OBSERVER Photo by Mary Heyl Kimberly Tilly-Robbins and her sons, Montana (left) and Triton are gearing up for Saturday’s exciting event. While she watches Triton compete, Tilly-Robbins will be on hand, operating the remote ignition interruptor, which stops the engine in the event of a rollover, crash or unexpected person on the track.

LAWTONS — It’s not every day you meet a high school student who is a monster truck driver–especially one who is still enrolled in driver’s education classes. This week, Triton Robbins, who will be starting his junior year at North Collins High School, managed to fit in an interview with the OBSERVER, an interview with Buffalo’s News 4 WIVB and driver’s ed. classes, in addition to his preparations for the fair.

On Saturday night, Robbins, 16, will be making his debut at the fair in the Aftershock Monster Truck Races at the Budweiser Grandstand at 7 p.m. This season marks Robbins’ first as a driver with his family’s monster truck production company, Monsters of the Fair, and it is already off to an exciting start!

Since 2001, the Robbins family has traveled throughout the country and several Canadian cities to compete in Monster Jam events. The family has a long history with monster trucks as Robbins’ father, Bob Robbins, Jr., has been driving for 17 years, and recently retired last year (the 2017 Chautauqua County Fair was his last event).

Robbins’ mother, Kimberly Tilly-Robbins, a native of the Dunkirk/Fredonia area, has been a part of the action since the beginning. In fact, she was pregnant with Triton at her husband’s first show, and even carried him in a front pack while shining and cleaning the trucks. “Both the boys started going on the road with us when they were about two months old. We’re all about family!”

Tilly-Robbins is excited to return to the area on Saturday night, as she has many fond memories of the fair growing up. “Growing up, I always looked forward to the Chautauqua County Fair. It’s just such a fun week, and I never would have dreamed that one day my son would be here competing in his monster truck!”

Preparations for this season included building and maintaining Robbins’ full-scale truck, Krazy Train, which is inspired by his great-grandfather’s railroad derailment company — and it’s also the name of a Hot Wheels toy!

Along with the help of his 12-year-old brother, Montana, and his father, Robbins built Krazy Train from the ground up. The 12,000-pound truck has a 512 c.i.d. Jan-Cen Racing Engine, FTI Powerglide transmission, an FTI transfer case and Rockwell F-106 axles. The tires stand at 66 inches high, and each one weighs between 800 and 1,000 pounds. “I put these tires on pretty much by myself,” said Robbins, who also performs all the maintenance work on his truck and the semi used to transport it.

Participating in monster truck racing is not without its challenges, even off the race track. In addition to working on Krazy Train, Robbins has been working for a diesel mechanic company since he was 13, servicing semis, ambulances and more. Robbins also must maintain a high grade point average in order to participate, per his parents’ rules. He is also the goalie for his school’s varsity soccer team.

“He’s just a really good kid,” Tilly-Robbins said proudly. “He’s humble, he’s hard-working and he’s learned so much. Everywhere we go, they learn about different cities and cultures. The boys have kept journals while we’re out on the road since they were old enough to draw trucks.”

There will be a pit party on Saturday at 5 p.m. where fans can meet Robbins for autographs and take photos with him and Krazy Train. “I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone and just getting out there and having a great time,” Robbins grinned. Fans can follow Robbins on Facebook and Instagram at Krazy Train Monster Truck.