UROC Jellico

Today

is a chassis flipping dirt

pounding high mountain adventure

will go head first into a crawling competition on Mother Nature's toughest horse.

See how big tires are key to

alpine four wheeling.

Plus we will show you why. The low rumble of the four has taken over mot

across.

Get ready for 30 minutes of all the pa

excitement as we crisscross the country in search of off road action.

Welcome to the show. Now it's our job to bring you action from the coolest events and trailed in America

first up and now legendary mountain in East Tennessee on an abandoned coal mine known as Jellicoe

Little Mud. Wasn't going to hold back. The drivers of the Iraq extremist rock crawling series.

Oh, man, that's cooler than ice cream. 70 modified in super mod rigs tackled, slammed and scraped through the old mining trails of Jellicoe, Tennessee

and sometimes the trails bit back.

It's things you would never think of doing on your own. But out here in the competition, you got to follow the cones, you gotta make it through and you gotta do what they, uh how they, how they send you through

for two days. Driver and truck attacked Mother Nature without fear of the consequences.

Oh,

it's pretty extreme. Pretty extreme. It's not for the weak at heart.

That,

that was awesome.

They call it rock crawling. But these guys wouldn't get far if all they did was crawl.

You

gotta be a little gutsy. I guess you can't be afraid to push your vehicle to its limits and see what it will actually do.

It's all about the carnage

for a guy that wants to come out here and have this much fun.

He's gonna need a good helmet and lots of courage. The smell of burn oil racing, fuel, dirt, flying horse

terrible.

And I get into it. If you take a vehicle that's, uh, pretty, uh, that you drive daily

and you want to keep it looking good and this is not what you want to do.

That's pretty cool.

You know, you come out here, you hit everything so hard to get over it.

Something's bound to break,

broke again

again.

We have to have a, a vehicle that will hold up to the, you know, obviously, it's not very easy on them. Under this punishment. Even a tank would have trouble staying in one piece.

Uh, twisted the dry shaft into man on that rock right there.

Got it and spun it and

hey, you guys got any fuel

broke a link, it broke a lot of other stuff. When it broke the

three

drive shaft,

I can get her back together, be back tomorrow,

get her done.

Only extreme rigs like Rob Ellis's can compete in the premier super mod class.

You know, the super modified aren't even based on a production vehicle anymore.

You start off with a big stack of tubing, a bender and a welder and, and put something together. We're running, you know, crazy suspension

that

can articulate. You can, you know, have one tire up 5 ft in the air and the other three are still on the ground. You run full hydraulic steering. So there's no connection besides some, some fluid lines from the uh steering wheel to the to the ramp. This rear axle is, uh

it's kind of my pride of this buggy. It's, it's a uh

Unimog

nine inch

hybrid axle, which is just a 49 inch center section

with Mercedes

Unimog portals bolted on the outside with uh custom shafts.

It's also steering uh capable so I can uh I can drive the rear end and steer it just like the front.

If you look at the front axle, you

notice the axle is connected directly between the center of the two wheels on a portal axle. You've got a gearbox at each wheel and then it raises the center of the axle. If you look at it from the back, I've got a ton more clearance under the rear end and it really helps to uh get over rocks and stuff. A lot of guys run um, air compressors to run their air lockers.

We run a CO2 cylinder. It's a constant source of, uh, co two

allows us to lock the front and the rear differentials which distributes equal power to each wheel. Here, you want all your tires to have full power at all times. So you lock those two axles together with a locking differential. That's what it takes to get, get up some of these obstacles.

The right equipment alone won't crown you king of the hill. You gotta have guts.

You come out here expecting to break something, you break something, you go fix it and you get back in it. I mean,

you can't win if you don't race. This sport tests a writer's mind, body and machine. Yet it's the thrill that keeps bringing them back to the trail.

I'm addicted. It's an obsession.

Probably didn't have an adrenaline rush. We probably wouldn't do it. You know what I mean? It's, it's real exciting,

exciting to drive and exciting to watch as well. Now, later on off road action

from

the unlimited

J

to the modified stock

and

we see how the low budget guys buy for the World extreme title.

