Palm Beach International Raceway packed more than 8,000 fans in the stands for the first ever Palm Beach Thunder Jam presented by Taco Bell. The monster truck Grave Digger was the headliner of the show – captivating the audience with passes down PBIR’s quarter-mile drag strip.

The night began with the ‘ThunderFest Pit Party’ where fans were able to get up close to the “Beat the Heat” police cars, the wheel-standing Cool Bus, jet trains, Benny the Bomb and the Monster Truck along with driver Randy Brown.

“This was history being made at PBIR,” said Jason Rittenberry, president of PBIR. “We had Grave Digger, the monster truck, take on a jet dragster. That’s what the people in the stands came out to see and I was thrilled that we could provide a show like that. Seeing the thousands of fans in the stands at PBIR is always a great sight.”

Fans were treated to three different segments with the legendary Grave Digger making an appearance every time. First, Grave Digger took on a Pro Mod car, but couldn’t get the job done as the Pro Mod got the win lights.

During the second set, Grave Digger put on a show going up and down the drag strip crab-walk style before performing donuts in front of the PBIR drag tower. Finally, Grave Digger took on Thriller, the jet dragster, in the final matchup of the night. Grave Digger got an early jump on Thriller but the powerful jet dragster took the win lights.

The show ended with the famous “Benny the Bomb” as he tucked himself inside a car before blowing it up. After the explosion, Benny walked away from the car in front of the thousands of cheering fans.

“The inaugural Palm Beach Thunder Jam presented by Taco Bell was a huge success,” said Rittenberry. “I want to thank everyone who came out tonight to make this a great event.”