinking that working on the tires was amazing, working my way up to a crew chief, and then working my way into the driver’s seat,” said Zack.

You might look at one of these titanic trucks and think, “How hard could it be to drive one?”

“You just don’t go out there and mash the gas. Every single ramp has a different technique to hit it. (You need to know) when to let off the gas, when to hit the break, when to get back on the gas. That’s a big part of it.” said Darnell.

But Zack says after driving for two and a half years, piloting a monster truck comes as natural to him as riding a bicycle. And that’s good since Zack likes to open the show with some impressive tricks!

“So we start off the show with a wheelie competition! I really like to stand it up on the front two tires and walk it back and forth, maybe drag the hood a little bit and then set it down, or do a reverse pop where I basically pull up on a jump, put it in reverse, back up to the rear bumper and go from there,” said Zack.

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