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Pride & Glory
written by James ?Mud? Buckley, Team 577
Any one that has ever gone off-road or on a trail ride has dreamed of building their vehicle to the next level. You know the level I?m talking about, the one they see in the parking lot with the custom axles and roll cage with the biggest motor or the neatest accessories. Your out with your buddies and it?s a contest of one-upping each other with their rigs or their driving skill. With the coming of competitive rock crawling that friendly game between friends has been carried beyond just friendly jesting. Now it?s a simple game of put up or shut up.
In late winter of 2005 Zach Vaughn of A to Z Fabrication asked me if I would be interested in driving one of his customers Jeeps in the upcoming season of Uroc Extreme East Rock Crawling in the Stock Class. I thought about it, weighing my current and upcoming schedule, debating over the pro?s and con?s of such a job and then in about 1.5 seconds I replied with an elated yes. I was honored that Zach would consider me for such a task.
The competition Jeep arrived at the shop and we began the task of prepping it for the series. Traction bars installed, winches wired, plumbing air and brake lines were completed while decals were removed and fresh new A to Z Fabrication banners were applied. Time passed as the team shirts arrived, helmets were polished and life insurance premiums were paid. After months of preparation and waiting we hit the long road for Jellico, Tennessee.
Arriving in Jellico was a relief as Tech Inspection for the event was still 4 hours away. We had made it with time to spare so we checked into the hotel and parked our truck and trailer amongst the many specialty vehicles constructed for the Uroc Series. Arriving at Tech was exhilarating as the town?s folk were overjoyed to see us. With city officials welcoming us, and the locals quizzing us on our vehicles, we lined up to be inspected for compliance with the rules. It was a pretty intimidating experience as you get to look over your competition and see what your up against in the next days obstacles.
The first day of competition was a rude awakening to the series. From the sidelines you see the drivers fighting their vehicles, the obstacles, and sometimes even their spotters to make it through the gates to earn their points. You think to yourself, how hard can it be? They just sit there and drive? I thought the same until the first course. The adrenaline hits you and you?re suddenly aware of everything around you. You have to fight to reign it all in to keep focused on the task at hand and listen to what your spotter tells you. You get bumped, battered and bruised. The Jeep twisted me, rolled me and spit me out with disgust. It?s like it developed a mind of it?s own. I wanted to go one way and it wanted to go the other, and neither was the way my spotter was pointing.
The first day of competition came to an end. A quick debriefing amongst team members lead to a plan for the next day to improve the areas we found weaknesses in and improve our standings. Unfortunately luck was not with us and we could not compete the next day due to damage taken on the last obstacle. We stayed for the final day though, and watched and made notes for the next time we were on the courses. Waiting to wage war with man and machine against nature in her raw, untamed, beauty in the hopes of becoming the victor for the sake of pride and glory.
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