But up,

you know, the stroke by the rumble of the motor will go to Southern California for the four stroke national.

When off road action continues.

Welcome back to off road action as we go from four wheel down to two

and a look at how the technology of the off road motorcycle has changed from 2 to 4.

We off to Gorman California for the four stroke national.

It wasn't long ago that four stroke motorcycles were laughed at and considered the stepchild of Motocross. Well, those days are now over

guys who ride two strokes. You know, they're, they're kind of like,

I don't know, they're, they're back in the old days, you know, it's kind of come to the future and, and get on with the big horse.

I was one of the guys, I was die hard two stroke for years. I fought for a stroke. The bikes are definitely

there. They're ready to go

and it's there

a

long time ago, two strokes were faster,

but now the four strokes are getting lighter and they're getting faster and the four strokes are here. In

fact, all the four major manufacturers got them and,

you know, you go to 125 national now and that's all it is. You know, it's all four strokes, maybe a few, 1 25 2 strokes. But,

you know, I think that's the future, you know, for sure if we're gonna pin either bike, keep it wide open. But, uh,

I'd say the four strokes is the way to go.

I like the four strokes

when it comes to four and two strokes. You don't have to be an ace mechanic to understand how they work. Four strokes. We call them a tractor or a road killer

since they fire every four

pulses of the crank instead of every two,

they're not as ziggy

per se.

It's kind of like comparing a Mack truck to a Ferrari.

It's just gonna go and go and go and not be high strung and jerky around.

And that's what gives these motorcycles that sound,

you know, it's just,

you know, sound of thunder basically

more.

Yeah, you got that thump, thump. You know, it sound like a, like a Harley in the woods.

No stranger to catching air is multi time X games gold medalist Mike Metzger who is four stroke racing's latest convert,

getting out on, on a big outdoor track and twisting the throttle.

What I like to do.

I like going fast. I like banging bars. I like being on the starting gate with 40 riders

and uh I like coming across the finish line and knowing what place I got.

You know,

that's the difference between going freestyling and having a few judges tell you

what they think you got.

You know. So

it's all about checkered flag

for

me. I

am

sure

the

Mets pioneered the freestyle movement and if that wouldn't shock the world now, it's about motos and not those flip combs.

I

consider myself retired from freestyle and I just do it

when uh there's a demo or

my sponsors want me to be at the X games. I love the roar of being on, on a starting gate with 40 other four strokes.

I mean, that really makes my blood

girl just like

this is

gnarly. I gotta get out in front of these guys right now and make it happen.

That

kind of adrenaline going through.

You know,

there

is a feeling

like that

Gorman California was the site for round two of the western four stroke nationals were the only two strokes allowed were pit bikes fast and Furious and Motor one was rusty Holland and Shane Best who swapped the top spot the whole race.

Oh, yeah, it was definitely a mind game. I just stay behind him, take second. And then

I was like, I was out in front for too long, so I went for it and made one last ditch effort on passing him past him and

put a little gap on him. And that last stop was the longest lap ever in 2001. Mike Brown won the 125 Motocross title

on this day. He was tuning up

Yamaha for the nationals

here. You're expected to win these things and it

puts more pressure on you

in a field of four fifties. Mike was running the 2 50 CC four stroke

on the corners and uphill stuff. It's a lot quicker on the four

F for sure. But

here I think the main thing is having a good suspension, you know, made a few adjustments there today and got it better and,

you know,

the main thing on this track I don't think it's the performance

for the handling is more important as a veteran. He got another advantage.

I

think these guys get a little

tired

than

I would.

So

I

can catch

up

after 1/4 of moto one. He handled the high five track with ease and Moto two and easily took the race win,

put my head down and try to get away from those guys. And then,

you know, after that, I just went out and rode my own race and just cruise, you know, didn't have to push it too hard. I just wish I'd got better. Finished the first one. I, I'd have stayed in third. I went over all, but

I'm happy for the day. It good, good practice for me.

This was best's first race in almost six months, but he managed a third place finish behind Turbo re

and more importantly ahead of Holland for the overall.

