Jeff Krekeler, 52, owner of Krekeler Jewelers in Farmington, Mo., on his High Roller II monster truck, as told to A.J. Baime.

The first monster truck, Bigfoot, came out of St. Louis in the 1970s. I grew up an hour south in Farmington, and I remember getting to see Bigfoot’s creator Bob Chandler thrash that truck through a mud pit like a mad man, before the truck became a national phenomenon.

A...