VERMONSTER 4X4 - Bradford Mud Races - September 2014



Kevin, Seth, Steve, and I headed to Vermonster to watch some racing.  We arrived around 10:30AM.

It was mostly sunny, dry, and in the low 80’s.  No real breeze so standing or sitting in the sun was hot.  We brought coolers with drinks, food, and snacks.  There was a lot of dust as well.

Some safety changes that I saw.  Crushed clay stone was put between the trench  and the drag race lanes.  A lot less mud to deal with which made it a bit safer.   Spectator safety is top priority so the cable guardrail was replaced by concrete barriers.  The big tires on some of the trucks would potentially make the cable ineffective.  The concrete barriers make it harder to see trucks moving through the trench but provide better protection in case the trucks come out of the trench.



The monster trucks started with a couple laps and jumps.  One thing that was different.  CrushStation (Lobster) did a couple wheelies down the track.  It was impressive but no idea how he could see.  All the monster trucks had big engines with a couple in the 2000 hp range.

Drag races with different classes of trucks went on all day.  Mid-afternoon we moved to the pit area and over to the starting line of the drag racing lanes to watch the monster trucks.  I can tell you when two 2000hp trucks line up and the light tree goes off … it’s VERY LOUD …

We stayed near the starting line for the Hill & Hole also.  The Hill & Hole is a timed race that has 3 hills (or small jumps) and holes filled with mud and water.  They looked pretty deep and were large enough that they couldn’t be jumped over.  Airborne … Splash … mud flying … continue to the next one, etc.  … continuing on to the finish line.  We saw a couple great runs, some not so great, and a couple break downs with parts flying or breaking.

The trench wasn’t as deep as in years past.  Each truck makes 2 runs.  Early on quite a few trucks completed the course.  As the day progressed the trench got deeper in several spots so fewer trucks made it to the end.

Rock crawling was at the far end.  We watched a couple jeeps really get banged up trying to complete the course.  Several got lifted off with the help of the backhoe.

We had a good time and enjoyed the day.

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