I was so deep,

but no, I'm so happy. It'll set in the night when I drive home. But yeah, I wonder and now

because

it's hard to do it. So

I

made a little money to get to the next one. I hope you there make some more money to get to the next one. So that's what it's all about right now. I'm going racing and having fun and making some money.

March 2008 marked the end of the Western four Stroke National Series

and we want to congratulate promoter, John Schneider and all of the riders for making it a great 12 year run.

They tuned offer action because there's more coming up.

It said to be America's highest trail and over 11,000 ft bring extra oxygen,

alpine crawling in Colorado

and broken lugs won't stop these stock mods from tearing up world competition.

Welcome back to off road action. Now, you've heard the term go big or go home.

Well, for members of the Colorado K five club, the rigs are big. Their tires are 44

and their home is near one of the most picturesque trails anywhere.

It's also home to a famous gold mining ghost town.

Hundreds of off road trails litter the Colorado Rockies, but none is more popular than the Holy Cross City trail.

It's a great trail all around, good scenery and

sending 4000 ft through big rocks and river crossings and

this is Colorado

four

right here for most.

Their goal is 11,000 ft and the Holy Cross City ghost town.

This is nice up

here. Very nice. You see forever.

You know, you get up on top of some of this stuff you swear you can see, can

after taking in the sights, the Colorado K Five Club powered on to Cleveland Rock,

you're going to see a lot of action

at 11,500 ft. A

lot of people don't even know. It's,

er, they won't come up this far because of that. This collection of rocks, punish those that attempted

Cleveland Rock is the

hardest and most complicated obstacle on this trail. There are two lines up the rock and neither are for.

You're probably going to see a lot of some tire lifting go on with this one. It's going to be wet and muddy. There's a lot of rubble on the right hand side and it's a good thing. Those winch anchors will probably end up needing them for a few vehicles considered the highest obstacle in the world. We border right up against wilderness area. So

vehicle travel isn't allowed any farther than this failure. Here is not an option.

If your vehicle becomes immobile, then somebody

got to go all the way back down there and all the way back up to the top. So no place to break, facing down the consequences. This club built their rigs to survive these alpine trails.

We're a group of pretty hardcore vehicles on 42 inch tires and fully locked up low gears and good drivers and less equipped vehicles. We'd spend most of the day getting to this site

in these vehicles. It's lunchtime when we're here,

Stephen Watson grew up wheeling in the Colorado Rockies. I don't feel hemmed in by the mountains.

It, uh, it actually sets you free

making his living, designing and building hardcore full sizes. Let's face it. If you want to push the big tires, you're swapping one to axles into a Jeep

and we just like to start out having them

over the years. He's become obsessed with conquering Cleveland Rock.

I've had to build and modify and change things around to get to where I can get up it and it's still not a guaranteed thing.

His Dragon Slayer is a highly modified 85 crew cab.

The drive train was really dictated by the tire size. We knew we wanted to run a 40 inch tire

and to do that, we needed the one ton axles, heavy transfer case, heavy transmission and heavy drive shaft

to push it all. We knew we were going to need some good power. So it's running a 454 big block and then for suspension to get the flexibility required, we use a 14 inch travel coil over along with all of our steering components and a hydraulic assist

to be able to turn the 40 inch tires wherever we need to a two year work in progress.

But it seems like every time you bring them out, you find a weak point or something that you want to fix or change.

Steven stopped counting the coin in his pursuit of the ultimate Cleveland Rock Conqueror,

you know,

pro

Molly

axle shafts, you got to have them dual transfer cases and heavy transmissions. They do cost some money. It's all part of the game.

You got to have it to be able to do it on this run. His father and mentor had the honor of taking the rig up the rock.

So I've never been there. I guess it's pretty tough

in a testament to his son's building ability. James became one of the few to triumph over a Cleveland rock.

It worked out real well and the tires just did awesome. And of course, the suspension was keeping them on the ground, so to do the work.

And I was really pleased with the way it came up there while all come here expecting glory.

I'm

confident I make

Cleveland

most will leave here in defeat.

Clutch linkage fell out, but all never regret taking on Cleveland Rock.

That was a uh challenging obstacle. Um Probably one of the hardest I think I've done these rocks, didn't scare me off. I'm not afraid of the mountains.

