Day 1 Event 1
The Tow Test
Hadden's S-10
What it is and how it works: The Tow Test takes place on a 164-foot-long dirt track. This is the only event at Top Truck that doesn't require competitors to battle rocks or mud. Naturally, we think a flat Tow Test track would be lame, so ours runs uphill. Each competitor gets one opportunity to tow our 40,000-pound water truck as far as they can from a standing stop. This year, no one got a full pull, so rankings were by overall distance traveled.
Finish Line Quotes
"I'm kind of disappointed; I was wanting a little better. But hey, we'll take it. We're here to have fun. This is great."
-Jeff Miller
"A lot tougher than I thought. We had a hard time to just get it moving to begin with. After that, we didn't gain anything."
-Ron George
"That was pretty hard. A lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I thought we would've done a lot better. We gave it all we had. That was it."
-Rick Johnson
"First event, still nervous. Once I get going, won't be nervous anymore."
-Justin Langford
Langford's Bronco | 
Johnson's K3500 | 
Fink's TJ |
The Play-By-Play
Fink's TJ: A Fourth gear start didn't work well, but a quick shift of the NV4500 to Third got it going. Lots of body twist from the supercharged 5.2L V-8.
George's Bronco: Fought to gather momentum at the start. Installed a rear suspension lock bar, but the soft coil-spring front suspension allowed axle hop late in the run.
Hadden's S-10: Had the power, lockers, and tires, but not enough weight. Lost traction and stopped halfway into the course.
Johnson's K3500: Good pull off the line with the Mickey Ts mounted in normal rotation. Hung to the right, but ended up on the left side of the course.
Langford's Bronco: The Holley-topped 460ci engine helped pull the rig straight down the track. Torque tried to lift the left front Claw near the end of the run.
McGilton's K1500: First competitor. Aired up the 54-inch Boggers in an effort to eliminate wheelhop. Hooked a little left at the end. Longest pull.
Miller's Sonoma: New 4-psi fuel pump wasn't putting out enough pressure, so the 502ci crate engine wasn't making full power. Stalled out at the end of the course and rolled backward slightly hurting the final measurement.
Rhodes' D-100: Aired down to 8 psi, the 46x19.5 Mickey Ts stuck to the track, but the 440ci-powered rig never really generated the momentum needed.
Thorson's TJ: Eliminated suspension travel by locking the rear suspension in place using homemade links that ran from the chassis to the rear axle. Locked the front by drawing down the front axle with the winch cable.
Wells' M135A: Slow but strong run thanks to the Detroit Diesel engine and tractor tires. A small amount of front-axle wheelhop near the end.
Thorson's TJ
| RESULTS (distance traveled) |
| 1 McGilton's K1500 | 104 ft. 10.5 in. |
| 2 Johnson's K3500 | 100 ft. 3 in. |
| 3 Wells' M135A | 98 ft. 10 in. |
| 4 Thorson's TJ | 97 ft. 1 in. |
| 5 Miller's Sonoma | 91 ft. 9 in. |
| 6 Langford's Bronco | 90 ft. 6 in. |
| 7 Hadden's S-10 | 86 ft. 10 in. |
| 8 Rhodes' D-100 | 82 ft. 7 in. |
| 9 George's Bronco | 82 ft. 6 in. |
| J Fink's TJ | 82 ft. 2 in. |