Day 1 Event 2: the Frame twister
We call it the Frame Twister, but it could also be called the “Mind Twister.” For many competitors this is the most feared event other than the Tank Trap. Due to the large number of vehicles this year we trimmed the fat from the course and left the choice cuts. We shaved about 100 feet from the course compared to last year and to further raise the bar we halved the time (to 10 minutes) that competitors were given to complete the course. Giant boulders greeted competitors just 27 feet into the course and a troublesome dogleg in the middle of the boulders gave several a heartache. The infamous perpendicularly-placed six wet logs with deep, water-flled trenches between stood guard beginning at 210 feet. The fnish line was a tantalizingly close 135 feet past the last wet log, but that distance was littered with a deep, water-flled X-shaped trench (which we simply called the “X”), a dry log pile, and a collection of cement culvert piping and old metal tanks. This year, the only penalty we assessed was a two-minute penalty (per occurrence) if a competitor didn’t adhere to the winch safety guidelines. Cones mark the course and a competitor is considered out of bounds if the inside of a vehicles tire travels past the outside edge of a cone. This year, the course humbled fve competitors.

The Play-By-Play
Austin: Exited the boulders with 21 seconds on the clock. Became stuck in the wet logs with 45 seconds on the clock and the driver exited the vehicle to help the spotter connect the winch cable. Left the winch cable connected to travel through the X, but while exiting took a bad bounce and went out of bounds near the dry log pile and was DNF’d at that point.

Burton: Cleared the boulders in 33 seconds. Winched out of the wet logs and the X. Entered the dry log pile with 6 minutes on the clock and drove the rest of the course. Utilized the 2½-ton Rockwell’s rear steer often during the run.

Campbell: Started the course with the co-driver out of the buggy. Cleared the rocks in 13 seconds. Became stuck in the wet logs and performed a quick winch recovery. Powered through the X, over the dry log pile, and was airborne over the fnish line.

Duffy: First competitor. Crawled through the boulders with no problem. Punched the 502ci V-8’s throttle in an attempt to power through the six wet logs but a bad bounce caused the Jeep to go out of bounds with only 1:30 on the clock.

Ellis: Powered through the boulders with 18 seconds on the clock. Became stuck in the wet logs with 60 seconds on the clock. Used the Warn 9.5 winch to drag the rig out of the logs and through the X. Winched over the dry log pile with 5:00 on the clock and drove over the fnish line about 60 seconds later. The T-case would not stay in low range so he ran with four hose clamps connected to each other, the rig’s frewall, and the T-case shifter in an attempt to hold the case in gear. It didn’t work and he was in two-wheel drive most of the time.

Fox: Second competitor. Cleared the boulders with only 20 seconds on the clock. Chassis hung up on the frst wet log, but quick winching with the Warn M12000 got the rig unstuck. Dropped the front passenger wheel into the X and almost rolled. Chose to end the run with 4:02 on the clock.

George: Ran with 8 psi in the ag tires. Cleared the boulders with 21 seconds on the clock. Became stuck in the wet logs with 1:00 on the clock but used the Warn 8274 to winch out within 45 seconds. Drove through the X without winching, but became hung up in the dry log pile and had to winch. Penalized two minutes for a winch safety violation. Gray: Wheeled the big truck through the boulders and the wet logs without winching. Actually had the front wheels out of the X obstacle before having to connect the winch with 2:00 on the clock. Drove over the fnish line 46 seconds later with the winch cable wrapped around the axle. Penalized two minutes for a winch safety violation.

Green: The boulders slowed him down slightly, but then he dropped the hammer and powered through the wet logs, X, and dry log pile without winching. Damaged the sidewall of the passenger side front tire in the wet logs.

harrell: Ran with the custom-cut tires turned to the correct rotation, without water, and with 12 psi of air pressure. Attempted to power through the wet logs, but on a hard landing the accelerator pedal bent, which allowed it and the driver’s foot to become wedged under the brake pedal. The vehicle drove out of bounds and was issued a DNF at that point.

Karwath: Final competitor. Drove out of the boulders with 34 seconds on the clock. Hit the wet logs at speed with so much force that it actually broke a log. Still got stuck in the logs, tried to get out under power, but began winching with 1:34 on the clock. Powered through the X. While trying to get over the dry log pile the winch cable became wrapped around the front axle with 5:00 on the clock. Airtime over the fnish line. Damage report: Bent an inside beadlock ring on one of the wheels causing a loss of tire pressure and damaged the two passenger-side upper spherical rod ends (at the chassis) on the suspension links.

