2009 Top Truck Challenge - Shaken & Stirred

Smith

Day 1 Event 2
The Frame Twister
What it is: Many competitors have told us that this is the event they fear the most, other than Tank Trap. Well, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to us. This year, we made the course even more excruciating by adding some strategically placed dirt hills and holes to the already impressive collection of obstacles. What stayed the same was the legendary boulder field (known to gouge sheetmetal and/or catapult rigs onto their sides) and the gnarly ending of the course, which features five 2-foot-diameter logs placed opposite to the direction of travel, each separated by gaping chasms filled with mud and water.

How it works: Each team is allowed 10 minutes to get as far as they can. Penalties in the form of seconds are jovially awarded by the judging staff for infractions such as stopping, reversing, winching, etc. Ranking is by elapsed time (for those who finished), or distance traveled (for those who didn't).

Sidwell

Finish Line Quotes
* "Momentum is the key. Once you get it going, you got to keep your foot into it. If you stop, you're done."-David Green
* "Never seen anything like it other than on the tape... to see and to live it are two different things." -Scott Sidwell
* "We dreaded the logs, so we're glad that's over." -Doug Kahlstrom
* "We could've got a little better bounce over there, but I don't care. Gotta use the winch once in a while, right?" -Leroy Latham
* "That's wild. I love it, though." -Wayne Sheeley
* "Did we look good? That's the point." -Fred Williams

The Play-By-Play
Eulberg's CJ-7: Utilized the rear steering often and made steady, quick progress through the course, reaching the logs with approximately 2:20 on the clock. Got stuck in the logs and briefly tried to maneuver out, but ended up winching out on the clock.
Graf's X-Chassis buggy: Nosed into the last boulder hard and the 427ci V-8 died. It took a while to restart, which sucked up valuable time. Caught big air off the first log, but got stuck between the logs and the team chose to winch the rest of the way.
Green's diesel buggy: First competitor. Utilized the rear steer frequently and gathered only 10 seconds in penalties. Never used the Warn M12000 winch and flew over most of the logs. Due to a hand injury suffered in camp the night before competition, the driver used a steering ball to simplify one-handed steering. Unfortunately, the steering ball loosened on the steering wheel during the run, making control difficult.
Jerome's TJ buggy: Fastest run of the event. Turned the 8.1L V-8 loose on the logs and caught major air. The rig crossed the finish line under its own power, but with two flat rear tires due to bent rims from an impact with one of the logs. They quickly repaired the wheels in time to compete in the Mud Pit.
Kahlstrom's Power Wagon: At the starting line, the team found that the dash-mounted toggle switch that controls the Warn 9.5ti winch had failed, but fortunately the team had the factory Warn controller in the rig as a backup. Good thing, because the team got stuck in the logs and had to winch.
Latham's buggy: Made it to the logs with only 1:25 on the clock, but got stopped cold between the logs just shy of the finish line and had to spool out the Warn 8274's winch cable.
Sheeley's FC-170: Slow, calculated run. Actually had a good run going until they got to the logs. After several tries, the right rear wheel ended up going out-of-bounds, resulting in a DNF.
Sidwell's Ranger: Second competitor. Got stuck in the new hole just past the boulders and had to winch. Overran the winch cable shortly thereafter, which resulted in the cable wrapped around the front axle. With 7:22 on the clock, they were untangling the winch cable from the axle. Timed out in the logs.
Smith's F-350: Tipped on two wheels coming out of the boulders and damaged the passenger-side sheetmetal and rear side window. Got stuck between the logs and chose to winch the rest of the way.
Williams' FJ Cruiser: With the V-6's rev limiter limiting and the 42-inch Wranglers wrangling, the team cruised through the course until the logs, where they got stuck. Quick winching ensued to earn a respectable finish.

Sidwell

Day 1 Event 3
The Mud Pit
What it is: Last year, this event was more of a mud race than a mud bog, and all of the competitors made it through. This year, we decided to make the last event of Day One an experience that would stick with the competitors (no pun intended), so we had our demented track builders create a deep, gooey bog, designed to effectively stop everyone. The mud was glue-like and unforgiving, and it tested cooling systems, drivetrain stoutness and tire function.

How it works: There's no time limit. Competitors are ranked by their overall distance traveled and their run ends when forward momentum ceases. This year, no one made it through, so each team was ranked by the distance they traveled.

Finish Line Quotes
* "It's very heavy. It's definitely going to take some power to get through it."-Scott Sidwell
* "You'd need 1,100 horsepower and paddles to make it through this."-Kevin Stearns
* "After chasing all those 54-inch tires we didn't expect to do a whole lot." -Doug Kahlstrom
* "That was fun. I've never been in the mud before."-Jamie Eulberg
* "That stuff is sticky. It just clogged everything up." -David Green

The Play-By-Play
Eulberg's CJ-7: The team's strategy was to get as far as possible with brute force and then manipulate the front and rear steering in an effort to travel further. It seemed to work. Their total run time was approximately 2:16.
Graf's X-Chassis buggy: Best run of the event. Incredibly fast start and then slow, steady progress as the 54-inch Boggers clawed their way through the goo. Stopped by our strategically placed dirt hill just before the finish line. The rig's power steering pump blew apart at the end of the run.
Green's diesel buggy: Last competitor. Hit the churned-up mud with good forward velocity, but the ag tires were quickly bogged down. Pistons five and six in the Cummins diesel were damaged by high EGTs during the run.
Jerome's TJ buggy: The team reversed several yards from the starting line to gather more momentum. The engine bogged in the deep mud due to the TH400 not downshifting properly from Third gear. The driver ended up manually downshifting to First gear to pull the 8.1L V-8's rpm up. Total run time was approximately 3:38.
Kahlstrom's Power Wagon: Deep ruts from the two previous competitors on 54s stopped the rig's 46-inch tires in approximately 38 seconds. The electric fan on the transmission cooler succumbed to the mud.
Latham's buggy: First team to back up several yards from the starting line to gain momentum. The team manipulated the rear steering during the run in an effort to gain a few extra feet of travel, which seemed to work.
Sheeley's FC-170: Second competitor. Great launch off the starting line, but the heavy mud quickly sucked the momentum from the Jeep.
Sidwell's Ranger: First competitor. Good head of steam off the starting line, thanks to the 514ci V-8. Even with no ruts to follow and the rear homemade "lead locker" not working correctly, the 54-inch Boggers helped the Ranger claw through the goo for over 66 feet.
Smith's F-350: The driver turned the modified Power Stroke turbodiesel engine loose and pointed the 54-inch Boggers toward the ruts made by the previous competitors.
Williams' FJ Cruiser: Co-driver John Hughbanks drove for this event. First team to try the left, un-rutted, side of the course, which really didn't work that well.