We went to the mud drags at the fairgrounds this weekend. It was cool because it was a bunch of local guys, that everyone knew, pounding on their everyday trucks.

Anywho, between the qualifier and the main compitition, the radio station guy, that was anouncing the event, sent their stock Dodge fullsize through the pit with his wife driving. Needless to say it sank like a rock. Put a big hole in the middle of the lane, 3/4 of the way through. After that, every winner came out of the other lane.

The drivers bitched, but nothing was done about it. What course of action should have been taken with this? Should the event organizer had the lanes regroomed? Or was this a case of "tough luck"?


everyone I've talked to so far isn't really happy with the promoter, so I'm getting some info together and I'll shoot you an email. There's lots of interest in something big around here, but no one seems to be getting it right. It's time for a new promoter.

If it's truly mud "drags", then the track needs to be regroomed every couple of classes - or even after every class if you have a lot of vehicles. And if you're running side-by-side, everyone should get a crack at both lanes. Run the entire class, then bring 'em back around in the same order, but reverse the lanes.

Most of the big sanctioning bodies use ET rather than eliminations. If there's two lanes, everyone runs once per lane & their fastest time is the one that counts toward placing. That way, if one lane is a little messed up, it is still pretty fair. And it IS pretty tough to keep both lanes really equal in mud.

We've used a Bobcat or a large tractor with a disc to regroom. But, the best way is with a Hi-Lift, like a 963CAT. Just angle the bucket down & back through the track. Couple of passes for each lane & you're ready to race again. Guys down South use a small tractor with a roto-tiller on back. I'm hoping to try that one of these days as it seems like a good way to go. Some groups also use a chisel plow, but you've gotta be careful not to go too deep with it.

For a single-lane mud "bog" we wouldn't worry so much about a deep hole appearing in the pit unless it gives us a safety concern 'cause everyone would have to negotiate it. Or, if it just gets too easy to get through, we'll add water & stir at some point between classes. Around here, we usually have to do that at least once per race, sometimes more.

You mention local guys & that's one thing I always try to stress is that local involvement means lots of local fans in the stands. Ideally, you'll also have some out-of-town hotdogs who'll come in & put on a good show for the fans. But, the bottom line is that regardless of how "professional" the race is, you HAVE to have a place for the local guys in relatively stock trucks to compete.

I don't promote events, but I do have some connections there. And I do sanction events anywhere. So, if you'd be interested in having a GUMBO sanctioned race, I'd be willing to consider it. You can see pics from my most recent race at my website: www.gumbo4x4.com You'll see the link to the Top Mud Challenge V pics right on the front page :)

Later,
TEX

Thanks TEX.