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Today grown men play king of the Hill at this one of a kind competition with a catchy name, Ravel
Rama.
This legendary to whe race track is fitted for four by four and the action is incredible
and there's more to
the cheap lo
dinner
will go south of the border for some in your face mot
cross
all that plus a trip to the mo
as he crisscrossed the country in search of off road action.
Hey, everybody. Today's show is jam packed with two and four wheel drive action.
Now, you know our rule, if it's off the pavement, we've got it covered.
Now, here's a question, I'm sure you've asked yourself, what's the best way to ruin a motorcycle? Answer is dune riding
the tracks and trails of southern California get as stale as last week's pizza. The riders in the know, know where to go.
Less than an hour's drive south of the border sits K of
Mars and that's where the Bailey Boys were ripping it up.
Rocket
came out here to Baja Mexico today took the day off, work
out,
do a little play ride, you know.
Yeah,
I went off for the job.
No surprise that Mitchell and his nephew weren't the only ones playing in this Mexican sandbox.
Like free playground. You can ride like all day. It's good in the summertime you come in the summer
life for a bit.
Jump in the ocean,
maybe bring a jet ski. It's like boy heaven though. It's not like going to the track where you gotta pay your 20 bucks and deal with a bunch of people. I mean,
there's a couple other guys out here in quads and bikes, but there's nobody here and we unload, we're next to the ocean, whatever you want. There's no rules down here so you can do whatever you want.
What the hell is he doing?
Sean's a sand newbie man. Learned quickly that this is a lot different than the tracks he's used to.
This is definitely a different experience
but
never
quite anything like this.
Really squirrely.
You gotta know what you're doing.
A
lot of body English. They don't fall
on
front end kind of loop.
But, uh,
overall it's really fun.
We're gonna rail this.
Ok. That's
sed
Sam is a totally different ball game.
Yeah,
especially this. There's a lot of people that are ridden in the sand, you know, Florida, places like that. But it's, uh,
this stuff's deep
and if you let off the gas for a second, you're going down.
However, eating sand is a Mexican tradition.
You actually got to lay it down a couple of times and get
some, uh, get some evidence stuck in the jersey and the glove.
You know, you're, you're, you can't brush it off, it sticks to you and you almost don't want to take a shower when you get home because it kind of
gives you some memories of the, the fun day that you had riding.
Oh, that could have been ugly.
Could have really been ugly.
The dunes are fun but danger lurks like the curse of
Mazuma.
Whoa.
See what sucks about this. We got barware
this. So,
uh
we got 20 ft, 3040 whatever foot drop to the right.
And uh we got
lots of broken glass,
lots of deep sand
and a lot that could go wrong.
But you know what,
here
with the dangers comes racing knowledge. Just a different, different thing. It's good to be able to get out here and
practice that for when you get in a situation in a race or a track somewhere where maybe it's deep mud or different type of sand that you do get that. You know, it's something that you've never been able to deal with. And if you take it to this extreme
as far as learning how to ride this when you get to that and the, the elements aren't as bad it, you're not gonna have any trouble with it.
Mitchell has another piece of advice. Can you hear?
Can you hear the piston?
So you definitely want to have a, a beater bike just to be able to bring down here. That's for sure. When you kill that thing and try and get the speed back up. It just, it totally flies the thing. Can you hear the piston going up and down? And
it's just, it's not a good deal. Let's eat lobster. I
wanna eat some lobster.
We're done riding.
We are heading into Puerto Nuevo. That is the home of the lobster restaurant.
Sure can't beat that. And you're not getting any lobster in the States for 12 bucks. I can tell you that right now,
Sean's advice. Don't forget to lock your sneakers up before your ride. What happened to his shoes? Oh,
they got Jack.
He's alright though.
So I'll be going barefoot.
Don't worry, Sean, your uncle isn't gonna let you go barefoot. We're gonna get him some cool uh,
some clogs.
Three simple rules for dune riding in Mexico brand, a $10 bill for lobster and extra air filter and of course a spare pair of shoes
after the break, we're going back to Mexico for seaside Motocross at the
play
us
and later on
who would spend 30 grand on the race car to run up a hill of key gravel all just for a trophy.
