Body Style:  Custom 3D Maine Lobster

Chassis:  Patrick Enterprises

Engine:  468 c.i. Chevrolet w/671 Blower

Tires:  Goodyear 66" Terra Tires

Transmission:  Custom Turbo 400 Automatic

Shocks:  Patrick Enterprises w/26" Travel

Transfer Case:  SCS Front Load

Planetaries:  PS250 Rockwell

Driver Name:  Greg Winchenbach

Hometown:  Jefferson, Maine

Birthdate:  March 8th, 1973

Marital Status:  Single

Children:  Ashley - Age 7, Zachary - Age 4

Favorite Food:  Steak and Shrimp

Favorite Movie:  Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Favorite TV Show:  Anything on SPEED

Favorite Competitor to Race Against:  Gary Porter

Team History:  The story of Greg Winchenbach the monster truck driver starts off much like that of many other drivers. Growing up in Jefferson, Maine, the thing to do was either play sports or work on cars. Greg was a car guy and began driving anything with wheels, and even snowmobiles, during his high school years. To feed this obsession, Greg found work in a local four wheel drive shop, building up trucks including his own personal vehicle. His work would eventually get his 1983 Chevy pickup featured in magazines like 4-Wheel Off-Road. But soon his truck had grown to a size so large, he began getting hassled by local authorities and couldn’t drive it around town.

Eventually Greg reached a crossroads where he wanted to either go snowmobile racing full time or get an even bigger truck and go monster truck racing. Greg had been a fan of monster trucks for many years, and as his experience in working on four wheel drive trucks had grown, going monster truck racing full time no longer seemed as far fetched.

So Greg began to follow the path that most aspiring monster truck drivers do – going to shows and helping out teams there competing. The most influential inspiration for Greg was a legend by the name of Jesse Birgy. Each year when Birgy would bring his Play’n 4 Keeps monster truck up to Hunnewell Valley, Greg would try to help out Jesse where he could, mostly trying to stay out of the way. Finally one year, Birgy told Greg if he would wash the truck he would let him drive it the 500 feet across the field to the wash area and back. That one experience, sitting behind the wheel of all that massiveness and power, was enough – Greg Winchenbach was hooked on monster trucks for good.

For his next move, Greg managed to hook on with drivers like Alan Tura and Tod Frolick, going on tour as a crew guy and getting more experience. This would eventually lead to an incredible job offer – teammate driving the second truck for Fred Shafer’s team, touring with Frolick and Bearfoot. But rather than taking that opportunity and having to leave his beloved Maine behind, Greg decided to stake out on his own.

In 1996, Greg purchased his very first truck. Without a single spare part in the trailer and having never hit a set of cars in the truck, Winchenbach set out on the road. The first show would be in Salem, Virginia at the Salem Civic Center against competition such as Bobby Holman and his Beast, Mopar Magic and Jersey Outlaw, all in front of over 5,000 people. In his very first freestyle, Greg would make a cheer off for the win with Mopar Magic and would sweep the wheelie contest the rest of the weekend.

It was a great start for his small time operation and a sweep of three racing wins in Texas would continue that momentum. But the hard charging would take a toll as, at another event, a wild end over end roll during racing would severely damage the truck. Greg did his best to keep the truck running but it would eventually have to be junked leaving Greg back at square one.

With one destroyed chassis to rebuild and no parts to do it, Greg would find some temporary driving work for other teams. Filling in behind the wheel of Devil’s Dodge, Greg had the opportunity to run against legends like Dennis Anderson and Gary Porter. After those couple shows, Winchenbach was able to hook with Calvin Carrington during his 1998 tour of New England, driving the Stone Cold, Undertaker and Rattlesnake trucks.

Returning from this tour, Greg realized that the only way to do monster trucking right was to have a shop, tools and spare parts. The realization also began to set in that rebuilding the old chassis just wasn’t going to happen. So in late 1999, Greg called up legendary driver and builder Dan Patrick and ordered up Patrick Enterprises Chassis #22. The new tube chassis arrived months later, only to be left sitting with Greg too busy working other jobs to start work on it.

After a couple years spent working various jobs including time as a lobster fisherman, Greg completed his new shop and started Mountain Road Repair. With a family to take care of and a business to run, that left little time to work on the monster truck. Each year Greg and the kids would attend the local Monster Jam events, and that would inspire Greg to get to working on the truck some more. But not long after, his responsibilities would take back over.

Finally around early 2008, Greg had built up Mountain Road Repair and trained a great employee and friend, “Fish”, to help run the business. Nearly 10 years after originally purchasing the chassis from Dan Patrick, Greg set to work on finishing the truck. As the assembly began moving along at a steady pace, the question of what identity to give the monster took center stage.

While traveling around the country racing, Greg would always be asked where he was from. When he answered that he lived in Maine, people would always immediately mention lobster. Being a proud Maine native and former lobster fisherman, Greg began toying with the idea of a lobster themed monster truck. But the image that kept coming to mind was not just a truck body with a lobster on it – it was of an actual 3D lobster body. While Greg was not personally a big fan of some of the other 3D bodies in monster trucks, there was no denying the fact that they bring a great deal of attention and casual fans love them.

After much discussion with friends and careful consideration of the cost of such a project, Greg embraced the idea whole heartedly and set out to make his monster truck into a Maine lobster. Using a Maine fiberglass shop and a Maine graphics designer and a great deal of time and money later, Greg’s crustacean creation was a reality. CRUSHSTATION, to be exact.

The reaction from a few local display events in Maine was astonishing, as people would stare in amazement at the giant lobster. When the first pictures of the truck hit the internet, fans began going crazy over this wild new creation. Sure there were some fans that don’t like 3D bodies that didn’t approve, but overall the reaction was huge – people loved the lobstah!

So after a few displays and a couple small exhibition events in late 2009, Greg Winchenbach and the Bottom Feeder Motor Sports team (that’s right) are ready to set out on tour in 2010 with the Crushstation monster truck. Even with a rather large deal of experience working in monster trucks, Greg Winchenbach will officially be part of 2010’s rookie crop having only driven around 15-20 shows in his career, spread out over 3 years. Greg is ready to contend to be the top rookie in monster trucks in 2010, with the eventual goal of making Crushstation one of the top performing trucks in the industry.

Get ready fans…Maine’s mutation sensation…the crustacean creation…the monstah lobstah…
Greg Winchenbach’s CRUSHSTATION is coming to a show near you!