Article - American Mud Racing Association

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5!n was shining. the bkds were singing, and th ! mLrcky obsese on that bod€6 on nsaniry Now at nea 40,
V
it was a great day in my world as I founded
the nsanity nt runs through rne ike. geneal ond tra I iolowng
the next cuwe through rhe fertile farmla nd of
the b ood ne of a fam y s forefatheE. Th€ b oodline o trjy
he
northern Louisiana- The fieldr were wh ite with
the next cash crop for th€ season as l barreled down the
highwaywith my destination in mind. My joufney was tak'
inq me to the site of one ot my favorite motorspo(s evenrsr
a mud ra.e.
Mv dad gor me hooked on
an
lre
e.rvilre lwat6ve.6od I
EY RO NIE RENO
PHOTOCRAPHY
til
extreme spoft
ol
r97J when w,r5
m
J! .. r! .l
nrio..:edI]
,4x4fathers,,
:hey
cil
th.n a bottorn es, p t of the m ry muck
Even past close call, ancJcrdshel haven't
rirns deeper
qLrmbo
mud
dmnshedmydes€toqof!-throftredolundstrerchofLousana
qLr.fbo mLrd
Edck ntheddysol myyo!fi, mld racjfq nvoved trefd! !e1
!e, rorips Lf roulh rhe swamp. Thete larh€r nq5
r rece y compet t
or 4x;rs, frcnd!, ramr
y,
,rf.r | !.is ,,r.ad on,r relatleryshoft.o!E-,
OUR FffiL}ruDIruG 4X4FATHERS
I
'O!R1E5Y
OF 5KY]ACKER
5!5rIiI5 OI.]5 & TI]T
AMRA
r)
tL
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36
-
JI-J
ro j rlr.tioi
p,
tnr! ot lh!
[L1rhe nlJ Jnd derp !il.r;4.yi touqhl to ]o d tlr r.!r b.rl s! ere I or
rF r99y you fe
Ddl, rl,! e ii\ rdur y r alo 0tr!
ilr.kba.ktlr.rc ra2!!r0 rrro lhee drtr*rlflp,hrrdh ul
FordBrorot$,ptr{rt,otLl., Eh r e!
lpebrpthmolrjhbrudihoLrd a .!i ir!
drar orth4l16to F p Pwr tP
in,onq mL d
rliollJh tltr I qhi
odds
-!!rJ r)l iJ!!
37
ilrulf RAElll U
{i
It|Eil Al$t 1{0W
that zigzagg€d though the swamp and
ooped thrcugh the creek lke the back
wate6 of the bayou They were tirned
events of aboLrteightto ten lapsthrough
the sarne arca ofsudqe. Each vehlcle leJt
ai 5 m nute intervas to try lo keep ihe con
geston down A Jew deep wdter ho es or
.
bid boq woud quckly dsruptthe theory
,rnd bottlen€ck the pioceed ngs.
There !!ere 1wo man tedms n each
veh.e
llre dfler and
the
svr'arnper "
politon vras dctLraly a very
physcirllob. You hive to remenrber the era
Broncos, Jeeps, ScoLrtt, homebu r
The drver
-eary
bugges, no powersteernq, and mrnla
transm ss
a master
pose was
Lrp
the
on5 Th€ swamper needed to be
ol manysk s, blt hir maf pLrF
lo
pll thewinch
cabe
based on the
ine and hook
Many a race w:s won or lon
drverl ab ty
and the sw,rmper!
Lo not
lkilsto qel
getnuck
lrvhere therc! mud and walei lherc! usually norc mud and water some boys even tullilled their dei rcs
ior mud bydammins the rcek l0 make lhe wat€r ise becse itwould makea biggersplesh whe. the Gce6
do$€d. ll war rll ii rui unli rhe nexl vehi.le 10 hil lhe ho e was dmwned out bv rhe uiexDe.ted overflow oi
water and rhen Msed bv anolhn r€am.
lhenr un-
nlct q!ckerthan the olher quys.
