Iron Warrior’s Trey Myers Respected by Peers as Well as Fans

By Scott Douglass
Jul 20, 2010

As much as just about any Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam fan, even though I work in the sport, I’ve got an incredible appreciation for what the Dennis Anderson’s, Tom Meents’, and other top tier performers have done to make this the incredible competition what it is today. Yet I’ve always been aware, whether announcing or writing or just talking about the big trucks and the individuals who make them so spectacular, that the sport would be extremely limited if we only paid attention to the biggest superstars in the game. Sure, a one-on-one match-up between Grave Digger and Maximum Destruction would be a blast, but it takes a lot more than those two to give fans the entire night of non-stop action that thrills millions each year. So personally I’ve always enjoyed learning more about, and telling fans about, those hard working talents in the game today who don’t have the name recognition of an Anderson or a Meents, but are such a big part of the success the industry enjoys today. 

One who fits that description in today’s Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam series is Trey Myers, driver of the Iron Warrior Ford F-150. The native of Brunswick, MD, is one of those respected, well liked competitors by his peers as well as the fans. I can’t think of a time when I’ve been around Myers that he hasn’t had a smile on his face, and like so many who tour these days, he’s always one of the first to jump in and assist anyone who needs some help in the pits. So it was natural when he was honored for his attitude on the road, something that means a lot to him. “For me the biggest highlight of my career was in 2008 when I won the Sportsman of the Year award,” Myers says. “To be recognized by Monster Jam as the Sportsman of the Year, man, that means so much. Throughout the year you are always just trying to be in a good mood and be a good sport about everything and it’s just unbelievable to get a little bit of recognition. Everybody in this sport, we work so hard, we’re all in it together to put on a good show. So that’s one of the real big highlights for me.” 

Myers entry into the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam world is similar to many others in that he started out in other motorsports rather than always having a plan to be in a monster. “From a very early age I was always fooling around with four wheelers, dirt bikes and all of that kind of stuff,” Myers explained. “Then I got into drag racing for a few years. I always knew that I wanted to travel, but I never knew it would be in monster trucks. I just kind of fell into it. My dream in life was to be on a professional Top Fuel team. Then I hooked up with Mike Vaters. Back in 1999 was the very first race that I ever went to. And, man, the monster truck sport, there are so many friendly people in it once you get to know everybody, it just sucks you in. So here I am 11 years later.” 

That was how Myers got into Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam, working on Black Stallion. That truck, known for multi-time Thunder Nationals Champion Mike Vaters quarter-century plus of great performances, is actually the piece that also served as Myers first actual competitive ride. “About 6 years ago Mike had an injury, he hurt his ribs, and he put me in Black Stallion. That was in Lima, Ohio, six years ago. I was scared to death,” Myers recalled. “My first show, a huge event like Lima, thousands and thousands of people are there and he just throws me in the truck and says ‘hey, you gotta go for it.’ From 1999 until then I had helped Mike working on the truck and each year I would get more and more involved until I became the Crew Chief for Black Stallion for a few years. From the experience that I learned there it went forward, and the year I got my Masters Degree is when we first leased the Iron Warrior and expanded into a two-truck team.” 

That’s right, Myers has a Masters Degree working in an industry where hard work, special talent, and experience is the top criteria, but a great education in today’s world is being found more and more in the pits and behind the wheel. So what did Trey earn his advanced degree in? “Business Administration from Frostburg State University in Maryland,” he confirmed. He’s certainly not alone as an Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam superstar with a coveted educational degree. “I think Jimmy Creten has one in engineering, Dawn Creten, I believe that she has a degree in another field, there’s a few of us out here with different degrees.” 

Having gotten that advanced education Myers still loved hands on work and actually was making a living using a hobby that he loved. “I do custom body and paint work. I was doing that actually before I started doing this,” Myers continued. “I actually paint on several of the trucks on tour, from our two trucks to the Storm Damage truck, the Killer Bee truck, the Screamin’ Demon team; I’ve also had the pleasure of working on Dave Rappach’s Rap Attack at one point.” 

It may not have been a lifelong plan to get into Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam, but Trey Myers is lovin’ every minute of it now that he has, and he really relishes all of the unique opportunities that this sport has allowed him to enjoy. “We’ve got the Monster Jam tour throughout Europe. We’ve done so many countries over there, and a year ago I had the pleasure of going to Poland,” Myers said in discussing what he loves most about the sport. “It was so nice being in Poland. You would never expect that country to be as beautiful as it is and for the people to be as friendly as they were. Throughout the world I’ve also been down to Costa Rica and I even did the Mexico City tour. It’s really unbelievable and it really gets a hold of you when you travel internationally with Monster Jam. We really touch a lot of people, and not just here in the United States, but now it really is all around the world.” 

Well versed, world traveler Trey Myers, a humble, hard working, well liked Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam superstar that loves what he does and is always ready to go the extra mile, whether it’s to give even more of the Iron Warrior for the fans, or to help any other competitor on the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam tour get back on the track to make more magic for the crowds everywhere on today’s global series.