I'll be back. Definitely.

That trail is so remote and so hard to get to that. If you break down, the forest service will hit your wallet for $1000 to tow you out.

We'll be right back

at

the

Rock World finals. The media spotlight burned brightest on the high dollar modified class.

This is the biggest event of the year. It's monstrous. It's the biggest thing I've ever been to

far from the horde of cameras, but competing on the same course was the stock mod class.

That's where people come and get their feet wet and from there they move up, you can't just jump into a top rig and expect to win. The stock mod class is a good building experience is where I started with the big dollar sponsors here looking for the next Tracy Jordan.

The stock mob drivers know a world title can be their ticket to the big show.

I want it bad. I want a real bad trade your finger for it.

You know, we're gonna do everything we can to bring away a title in the modified stock class

with back to back undefeated seasons in the eastern division. Derek, the Dominator West came to the world finals as the undisputed favorite

to do.

This is a very competitive class. So we've got to come in here and really make good decisions. However, over the last two years, there's been a thorn in Derek's side,

but

as the West division's, Dan Patterson has twice denied Derek the US title,

our

mistakes are a little smaller than his. So we kind of edged him out there. We've been lucky enough to be winners a lot and so lose. It really hurts bad

at

the world championship. Only three drivers would advance to the title shoot out

after cruising through the first course, Derek felt his style would give him an edge over his main nemesis.

We try to be as cool and collective as we can while we're on the course Patterson team, they've got

a

pretty wild driving,

not afraid to roll it over, crash it.

I

don't know how he described it, but, um, I try to be a finesse guy. Not a hammer down guy.

I think I'm more of a

light pedal guy. Not, not as heavy on the pedal

that so called light pedal touch resulted in crushed cones and lost points

for Derek West. The wheels to his title hopes began to come off,

hit it hard, coming through there and lost the, uh, the wheel studs.

We'll see if we can find some of those replace it.

Dan hammered his way through the qualifier.

Derek's team struggled to make repairs,

had

to

a

lot of parts from different guys trying to get it all

back

together with only two courses complete and four to go,

the pressure was on.

We've got a lot to make up

here

fixed and ready to get back in the game.

There was another setback,

noticed some flood dripping out. So we, we've got in here and it's a banjo bolt. It's disappointing. You get all pumped up and you're all ready to go and then you see something like this and you know,

here we

stand, you know, Dan for one wasn't writing off

his arch rival.

They know what they're doing. They'll get that car back together with bubble gum or tape, whatever it takes, they'll be

out

here back together. Derek's confidence was in shambles

kind of lost that edge, I

think. So I got to get back in this course,

get things going, make it happen here and, uh, hopefully I'm up in the pack with all the other guys.

He caught a huge break when Dan caught fire,

anything can happen to anybody. You know, his tire falls off,

we catch on fire.

So

we'll see,

we'll see what

rejuvenated. He moved past Dan Patterson and into the coveted three position. I

thought

maybe it was going to get cold with all the

time, but we was able to get right back on here and kind of get a rhythm going again,

locked in an epic battle for third. These two champions went punch for punch

with a chance to solidify the shootout spot.

Derek cracked on his last run.

That's the mistake you don't want to make right there.

That mistake made third place too close to call. We're waiting to find out what happens with the points and uh we're awaiting the results here. Let's do, let's find out,

make

it.

We're done for the weekend.

I have

to

hit this again next year.

Once again, Dan got the better of the dominator.

I'm feeling good that we, you

know, we got them in the finals. I'm glad we caught Derek and passed him. That makes me feel real good. Derek would have the long off season to think about the one that got away.

We made uh one huge mistake today, laid it over and

uh well, that cost us hopefully cut

off some constructive ideas for next season,

man. Those man made courses. We rock comes up with our wicked tough.

Well, that's it for off road action this week. Remember? Two wheels are four. If it's got a throttle, we're on it.

I'm your host, MEREDITH. We

keeping it off road

next week. On off road action.

The most exciting motorsport has some of the most incredible crashes.

We check out cos Hall of Fame, wipe out it will take your breath away.

Going.