A Thanksgiving bench-racing session spawned one of the most interesting 4x4 challenges to hit the rocks. Arkansas Crawlers 4x4 Club president Ty Turner broke bread with local Hot Springs businessman/Jeep enthusiast Rick Muns, Superlift ORV Park General Manager Knox Kendrick and Superlift owner Bret Lovett in late November 2011.

Muns was looking for an adrenalized launching pad for his Alpha Gorilla apparel line. Lovett was brainstorming ways to attract more 4x4 enthusiasts to the Superlift ORV Park in the winter. Turner's quest was to gather the Southeast's top rock-bouncers at the same place at the same time: "People will drive eight hours to watch Tim Cameron, Heath Day and the Tanner Family," he said.

Gorilla Run was devised to satisfy all three goals.

The competition course was easy enough to plot: 150 yards of the Superlift ORV Park's Greg's Rocks trail was taped off. A few extra boulders were pushed onto the trail for good measure.

Simple rules were laid out. Every competitor had to complete two runs within the designated boundary area, no winching allowed. The fastest single qualified run in each class would claim its purse.

Rick Muns' blue-sky scenario for a successful apparel-branding event was 25 competitors. His Alpha Gorilla pitch: "This will be the most exciting and enjoyable time you will have that won't get you landed in jail!"

Buzz ramped up on Pirate4x4.com, HardlineCrawlers and the Arkansas Crawlers sites. Bouncers also caught wind of a hillclimb challenge that Ty Turner and Heath Day cut for the Superlift ORV Park's New Year's Fire & Ice Weekend. Nearly vertical in sections, the hill was named Easy Street. Turner put up a $100 for anyone who could make it all the way up during Fire & Ice. The challenge was renamed Bounty Hill when nobody succeeded.

Curiosity about Gorilla Run and Bounty Hill inspired 43 competitor entries. Superlift ORV Park General Manager Knox Kendrick had to arrange overflow parking at Hot Springs' Magic Springs Amusement Park to handle the unexpected turnout. Light snow was on the ground the Monday before the event, but weather took a turn for the better as the first Gorilla Run attendees rolled in on Friday.

Like every other weekend at the park, trail rides were the meat-and-potatoes activity. Ty Turner, who owns Turner OffRoad in Camden, Arkansas, explains that even the most hard-core bouncers are "more about playing than competing." Special Gorilla Run attractions included barbecued food for sale throughout the weekend and bands on Friday and Saturday nights on the park's covered party slab.

Rick Muns led the Saturday parade to the Gorilla Run course in the neon green Alpha Gorilla LJ. The competition was split into two classes: Unlimited (tires 40 inches and taller) and Small Tire (under 40 inches). The top rock-bouncers run purpose-built buggies from shops such as Bryan Cole's Coleworx (Franklin, TN) and Jimmy Smith Motorsports (Chattanooga, TN). "Spider web" tubing is for fashion and function: Bouncers roll frequently, and the tubular steel webs help minimize downtime between yard sales.

Following an afternoon of broken axles, rollovers, and general carnage, Mark Simpson claimed Unlimited Class honors and the $3,300 prize in the Coleworx-built Jenny Craig buggy. Small Tire honors went to Josh Ault, who actually posted the second-best time overall. Of the 43 entrants, only 18 successfully completed the passes/generated official times.

Once Gorilla Run was done, the crowd moved to Bounty Hill. Ty Turner re-upped his original $100 bounty for the first rig to make it to the top. Ed Bendall of Performance Torque Converters sweetened the pot with a $500 converter. Then Bendall put Labronn Osborne on the spot: A $4,500 CSC Fab chassis was promptly added to the kitty. That set off a chain reaction--a kid even threw in his $21 allowance. The bounty quickly reached $8,551 in cash and prizes.

Tim Cameron drew first crack. In his LSX-powered, Jimmy Smith Motorsports-built Showtime buggy, Cameron throttled, thrashed, flew, clawed and chewed his way up and over. Others tried the climb only to leave axles and other components behind. In honor of Cameron's crazy climb, Bounty Hill was renamed Showtime Hill.

Gorilla Run clips are all over YouTube. Busted Knuckle Films was there shooting footage for its Rock Rods 3 video. Spike's Xtreme4x4 also filmed the action, and Crawl magazine showed up to feature prominent rock-bouncers for a future issue.

These types of competitions will undoubtedly continue to gain traction at the private ORV parks. Arkansas Crawlers president Ty Turner says that the first Gorilla Run "went way beyond expectations." Plans are already underway to build a new Bounty Hill Challenge for the next big rock-bouncing rendezvous.

2012 GORILLA RUN OFFICIAL TIMES
Mark Simpson - 2:16 - Big Tire
Josh Ault - 2:28 - Small Tire
Bill Loecker - 2:30 - Small Tire
Heath Day - 2:35 - Small Tire
Joe Lawson - 2:55 - Big Tire
Tim Cameron - 2:56 - Big Tire
Charlie Fox - 2:59 - Big Tire
Allen Pultz - 3:03 - Big Tire
Frank Vonderheide - 3:11 - Small Tire
Jo Jo Tanner - 3:15 - Big Tire
Joel Withers - 3:15 - Big Tire
Tim Bacon - 3:17 - Big Tire
Greg Baker - 3:22 - Small Tire
Leslie Davis - 3:22 - Small Tire
Robert Cardosa - 3:27 - Big Tire
Cole Chelette - 3:39 - Big Tire
Jason Kunkel - 4:56 - Big Tire
Chip McLauglin - 4:57 - Small Tire

GORILLA RUN SPONSORS
Alpha Gorilla Clothing: alphagorilla.com
Superlift ORV Park: orvpark.com
Discount Winch Line: discountwinchline.com
Arkansas Crawlers: arkansascrawlers.com
Crawl Magazine: crawlmag.com
Spike TV’s Xtreme 4×4: spike.com
Bradshaw Industrial Supply Inc.