Competitors are seen ripping through a 200-foot pit of mud during the 15th annual Mud Bog race at the Medicine Hat Drag Strip on Saturday.--NEWS PHOTOS BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
This weekend drivers at the Medicine Hat Drag Strip weren’t just gearing up for speed, instead they tuned their boggers specifically to handle mud – large amounts of mud.
On Saturday more than 45 drivers successfully and unsuccessfully navigated their vehicles through a 200-foot pit of mud approximately 30 inches deep and 20 feet wide as the Medicine Hat Boggers held their 15th annual Mud Bog race.
“Gives you a little bit of a choice of which lane you want to take or which track you want to make through there,” says Dylan Yanke, president of Medicine Hat Boggers. “Some guys have strategy when it comes to that but you never know what you’re going to get.”
Yanke explains mud bogging races grew from friendly competitions farmers would have into a circuit in southern Alberta hosted by Chinook Mud Racing.
“It’s one of those things that really doesn’t take a whole lot to get into, other than the vehicle,” says Yanke. “But a lot of it started with farmers and ranchers who had pickups kicking around and they started some friendly competition and it grew and grew.
Hundreds of spectators filled stands and cheered as drivers revved their engines and attempted to manoeuvre their high-octane boggers through the thick muck that slang from their tires in every direction.
Drivers who are able to complete the mud track are scored on their time and drivers who get stuck are scored on the distance they achieved.
Throughout the all-day event, drivers from across Alberta and southern Saskatchewan competed in six classes according to the power and modifications made to their vehicles that included Stock, Super Stock, Pro Stock, Modified, Open and X Class.
Winners received a small cash prize that helps pay for some expenses and bragging rights.
“We do a small cash payout as a bit of an incentive for some of those vehicles,” says Yanke. “They don’t make money by doing this, so it helped with expenses for the weekend.”
The more horsepower, the more safety restrictions drivers have to follow. Yanke says vehicles competing in the Pro Stock classes and above are equipped with roll bars and cages and five point harnesses.
“A lot of it comes down to modifications to the engine of the vehicle, tire size, lift height,” explains Yanke. “How much farther off from the stock, suspension, ride height and just different safety features.”
To put on the annual show, several volunteers and community sponsors chipped in to help make sure the races ran as smooth as mud, including local drivers.
“So we had driver volunteers and we had people who weren’t involved in the racing portion of it,” says Yankee. “Their family, friends and they just like the event and like the community.”
Yanke says those volunteers’ efforts allowed the event to run without a hitch. Yanke is already looking forward to next season’s Mud Bog races.
“We’ve been lucky enough to put it on in Medicine Hat,” says Yanke. “It’s a totally different event than it used to be and it keeps getting better and better. We’ll be back for another one next year.”
So far this season Chinook Mud Racing has held six Mud Bog races in southern Alberta.
