Tire Squealing, engine revving, camera clicking, and free entertainment marked the second annual BFGoodrich/Treadworks Rock Crawling Competition. This event was held in the Rock Garden area east of Farmington, NM on August 12th & 13th and Sponsored by BFGoodrich, Treadworks Tire Co., and the Rock Garden 4WD Club.

#7 obstacle on Course A was where most of the spectators stayed to watch. A massive crack with the 99% potential of body damage and amazing air made for one great photo opportunity after the other.

Flags were placed through out each obstacle and if the vehicle's tire touched five points were added to the total score. A maximum of ten points could be obtained per obstacle.

                     The competition was not designed to compete with the larger American Rock Crawlers Association/Goodyear series. According to event organizer, The Rock Garden 4WD Club, was more of a promotion of their favorite area of wheeling and off-roading awareness, rather than a commercial venture. The event started on Saturday morning with sign-in and a driver's meeting. The classes for the event were short wheelbase (under 96 in.) and long wheelbase (96 in. and up). The buggy class that had been scheduled for the event was eliminated, because the only entrant was Steve Nantz from Moab Off-Road in Moab, UT with his Centipede crawler. The rules varied greatly from the ARCA system in many ways but the basis was the same. He who has the least amount of points between the two days, wins. The point system was simple. 1 point for stopping. One point for reversal. However, a reversal had to more than one-quarter turn of the tire. So throughout the weekend we saw many reversals though out the weekend with no points added to a scorecard.

Having traveled from Southern Texas, this Ford Bronco ended its day with broken parts and had to be winched up this obstacle.

Rain Thursday and Friday night provided a wet climb on the first couple of obstacles. Obstacle #1 on Course B had a waterfall going through the middle of it with wet sand being tracked up on the sandstone walls. Only three out of the 25 vehicles actually made it up the obstacle on day 2.

A rule that varied from the ARCA series in one aspect that a back up was allowed. But only up to ¼ turn of the wheel. The officials before competition placed white marks on all four wheels for accuracy. Here Phil Collard, spotter for Jim Petersen, concentrates on the tire to make sure it does not turn more than it is allowed. Many points were saved by the driver and spotter that used this rule to its fullest.

Like all competitions, there is always carnage. A broken output shaft and a fan through the radiator usually means the end of the day. Competitors were allowed to use 20 minutes total of breakdown time to repair their vehicles. Any more than that and they would max out on the remaining obstacles for the day.

Remarkably 90% of the body damage to vehicles over the weekend was #7 obstacle on Course A. An obstacle known to produce body damage by the locals was doing just that. About every third vehicle falling into the large crack that had to be traversed at an angle. After all the points had been tallied, the top five from each category won the best prize available to a four-wheeler - money. Over $5000 total was tallied up between 10 drivers. With the overall winner receiving cash and a trophy. The event seemed to go over well, with only a few glitches here and there. The courses were well thought out with tight turns on some parts, and very gnarly climbs on the others. The Rock Garden area itself is slowly gaining popularity in the Southwest as a premiere wheeling area. Controlled by the BLM, the Rock Garden 4WD Club works hard to keep the area open. With responsible actions like keeping the area clean, donating the entrant's fee from the competition to fight land closures, and other such issues, that job becomes considerably easier.

Steve Saiz Jr. drove this highly modified Suzuki Samurai. It runs a Scout frame with Scout axles and V-8. Problems with the carburetor hindered his climbing on day one but he was able to work it out by day two.

Not a single obstacle could be climbed without some amount of air.

Treadworks is planning out next year's competition, and it is going to be held in the Rock Garden area once again. For more information on the next BFGoodrich/Treadworks competition or the rock garden area itself check out the
Rock Garden 4WD Club web site.