You'll find out when off road action continues.
Once known for its beaches, cheap
tequila and seafood
baja is now the Motocross, Mecca of Mexico.
Armando Carrasco's moto original has been a staple on the baja racing scene for almost 15 years.
One of the
unique things is we always put the track as close as possible to the, to the beach. That's what we
call it.
It's the beach atmosphere that gives the LA Play
Motocross that laid back fun feeling
atmosphere than being in the US. Just have fun and, and let go
other than
us so different
out here, it's more partying and having fun. Not just those that partied had fun. Very good, uh, family atmosphere out here. Real fun for the kids,
uh, from the C race and they learn how to race and stuff.
It was really fun.
Little
kids.
Good
time.
Good
time. It's
taking the, a little bit off the stress of I'm going to race, you know, and it's more like a weekend getaway, bring the family, bring the, bring the wife, bring the kids
and not only racing, you know, this is a little touch that we try to do
different. We, we're from Southern California. Win or lose.
I'm out here for the enjoyment.
15 classes of a TV. S and motorcycles competed on Mexico's newest track. The real Del Mar
hit the firm. Find the firm
there. It is
nice. Sweeper.
Mm. Nice turns. Some, some sweet jumps. Not too dangerous. Not too big, not too wild. It's,
it's all on the fun side of the sport. It's awesome. Motocross track outdoor.
Um,
the jumps are, are, are nice.
It's a very fun track and
we're always looking for a good smooth
track safe
where a pro can have a good time and, and you know, and a blast and show their capabilities of racing.
Well, the beginner can have a blast trying to race, you know, with a good rider, nice view and
it's really nice down here,
Sten was also having a good time, but he is a racer.
Once you put your helmet on, you get a little bit competitive. Of course
in the late nineties, Sven moved from Germany to San Diego to race in the pro Supercross Series.
Today. He was running in the open class and worked through the pack to battle with Wilson Nichols for the lead,
took
it easy on the stars and stuff.
The guy on a 125 he was in front of me the whole time and then
I could have pushed him out. But I think, ah, it's not fair. It's a fun.
Yeah, so much for fun as things turned serious on the last lap when he threw the elbow on Nichols. Bye bye.
You saw that.
That's still considered, uh, in the fun
in the fun sector of the sport.
Yeah, this is just like, hey, what's up? You know,
I'm still, I'm also here just riding
his love tap allowed Sven to pull away and take the win this and 50 bucks.
Lobster,
great lobster, stunning scenery in a day of racing. Life doesn't get any better than this.
Ok. We're shifting gears here from two wheels to four now, for the millions of Jeep owners who actually use the transfer case in their trucks.
Moab
Utah is one of the ultimate places to go four wheeling
for 29 years. Moab
Utah has hosted the Easter Jeep Safari where thousands of drivers take their rigs and do what else go wheeling
each time you come out here, you're seeing better belt rigs, better technology to me, it's like the Sturgis of off roading. It's a year's worth of work that you get a release in a week's time.
So it uh it's a lot of uh stress relief for me
wheeling and having a ball so far. So good.
Southern Utah is known for breathtaking scenery, thousands of miles of trails and that infamous Moab
Slick Rock. The name is a little tricky slipper
of him came from the old days when they were riding horses with the metal shoe horses. So that was slicky
this way. It was with weather with the, with the rubber tires. It actually gives us quite a lot of traction
might actually be a handicap because if he's not too good of a driver,
the rock will still pull you through.
Clifton. Slay is one of the most well known builders in the world and he's been tearing up this rock for 15 years
out here. You will see everything. It's awesome. This year, Clifton brought out his baddest rig to lead dirt. Sports magazine's hardcore run.
Most of the vehicles out here
are more capable than the drivers. So it's usually the fear factor that keeps you from doing a lot of these obstacles. So it's a lot of fun.
Had a great time,
did some crazy wheeling. It's great.
This is our first inaugural run. We want everybody to come out and just enjoy the run and
do a few obstacles to get some adrenaline running.
This one proved so tough. Even Clifton suicide, Sally met its untimely demise.
I'm not happy. We didn't know what it would take to actually break it.
And now we know not everyone who comes to Moab
wants to leave broke and Skyjacker suspensions had the perfect run for them.
