Crawlin' Column 17.3

By Rich Walker

First off, Vegas was a blast! The Monster Jam World Finals were yet again, something you truly have to see to believe. The track was set up better this year and drivers delivered with huge air and backflips. Even I was shocked at the airtime these guys can pull off and still keep the truck in one piece. I think Avenger and Northern Nightmare managed the longest "hang times", while Gravedigger, Son Of A Digger, and Max D spent more time in the air than on the ground. To win the World Finals freestyle title, you pretty much have to pull off at least one, if not two backflips. In the end, Overkill Evolution took home the freestyle win and their first World Finals title. Metal Mulisha took home the race win and title.

The Mint 400 this year saw growth in the 4400 (Ultra4) class. Matt Nieman travelled to Vegas to pit his car against one of the roughest desert courses in existence. The race started out great for them as they managed to pass almost the entire 4400 field after starting near the back. I may be wrong, but I believe they even held the lead for a while. Unfortunately, the car took a few hard hits and the front diff decided it was done. The housing actually broke at the knuckle, which ended their race. You know what they say, “that's racing.” I'm sure they will be back next year, hopefully with a bigger team.

Also in Canadian racing news, Tommy "Awesome" Hunter with his girlfriend Rauni-Sue as co-driver, competed in their first WERock Dirt Riot race in the Side-by-Side class. Tommy's nearly stock Polaris RZR XP did a fantastic job on the brutal Area BFE course in Moab. Even losing a shock, Tommy and Rauni pulled off a 2nd place finish.

Unfortunately, I have some bad news regarding the KORRBC race series out of Kamloops, BC. All the details aren't available, but it looks like there will not be a race season out at the Whispering Pines track just outside of town. As I said, all the details haven't been made available, but this will be the first time since I have been in Kamloops (which is almost 10 years now) that there hasn't been a race season. It's a major bummer and I'm sure there are many people with questions. Hopefully everything works out because I know there is a huge group of people that enjoyed racing and spectating out there.

Some good news before I wrap this up. New this year will be the Punisher 4x4 race series. The first race will be September 19th and 20th out at the Tail Creek facility in Alix, Alberta (home of the ex-Highrider’s races). They will make use of the natural elevation changes in their 200-acre facility to make an approximately 2.5 – 3.0 km racecourse, complete with high speed sections, whoops, moguls and man-made rock portions.

This will be an awesome event and it is very exciting to have 4400-style racing in Canada. Check them out on Facebook, or on their brand new web site www.punisher4x4.com, to get more details. They also hope to expand the series into BC and Saskatchewan by 2016, so stay tuned and if you are interested in sponsoring or racing please hit them up. Lets keep off-road racing in Canada.

I am super stoked to be writing so much about Canadians racing and races in Canada. We spend a lot of time on the road in the States and its good to see our passion and dedication to racing is finally starting to show on the Canadian front. With more people building racecars, and more people wanting to build courses and host races, we are sure to have some steady racing in Canada very soon.

That's all for now. Stay safe and see you on the trails.