Kraatz: Rolled over in the boulders and spent the next several minutes getting the buggy back on its wheels. With 5:45 on the clock it was upright and they were disconnecting the winch cable. Blasted through the wet logs without winching. While trying to exit the X the buggy traveled out of bounds earning a DNF at that point.

Montpas: Came to the event after a quick rear axle repair from Tow Test damage. Snaked the big Willys through the boulders in only 18 seconds. Caught big air trying to power through the wet logs but was stuck with 1:01 on the clock. Quickly winched out of the wet logs, X, and dry log pile.

Naeger: Left the boulders behind with only 14 seconds on the clock. Entered the wet logs with 40 seconds on the clock, became stuck, but was winching out with 1:52 on the clock. Winched out of the X. Problems winching over the dry log pile consumed some time. Airborne over the fnish line. Sanders: Sauntered through the boulders with 28 seconds on the clock, but couldn’t saunter through the wet logs even with some uncharacteristic application of power from the 406ci V-8. Winched out of the wet logs, X, and again into the dry log pile with 3:39 on the clock. Penalized two minutes for a winch safety violation. The rig’s electric radiator cooling fan began to operate erratically due to a faulty ground wire.

Thorson: Powered through the boulders andm attempted to power through the wet logs but after catching big air the wet logs grabbed the buggy and wouldn’t let go. With only 42 seconds on the clock they quickly winched out. Penalized two minutes for a winch safety violation. Damage report: Bent the rear lower driver-side links in the boulders. Waddell: Slithered the narrowed rig through the boulders in 37 seconds. Got stuck in the wet logs and unspooled cable from the Warn winch with 1:27 on the clock. Entered the X with 2:56 on the clock. Winched out of the X and drove over the dry log pile. Damaged the rear sway bar and the passenger-side front bumpstop along the way.

Wager: Exited the boulders with 55 seconds on the clock. Got stuck in the wet logs and tried to fnesse it out, but had to begin winching with 2:18 on the clock. Winched through the X and drove over the fnish line. There was such little wheelspin through the course that the body didn’t even get muddy.

Finish Line Quotes
-“I really screwed up.”
– Jerry Duffy

-“You don’t see a hole swallow a 54 like that right to the frame very often, so I wasn’t quite ready for that.”
– Brent Burton

-“We thought we were prepared as we could be with straps, but it got a little sketchy there,but we came through it.”
– Jeremy Naeger

-“I heard it was going to be a lot more challenging. I was expecting to use more time than that. So I’m happy with it.”
– Brian Waddell

-“At least we made it this year. This is the only event we didn’t fnish last year.”
– Alex Sanders

-“That little devious X thing you guys put in there, that’s good.”
– Geby Wager

-“It was defnitely harder than what I remember. I don’t remember getting a winch out there before but we might have. It was a long time ago.”
– Shannon Campbell

-“It’s hardcore. That X is deep. There’s a lot of mud in there.”
– Dave Green

-“The only thing that went right in my prediction was I did climb out of the X.
– Ron George

-“I don’t know what happened in the logs. I have no idea. It thought we hit it plenty hard. The logs just didn’t work out for us.”
– Mike Karwath

Results
(elapsed time including penalties or ranking order if DNF)
1. Green ......................................... 2 min. 03 sec.
2. Waddell ..................................... 4 min. 19 sec.
3. Montpas ..................................... 4 min. 29 sec.
4. Thorson ...................................... 4 min. 37 sec.
5. Gray ........................................... 4 min. 46 sec.
6. George........................................ 5 min. 07 sec.
7. Ellis ........................................... 6 min. 06 sec.
8. Wager ......................................... 6 min. 38 sec.
9. Campbell .................................... 6 min. 50 sec.
10. Sanders ...................................... 6 min. 57 sec.
11. Naeger ....................................... 7 min. 10 sec.
12. Burton ........................................ 7 min. 20 sec.
13. Karwath ...................................... 8 min. 49 sec.
14. Kraatz ..................................DNF (157 ft. 6 in.)
15. Austin ..................................DNF (147 ft. 3 in.)
16. Fox ......................................DNF (124 ft. 0 in.)
17. Duffy ....................................DNF (89 ft. 10 in.)
18. Harrell ....................................DNF (80 ft. 2 in.)