I'm out enjoying some trail riding, some off roading rock climbing, pretty good mixture of terrain,
having some fun.
The steel bender trail has some challenging sections and that gave Skyjacker a chance to show off its new Rock Ready Line.
It is made such that it can overcome any of the obstacles that you would face off the trail. You get the opportunity to be able to sit back and just enjoy the scenery without being overstressed about the vehicle making it
over that obstacle and
to
continue on to see all that's out here
for 20 miles. The technical trail tested these rigs but the Skyjacker suspension handled it with ease.
I think that's probably the most exciting part of this trail ride is that we can actually see
our,
you know, all our suspension out here and it, it is, it's doing a great job and I think it kind of speaks for itself. So we're really excited about
over at the new rock crawling park, Pro crawlers, Kevin mclaughlin and Becco Webster were breaking in Pro
Cop's newest rubber.
We're doing tire testing for pro
comp tires,
new SRC super sticky rubber compounds as you know, in every type of racing rubber is probably one of the most intricate part of the vehicle.
And the super sticky were just that
they work.
It was
how they're hooking up. The tire just seems to be grabbing. I don't know,
I don't know what they do. I don't design the tires but whatever they did it works whether running it hard or just enjoying nature for the thousands that make the annual trip to Moab. It's all about the love of getting in a four wheeler and hitting the trail. And after all, it's mother nature, you got a motor. You're out here having fun, a great lunch and a good bunch of people to be with. So it's really fun
on off road action.
They'll drive anything in Cleves, Ohio,
but the main goal is conquering the big Eliminator Hill.
Welcome back to off road action. Now, if you've never seen a bunch of guys running 350 small blocks up a hill of pea gravel, you've got to check this out.
It's an off road event in Cleves Ohio. Like no other
for the last 34 years, thousands of racers have come to Cleves Ohio to conquer the big Eliminator Hill.
Yeah, the big Eliminator Hill. That's what
it's all about. Seven stories of peak
stacked as high as they can ST
it.
Best man over wins.
Bottom line. It's, uh, the most unique four by four bed
in the midwest time. Rock and roll.
It's awesome. That's the only thing I can tell you. It's a rush.
We do, uh, four wheeling, you know, rock crawling and stuff like that and nothing is near as much of a rush as what this is. Hill climbs are common climbing. A hill of pea gravel is not
the reason we run on the pea gravel is because 35 years ago, the peak gravel
here,
it's
more like marvels than sand. We race mostly in sand at home
and dirt tracks. This is the slickest track we come to.
You can't even crawl up it probably on your hands and knees and these cars have to try and go over it.
Almost 300 drivers competed in 16 classes for nothing more than a trophy and bragging rights
for
people to spend this kind of money
on their race cars to come down to a place like this and race strictly for a trophy. I mean, it just
doesn't happen
anymore.
It's just a prestige coming out here and
we
can't explain the feeling of going over that hill and all that power.
It's all about having fun.
This is our
one. It's the
thing in the world. It's unbelievable. 35 years ago, there was one Jeep, the hill was not near as big as it is.
There was one Jeep that made it over the hill and for years, he was the only guy that made it over here. Now, it's
almost
impossible.
These bigger cars from going over the hill,
every type of vehicle is welcome at Gravel Rama. Some though aren't built to get over the top. Basically a golf cart drive train
and uh bud I
building
steer from up here.
We got pedals down below the, the gas will break.
And uh like I said, you're driving like a golf cart.
However, if you want to win your class, the man to see is John Dreer. I would say we've taken first place at least 20 times easy. Last year alone, we won four first places out of the X classes
in just one year. This year, he had six machines competing.
We normally run small block Chevys and the cars that we build. The biggest part of the ones that I have out here.
Uh
cars rate anywhere from probably 700 to 1000 horsepower. Most of the ones that we're doing run no nitrous at all. They're just high horsepower, small block
on the big Eliminator Hill. They'll only run in one gear, low gear to run the hill.
Uh You got to have a tremendous amount of tire speed. We run a chain drive system to the front. There is no transfer case in them. The cars are fairly light. They run
22 to 24
100 pounds mostly
at a 75 degree angle. The Eliminator Hill is steep, very steep.
