El Camino Monster Truck Driver Also Mom, Small Business Owner and FedEx Truck Driver
- Dec 18, 2009
Shelley Kujat demonstrated the power of the Shell-Camino Monster Truck
Top Alcohol Monster Truck Shell-Camino
"Ron (husband) and I own and run an automotive repair shop, and I've also worked for FEDEX driving a truck for 20 years. Ron has always been a gear head and loves wrenching. Ron and our two sons (Josh and Adam) did a lot of drag racing when they were in high school. We spent many weekends together as a family. It was a perfect hobby for them and it kept us involved in family activities on the weekends. We found it a good way to stay active in their teen years and keep them out of trouble," says Kujat.
"When the boys grew up and moved out, we needed something fun for a hobby. It had to be something in the race world - although I didn't care much for the idea of racing so close to the ground. The obvious choice of course was monster trucks. It is rewarding to be able to go out and put on a great performance in a truck we built that holds together so well."
"The most rewarding part is meeting great people and fans. The positive encouragement we receive from our fans and our sponsors helps to ease the many challenges of this business and sport," adds Kujat.
Shelley Kujat and and the Shell-Camino Monster Truck
2009 turned out to be a great year for Shelley, Ron and the Shell-Camino truck. They started the season out strong with a set of brand new shocks. It took some time to get them dialed in, but they now seem to be getting closer to finding the winning combo. They ran hard all year long and will finish pretty high in the overall standings (final results are still pending). Shelley survived a couple severe crashes this year, but she never missed a single show.
"Our first truck, Aces High, is an all steel body 1972 Chevy El Camino, it's an old school monster truck," says Kujat. "It has a 383 small block Chevy alcohol motor that produces around 1200 hp."
Aces High was the second El Camino monster truck ever created and the only one still in existence. Aces High competed with well-known trucks such as Bigfoot. Throughout its years it has proven itself many times from its flame throwing exhaust, to being rewarded the world's record for wheel stands, performed in Las Vegas.
Kujat will tell you that she views Aces High as is a flawless piece of art .The complete frame is powder-coated. The body is an original all steel 1972 Chevy El Camino.
Shelley and Ron recently had to make a difficult decision when deciding to retire the Aces High truck from the competition circuit. They will however still continue to perform with a guest appearance forum within the circuit. The two have constructed and completed the clone of Aces High, called Shell-Camino, which debuted in 2007. Simply put the Kujat's say it's "Old School, New Rules!"
"Shell-Camino, our newest truck, which took us 16 months to build, houses a 512 cubic-inch big block Chevy engine. This blown alcohol power plant produces around 1600 hp. We have found this combination to be quite bullet proof," claims Kujat.
"We currently use the K&N conical reusable air filter and the pre-filter wrap. We have noticed significantly less blower wear and cylinder wall scuffing using this combination."
"We are constantly upgrading our truck. We are still in fact tweaking the shocks. We plan on participating in some large venues this year. We have a busy schedule planned including some out of the country venues. I took out some big names this year, and I intend to continue going down my list, checking them off, says Kujat with her game face on.
"I would like to say thanks to K&N and our fans - just remember "Girls Rock!"
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