His father served in the US Navy, ran a large Dairy Farm in Big Bend, and when the Milwaukee suburbs moved in closer, became a Realtor.
His mother raised Paul on the farm and their new house until he became old enough to take care of himself then went on to a very successful career at Marshall Fields in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Stender grew up racing ATVs, motorcycles, and snowmobiles in his teens and early twenties.
He then made the jump into the big leagues and began racing Badger and USAC Midgets.
After a series of spectacular crashes that resulted in numerous broken bones and concussions, he retired from Oval Racing in the early 1990s.
After searching for some time, he decided to purchase one of the fastest in the country, the Jazz Jet Funny Car which he renamed "Runnin' with the Devil".
He acquired the world's only car crushing Monster Harley-Davidson Motorcycle to perform at events nationwide.
Stender went to a Monster Truck show in Michigan to watch his new Jet ATV perform.
One day while at an airshow in the deep southwest he saw the wind blow a portable outhouse across the tarmac at high speed.
After the Jet Outhouse was built Stender decided to move his entire motorsports operation to Indianapolis, Indiana, the Racing Capital of the World.
The Monster Garage crew flew up to Paul's shop in Indianapolis and after a week of filming, they completed the J-79 powered Jet Beer Truck.
Stender has performed at air shows and motorsport events around the world including in Trinidad, Puerto Rico, and even in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
There are even some street-legal Turbine-powered vehicles including a 928 Porche, a Chevrolet Pickup Truck, and a 23' Ford T-Bucket.
Stender and his vehicles have been featured in publications including FHM, Popular Science, ESPN the Magazine, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, and the National Enquirer.