If I was just building cars for drag racing, it would be a little different.
But the hill, you have to have 8 to 10 inches of ground clearance to peak the top. Or else you'll drag so bad, you'll get stuck on the top of it.
And they've got to be able to handle the pea gravel,
build the frames where they're rigid because the cars are four length suspension in the
front and rear
to make them hook up harder and on a loose surface, they work good like that
with four of his machines getting over and two winning their class, his legendary status stayed intact.
There's hours and hours building the car, but
in the end, that's one of the
great rewards of it is just seeing the other cars that I built go over the hill too. I mean, it's
probably the greatest thing for me that it could be
75% of those who try the big Eliminator Hill don't make it.
There's always next year
we'll be right back
right now. We're going racing at one of California's most famous tracks
known for its Motocross championship.
Glen Helen
is now one of
the toughest off road courses anywhere.
After a five year layoff off road truck racing returned to the world renowned Glen Helen raceway.
If nothing else to leave, to be able to say I raced the Glen Helen
my truck. I'm
called the Baja Cup challenge. This one off race lived up to its namesake. It's really hard going. It's just like
this is extreme sports
for two hours. These drivers had to battle not only the competition but also the nasty two mile course.
The track is
incredible.
It's very tough. This one is combining fire roads and sand washes and boulders and
super high hills. So it's more of a challenging type of technical course where you really gotta pay attention to what your vehicle is gonna do when you hit the certain area,
everyone who's ever driven to work and just wants to pin it through all the traffic on the highway
and, you know, hit a curb, go upstairs, you, you're doing it. You know,
I can't even believe this is like legal. They just should be outlawed because it's so much fun, you know, and that's what it is.
And anyone who drives on the highway and got a speeding ticket can relate to that.
These things can go 100 miles an hour over stuff that you can't walk on.
It's just insane. The stuff that these things can go over
using score racing rules, met different classes raced at the same time. You have guys that are super fast over certain sections. You have guys that are super slow everywhere. So it makes it difficult. You have to kind of pick and choose what you're gonna do. Running the 1984 Ford Ranger, Billy Manfro was doing it in class seven open. We try to keep the truck light, we try to keep it low. We try to keep it fast
with a former Bush series engine. He had the goods to go fast.
You know, it's over 500 horsepower out of a naturally aspirated 4.5 L V6.
This is the hot motor to run. This was a race of attrition and Billy Man for,
I was one of the casualties.
We were doing just fine and all of a sudden, I just lost all four gears. So we were done.
Day wasn't enough to dampen his enthusiasm. I sleep,
eat and breathe this stuff. There's never a time of the day where I'm not thinking about driving this car. It just makes you want to go out and try again. All I can. All I can think of right now is we're gonna go home, we're gonna wash it off, we're gonna
fix up whatever happened to it and
come on out back and do it again. I can't wait for the next one
while Billy was thinking of the next race. Class seven open teammates, Jack Mitman and Biker Sherlock were running 12.
You know, there's no worrying about consequences, just pin it and go and see what happens.
Bikers got a garage full of X games and gravity games medals for street luge. He got into a truck last year and was hooked when I'm on a skateboard going 65 miles an hour. That's adrenaline.
But to me, this is just like a
kid opening his new toy on Christmas. And this is just
huge fun factor for me to find something like this at the point in my life right now is just awesome. It's on, bro.
Biker pinned it and finished second to Glenn Helen, leaving his veteran teammate in awe at the newcomer skills. What is that called in your head? Your equilibrium when you're missing something and you've got no fear,
but that's what he's got. I mean, he's fearless. So
you put him in a safe situation. It's just off the hook. It's great to be involved in something I can do until I'm 70 you know.
So it's pretty, it's a stoke. It really is.
That's it for off road action this week
now, for you guys to thrive on the big power of diesel with 90 ft plumes of black smoke will take you to the D hr A tractor pulls,
breaking part of po
and I guess just like Robin
close to you, join in the front
chat, uh pulling one of the wheels. So,
pulling it off to the side there,
let's just let it all hang out. If
it breaks, it breaks, you take it back to the shop and you fix it.
That's next week until then I'm MEREDITH Weiss. Keeping it off road.
