Friday's "Drivers Meeting" - Ranch addresses the crowd.

Yes, good reader, Off-Road.com is now providing extensive coverage of all the major Rock Crawling events and the third stage of the Goodyear Extreme Rock Crawling Championship Series is just the beginning. With the caliber of drivers on hand, ready to put metal to slickrock, the ARCA/Goodyear Championship Series promised a display of great driving skill and extreme action. Nerves of steel and a large set of "cojones" would be the order of the day.

When you put over 50 of the top drivers in the sport, you know it's going to be intense! Click here for contingency photos.

There were a lot of "Close Calls" on this obstacle! It took Nerves of Steel to make it past this one.

It's the competitive spirit that knows no boundaries. Whether they're "crawlers", or a "boggers", just get a few of them together, and rocks are gonna' fly! There were many different types of suspensions, tires, engines, etc. to choose from. Everything from good ol' leaf springs, to cantilevered coil trucks - Everyone has their preferred parts, but hardware alone wasn't going to win the day.

It would take a lot of skill, and more familiarity between the driver, and the vehicle, than the next guy.

Look Ma - TWO WHEELS!! This Jeep almost went over.

Day one!! Finally the day had arrived! Let me just say that the The American Rock Crawlers Association knows how to put on a great event! The event was well organized, and for the most part, eveything ran smoothly. Friday's event did get off to a late start, but once it got under way, there was no shortage of excitement.

I spent the day running from course to course, watching the best rock crawlers in the country making their way up some pretty tough obstacles. The guys are impressive! If you didn't make it to Cedar City for Memorial Day Weekend, you definitely missed out on some quality, hard-core driving. Don't think I forgot the spotters - without them, a driver, no matter how good he is, wouldn't make it up these hills. I think it is safe to say (and I'm sure the drivers would agree) that a driver is only as good as his spotter.

Everything was here - from all models of Jeeps, to Broncos, to Land Cruisers, to the "Sniper" were represented - even Chevy was represented by Walker Evan's 2000 S10 - a crowd favorite, of course! The first days' event ended with lots of broken parts that needed to be repaired before Saturday's 9 AM start time.

This left little time to enjoy the days' action as Friday night was spent fixing vehicles. Click here for event photos.

Who says the Spotter has the easy job!! This guy is doing everything he can to make sure his driver gets through this tough obstacle!

Again, broken parts were everywhere - from drive shafts to springs, parts were flying as drivers worked their way over the obstacles.

This one's gonna be tough to get out of.

At times, the short-wheel-based Jeeps had the advantage - Other times, a longer wheel base would have come in handy. ARCA did a great job in making sure to have a variety of courses that gave everyone a chance to test their rock crawling skills. Click here for more event photos. A Job Well-Done!

"So close, and yet so far away". It's not over 'til you pass the the last set of flags!

The event was well planned and executed. The judges did a great job on the obstacle courses, fighting the desert heat while making sure that the driving teams always knew their scores, how much time they had remaining on each obstacle and keeping the crowds in check.

It's not an easy job. Often it's a thankless job. And it's one that requires a love of the sport, and a dedication all it's own. Fortunately, ARCA pulled together an outstanding group of people, and they went out of their way to get the job done.

The crowd looks on as this Jeep inches closer to going over backwards.