Top Truck Challenge 2008 - Shake, Battle & Roll

Hair's Wagoneer

Day 2 Event 1
The Obstacle Course
What it is and how it works: One thing you can expect with the Obstacle Course is that it's not going to be what you expect. This year was no exception as we overhauled the event and added some new features never before seen. We retained the course's twisty layout and deep water holes, but we added a new section that required competitors to start at the top of our old Hillclimb hill. Starting competitors at the top of this massive, steep hill meant that nothing was visible to the drivers over their rigs' hoods except blue California sky. Further, we didn't let competitors walk the course. Instead, we provided them with a route map. This meant that teamwork and communication was essential. To make things even more interesting, we halved the time limit to 5 minutes, which forced the teams to think fast and run hard. Finally, we made hitting a cone a 20-second penalty to force teams to have a clean run.

Finish Line Quotes
"That was interesting, not really knowing the course at all."
-Cheston Beck

"Nice little holes you guys had there. We handled it. The Willys made it again."
-Hoby Hulbert

"I probably could've done better using the rear steer but I'm not familiar with it so I figured I'd better leave it alone."
-Clayton Kraatz

"I didn't think it was going to be this tight, so I wasn't ready for all that rear steer. It can get you out of trouble but it can get you into trouble."
-Scott Morris

"That was a good course. You guys involved the hillclimb, which is good. Really like that."
-Randy Swartz

"Oh those drop-offs, man that was crazy. I like my stinger."
-Brandon Lammers

The Nitty-Gritty
Beck's International: First competitor. Came into competition after pulling an all-nighter to fix damage from the Frame Twister. Dropped hard into water hole three and broke a bumpstop. Strong run with only one cone penalty.

Hair's Wagoneer: Ran with 7 psi in the tires to "improve handling." Decent run, but the team lost a few seconds due to a three-point turn near the last water hole. Overall time was negatively impacted by a 60-second penalty for hitting three cones.

Hulbert's Willys: Slowest run of the competition. Their time was further hurt when the big 49-inch tires killed four cones to add 80 seconds to the teams overall time.

Kraatz' Warthog: Fast run, but the team hesitated a bit between the first and second water holes. Executed a front "burn" to quickly align the vehicle with the last water hole. Penalized for hitting two cones.

Lammers' Bronco: Last competitor. Came into the event with a bent hydraulic ram on the rear steer. Slow, calculated run, but they hit three cones for 60 seconds in penalties.

Morris' Buggy: Fastest run of the competition. Easily won the event on raw time and still won by 4 seconds, even after a 20-second penalty for hitting one cone.

Naeger's Buggy: Careful, calculated run, and the team only hit one cone. This was pretty good, considering that for a while they were looking at their course map upside-down.

Swartz' Chevy: Fast descent down the big hill. An average run with a multi-point turn near the last water hole and two penalties for hitting cones. Broke the front Dana 60 ring-and-pinion.

Wood's CJ-5: Only competitor to complete the course without hitting any cones. Fast run. Lost a bit of time with a three-point turn before the last water hole.