Show Full Transcript
Rama.
This legendary to whe race track is fitted for four by four and the action is incredible
and there's more to
the cheap lo
dinner
will go south of the border for some in your face mot
cross
all that plus a trip to the mo
as he crisscrossed the country in search of off road action.
Hey, everybody. Today's show is jam packed with two and four wheel drive action.
Now, you know our rule, if it's off the pavement, we've got it covered.
Now, here's a question, I'm sure you've asked yourself, what's the best way to ruin a motorcycle? Answer is dune riding
the tracks and trails of southern California get as stale as last week's pizza. The riders in the know, know where to go.
Less than an hour's drive south of the border sits K of
Mars and that's where the Bailey Boys were ripping it up.
Rocket
came out here to Baja Mexico today took the day off, work
out,
do a little play ride, you know.
Yeah,
I went off for the job.
No surprise that Mitchell and his nephew weren't the only ones playing in this Mexican sandbox.
Like free playground. You can ride like all day. It's good in the summertime you come in the summer
life for a bit.
Jump in the ocean,
maybe bring a jet ski. It's like boy heaven though. It's not like going to the track where you gotta pay your 20 bucks and deal with a bunch of people. I mean,
there's a couple other guys out here in quads and bikes, but there's nobody here and we unload, we're next to the ocean, whatever you want. There's no rules down here so you can do whatever you want.
What the hell is he doing?
Sean's a sand newbie man. Learned quickly that this is a lot different than the tracks he's used to.
This is definitely a different experience
but
never
quite anything like this.
Really squirrely.
You gotta know what you're doing.
A
lot of body English. They don't fall
on
front end kind of loop.
But, uh,
overall it's really fun.
We're gonna rail this.
Ok. That's
sed
Sam is a totally different ball game.
Yeah,
especially this. There's a lot of people that are ridden in the sand, you know, Florida, places like that. But it's, uh,
this stuff's deep
and if you let off the gas for a second, you're going down.
However, eating sand is a Mexican tradition.
You actually got to lay it down a couple of times and get
some, uh, get some evidence stuck in the jersey and the glove.
You know, you're, you're, you can't brush it off, it sticks to you and you almost don't want to take a shower when you get home because it kind of
gives you some memories of the, the fun day that you had riding.
Oh, that could have been ugly.
Could have really been ugly.
The dunes are fun but danger lurks like the curse of
Mazuma.
Whoa.
See what sucks about this. We got barware
this. So,
uh
we got 20 ft, 3040 whatever foot drop to the right.
And uh we got
lots of broken glass,
lots of deep sand
and a lot that could go wrong.
But you know what,
here
with the dangers comes racing knowledge. Just a different, different thing. It's good to be able to get out here and
practice that for when you get in a situation in a race or a track somewhere where maybe it's deep mud or different type of sand that you do get that. You know, it's something that you've never been able to deal with. And if you take it to this extreme
as far as learning how to ride this when you get to that and the, the elements aren't as bad it, you're not gonna have any trouble with it.
Mitchell has another piece of advice. Can you hear?
Can you hear the piston?
So you definitely want to have a, a beater bike just to be able to bring down here. That's for sure. When you kill that thing and try and get the speed back up. It just, it totally flies the thing. Can you hear the piston going up and down? And
it's just, it's not a good deal. Let's eat lobster. I
wanna eat some lobster.
We're done riding.
We are heading into Puerto Nuevo. That is the home of the lobster restaurant.
Sure can't beat that. And you're not getting any lobster in the States for 12 bucks. I can tell you that right now,
Sean's advice. Don't forget to lock your sneakers up before your ride. What happened to his shoes? Oh,
they got Jack.
He's alright though.
So I'll be going barefoot.
Don't worry, Sean, your uncle isn't gonna let you go barefoot. We're gonna get him some cool uh,
some clogs.
Three simple rules for dune riding in Mexico brand, a $10 bill for lobster and extra air filter and of course a spare pair of shoes
after the break, we're going back to Mexico for seaside Motocross at the
play
us
and later on
who would spend 30 grand on the race car to run up a hill of key gravel all just for a trophy.
You'll find out when off road action continues.
