The Frame Twister
What it is: Approximately 200 feet of wretchedness that gets serious real fast with a tight turn and strategically placed sick-big boulders. It then progresses to a loose dirt hill and some off-camber pools of water. It finishes with our legendary evil mud hole with logs placed perpendicular to the direction of travel.
How it works: Competitors have a maximum of 10 minutes to complete the course. Penalties in the form of seconds are assessed for infractions such as winching, hitting a marker cone, and so on. Since this is the first event of Top Truck, completing the run without breakage is a very good thing. This year, no rig made it to the finish line without winching.
Finish Line Quotes
"Once you hit those logs with the low tire pressure, it's like throwing a rubber ball around."--Brian Buck
"Everything was awesome. Killer. That's one of the hardest things I've ever done right there."--Brad Pellett
"It was awesome! Bent my steering wheel, but oh well. That was the most extreme stuff I've ever done, and this was the event I was worried about because I didn't want to break."--Robert Boggio
Frame Twister Facts
Boggio's S-10: Started the run with the co-driver outside the truck to save time. Good speed through the course. Attempted the right side of the mud hole, but got stuck between the third and fourth logs. Finished under winch power.
Buck's Ranger: First competitor to attack the course. Had to reverse a couple of times due to a wide turning radius. Crawled quickly through the boulders. Got stuck in the mud hole just over the third log. Quick winch recovery.
Burton's TJ: Rear steering aided in quick cornering and the big 53-inch Michelin tires helped him make haste though the rocks. Got stuck between the third and fourth log. Quick winching helped earn the fastest time.
Collins' F-250: With the exhaust from the big 545ci engine kicking up clouds of fine dust, it blew through the course, caught big air over the logs, and got stuck between the third and fourth logs. Fast winching helped earn a Third Place finish.
Dibble's ASM buggy: Fast run to the mud. Heavy throttle launched the buggy between the third and fourth logs. Another throttle blip launched the rig between the fourth and fifth logs. Quick winch recovery to earn a Second Place finish. Broke a front passenger-side bumpstop during the run.
Gilpin's K3500: Gouged the passenger-side rocker panel in the rocks and got stuck between the third and fourth logs. At the two-minute warning they were over the fourth log, but winch problems ate up valuable time. They timed out and were recovered by heavy equipment.
Grothe's Bronco: Easily crawled the rocks, but the engine stalled in the water hole when an ignition fuse blew. Quickly restarted, but got stuck between the third and fourth logs. Co-driver hooked up the winch and then placed a large rock under a tire to help lift the vehicle over the log. Mortally damaged the cooling fan in the water.
Hanson's Toyota: DNF'd after the Chevy 406's double-roller timing chain broke upon acceleration from the starting line. When it broke, it destroyed half the teeth on the upper gear too.
Pellett's Ram: Fast through the rocks, but a bit of a problem on the dirt hill before the mud. Got stuck between the first and second logs and finished the run on the end of the winch cable.
Sheeley's TJ: Made good progress through the course, even with the comparatively small 38-inch tires. Didn't even try the mud hole under own power. Stopped at first log and co-driver connected winch. Hydraulic steering fitting loosened and began leaking. Co-driver produced Bush Ranger X-jack connected to Power Tank in effort to get TJ over last log, but timed out.
RESULTS (corrected time, or distance if DNF)
1 Burton's TJ 2 min. 2 sec.
2 Dibble's ASM buggy 2 min. 43 sec.
3 Collins' F-250 2 min. 53 sec.
4 Boggio's S-10 3 min. 7 sec.
5 Buck's Ranger 3 min. 59 sec.
6 Pellett's Ram 4 min. 6 sec.
7 Grothe's Bronco 6 min. 7 sec.
8 Sheeley's TJ 195 ft. (DNF)
9 Gilpin's K3500 190 ft. (DNF)
10 Hanson's Toyota 20 ft. (DNF)