Inside Monster Jam
This official Monster Jam podcast offers exclusive inside access to Monster Jam Operations, including drivers, safety, track design and the Monster Jam Garage.
Inside Monster Jam
Season 5 Episode 12 | Kylie Kent
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Get to know Monster Jam rookie driver Kylie Kent!
Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Monster Jam studios. I'm Scott Jordan. It's post prime time, which means it's time to fire up another brand new episode of Inside Monster Jam, the official Monster Jam podcast. My guest this week made her Monster Jam debut in Sparkle Smash. She just debuted Frostbite. So now we're gonna fire up the Zenny Hotline to go out to Michigan and welcome in driver Kylie Kent. Kylie, welcome to Inside Monster Jam. So good to have you. Thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Scott, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.
SPEAKER_00Of course. I followed your season in 2026 in Sparkle Smash. And I followed you. I know I I had Big Zim and Lil Zim on the podcast, and they had they had mentioned you uh previously that you were probably gonna start driving soon. So I felt like I needed to follow your career with Send It, and we're gonna talk about that. But I want our fans to get to know you and the woman behind the wheel. So let's talk about uh where you grew up and how in the world you got interested in Monster Jam.
SPEAKER_01That is a very loaded question. I'll try to keep it short and sweet. Um, I've actually known John Zimmer Sr. since I was 10 years old, and I'm currently 24 now, so basically most of my life. Um, I actually knew him when he first started driving Excalibur. Um, also love that truck. Shout out to Mike Peggs, love it. Yeah, me too. Um basically what happened was my stepdad, Don Doty, he owns North Star Ranch Inc. And those are all the semis you see going down the road that haul the trailers, haul our trucks in them. So that's how we kind of got our foot in the door, is just by sponsoring John when he was an independent. Um, and then shoot forward to about 2023 world finals when they departed with Zach and Jamie Garner. John Zimmer Jr. and senior came to my dad and was like, listen, now's the time. We don't have any strings attached anymore. Let's start our own team, let's do it. They've been talking about it for years. Now's the time. So officially after world finals was when we started Sendent Motorsports, in I'd say August of 2023 is when we came up with the name for it.
SPEAKER_00So you you've been a Monster Jam fan for most of your life, uh, or is this something that you know obviously you got into because your your dad supplied some of the equipment for uh the Zimmers to do it? Um I just want to know if like when you were uh a kid you played with any monster trucks, you went to the events.
SPEAKER_01I honestly went to the events, so I went to the small fair shows where they had maybe two, three trucks, four trucks, when they had the dinosaur crushing the cars and lighting it on fire. That was my favorite. Um, being able to see John run, and then after that, I kind of took a break. I didn't really realize I loved it as much as I did until we started sending motorsports, and they were always in the shop, and I always wanted to see what they were doing, what they were working on, and that's when I realized my love for it. It kind of brought all of that out that I didn't realize I had.
SPEAKER_00So when you started send it, was the plan always for you to eventually drive? Uh, because I think when I talked to the Zimmers, they said they started with two trucks and they were going to expand to four eventually. I believe your name was mentioned um as one of the prospective drivers. But at what point did you know that you were gonna eventually transition into being a driver?
SPEAKER_01Honestly, it was right when we started send it. It was it was a random talk, and Senior brought it up like it was no big deal. He was like, Yeah, so you want to start driving one day? And I was like, I would love to, but I mean, like, obviously, we're just focused on you two right now, going to four. Like, I'd love to be one of the four drivers. And he was like, Yeah, for sure, let's let's plan on that. And then maybe a month later, we started ordering my stuff from Simpson, got myself a helmet, got myself some shoes and a race suit, and we were off to the races at that point.
SPEAKER_00What was that training process like for you?
