Many of the hundreds of children waiting in line Saturday for a five-minute ride in the back of a monster truck may dream of one day sitting behind its steering wheel.

It's not a bad job if you can get it, said Mark Hall, driver of the Raminator, a 10-foot-tall, 10,300-pound mainstay of the monster truck circuit. Hall, six-time winner of Monster Truck Racing Association driver of the year, drives a truck that has been named truck of the year six times also.

"I'm a hardcore racer, I'll be honest; but I kind of like days like this, too," Hall said, as he looked down the long line of people hoping to be in the next load of eight to climb the ladder into the bed of the Raminator ride truck.

People paid $2 each to ride the truck in a circuit around the Marshall Automotive Group dealership, 3500 S. Ninth, with the proceeds going to the Marines Toys for Tots program.

The truck's route took riders down into a hole that was dug out while the overpass was being constructed, wound through rows of junker cars waiting to be crushed in a driving demonstration and spun a fast circle before stopping for the next load.

"The only time it stops is to load and unload," said Tim Davison, sales consultant at Marshall's.

Eight-year-old Salinan Cauy Rickley and his mom, Jackie, were among the people who waited in line for more than an hour before climbing into the truck.

"I wasn't scared," Rickley said, although he said his mom was. "I just had to hold the seat because it was a bumpy ride, and I didn't want to bump out."

He said the ride was really fun.

When 3-year-old Peyton Taylor exited the truck, he was tight-lipped about the experience.

"He doesn't talk much," said his dad, Eric Taylor, of Bridgeport.

So, was the ride worth the hour-and-40-minute wait?

"Oh, yeah," Taylor said. "Anything that makes him happy is worth it."

The Dodge Raminator and the Rammunition made their fifth appearance at Marshall's on Saturday. Larry Marshall, owner of the dealership, said the monster trucks and the Hall Brothers Racing team were greeted by their biggest crowd of fans yet.

Raminator's driver, Hall, 40, said he has had a lot of fun in the monster truck profession. He started driving monster trucks when he was a senior in high school in Champagne, Ill.

He said interest in racing came naturally, as his father was a motorcycle race announcer, and he grew up around races. When he wanted to compete himself, his mom insisted on something safer than a motorcycle.

Hall said although he's wrecked his truck several times, he's never been injured -- "just my pride a little bit."

The Hall brothers build their own trucks.

"We start with a broom," he said. "We sweep an area off on the floor and start laying it out."

Saturday's crowd got to see the result of the brothers' combined efforts as the Rammunition, driven by Geremie Dishman, crushed a row of old cars and became airborne in a driving demonstration.

He said his brother and crew chief, Tim, got his engineering degree from the University of Illinois, and he considers himself a bit of a "backyard engineer."

The trucks, which are powered by supercharged Hemi engines, burn through about a gallon of alcohol fuel a minute, Hall said. Alcohol is cheaper than gasoline, he said, but, "We feel it when we pull up to the pump."

Children at the event enjoyed just climbing onto the huge truck tires to pose for pictures. Caleb Jamison, 6, who was perched on the top of one of Rammunition's rear wheels is a "monster truck nut," said his dad, Jason Jamison, of Abilene. His little brother, Ryan, 2, fit handily into the truck's wheel well.

"We came last year and this year, and I've taken him to the shows at the BiCenter," Jamison said. "From here, we're going to the pumpkin patch at the bison farm. We've got a big day planned."

n Reporter Erin Mathews can be reached at 822-1415 or by e-mail at emathews@salina.com.

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