The High Speed Obstacle Course - This one reminds us of Tough Truck competitions due to the vast area covered as well as two strategically placed jumps that have many competitors wishing they use long travel suspension. Each team is required to run two laps through the course. A few drivers may try it in two wheel drive, however most of the rigs use the lead foot approach which can lead to excessive cone penalties. Each cone adds 10 seconds to the final time score.

The Mud Bog - Unlike the Mud Pit used in the TTC in Hollister, this obstacle is pre-run by the judges to make sure it is not too hard - or too easy. Each team has 10 minutes to complete the event, and winching is allowed.

The Rock Trail - Much like the Mini-Rubicon at Hollister Hills OHV park, the Rock Trail course is full of boulders with axle snapping rocks strung over a slight incline. The difference is the placement of the finish line. It's at the top of a 4 foot ledge which forces most competitors to use heavy throttle application to even come close to cresting. With a set time limit of 10 minutes this obstacle really makes things interesting.

The Buzzard's Roost Trail - A spectator favorite, this event provides more action than a James Bond flick. The course is roughly an 1/8-mile long and contains several deep mud holes separated by twisted turns and rocky outcroppings that each driver has to negotiate while the clock is ticking. One section forces each competitor to drop down a 3-foot ledge that provides plenty of pucker factor. Some of the teams opt to winch their way down for insured safety. The time limit for the Buzzard's Roost is 13 minutes. The judges give penalty points for stopping, backing up, winching and for the spotter exiting the vehicle.

The Hill Climb - This was a timed event composed of five separate loose sandy assents and dissents as well as a splash of muddy water between hills one and two. Most of the higher powered rigs had no trouble finishing the course in under the 12 minute time limit. Last year, a few rigs had difficulty on the final and most difficult climb, and five teams had mechanical problems that prevented them from finishing.

RTI Ramp/Engineering - We knew this competition was off to a good start last year when Jon Pontious flopped his '97 TJ on its side while ramping our 30 degree ramp. We also measured approach and departure angles, ground clearance, and break-over angle.

Tow Test
It said a lot about the stoutness of the rigs in this year's event when only one rig broke while pulling our 40,300 lb. San Benito Supply cement mixer in this year's Tow Test.

Tank Trap
Team Duffy made the Tank Trap look easy. They only winched at the steepest spots and suffered no major breakage to their CJ-8. We never did see the Hooter's girls, but we did see Team Albrecht recover from an overheating engine to almost finish the Tank Trap before timing out. Did we mention we never saw the Hooter's girls? With 15 minutes elapsed on the clock, Team Bargmann was on their side within sight of the Tank Trap finish line. Brad Austin, the teams co-driver and last year's Tank Trap and Top Truck Challenge winner, quickly spooled out winch cable and instituted a fast recovery. Due to this fine effort, Team Bargmann crossed the finish line with minutes to spare, earning a 2nd place finish in the Trap. After battling the Tank Trap's deep water and slick waterfalls, not to mention a blown fan fuse, JP Magazine Commandant John Cappa had progressed to within sight of the finish line. It was about then he decided to straddle the last big rut but slipped in and rolled his J-2000 onto its side. After he and co-driver Clifton Slay got done "laughing like two kids who just stole a Volvo," they quickly righted the rig but timed out without making much forward progress. Josh Tippit timed out in the canyon of the Tank Trap after battling for every inch of forward progress. The canyon walls re-arranged the sheetmetal of his rig and broke the bead of the left rear tire.

Mini Rubicon
One hundred twenty five feet of boulders translated to a major migraine for many of the competitors. Even though most of the rigs made it through, most fought for every inch of forward progress.

Trail Fix
New this year, Yukon Gear paid five hundred dollars cash to the top finishers in the Trail Fix competition. Participants had to remove and re-install the left front axleshaft of their rigs while the clock was ticking.

Obstacle Course
The first major obstacle of the Obstacle Course was a steep drop into a water hole. Almost all competitors' rigs got tippy as they gingerly lowered themselves into the muck. Nick Devlin found the going a bit rough over the eroded terrain of our Obstacle Course, but he recovered nicely and placed 3rd overall.

Mud Pit
Our 150-foot Mud Pit was picture perfect this year. Consistency and depth were ideal for our competitors and some actually almost made it through, though one spectator noted that the rigs looked like "rolling chocolate cake" after their runs.

Frame Twister
We added over 100 feet of challenge to the Frame Twister for 2005. The new stretch of trail added even more challenge to an already brutal course. Nonetheless, the most evil section remained the logs and mud at the end, which forced everyone to winch. Jeff Gotz' walked his monster F-150 right through the new section of the Obstacle Course and then continued marching forward to earn a 4th place finish in the event. Phil Bargmann attacked the Frame Twister like he was mad at it. Unfortunately, this aggression led to a broken steering box, which had to be temporarily repaired so he could compete in the Mud Pit.

Hill Climb
Six hundred feet of steep, loose terrain with some guy staring at you with a stopwatch in his hand is enough to give anyone the willies. That is unless you're the guy in the Willys, like Don Brown. He casually drove his big-block-propelled rig up the hill to secure the 1st place win.