Austin -- Thousands watched in the Moody Center in Austin as the lights dimmed and the spotlight fell on Bryan High School welding instructor Chris Lehde as he drove the Bryan High School Mini Monster Truck onto the arena floor.
The official reveal at Monster Jam in Austin on Saturday marked the end of a once-in-a-lifetime project that began in September. Northern Tool and Equipment surprised the team of 14 students with the news in September 2024 that they were the only team in the country taking part in Northern Tool’s Tools for the Trades” program. Their challenge was to build a one-third scale Mini Monster Truck. Northern Tool would be providing the engine and tools for the team to use, but the plan and the execution of the project was entirely up to the team led by Mr. Lehde.
Throughout the project, the team had support from Northern Tool and worked directly with mentors from Monster Jam and experts from Brazos Valley Auto Restorations.
"There is no blueprint to building a Mini Monster Truck, but these guys figured it out,” Colt Stephens, driver of the ThunderROARus Monster Truck and mentor to the BHS team, said. “That was so awesome to watch them work through their problems as a team, grow as a team, figure out what they needed to do. And the work is showed off right here today. It's absolutely epic.”
JD Quiroga, who will be a senior next year at Bryan High, said there were multiple challenges throughout the yearlong project, but it all came down to developing a plan and sticking to it and working together as a team.
“It came out as beautiful as we wanted it to,” he said, maybe even better than they first envisioned.
Frank Crowson, chief marketing officer for Northern Tool, said the “Tools for the Trades” program is all about inspiring the next generation of trades workers. The media got a sneak peek at the truck during a special event at the Northern Tool location in Buda on June 5, ahead of the Monster Jam event on June 7. Northern Tool has partnered with high schools throughout the country, but with the company’s new partnership with Monster Jam, they wanted to take it to the next level.
“We challenged them to build this truck here, and they absolutely crushed it,” he said.
Mr. Lehde, who also served as the team’s crew chief, said he enjoyed watching the students work together to develop a plan, overcome any challenges, find solutions as they worked toward completing the build. His hope is that they will carry forward all the skills they learned from this project into all aspects of their life.
Armando Castro, driver of the El Toro Loco Monster Truck and a mentor for the BHS team, said it was a no-brainer to volunteer to help the team.
“These guys are literally some of the best welders I've ever seen at such a young age,” he said. “It's incredible to see. I can't thank everybody enough for the effort."
The Bryan High School Mini Monster Truck will now tour around with Monster Jam and will be featured at Pit Parties during at least the 2026 season.
Throughout the process, Northern Tool and Equipment followed the team and documented their work and the process. Watch the eight-part series here. Find more pictures from the June 7 reveal on Facebook here!