The spect.tors werc Lrp co5e and peF
sona wth the racers TheywoLr d mony
congpqate around the hqer llrater obsta
ce5 and muddy sews, and these racefdns
!'rere neary
as keytobe..ughr!p nthe
mud !paiter as the
r..e6
Th s closeness
€cn!
was Parl ot the dr.wof mird
the
spectdtors got the sense tirat they were
pdft of the race snce they too were €ndurThe year 1974 saw. new era in mld
lacnq.s these 4x4fathe6 ol mine poneered
a new tom of rac ng n the SoLrth sde by,
sde nrld rd.nq Th€ sporrs fanbase ind
nlmber of prrtc pants had been ncreasnq
ne.d
new
y over the years, and now
tr/r' st
on the spoft,
ill
wth this
popLrlari9 grew
orq nal mud-rarinq lrack lay n !
fied n Goodw . Lo! lana C.ne
w€re used to rnark the bolnddres of
The
soybean
po es
the trar:k. Th€ po €5 w€nt downf eld abolt
300 feet, rndde,r 5harp efthaid turn to
.reate a cutue,,rnd then formed a straght
away ba.k to thel nsh
basca y,
a U shaped tri.k The proiferation of
ine
Gcetracks and the ernerqence of a nrcng
sanctoning body spread the spod nto
It 0fr RoA0
MAY,00l
rc lbarls tonnie M.Curry sr
iw
n
h lhe eary'70t 5idc by ido mud
nq qot t 3brr in to!isiana, Mississipp,Arkan$t
Alabama,andea5lIexar You(anloItomtheoowdinthebi(kg,oundtha(hisenreme
spo(olmud Fdrq G ar enlhurianl spon, drawinq loya 6.e lanr aid ih€ rtum les
Dewayne Ri(hddson wairs palienllyal
rl"avM700r,,i . Dor.r,
Brono named
d,ove
n honor ol h s 4x4lrther
i1
led
in belore
rhqLobbr
lhc ra.o ln
"-"drJnohl
e
Rirhrd R.hardson! vehi.
Noli(c tho pa$enqer{rwampoi He hrs hn
on lhe shifta Io alowlhe drivd to
of
hind
(enhte
on $e t..k, oneofrhe swJhpst
duties n this open tra& ra(e was io sh
This
raq!ned that borh the d verJid sdrmpd hrd
lo ant.pale sa.h orher'r nexl hovo to rcna n
ft
Atli6tghn.e napperuth3t Ifn i
i
purebred Bron(o ll s adualyan trbred
bean buii by Roy Sirkl and lor 1h. 70i
€,a olside by sdecdnq When Roypr c(
nlorhr ted ininlhe 70! he.ared m!.h
(onlusion lor das lkd dn rherig his
linoln Continenlil lrame and nrering,
&on(o lrcnt dip rtrekhcd lo .ovo
1-':
'
' '''e-
VBJndtanny,a
nixture of orher
a
i
i
Chrw
if.hrearefd drd a
part5 His son lay 5r adand
Ford 9
s now behitrd the
wh€elin zo0l
-[.:E
39
,;'
lvlisissippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and morc
for
ye.6 until the eaf y '80s. l'm no1
quitesufe what ed to ilJdemise, blt ldo
Thls sq/le of mud racing flourshed
nearly 15
remernber go ng to one of the ast laces
wth
some buddies of mine
when was
n
The'90swere a bq vod for mud rac-
blt
ing,
2000 beqan a few rcvva that
conlinues nronq
today Sevef years.go,
d
new generaton of rac,"rs who begdn to hit
the r early 30s asked the quen
on, What'
r Kinq cohE I pulL away wirh rhe l€ad in rfio iniide lane wirh Purc hianitypurhiis had on lhe oul5ide Ihe
Iisht ro lhe otre k rhe ftst of many hatrles on $n muddy banleiierd.
to the rnud races we Lrsed
ds?'
