Lights, cameras, and rockcrawling action. SuperCrawl 4 had it all, plus it was in Las Vegas, the city of sin. Most of the time, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but we couldn't let this event go by without bringing you some highlights. This meeting of rock wheelers from across the nation was again held on a man-made course, but this time comprised of dense Styrofoam covered with spray concrete, and assembled in less than a week in the front parking lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The teams of wheelers were split up so that different drivers would compete over the course of three evenings with competition starting at 5 p.m. and running till midnight every night.
Watching the competitors go at it under the night sky with Vegas lights in the background was an exciting change, plus with the SEMA show coming up the following week, we also got a sneak preview of the crew filming Overhaulin in a tent beside the SuperCrawl courses.
This event definitely had some unique news with it. First is that there are some new owners of the UROC Series that puts on SuperCrawl, so it will be interesting to see what 2006 will bring. Also, liability issues required that spotters could not use ropes or straps to try and help pull or balance the buggies on obstacles. This is an idea we support, being both safer and encouraging innovation in the design of new crawlers. The obstacles themselves were interesting to watch for someone with a 4x4 background, but we weren't surprised with how the crowds thinned out as the night got late. Hopefully next year it will start a wee bit earlier, and even more folks will come see where the sport is headed. To get the 2006 schedule, check out www.uroc.com or call 801.932.0322.
With the tight course proximity...
With the tight course proximity it was easy to watch multiple competitors twist over the foam-filled obstructions. Don "the Maverick" Robbins lifts a tire while attempting a narrow notch (left) and climb, while Joel "the Farmer" Randall (right) attempts to get his Currie Enterprise single-seat buggy unstuck from an obstacle where his front tires were hanging in the air. Both of these veterans of the sport have been competing from the start.
This Toyota-based modified...
This Toyota-based modified truck isn't much different from a lot of trail machines we see in the dirt, and driver Mike Hale wasn't scared to take it on every obstacle the other more "refined" rigs attempted. Although Hale and spotter Carl Headlee did spend a bit of time wrenching between obstacles, it was cool to see that more, shall we say, "beater" style rigs are still able to compete. Hale and Headlee finished in 19th Place in their class.
Shannon Campbell and spotter...
Shannon Campbell and spotter Mike Dieu had a great season on the UROC Series finishing in First Place and taking home the series championship, but problems with their rear locker made SuperCrawl a struggle.
Buggies were not the only...
Buggies were not the only 4x4s at SuperCrawl. There is also the Modified Class that requires some stock frame as well as a steering box (no full hydraulic steering), and no rear steer amongst its rules. Brad and Roger Lovell had one of the cleanest Modified Class rigs in Vegas, and they drove it to a First Place finish. This truggy was Ford based, with a shorty C4/Atlas combo, and even had working brake lights.
Raw X Racing's team of Jack...
Raw X Racing's team of Jack Graff and Jody Everding found themselves in a predicament when their front-engine rig dropped in a crack and seemed destined for a rooftop landing. But with seconds to go before timing out some throttle action helped them battle across the finish line and end SuperCrawl with a 19th Place finish.
For a split second we thought...
For a split second we thought the Herbst family of casino owners and desert racers had showed up to do some rockcrawling with a shark-themed buggy similar to their land shark racing Truggy, but in fact it was Dallas Luttrell with his team No. 38 shark buggy. He didn't exactly take a bite out of the competition, but he certainly was the favorite amongst the youngsters in the crowd.
You would think that such...
You would think that such a young motorsport as competitive rockcrawling would breed tons of innovation, but we are somewhat disappointed at how similar the buggies are becoming. One of the few outside-the-box rigs we saw was Jennifer and Todd Little's new rear-engine buggy. This vehicle pushed the limits of low center of gravity and increased unsprung weight by mounting the Subaru engine and drivetrain directly to the rear upper suspension links. To keep maximum ground clearance, a pair of custom Ford 9-inch/Mercedes Unimog hybrid portal axles was used.
Fabtech's Tracy Jordan was...
Fabtech's Tracy Jordan was driving his teammate Bruce Zeller's VW-powered moon-mobile, and took it all the way to the winner's circle. An interesting fact is that ex-desert-racetruck designer John Nelson started the mid-engine buggy craze, and the two buggies that he designed and built finished this event First and Second. The moonbuggy name applies to buggies with the engine right behind the driver seat, with the transmission (usually a Powerglide two-speed auto) and Atlas transfer case mounted beside the driver. This design has a very low center of gravity, but requires that the axles (often custom Ford 9-inch) be run upside down to correct the gear rotation.