Gary Porter's brother owned a four-wheel drive shop in
Wadesboro, North Carolina and Porter was always interested in four-wheel drives. Porter saw his first monster truck show in 1982 in
Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1985, Porter built the first Carolina Crusher monster truck for $11,000. In 1988, Carolina Crusher debuted on the
TNT Monster Truck Challenge, the first official monster truck points series. Carolina Crusher finished fourth in the 1988 standings. In 1989, Carolina Crusher finished second in the standings, behind Equalizer. The PENDA Points Series was established in 1991 and became the premiere monster truck racing circuit. In the inaugural season of the PENDA Points Series, Carolina Crusher won the points championship. Carolina Crusher competed in the PENDA Points Series until its dissolution after the 1997 season. In 1993, Carolina Crusher was a regular on the television series “Monster Wars”. Gary Porter finished third in the points standings and won two televised races. Its representing mascot character was an overweight construction worker with a jackhammer. In 1999, Gary Porter sold Carolina Crusher to Paul Shafer, creator of the Monster Patrol monster truck. Porter moved on to sign with Pace Motorsports (now
Feld Entertainment Motorsports) to drive
Grave Digger on the Monster Jam series. Carolina Crusher, driven by Michael Harper, won the 2004 and 2005 Checkered Flag Productions – Monster Truck Winter Nationals. In 2005, Carolina Crusher, driven by James Tigue II, won the Paul Shafer Motorsports World Finals in Freestyle. Carolina Crusher has been featured in several video games, including, Monster Truck Wars on Game Boy,
Monster Truck Madness,
Monster Truck Madness 2, Monster Truck Madness 64, and Monster Truck Destruction. Many Carolina Crusher toys have been produced since the late 1980s, including
Micro Machines,
Muscle Machines, and
Hot Wheels. == Present ==