THRASHER 1 CC#6
THRASHER 1
CC#6
Per requested, a full post from my page “Chasing Chassis” on here. This one was fun.
⚠️A forewarning:
This feature will deviate away a little from the direct path of Thrasher 1’s chassis as there’s A LOT of great information to cover. However, I feel it’s all necessary to include because this story deserves it and it’s just so interesting. Special thanks to Gage Bursey for some valuable insight and much appreciated generosity from Pat and his wife themselves. Sit back and enjoy folks 🏁
To begin the timeline leading to the first chassis that became Thrasher, we have to talk about a blue 1978 Ford F-250 in the early to mid 1980’s.
Originating in the Danbury, Connecticut area, Pat Summa had himself a built up mud truck titled “Above n Beyond” that he would bring to events and mud holes to wheel around in. As car crushing became more popular (as well as racing for monster trucks), Summa began his monster truck transformation. 5 ton axles were added as well as tubular trussing to the stock F-250 frame. The front half was closely designed to that of Bigfoot 4, while the rear mirrored the quarter elliptical leaf spring set up of the Jersey Outlaw monster truck at the time.
Alongside 4 massive monster truck tires, planetaries were then fixated to the 5T axles. An updated appearance as well was given to Above n Beyond after launching into the monster truck world. A brand new white Ford fiberglass body was made, and the beefed up chassis/frame was painted blue. The original steel blue F-250 body was scrapped. This was arguably Above n Beyond’s most recognizable setup competing through various circuits and events.
After a few years running the upgraded F-250 frame and new fiberglass body, the original chassis/frame was scrapped and Pat Summa purchased the Towasaurus Wrex 3 chassis, which was fully built and completed but never saw competition.
Gary DeMauro (original Towasaurus creator and driver) had broken his back in an accident and decided to sell. Jeff Bursey from Massachusetts had shown interest in purchasing Towasaurus 2 around 1988. After arriving to purchase and haul back Towasaurus 2 and spotting Gary’s 3rd Towasaurus complete truck, he inquired about this one as well, only to be told Pat Summa had already purchased just the chassis itself.
Towasaurus 3’s engine would eventually sell to Dennis Anderson and go into Grave Digger number 7 while the brand new Towasaurus 3 body would go back with Jeff Bursey, but that’s for another day.
*There are virtually no photos available for public viewing of the complete Towasaurus 3 being it never saw competition as such before being dismantled and sold off.
Eventually utilized for Summa’s Above n Beyond 2, this new and improved chassis came with 106 axles equipped with planetaries and 18 inch Kuster shocks. Summa also debuted a slightly different paint scheme on the Ford body. Above n Beyond’s engine, profab transfer case, and transmission were all transferred over from the original F-250 chassis/frame. Come 1993 however, a new identity was in order.
The original “Thrasher” debuted on the Towasaurus 3/Above n Beyond 2 chassis running one of (if not possibly the first) Toyota monster truck body styles, that being a sheet metal Toyota Tundra. By 2000 the frame was painted black, the engine was re-configured into the rear of the truck, and the chassis sported a new Tacoma body following the Tundra.
Eventually by 2002, Thrasher received another refresh. A new Ford F-150 body was created and the Towasaurus 3/Thrasher 1 chassis was sold off to Jim Leahy who eventually created “The Broker” monster truck out of New Jersey.
The chassis under “The Broker” made its first appearance on May 1, 2002 in Stafford Township at a “Kops n’ Kids” event as a display piece. Its first competition debut was July 31, 2002. The Broker truck and chassis ran for many years, appearing in one televised event on Speed in the Pontiac Silverdome in 2006. Retiring fully in 2009, The Broker sat in storage for quite some time under its second driver, Lou Antonozzi.
In 2018 monster truck driver, owner, and promoter Mike Harper purchased the truck and chassis.
Decisively and quickly however, the chassis was sold again and still runs to this day under Kevin Lubsen variously as “Wadded Up” and “Robo Shark”. Wadded Up originally debuted in November of 2018. Robo Shark debuted in April of 2025.