Once known for its beaches, cheap
tequila and seafood
baja is now the Motocross, Mecca of Mexico.
Armando Carrasco's moto original has been a staple on the baja racing scene for almost 15 years.
One of the
unique things is we always put the track as close as possible to the, to the beach. That's what we
call it.
It's the beach atmosphere that gives the LA Play
Motocross that laid back fun feeling
atmosphere than being in the US. Just have fun and, and let go
other than
us so different
out here, it's more partying and having fun. Not just those that partied had fun. Very good, uh, family atmosphere out here. Real fun for the kids,
uh, from the C race and they learn how to race and stuff.
It was really fun.
Little
kids.
Good
time.
Good
time. It's
taking the, a little bit off the stress of I'm going to race, you know, and it's more like a weekend getaway, bring the family, bring the, bring the wife, bring the kids
and not only racing, you know, this is a little touch that we try to do
different. We, we're from Southern California. Win or lose.
I'm out here for the enjoyment.
15 classes of a TV. S and motorcycles competed on Mexico's newest track. The real Del Mar
hit the firm. Find the firm
there. It is
nice. Sweeper.
Mm. Nice turns. Some, some sweet jumps. Not too dangerous. Not too big, not too wild. It's,
it's all on the fun side of the sport. It's awesome. Motocross track outdoor.
Um,
the jumps are, are, are nice.
It's a very fun track and
we're always looking for a good smooth
track safe
where a pro can have a good time and, and you know, and a blast and show their capabilities of racing.
Well, the beginner can have a blast trying to race, you know, with a good rider, nice view and
it's really nice down here,
Sten was also having a good time, but he is a racer.
Once you put your helmet on, you get a little bit competitive. Of course
in the late nineties, Sven moved from Germany to San Diego to race in the pro Supercross Series.
Today. He was running in the open class and worked through the pack to battle with Wilson Nichols for the lead,
took
it easy on the stars and stuff.
The guy on a 125 he was in front of me the whole time and then
I could have pushed him out. But I think, ah, it's not fair. It's a fun.
Yeah, so much for fun as things turned serious on the last lap when he threw the elbow on Nichols. Bye bye.
You saw that.
That's still considered, uh, in the fun
in the fun sector of the sport.
Yeah, this is just like, hey, what's up? You know,
I'm still, I'm also here just riding
his love tap allowed Sven to pull away and take the win this and 50 bucks.
Lobster,
great lobster, stunning scenery in a day of racing. Life doesn't get any better than this.
Ok. We're shifting gears here from two wheels to four now, for the millions of Jeep owners who actually use the transfer case in their trucks.
Moab
Utah is one of the ultimate places to go four wheeling
for 29 years. Moab
Utah has hosted the Easter Jeep Safari where thousands of drivers take their rigs and do what else go wheeling
each time you come out here, you're seeing better belt rigs, better technology to me, it's like the Sturgis of off roading. It's a year's worth of work that you get a release in a week's time.
So it uh it's a lot of uh stress relief for me
wheeling and having a ball so far. So good.
Southern Utah is known for breathtaking scenery, thousands of miles of trails and that infamous Moab
Slick Rock. The name is a little tricky slipper
of him came from the old days when they were riding horses with the metal shoe horses. So that was slicky
this way. It was with weather with the, with the rubber tires. It actually gives us quite a lot of traction
might actually be a handicap because if he's not too good of a driver,
the rock will still pull you through.
Clifton. Slay is one of the most well known builders in the world and he's been tearing up this rock for 15 years
out here. You will see everything. It's awesome. This year, Clifton brought out his baddest rig to lead dirt. Sports magazine's hardcore run.
Most of the vehicles out here
are more capable than the drivers. So it's usually the fear factor that keeps you from doing a lot of these obstacles. So it's a lot of fun.
Had a great time,
did some crazy wheeling. It's great.
This is our first inaugural run. We want everybody to come out and just enjoy the run and
do a few obstacles to get some adrenaline running.
This one proved so tough. Even Clifton suicide, Sally met its untimely demise.
I'm not happy. We didn't know what it would take to actually break it.
And now we know not everyone who comes to Moab
wants to leave broke and Skyjacker suspensions had the perfect run for them.