These nostalgl,: fewdeclded io bLr d d
racetrack and hod a 'run'whatcha'brung
ever happened
to go to
as k
mud lace. and these humb e begnn nqs
have
-ad
to a rcsurrection of th
s
exlieme
Athough the evo ut of ofthe sport hds
ns n the pan
invo ved many qrcw ng pd
seven years, the strongest sdncton ng
body today s the American N,4ud Rdcirg
Assocaton (AMRA) lvlembers of th s
board oflrustees have proven the
r.om
rnltmentro the qpo( Many ofthese
dedcated foks arc second generaton
race6 ano race
who
reve
tans
mLrd
lne sdme ones
ed n the mud racng of ther
ofthe AMRA hds
been to unfy the sport of rnud rac.9
The nran object ve
among the race teams, track owne6,
eponsors, End racefans. n essence,lhe
AMRA estabBhes the ru e5 of pay for lace
teams in each cass, d€lelops reatonsh ps
w th track owne6 to prov de racers dnd
fans fuendly fac lties, ensures the spon5o6
qpithe r money3 worth, and makes slre
the fans are enteftained.
Therc are
cu ently four dfferent
veh
ce
classifications: stock, Slper Stock, Modf ied,
.nd
Super
Modfied. Aitholqh
hdve common
etety requrrements
rolc.ge, sedt hdrnesses, f
and so forrh,
a
c dsses
casses
lke d
re extingu shels,
dle dist nquished by
cena n reslrictons:eng ne sze,
c.rb!rctor
size, heads, camehaft eze, suspension
design, and tte sire. Over the yea6, the
/o
orr.RoaD
r$Ai
rooT
!
3eryl Rnhad$n in hk big'blod{ r0rd Bion.o hammeu p6t the lro [roney Cheq/ in the 5uper Nlodilied
fhese vehnhs arc Iullthrcnle wi$ a nilrcus boost pushing 1,500 hp. ' I you aint a litlle sared, your
clast
stufi ainl
fa( eiough," nols Ridardson.
:-F
MUII BAEIilB
ITIEN ANII ]IIOW
A[4RA has modif ed ts rlresto hep keep
fed
the play ng
posslble; however, safety is
Wth
2007.
i
compet|ve yet as f;ir as
stl first.
qht races on the track c rcu t for
e
tl-re AL/lRA
qu.raftees ircph,"s and
$6 500 n prze money lor e.ch sdnctoned
ra.e elent to be dvded.mofg the top
{i!e I n5her5 ol e..h cd5s Besde5 the
payoff per e!e.l, tre A[r]8A anr!a po,ntr
drampoiship af/ards banqLret
w
payo!t
neary $15,000 n mon es, rophl]!, ifd
prize5 to the po nt5 drampon5 and 5e(oid
thrcLrlth
F
ith Pd.e
If
+re|s n e:rcfr.l.ns
fg 4x4fathers kfewthey
wolldn l qeL r.r lrom mud ra.rnq They
vrere lln fappy ro pr.rcp;rle
The lound
drdhopef!ywn
F€i'
ril..-:'e'{l'iffi
".' i
1
r,:,
Clo* bui legalwas $e oifical(a lon thisrag-leam makh t! notdoor handl€ lo door handle butit! drn
doie. The lrue vetebns kiow ih.t ruhbing L b. nq, aid som€l mes thd nud aclua ly prcleds lhe paint... not
rea ly bul the ba.k and forth ol rhe banh raqdd umil$e *63WarWaqon tru.k made rhe prs 3tirk and took
Someol
these.,lr;f.the ! are n racing,
rr. one orrnem yor mdy o-a
tam ar!vlr: Lonne l/l.Clrry
5r. tEO and presdeit oi
5kyr,r.kers!spoi5ons
n
2001, L-on. e teamed up alla n
wtlr oie of h s o.!ltme
ifends, R.h.rd
rev
st the r
rrcnq
E
to
mld
R.hdrdsondrore,rnd
nper
Lonnie war s!!,r
h 9h
chard50n,
on for
p,r5s
y.ompett
n nre
e l,'lod f ed
c as5 n ther €d dnd whte
Ford
Brorco
f.lohLri.hef
ir99, the
They proved
.',:
themteves in th 5 neh' er. ol
m!d racnq by be.ominq tlre
20rll
AN,IRA po
fis ch;rmpoi5
o;the
r the r c,r5s:5 pad
5lylacler [4otor Sports ie.m Aso, 5hefie
R.hardsof r,r.es hers ver Che,,ry n the
Cass Two of R chirrd5ont 50 r5
aso r.rers Dewayne Rchardson ra.c!
