- Joined
- Mar 13, 2005
- Location
- Raleigh, NC
You could hear them through the trees. A low roar of engine noise punctuated by a shout or cheers from the crowd. They had been bottled up for over half a mile, weaving through the forest with scarcely a spot to pass. The cars burst into the sunlight, first one, then two more. There was only a quarter mile of open field to gain a position or two before a right-hand hairpin, over the jump, and back into the woods.
Brad Carrier's blue Cherokee darted to the right and came alongside Joe Darlington's Isuzu. There wasn't enough room to outrun the Isuzu before the end of the stretch, but Brad had position entering the corner. He tried for one more, tucking his nose alongside Jody Treadway's orange Comanche as they lined up for the jump. But Jody didn't yield, and Brad was forced to drop in line as they entered the forest again.
Brad Carrier and Joe Darlington try to chase down Jody Treadway
The course at the Devils' Playground was decidedly different from the previous race in Callalantee. Much shorter at roughly two miles, fans could see most of the track from the start line. This created a bit of a challenge for the organizers and racers, though. Class A rigs could turn laps in just over four minutes. That meant staggered starts were only fifteen seconds apart, guaranteeing congestion and tight racing in the first few laps.
Out of nine starters, only four would finish all twelve laps. Brad Carrier and Tony Hirko were both in contention for first place, but Brad was knocked from a podium finish when a series of mechanical problems late in the race resulted in a pair of thirteen minute laps. After the race, Tony said, "Racing in A Class was so much fun, there's not much else I'd rather be doing. It was tight racing with both obstacles and competitors. Every tree I hit was accidental, every racer I hit was incidental, and I think I hit every racer I came near."
Tony Hirko's consistently quick laps earned him a first place finish
Joe Darlington and John Herr traded positions all day long. Both were fast, but would occasionally turn a slow lap that let the other guy by. In the end, John's XJ beat Joe's Isuzu by nine seconds, earning second and third places respectively.
Looking at the field of Class A rigs, it seems incorrect to call them race cars. A motley assortment of old XJs, Explorers, and Toyotas, some spend most of their time as weekend trail rigs. Others were once so far gone they were thought to be useful only as parts donors before finding a second life with a fresh coat of paint and a number on the door. But race, they certainly do. They rub fenders, they bump and get bumped. They brake late and throttle early. They might have racked up 200,000 hard-earned miles of commuter duty, but today, they're race cars.
Brad Carrier's blue Cherokee darted to the right and came alongside Joe Darlington's Isuzu. There wasn't enough room to outrun the Isuzu before the end of the stretch, but Brad had position entering the corner. He tried for one more, tucking his nose alongside Jody Treadway's orange Comanche as they lined up for the jump. But Jody didn't yield, and Brad was forced to drop in line as they entered the forest again.
Brad Carrier and Joe Darlington try to chase down Jody Treadway
The course at the Devils' Playground was decidedly different from the previous race in Callalantee. Much shorter at roughly two miles, fans could see most of the track from the start line. This created a bit of a challenge for the organizers and racers, though. Class A rigs could turn laps in just over four minutes. That meant staggered starts were only fifteen seconds apart, guaranteeing congestion and tight racing in the first few laps.
Out of nine starters, only four would finish all twelve laps. Brad Carrier and Tony Hirko were both in contention for first place, but Brad was knocked from a podium finish when a series of mechanical problems late in the race resulted in a pair of thirteen minute laps. After the race, Tony said, "Racing in A Class was so much fun, there's not much else I'd rather be doing. It was tight racing with both obstacles and competitors. Every tree I hit was accidental, every racer I hit was incidental, and I think I hit every racer I came near."
Tony Hirko's consistently quick laps earned him a first place finish
Joe Darlington and John Herr traded positions all day long. Both were fast, but would occasionally turn a slow lap that let the other guy by. In the end, John's XJ beat Joe's Isuzu by nine seconds, earning second and third places respectively.
Looking at the field of Class A rigs, it seems incorrect to call them race cars. A motley assortment of old XJs, Explorers, and Toyotas, some spend most of their time as weekend trail rigs. Others were once so far gone they were thought to be useful only as parts donors before finding a second life with a fresh coat of paint and a number on the door. But race, they certainly do. They rub fenders, they bump and get bumped. They brake late and throttle early. They might have racked up 200,000 hard-earned miles of commuter duty, but today, they're race cars.