Other than the trick new VW-powered rock buggy that snuck through contingency and tech inspection this afternoon, this '02 Jeep Wrangler 6x6 built by identical twins Mike and Mark Patey was the big hit later in the day. It took the two of them and a crew of friends exactly 33 days to build the beast.

If there were any doubts, SUPERCRAWL promoter Craig Stumph set the naysayers straight. Quite simply, today's SUPERCRAWL boasted the biggest rock crawling contingency and tech inspection in history. Says one notable event sponsor big wig: "Well, I've got to say, he certainly hit a home run today, but there are two days left to go . . . and it's looking good."

We showed up in the northwestern New Mexican town of Farmington late in the day, burned out from all the nonstop events we've chased down over the last couple of months. Sometimes, it catches up to you. The long drive from Vegas, the long day cranking out copy until 3 a.m., and the early morning departure, none of it helped the burn out. But when we showed up just before the the sun dipped down below the mountains, we were awe struck by the crowds. We rolled up and immediately posed the question: "Wow, great turnout, huh?"

It Was A Zoo All Day

"What? This ain't nothing. The crowd just died down. It was a zoo all day. The crowd was really pumping. It was standing room only!" said one local spectator. "We've never seen anything this big. Even the other events weren't this big." A passerby nodded his head in agreement.

Are they really going to run it in the Unlimited Class tomorrow? "Hey! We didn't build it to look at," says Mike as he mounted the number plate. "We haven't slept in 37 hours. We bought it with 7,800 miles on it. Drove it around for a couple hundred miles, then went to work and cut into it. Testing? We drove it out the shop, made a U-turn, driving it onto the trailer and made it here to Farmington with five minutes to spare," said Mike.

Tomorrow will be big. All the major players are present, divided up into two classes and amounting to some 102 total entries for the two days of fierce rock crawling action to follow. Because of the large number of entries, SUPERCRAWL officials are considering shortening up the time allotment on each obstacle.

Rumors Of A Spec Class

Now, we've encountered quite a few rumors on the rock crawling scene in the last few weeks. It just so happens today that one of them, the one that says RCAA may transform its series into a spec class, just may have some credence. Can you say sweeeeeep? We'll say nothing more, other than we hope it doesn't happen.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's coverage. Until then, check out the huge rear end tech information available at Randy's Ring and Pinion, SUPERCRAWL event sponsor and devout supporter of Off-Road.com's rock crawling coverage. If you're getting a set of lockers or gears, get them from Randy's!

The two spent six months putting the idea onto paper. The only way Mark could get Mike to build any rig is if he came up with something unique. Well, it boasts USA 6x6 Ford 9-inch axles with Unimog portals and 7:56 gears. The inner wheel base of the TJ is less than a Suzuki Samurai. The outer wheel base is seven inches longer than a Ford Excursion. Each of the six wheels turn, the rear four being operated by a slick space-age joy stick. They can be steered individually per axle or in unison. With a single snap of a trigger on the joy stick, the wheels snap back to true center. The rig has zero hours of testing. Tomorrow aims to be it's big day.
	Get this! We call it Mini Jeep, and the name sums it up quite well. It took Farmington's Ed Hatcher and son Nick six weeks and 639 man hours to complete. Nick, 14, on the right wearing the black shirt, laid out the story for us as we looked the rig over. It's powered by an '87 Honda TRX 350 motor and a winch donated by Warn to pull it through the rough times. Soon enough, Mini Jeep will roll along the trail on a set of Allied Wheels, but the best part of the story is listening in on how and when Nick got started.
It was just about a decade ago, as Nick says, that he got his big break. At the age of four, YES FOUR, he built his first go cart. "Uh, you know, I just used the basic stick and wire feed welders, built it tube frame and all that." What??? I thought this kid was pulling my leg. I mean, he seemed a straight shooter and all, but four??? Sure enough, he was backed with credentials, the confirmation and confidence of Mini Jeep owner Harrold Off, who simply nodded his head with a smile. Well, weld on!!!
	We've got to hand it to Farmington's Dodge dealership, Advantage Dodge on Main Street. They hosted hordes of rock crawlers and spectators all throughout the day. It was absolutely huge. Even though the lot was huge - large enough to host an impressive number of vendor's trailers - it was standing room only all day long. Most certainly, it was bigger than any rock crawling contingency we've seen. In fact, a number of off-road racing veterans likened it to a SCORE Baja 1000 contingency and tech inspection.
The Vikings of Iceland will undoubtedly invade Farmington's Choke Cherry Canyon tomorrow. Rather than haul their rigs all the way from Iceland, the teams chose to build the rigs right here in the states and save themselves a few bucks.
	Our friends at Factory Tubular Motorsports of Salt Lake City, Utah are seen here with Jody, left, local Big Dog radio show manager for on-air personality Adam, who provided live coverage of the festivities. Factory Tubular is going big with a new website here soon. Not only do they offer everything for the do-it-yourself fab shopper, but they also build your dreams right there in their own shop. They've got everything from rod ends, to a variety of tabs and brackets, to King Shocks, Howe Steering, bead locks, PRP Seats, Monaco Seats, tie rods, drag links, premanufactured bumpers and custom tubing. Check them our at www.FactoryTubular.com or give them a call at (800)338-8327.