ThL L the kind olenqine rream nq, mud Ilnqinq.onperir on rhat would make evon a prcfesionrtnunr
Mud E.ng isa l.ue ban e oiwrr enduran.e nrabqy ho6epowerand, some peoph woutd say,
diverlin.h.
u(k. But iwasmorethanlurkthatkeptrheneigerlru(kk&ndlrcmTboninqrai&rrrios(/enJ.
sLrpe. Sta.k
are
ihe lilod fed C irrs n ti-. K fq aobra (h s
ddd! elLrrbshed N'lonrn.hen. rnd 8ery
R.hr dsoi .ompetes
C;ts
in
tre Slper [1od I
i I s back Ford Broi.o
ed
AK47
tonn e ind R.hard have re.oqnzed the
nvenment t takes to k€ep a passon aoe
Doub e eliminalion doesn't
allow mu.h t he ro gel into a
Aythm, 3d you have lo be ready
to qel rhelunp al tho ftrt or
wheel G spun to delemlne ane
doi.e, the vehi.les are staqed
ii lo(ked,
the rev I mileu are
Both ol the5e qentcmen have nvened
lme and money into the spod of ihe r
youlh whch s nowthe
spod that kpeps
them young dt hedir And, i the rLrmors
4P 0ff
^.qi
Mc, ,00r
Ar 3don ai rhe offdalh ts rhe
buiton, the liqht qoes 9'een and
MUO BAEINS
r . t rir,
rry
iou iit I r. .trcrl- | tl iLr i-!e
i', tre:r..tr1!1. r!,.,1
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50n!iokrlr[orrdti].'rllift! d!red!tnoiiirtfoii I rtlrd R d! dro r ! bph ni ttr. o i!. rn]
lkcl try t ir ltr! $r npe] n nr. trr ro d Bronq M.urtl. rh: l. r it trlrhs! r;r nE Oodititr
cl.i i 200r,inr r00t r rly rool,i r iL r fo ltr.2005 06 !.|?r, bLlt thq tL F h b. hi.( !r rlr rn tr|dat.d
Ldnn e
!{sion
lB
ri{k
d, vei
nn
o!nt
ltr r olMrhe ir 200r
to rnmop ihe tt..rifqrhee
Lnr dn rhe urooD
em itl rui. !fth
d h.r.ir
fatr. ill.
.ovr.tr'orhite
ot
lr
llr.r!
rf.r. ire ooir.l! ol r{.
fir 0hi ir th. tri.k to.! 4Lrnp 1Ei trro.l
! r\ rid thr r.onprl ro j defpds ind ir mDrrr
sF nor proudl! ilr llrii,r]u,ys b rq!i oL]d
AIlERICAN MUD RAC NGASsOCIATION
5hetcRi.r lon rrtssayor ts dr !ooeolitiefirt iit6!tmr.l'i.Dq
s m sf,{i. . ii! fo ro'nef lEy il rui lrrrd! !n i.r9 lrith tlr b
I hoys
l|rse
SKYJAC(ERSUSPENSTONS
u
thenfkr ofno.k nlo th!
lrilrb y
.onrpaiiru r dJ oi
bLr
rolt&only idrtu.n9
|Iorqtj
jtr.rtu his.one rp
nlllr 5ro 5h!hrjdeslhe 7ti] rpotrhijstvei
necd