SPEAKER_01It was terrifying, I'm not gonna lie to you. Um, we actually are very grateful. We have a couple acres in the back of our shop, so we actually have a full-blown monster jam pot out there to practice. Even like me and Chucky Pawkin, right before first quarter started, we got out there and we practiced just doing an arena freestyle. Then we started arena racing, we did timed racing, we did roundy round racing with each other, so I still haven't beaten him, but you know, the time might come one day. But it was super, super nerve-wracking. I was just focused on jumping at first, and I even got to do a couple donuts, which was super fun. But I had all the trust in the world with John Zimmer. Honestly, I knew he was one of the Monster Jam technicians, and he was one of the teachers at um Monster Jam University. So I knew that I could fully trust him, and I knew he was just gonna give me the best support possible.
SPEAKER_00So, who were some of your other inspirations besides uh John Zimmer? Anyone that uh you you said you you loved Excalibur was uh Chucky Charlie Paulkin. I know now you drive with with his son on your team, but who were your other inspirations growing up that you you know like to maybe modify your driving style to?
SPEAKER_01Definitely Lindsay Reed for sure. Um, I just I have loved her ever since I watched her for the first time. And we also sponsor her daughter, Dakota, in her racing. So, from one woman supporting another woman and her daughter, I love them both dearly. Um, so that's another one. Another big one I would say is Jim Kohler. I mean, I feel like that's an obvious answer though. Um definitely for how just he doesn't really care about anything, and that honestly is a good thing and a bad thing for driving. He just doesn't get in his head, he just goes out there, puts on a show for the fans, gets out of the truck, and he always seems to be having fun no matter what he does, no matter if the truck comes out in one piece or no matter the truck comes out in 25 million pieces. He always comes out and has fun for the fans, and that's what I always love to do when I drive.
SPEAKER_00What was the hardest part for you when you started driving? What was the hardest thing for you to adjust to? Was it the actual, you know, driving? Was it you know the fact that it's a 12,000-pound machine? Was it the the entertainment aspect of also what you do as far as you know entertaining fans and talking to them? What what what did you find was let's let's do two things. What was the most difficult thing for you? What was the easiest thing for you?
SPEAKER_01I'll start with the most difficult. The most difficult thing was not getting in my head. I know I love to compare myself to other drivers, but you really just can't do that. It everybody has such a different driving style. Even if you look at just the four of us at Sended Motorsports, all four of us are completely different drivers. So for me, it was super, super difficult not comparing myself to anybody and just finding my own driving style. You know, you don't have to be like somebody to drive, you can have your own driving style, and that was the hardest part for me to grasp. I feel like after two years of driving, I'm finally starting to grasp that. Um, and then the easiest part I would say was the mechanics of the truck, honestly. The having the front two tires be controlled by the steering wheel, the back two with the toggle switch, shifting at the right point. That came really natural to me, and seat time was everything for me. And I always tell new drivers that seat time is everything. So that's what I have to say.
SPEAKER_00So you you have uh John Zimmer senior, John Zimmer Jr., then you, and then uh Chucky Pawkin III now comes over and he's in Classroom Crusher. So what was what was the process, or what do you remember the process of bringing CP3 over? Because for a while, you know, he he had run with the Pag of the Arulos, and then now he's with you guys in Michigan.
SPEAKER_01It was actually a really seamless process. Um, I know Johnny and Chucky have been friends for years and years now, since they were kids. And I know Johnny's always been like, well, we gotta we got a spot open, you know. If you come to Michigan, it's you're from Ohio, you're an hour and a half from home instead of all the way across the country in Florida. You've got maybe a driving position about to open up since we had one of our drivers leave. So we were like, I mean, it's a great fit. The time is now, now or never. And we finally got him, and it was super, super easy. He knew that we were hard workers, he's a hard worker himself. I wouldn't want to be on tour with anybody else but Chucky. He has taught me so much, not even just driving, but also mechanics of the truck. Anytime I have problems with it, I know I can go to him and ask him any question, and I know he's gonna give me the best answer possible and even be a great teacher along the way. He's only 21 years old, but he has so much knowledge in that brain of his that it's like hard to comprehend sometimes. But I've been super blessed to have him on tour with me, and I'm I'm hoping I get to be on tour with him next year, too.