I'm out enjoying some trail riding, some off roading rock climbing, pretty good mixture of terrain,
having some fun.
The steel bender trail has some challenging sections and that gave Skyjacker a chance to show off its new Rock Ready Line.
It is made such that it can overcome any of the obstacles that you would face off the trail. You get the opportunity to be able to sit back and just enjoy the scenery without being overstressed about the vehicle making it
over that obstacle and
to
continue on to see all that's out here
for 20 miles. The technical trail tested these rigs but the Skyjacker suspension handled it with ease.
I think that's probably the most exciting part of this trail ride is that we can actually see
our,
you know, all our suspension out here and it, it is, it's doing a great job and I think it kind of speaks for itself. So we're really excited about
over at the new rock crawling park, Pro crawlers, Kevin mclaughlin and Becco Webster were breaking in Pro
Cop's newest rubber.
We're doing tire testing for pro
comp tires,
new SRC super sticky rubber compounds as you know, in every type of racing rubber is probably one of the most intricate part of the vehicle.
And the super sticky were just that
they work.
It was
how they're hooking up. The tire just seems to be grabbing. I don't know,
I don't know what they do. I don't design the tires but whatever they did it works whether running it hard or just enjoying nature for the thousands that make the annual trip to Moab. It's all about the love of getting in a four wheeler and hitting the trail. And after all, it's mother nature, you got a motor. You're out here having fun, a great lunch and a good bunch of people to be with. So it's really fun
on off road action.
They'll drive anything in Cleves, Ohio,
but the main goal is conquering the big Eliminator Hill.
Welcome back to off road action. Now, if you've never seen a bunch of guys running 350 small blocks up a hill of pea gravel, you've got to check this out.
It's an off road event in Cleves Ohio. Like no other
for the last 34 years, thousands of racers have come to Cleves Ohio to conquer the big Eliminator Hill.
Yeah, the big Eliminator Hill. That's what
it's all about. Seven stories of peak
stacked as high as they can ST
it.
Best man over wins.
Bottom line. It's, uh, the most unique four by four bed
in the midwest time. Rock and roll.
It's awesome. That's the only thing I can tell you. It's a rush.
We do, uh, four wheeling, you know, rock crawling and stuff like that and nothing is near as much of a rush as what this is. Hill climbs are common climbing. A hill of pea gravel is not
the reason we run on the pea gravel is because 35 years ago, the peak gravel
here,
it's
more like marvels than sand. We race mostly in sand at home
and dirt tracks. This is the slickest track we come to.
You can't even crawl up it probably on your hands and knees and these cars have to try and go over it.
Almost 300 drivers competed in 16 classes for nothing more than a trophy and bragging rights
for
people to spend this kind of money
on their race cars to come down to a place like this and race strictly for a trophy. I mean, it just
doesn't happen
anymore.
It's just a prestige coming out here and
we
can't explain the feeling of going over that hill and all that power.
It's all about having fun.
This is our
one. It's the
thing in the world. It's unbelievable. 35 years ago, there was one Jeep, the hill was not near as big as it is.
There was one Jeep that made it over the hill and for years, he was the only guy that made it over here. Now, it's
almost
impossible.
These bigger cars from going over the hill,
every type of vehicle is welcome at Gravel Rama. Some though aren't built to get over the top. Basically a golf cart drive train
and uh bud I
building
steer from up here.
We got pedals down below the, the gas will break.
And uh like I said, you're driving like a golf cart.
However, if you want to win your class, the man to see is John Dreer. I would say we've taken first place at least 20 times easy. Last year alone, we won four first places out of the X classes
in just one year. This year, he had six machines competing.
We normally run small block Chevys and the cars that we build. The biggest part of the ones that I have out here.
Uh
cars rate anywhere from probably 700 to 1000 horsepower. Most of the ones that we're doing run no nitrous at all. They're just high horsepower, small block
on the big Eliminator Hill. They'll only run in one gear, low gear to run the hill.
Uh You got to have a tremendous amount of tire speed. We run a chain drive system to the front. There is no transfer case in them. The cars are fairly light. They run
22 to 24
100 pounds mostly
at a 75 degree angle. The Eliminator Hill is steep, very steep.
