Barnyard Firecracker 4x4 - 2012

I headed to the Barnyard All-terrain Park in Maine to check out the Firecracker 4x4.

The “Hill N Hole” was a course set up with several hills and mud holes hence the name.  It looked like speed was needed to make it through the mud.  There were no stands and lots of people so it was hard for me to see.

The “Long Jump” was next on the list.  The trucks were to take the jump and land on flat ground which can mess with suspensions, etc.  The jumps from the previous day took its toll on some of the entries so only one truck entered.  I had to move my truck not realizing I parked in the landing zone. 

The truck takeoff looked good but made a loud bang on the landing.  It looked like the front suspension or axle broke.  As the truck came to a stop the driver got out and didn’t look well.  He went right to the ground and onto his back.  It looked to me like he could have compressed his spine or hurt his neck from the landing impact.  When I look closely at my pictures I see the drivers shoulders up high and helmet above the headrest when in the air.  The impact picture shows shoulders and helmet much lower in the seat.  They kept the drivers head still.  An area was cleared for a possible med flight helicopter landing in case it was needed.  After about 40 minutes he was taken away in an ambulance.

Unlike Vermonster, the “Deep Mud” (Classes 2, 4, 5, 7) competition had 2 trenches.  One was for the class 2 vehicles and was not as deep.  The other was for the class 4+ trucks.  It looked to be 5 or 6 feet deep at one spot.  A couple trucks came close but I didn’t see one make it all the way through that deep section.  There was more continuous action with the 2 lanes going at the same time which was nice.

 
At the starting line a long cable was hooked to the back of each truck.  As they made their run the cable was dragged behind them.  The cable would be unhooked if the truck crossed the finish line and the cable would be pulled back to the start line by the skidder.  If the truck didn’t make the finish line their distance was measured and the skidder would pull the truck back to the starting line and off the track.   

I am not a huge Jeep fan but several surprised me at how well they did in the class 2 competition.  They seemed light enough so they didn’t get bogged down in the mud.  A couple of the big stock trucks like mine were too heavy and didn’t have the tires or clearance to get very far. 

This truck was driven by a young lady (16 years old) with her father in the passenger seat.  She made a full run in the class 2 but went up the bank at around 130 feet so was not given credit for the full run.  I saw it and didn’t think she went out of bounds.  She did an excellent job although I did tell the person next to me it was similar to many parents “Drivers Ed” experiences with their kids.  On her second run she bogged down about a foot short of the finish line. 

I only saw one truck flip on its side in the deep trench.  They used an excavator to help get it out.  I’m pretty sure the truck frame got twisted in the attempt.

There was no work area so it was fun walking around watching people work on the trucks up close.

They did have “Fast Track” drag races but I had to head back before they started. 

It was family friendly and fun to watch.  


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