SPEAKER_00How much uh working on the trucks do you get to do? Uh being an independent team, I know there's some split responsibilities there. Some some drivers have to both drive the truck and fix you is you basically you break it, you fix it. Is that what your role is as well? Are you also back there wrenching away, or do you have other crew that travels with you that takes care of most of that?
SPEAKER_01So we've got another crew guy, Nick Bulger. He actually used to be the crew chief for Jamie Sullivan in Sparkle Smash, and it was really funny. So we got him on our team. He's always been wanting to do the independent scene for a while. So we had a spot open and we kind of gave it a shot. And he is the hardest worker I know. He always makes sure my truck is 150% ready to go. He makes sure that I'm good to go after every race pass, even if it's just starting the truck and loading it in the trailer. He'll be like, Everything seems okay, everything good. And I'm like, everything is great. So having him and Chucky and I on tour, it's it's been amazing. We have had nearly zero to no problems. And if we do, we all work as a machine well together. So I think that's what makes us a really good team. But what comes with independent is I do, even though I'm a girl, I also you break it, you fix it. So even though I may not know how to fix it, I'm right there along with Nick or right there along with Chucky, Johnny, John, whoever's fixing the truck. If I don't know how to do it, I'm right there next to them, handing them tools and just taking it all in and learning how to fix it so that for next time I can do it.
SPEAKER_00I love that. You got to respect that. You break it, you fix it, and the fact that you're back there doing that. That's how I learned as a pit reporter. I would I would go back there and try to help so I could learn different parts because I knew nothing about monster drip monster jam trucks when I started this job almost a decade ago. So I had to learn that way. And I don't think honestly, with Monster Jam, there's no there's no better way to learn. As you said, as a driver, it's C time, right? No better way to learn than to be in the truck. And when it comes to wrenching, there's no better way to learn than to grab a wrench and you know try try to bang on something and see what happens. So I absolutely love that attitude. Yeah, let's talk about your rookie season, uh, freestyle made a championship series presented by Spin Master. That's that's uh such an interesting and entertaining series um with the FMX riders as well. And uh, you had you had some some great moments on the season. I mentioned we watched that we have Monster Jam replay and fast track that you know kind of keep some of our stadium arena events broadcast on our 24-7 channel. So I was able to watch a lot of your events. And how how would you assess your first season on Freestyle Mania?
SPEAKER_01I had so much fun. Honestly, I told myself it's not all about winning for me. Like I know everybody, like Weston, Tony, Fern, even Chucky was up there getting his first overall of his career. That was super cool and amazing to be a part of. But I was telling myself it's not about points, it's not about anything like that. As long as I am staying consistent and improving little by little each weekend, that's all I cared about. And looking back on the first weekend out of the year, which was Greensboro, I believe, and looking at just Lexington that just happened, I have grown so much, not even in just racing, even two-wheel, even freestyle. You can just tell I've gotten a lot more comfortable. And I'm just super, super proud of myself. And the freestyle mania tour was so much fun. We not only had eight of the best drivers, but we had eight of the best FMX riders. So not only are we competitive with each other driver-wise, but we're also messing with each other backstage while we have to react to our FMX riders. And my rider, Cam Sepulvita, he was a blast this whole year. He was so much fun. Him and I, we created a bond with each other, and I'm super excited to be cheering him on at World Finals this upcoming weekend. So I'm hoping we can pull out a couple wins as Team Sparkle Smash, but we'll see.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, they made such an impact. And and FMX has always been a part of Monster Jam since I way before I even started. They're always so fun and entertaining for the fans to watch. But I think that series that you were on this year made a huge impact in Monster Jam because it was so unique and so different. And I think that translates to the fact that now the freestyle mania FMX riders like him are going to be involved at world finals and are actually going to compete for world championships there. So I think that's a huge testament to what you guys accomplished because I know that it was this crazy wild idea to put these two worlds together in a team format, but what just on TV and at the events, it works so well. And I think that the future is is awesome for this partnership to continue to grow. So well done because you were a huge part of that.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Yeah, it was I was a little nervous at first. We all kind of were hesitant on what really could happen with this because obviously Monster Jam has done this before, but it was only during the summer. It wasn't a full-fledged first quarter, so we didn't really know how it was gonna work at first. But once we got our footing in it, and once we got all of the scheduling down and how it was gonna work, it was so much fun and it was super flawless. We all knew what we had to do as drivers and as FMX riders, and the best part was the reaction. We you can see Chucky pawkin with his inflatable pencil, or you can see me like blowing trying to blow confetti for Cam, but those confetti poppers are super hard, they are a lot harder than they look. It's not just a simple button I get to press. I gotta actually do it. But just the shenanigans behind the scenes, too, that added to the fun aspect of it. So I'm hoping that Monster Dam does it again.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I think I don't think we've seen the last of Freestyle Maniac and I don't I don't have any of that information, that's just my opinion. Uh, before people start quoting me on that, I don't know. I just I would like to see it. Um, I I don't know if you've you know watched Primetime or you've watched the podcast before, but I have made no no bones about my affection for Sparkle Smash.