If I was just building cars for drag racing, it would be a little different.
But the hill, you have to have 8 to 10 inches of ground clearance to peak the top. Or else you'll drag so bad, you'll get stuck on the top of it.
And they've got to be able to handle the pea gravel,
build the frames where they're rigid because the cars are four length suspension in the
front and rear
to make them hook up harder and on a loose surface, they work good like that
with four of his machines getting over and two winning their class, his legendary status stayed intact.
There's hours and hours building the car, but
in the end, that's one of the
great rewards of it is just seeing the other cars that I built go over the hill too. I mean, it's
probably the greatest thing for me that it could be
75% of those who try the big Eliminator Hill don't make it.
There's always next year
we'll be right back
right now. We're going racing at one of California's most famous tracks
known for its Motocross championship.
Glen Helen
is now one of
the toughest off road courses anywhere.
After a five year layoff off road truck racing returned to the world renowned Glen Helen raceway.
If nothing else to leave, to be able to say I raced the Glen Helen
my truck. I'm
called the Baja Cup challenge. This one off race lived up to its namesake. It's really hard going. It's just like
this is extreme sports
for two hours. These drivers had to battle not only the competition but also the nasty two mile course.
The track is
incredible.
It's very tough. This one is combining fire roads and sand washes and boulders and
super high hills. So it's more of a challenging type of technical course where you really gotta pay attention to what your vehicle is gonna do when you hit the certain area,
everyone who's ever driven to work and just wants to pin it through all the traffic on the highway
and, you know, hit a curb, go upstairs, you, you're doing it. You know,
I can't even believe this is like legal. They just should be outlawed because it's so much fun, you know, and that's what it is.
And anyone who drives on the highway and got a speeding ticket can relate to that.
These things can go 100 miles an hour over stuff that you can't walk on.
It's just insane. The stuff that these things can go over
using score racing rules, met different classes raced at the same time. You have guys that are super fast over certain sections. You have guys that are super slow everywhere. So it makes it difficult. You have to kind of pick and choose what you're gonna do. Running the 1984 Ford Ranger, Billy Manfro was doing it in class seven open. We try to keep the truck light, we try to keep it low. We try to keep it fast
with a former Bush series engine. He had the goods to go fast.
You know, it's over 500 horsepower out of a naturally aspirated 4.5 L V6.
This is the hot motor to run. This was a race of attrition and Billy Man for,
I was one of the casualties.
We were doing just fine and all of a sudden, I just lost all four gears. So we were done.
Day wasn't enough to dampen his enthusiasm. I sleep,
eat and breathe this stuff. There's never a time of the day where I'm not thinking about driving this car. It just makes you want to go out and try again. All I can. All I can think of right now is we're gonna go home, we're gonna wash it off, we're gonna
fix up whatever happened to it and
come on out back and do it again. I can't wait for the next one
while Billy was thinking of the next race. Class seven open teammates, Jack Mitman and Biker Sherlock were running 12.
You know, there's no worrying about consequences, just pin it and go and see what happens.
Bikers got a garage full of X games and gravity games medals for street luge. He got into a truck last year and was hooked when I'm on a skateboard going 65 miles an hour. That's adrenaline.
But to me, this is just like a
kid opening his new toy on Christmas. And this is just
huge fun factor for me to find something like this at the point in my life right now is just awesome. It's on, bro.
Biker pinned it and finished second to Glenn Helen, leaving his veteran teammate in awe at the newcomer skills. What is that called in your head? Your equilibrium when you're missing something and you've got no fear,
but that's what he's got. I mean, he's fearless. So
you put him in a safe situation. It's just off the hook. It's great to be involved in something I can do until I'm 70 you know.
So it's pretty, it's a stoke. It really is.
That's it for off road action this week
now, for you guys to thrive on the big power of diesel with 90 ft plumes of black smoke will take you to the D hr A tractor pulls,
breaking part of po
and I guess just like Robin
close to you, join in the front
chat, uh pulling one of the wheels. So,
pulling it off to the side there,
let's just let it all hang out. If
it breaks, it breaks, you take it back to the shop and you fix it.
That's next week until then I'm MEREDITH Weiss. Keeping it off road.
