Written/Photography by Wade Stoddart

The fear of the water hole had several drivers taking to the air.

Many who attended the 6th annual Highriders Challenge held in Drumheller, Alberta will remember that weekend for its carnage and incredible feats of semi-controlled insanity. The '06 HRC was a 2-day spectacle of challenging obstacles made from a combination of dirt, thick gummy clay, logs, water and hills.

Day one started off with 58 mud bogger trucks in the mud drags and even though we missed the fun of flying chunks and high revving motors, we had it on good authority that Sunday was the best day to be there. Driving into the parking lot Sunday morning I noticed the sheer number of people camped around the Hidden Valley Motor Sports Park and I told myself this show was going to be good.

A Highrider himself, Dr Dave showed no aversion to getting filthy.

Sunday had 36 trucks present, of which only 4 had been in the Mud Drags the previous day. For the few drivers who compete in both days' events, they become eligible to win the Highriders Cup. The winner of the coveted trophy not only claims bragging rights but they win the chance to come back next year and defend their title.

While spectators funneled through the gates the anticipation to get started was becoming evident as the competitors started to lightheartedly badger each other while the rules of conduct were explained to them. The rules were simple and if a driver acted foolish they would be asked to leave. So of course the drivers needed to behave themselves if they wanted a chance to defeat the obstacles set before them.

An interesting rule was the one for disputing competition rulings. A fee needed to be paid to the officials if a driver wanted to dispute a decision. This fee ensured that as a driver you would be absolutely positive a ruling was unfair and that you were willing to stand behind your claim. If you were proven right you got your money back and the ruling would be changed in your favor.

Check out Volume 8 Issue 5 and you'll be able to read about Twister by Evolution.

Once the rules were laid out, the drivers and co-drivers were given the chance to walk the 2 loops of the Hill Climb. The outer course for the stocker and super stock class trucks had a few narrow turns with some tricky off-camber sections with a wide washout at the exit. This washout claimed a few steering setups and flipped one truck over on its side before the morning was over. The inner course was for the custom buggies and big machines. It had steep inclines, high angle off camber sections and several tight turns which proved somewhat problematic for the longer rigs trying to get the best times with the least amount of penalties.

The tight turns on the hill were no problem for this dual steer unit.

One of the first vehicles to attempt the stocker course was Ken Hodgins of Jeep Stuff in his 99% stock '03 Jeep TJ. He laid down what turned out to be the fastest time of around 2 minutes. Near the end of the course he flipped up on two wheels and as the crowd roared in anticipation of a roll over, Ken hammered the gas and put it back down on all fours. There was actually a small boo from the crowd when he saved his rig but the cheers quickly drowned that out.

The next obstacle on the list was the log course. Several rigs smashed their way over the logs and a few had to be towed out either by the backhoe or by their own winch. The custom-built tube rigs with their superior power-to-weight ratios dominated this portion of the course. A fellow by the name of Rob Scarrow had a very quick run through the log pit and made it look easy as his tube rig bounced off the tops of the logs.

This Toyota runs on Bowtie Diesel power and it had torque to spare.

Drivers would then race their way around the dirt track to the mud pit, which also claimed its fair share of victims. Dean Folk did the most notable damage to his monster Chevy when he mashed the gas and the NOS to jump into the mud. When the spray had settled he was left with a severed transfer case, cracked transmission body and a pile of chunks in both pumpkins. There was a loud hiss when a drive shaft broke and sliced through a high-pressure line letting the 1000 psi of NOS blast into the broken tranny case, spraying the whole area in hot transmission fluid.

A rock pile awaited the drivers who managed to make it through the mud and when they cleared the rocks there was a direct line to a jump and water hole combo. At first the competitors didn't know that the water hole was 5 feet deep but once the first truck went for a swim the drivers quickly clued in. Several rigs attempted to jump the wide gap and only a few actually made it. One Jeep did an incredible cartwheel landing and had a 'garage sale' in the mid-field. Thankfully, the driver and co-driver walked away from that one relatively unharmed. The other unlucky ones had their co-drivers desperately digging for winch cables so they could pull themselves out of the muck.

The washout didn't pose much trouble for this Chevy P/U.

When it was over the crowd hollered for more and a few drivers obliged them by doing more jumps and a bit of free style stunting. A few even attempted to run over the Melt Down Car but the car managed to get the last laugh when a truck rolled over on its side during the approach. A 50/50 raffle was organized for the Melt Down Car with proceeds to be split between the winner and a local Boy Scout Troop but the car wouldn't start so a random draw was done instead.

The Highriders Club wanted to say a special thanks to Brent Sams Trucking who supplied their track-hoe, and their operator Jason for his efforts of course building/repair and vehicle recovery. The HRC organizers wanted it to be known that if think you got what it takes to meet the challenge, then make sure you sign up for HRC 2007. Check it out here at www.highriders.ca

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