SPEAKER_01Um I have, I have.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Uh so I think it's just I mean, obviously on TV I am I am very unbiased and I call what I see, but as a fan and as a girl dad and seeing their eyes light up when they see the truck. I mean, we we had we had sparkle smash about 10 minutes from my house doing a display, and it was just so cool. So I I love that, I love that truck. Like I'm a huge sparkle smash nerd. Um I have I have merchandise grown men adult shirts um for for that. So uh obviously you being on the team, awesome for you. But what was your initial response when you found out you were gonna be a part of that sparkle smash team?
SPEAKER_01I am not gonna lie to you. So now that people have seen Frostbite and what I normally drive, imagine getting the call that you're not only going into Monster Jam, but you're gonna be a part of Team Sparkle Smash. I was nervous as heck, but I was also really hesitant. I am not the big old, you know, glitter, sparkles, hot pink, rhinestones, let's do it all. I am the complete opposite. I am a convoy through and through. I loved racing anything on four wheels when I was a kid, go-karts, four-wheelers, you name it. I was on it. I am not a girly girl. So when I first found out, I was really hesitant, but it was really the fans that made me love the truck. Seeing all of the little girls in the stands and all of the moms, too. Not only the little girls dressing up in tutus and making their own signs and making their own necklaces, girls show me their nails, the moms, too. The moms, I have to shout out all the monster jam moms in the world because their outfits are top tier. Not even just for Sparkle Smash fans, but for any fan of any truck. The moms, I tell you, they are amazing. So being able to see all the girls in the stands and all the women supporting me and hearing the loud cheer and the loud roar, even during intros or when I pop a confetti, there's sometimes when they're so loud and I'm maybe taking a turn and the motor's a little quiet, I can hear them screaming because of how much they love the truck. And even after the show at the VIP meet and greets, I may feel like I had an okay night and I could have done better. But just being able to represent the Sparkle Smash team as well as just a woman and female in motorsports, having little girls and women tell me how great of a job I did and how inspiring I am. That's why I love to do what I do. I can have a crappy day, or man, I could have done way better in freestyle. My racing wasn't that great. But even just being able to start the truck and just drive around the track, having little girls tell me that I'm an inspiration to them, they want to be like me when I grow up. That is a lot of pressure, A, but B, it's also really rewarding at the same time.
