00:00 Jumping a monster truck is like flying.
00:03 Now we're going 30, 40, sometimes even 50 feet in the air.
00:06 It's pretty indescribable.
00:27 Some people try and give me a hard time because I'm a girl once in a while,
00:30 but you really can't let it get to you.
00:32 If you do, then that's your biggest disadvantage.
00:35 My name is Rosalie Raymer, I am 20 years old,
00:42 and I am the driver of the Wildflower Monster Truck
00:44 and the youngest professional female monster truck driver.
00:47 And we're here in Turlock, California today for the Spring Nationals.
00:52 [Music]
00:54 So I've been racing monster trucks professionally since I was 14 years old.
01:06 When I was 13, I crushed my very first car,
01:09 and then by 14, I was in full-time competition.
01:12 Alright, hold it.
01:19 I think I was too young to remember when I first started working with trucks and cars.
01:25 I have pictures at three years old,
01:27 holding flashlights out at monster truck shows while the guys were working on trucks.
01:31 As soon as I got the opportunity, I've always been working on trucks alongside my dad,
01:39 whether that's working on his truck, helping build my own.
01:42 You have that side?
01:46 Alright.
01:48 My dad is like my best friend, you know.
01:51 It's pretty great getting to spend every weekend on the road with him.
01:54 At age 11, she was driving my truck around in the pit area, getting comfortable with it.
02:00 It was just an ongoing progression, and we just added that in.
02:05 It just seemed like the natural next step to put her in a monster truck
02:09 and set up one that fit her and her style.
02:13 [Wildflower, 1932 Ford Coupe Monster Truck]
02:17 This is Wildflower, my 1932 Ford Coupe Monster Truck.
02:22 She runs on 66-inch tall tires, so that's 5'6".
02:27 That's as tall as I am, but they weigh about somewhere between 600 and 800 pounds,
02:32 depending on the tire you run.
02:34 Back here for our power source, we've got 565 cubic inches,
02:40 a blown alcohol motor, so she's got about 1,500 to 1,600 horsepower,
02:45 and she runs on methanol.
02:47 Back here is my wheelie bar. You can see it gets a lot of action.
02:49 Last weekend, wheelie contest, bent it up a little bit.
02:53 We've got two nitrogen shocks on each corner of the truck.
02:59 So to go along with the two nitrogen shocks in each corner,
03:02 we run a four-link suspension.
03:04 Monster trucks are a lot to handle.
03:06 It's two different complete steering systems, a lot of horsepower,
03:09 a lot of responsibility, but I think I was definitely ready
03:12 when I jumped in the seat.
03:14 Sometimes I say it's kind of like driving a roller coaster,
03:25 but I have control over it.
03:27 The highest I've jumped is probably about 50 feet in the air.
03:36 I mean, the adrenaline rush is absolutely insane.
03:39 Going 30, 40 feet in the air, you feel like you're flying,
03:42 and sometimes there's a moment of hang time when you're up there.
03:45 Where you just lose your breath a little bit,
03:51 and you're not sure exactly when you're going to land,
03:53 but you're still planning for when you do.
03:56 It's pretty incredible.
03:58 Ready to go, Dad?
04:01 Ready to have some fun?
04:04 Yes.
04:05 Ready?
04:06 Love you.
04:07 Love you, too.
04:08 All righty, good to go.
04:12 I've probably competed in over 300 competitions.
04:20 I've won multiple competitions, from freestyle to racing
04:32 to donut competitions and wheelie contests.
04:35 I'm studying mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech
04:48 with a minor in industrial design,
04:50 and right now I'm going into my fourth year.
04:52 I try to keep monster trucks in school pretty separate.
04:54 Right now, with the build of our new truck,
04:56 we're working on the chassis.
04:58 So getting all the tubes bent and fitted before we weld it up
05:01 is going to help us to start putting the rest of the truck together.
05:04 It's a lot of fun.
05:07 To be able to share something, a passion, that you have together
05:10 makes it just so much more fun and exciting.
05:13 Monster Truck is the only platform, really,
05:16 where girls and boys compete on an even playing field.
05:20 There's no girls' monster trucks, boys' monster trucks.
05:23 We're all out there competing against each other together.
05:25 I'm doing something I love to do out here,
05:27 and I like to say I put my best into everything.
05:30 I really should win the 90th in a while!
05:32 [cheers and applause]
05:35 [music]
05:38 [music fades]
05:41 [MUSIC]
Comments