SPEAKER_00So once the season's over, now you transition, at least in Lexington, you got to debut Frostbite for the first time in Monster Jam, which was also very cool. And we are we covered both of the uh Lexington events for Monster Jam replay. So fans will be able to see your Frostbite debut on television a little bit later. But talk to me about the creation of Frostbite and where that came from.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I knew, I think at the end of 2024, we knew we were gonna build me a brand new truck. We just didn't know what it was gonna be yet, and it was completely up to me what I wanted it to be, and I had no idea. I actually have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, so I was trying to think of like play on words, like misdemeanor or whatever, but I was like, eh, it's kind of not really sticking. And I knew that all the kids love the animals in Monster Jam El Toro Loco, Sparkle Smash, like all those animals, they go crazy for it. So I was kind of coming up with an idea, and obviously we don't have polar bears in Michigan, but it's always cold here, mostly of the time. So I was kind of thinking of a polar bear, and I knew that was immediately what I wanted it to be, but we couldn't figure out a name. So my mom actually came up with the name for it. She was driving down the road one day and saw a Jeep Wrangler all white out with the word frostbite on the side of it. She called me and she was like, Hey, frostbite, that's the name of your truck. And I was like, Yeah, it is. So it honestly, it's super, super awesome to be able to run a concept that I came up with, but then also my mom came up with the name for it. So every time I run out on the track as Frostbite, I not only want to make myself proud, but I want to make her proud as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was that, I mean, that had to have been a huge moment for you to be able to bring it to Monster Jam. Because I mean, ultimately, you know, Sparkle Smash is great, but you had this truck that you helped create that's sitting at home in Michigan, and so now you spend a season with Monster Jam. So getting to debut it, that had to have been a huge, a huge thrill for you because all that hard work that you've done for so many years finally paid off.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, that's exactly what it was. It was such an honor, not even just to be in Monster Dam as a Scarlett Smash driver, but also as Frostplay. You know, my team and everyone ascendant motorsports and I, we worked our butts off to get that truck up and ready to go. And I always feel 110% ready to go in that truck. I love the truck so, so much. And we spent a long time on it, especially the body. The body is no joke, it is extremely heavy, and when it breaks, it breaks, it flies into a million pieces. It's super hard to put back together. But just being able to show it off in Monster Jam and show it to the world of Monster Jam, it was such a rewarding feeling. It's like you said, all that hard work paying off and seeing the fans' reactions to the truck, it was super amazing. They were like, Oh, you're the mystery truck. So it was super cool seeing the fans' eyes light up and seeing in person exactly the feedback on the truck. And from what I got, everybody loved it. So I'm super, super glad.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it looks it looked really cool. Congratulations on that success, by the way. That's a huge honor. Thank you. And uh you deserve that. I I do want to ask uh for our Frostbite fans out there, are there is there any future, any plans uh in the works to have Frostbite return to Monster Jam?
SPEAKER_01Not that I know of. Um, I'm currently doing my summer circuit right now, so I'm just doing mostly like fair shows and stuff like that around home. But if Monster Jam would love to have me back, I would love to bring Frostbite back. I know that I would love for not only the Lexington, Kentucky fans, but I love to give the chance for everybody to see that truck in person because not a lot of people know when you look at the truck online, it looks like it's just plain white, but there's actually a lot of fur detail in the rack. So I would love for people to be able to see the truck up close and in person.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I got a chance to uh sit in uh John Sr.'s Uproar. I know it was um not didn't have the body of Upper Runner, but it was that chassis. It was the white chassis for that truck was was super cool, and yours has a similar aesthetic to it. So I love it. Uh well, hopefully we'll also see you back behind the wheel of Sparkle Smash soon. I don't know if you uh are gonna continue down that road, but if you do, I think you're an awesome addition to that team. And we'd I would love to see you back uh as a part of the Sparkle Smash group.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you. I'd love to be a part of it again. You know, all the girls were so welcoming. Even Logan, she gave me a little unicorn bracelet at Summit last year, and she was like, Welcome to the family. And I was like, Welcome to you too, because her and I are both rookies, not only just in Monster Jam, but to the Sparkle Smash family. So we all rally around each other, we're all supporting each other on social media. You know, when Kayla has a good run, I'm always like, Heck yeah, Kayla, that was a great backflip, or that was a great run. And we're always cheering each other on. So I'm excited for all five of us to be reunited at world finals and to finally be able to all be in one place at the same time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I know there will be a sparkle smash zone there, and um, I I have a lot of things that I'm doing world finals week, but I'm gonna make my way to the sparkle smash zone at some point in time. You trust me. So I will come and say hi to you in person. But thank you so much for being here. Uh Kylie Kent, everybody, uh please follow her on social media, keep an eye on the Sparkle Smash team at World Finals, and thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00All right, that is all the time we have. I will see you right here next week with another brand new edition of Inside Monster Jam, the official Monster Jam podcast.