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In 2009 FlyingMUD.com was formed to cover the sport of mud racing. The site offers online media from mud racing events all over the USA
In 2009 FlyingMUD.com was formed to cover the sport of mud racing. The site offers online media from mud racing events all over the USA

==Notable mud racers==
*[[Thomas (Tom) D. Martin]] - ''Mud Patrol'' and ''Super Trooper'': Four time USHRA Champion, 2 time NMRO champion, considered a revolutionary in modern mud racer design. Note: Tom Martin currently lives in Valparaiso, IN with his wife Laura (married October 15, 1994) and two children (twins: Christina and Jonathan (born March 26, 2002).
*Paul Shafer - ''Mud Patrol'': One time USHRA Champion and One Time NMRO Champion (Class 5 & 6) also [[Monster Patrol (truck)|Monster Patrol]] creator
*Tom Meents - ''Shake Me'' and ''Mud Patrol'': Four time NMRO champion and current [[Monster Jam]] champion [[Maximum Destruction (truck)|Maximum Destruction]]
*Tony Farrell - ''Blue Ribbon Bandit'': Two time USHRA champion and current driver of [[Blue Thunder (truck)|Blue Thunder]]
*Tim Wheelus - ''Simply 2'': 3 time defending NMRO Class VI champion and 2 time NMRO Class V champion
*Chuck Courty - ''Mud Missile'': NMRO Class V champion (2001 & 2002) and NMRO Class VI champion (2001)
*Ron Pense - "Tatar": Two Time NMRO Open Cut Tire Champion, 1991 USA Motorsports Champion
*Keith Mitchell - "Mudgician": Many time NMRO Class IV champion
*Mike Erdelyi - "Mud Shark": Heavy hitter back in the late 1980s and early 1990s with his Corvette bodied machine. Known for always having wild passes and being near the top.
*Doug Karsch
*Scott "The Gator" Anderson
*Opal Rivas - "Plum Crazy" and "Ms. Thumper": West Coast's Fastest and Most Successful Female Mud Racer. Numerous international wins, and the first female mud racer to eclipse 1.65 seconds in 80' of mud (1995). First corporate sponsored female mud racer, by Novartis Corporation (1995-1999) Retired from sport (2000)
*Clay Langley - "Nitro Express": Three time USHRA champion and a legend in the sport. One of the first to use [[Nitrous|nitrous oxide]] in Mud Racing.
*Ben Medina - Ben and his family created two successful Mud Boggers in the late 80's and early 90's, notably named "Mountain Majic" and "One Wild Mudder".
*Ennis Thomas - "War Wagon", "Mad Max", and "Heartbeat of America": 1989 NMRO Open Class Champion. His son Mike Thomas also held many NMRO championships.
*Mike Thomas - "Mad Max", "Heartbeat of America", and "Murphie's Law": Son of Ennis Thomas, many time NMRO champion and member of the NMRO 2 Second Club.
*Mike Fair - "Great White Hope" and "Enforcer": 1987 USHRA Champion and 1989 NMRO Open Cut Tire Champion. A well respected chassis builder in the sport.
*Steve DeLeeuw - "Bodacious" and the original co-owner/co-driver of "Chemical Reaction". 1988 AAMRA Open Class Champion and 1990 Hurricane Hills All Star National Winner.
*Mark Greene - "Mud Buster": 1996 USHRA champion, many time USHRA Top 10 points finisher, and member of the NMRO 2 Second Club.
*George Gregory - "New Breed": 1989 and 1990 USA Motorsports Champion and 1990 NMRO Open Class Champion. Had one of the most exensive machines at the time.
*Len Wisniewski - "Spitfire" and "Outlaw 99": 1988 USHRA Unlimited Tractor Tire Class Champion
*Perry Hicks - "Mud Special": Legendary mud racer in Missouri and many time Missouri state champion.
*Curt Fischer - "Magnum Force": Winner of numerous USHRA and USA Motorsports events, drove the "Micro Machines" monster truck for the Breen Brothers.
*Jim and Paula Harbuck - "Flirtin' with Disaster" and "Master of Disaster": Paula was the 1990 NMRO Open Cut Tire Champion, as well as a champion with USA Motorsports. Jim was also a USA Motorsports champion, and won several NMRO All Star Nationals races.
*Chad Miller - "Instant T": Multiple time Top 10 finisher with the USHRA, winner of the 1990 NMRO All Star Nationals event in Bayou George, Florida by setting a new track record in the Open Paddle Tire division.
*James Fisher - "Pedal to the Metal" and "Coramoor": James was the 1995 West Virignia Invitationals Champion, and a living legend.


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Revision as of 02:28, 8 November 2009

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Mud bogging, also known as mud racing, mud running, mud drags, or simply muddin'; is a form of off-road motorsport popular in Canada and the United States in which the goal is to drive a vehicle through a pit of mud of a set length. Winners are determined by the distance traveled through the pit or, if several vehicles are able to travel the entire length, the time taken to traverse the pit. Typically, vehicles competing in mud bogs are four-wheel drives.

Vehicles

A modern top level Class V or VI mud racer is a dragster-style "rail" design, with a supercharged engine and/or nitrous oxide injection. Engines may be in the front or the rear. Vehicles are required to have four wheel drive. The sole difference between Classes V and VI is the tire type. Class V racers have D.O.T. street legal tires which are modified by cutting off chunks of rubber to achieve an optimum shape for traction. Class VI vehicles have paddle tires, similar to sand rails.

Early mud boggers were pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles modified with lifted suspensions and larger tires, and classes exist for such vehicles today. Engine upgrades were also common. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, large tractor tires became popular, and the drive lines required to run such tires led to some of the first purpose-built mud bogging machines. By the late 1980s, many sanctioning bodies began giving precedence to vehicles with modified, and lower, dragster-type "rail designs", as they had increased in popularity. At the same time, superchargers first became widely used, leading to the modern top-level racer.

There are many types of mud bogs. From Hill and Hole, Flat or Progressive Track, and Open Bog. They come in many shapes and sizes from 150 feet (46 m) to over 300 feet (91 m). Hill and Hole is just as it sounds, usually is 60 feet (18 m) wide 200 feet (61 m) long and is a series of hills and holes, and make challenging to each truck. All NMRO tracks are Flat or Progressive tracks, more like a drag strip, or sand drag. Open bogs come from Florida and mostly natural. These tracks have little organization.

Hill and Hole classes range from 4&6 Cylinder, Street Stock, Hot Street, Renegade, Super Street, Small Tire Modified 36" and below, Big Tire Modified 37" and bigger tire, Unlimited, X Class, and More. There are many class usually set but the tire size, and engine.

Most Unlimited and X classes are run what you want with in the safety rules. These trucks have big power engines, built just for that class and are not limited to what can be added to the truck. The truck must pass all safety rules and be safe to put on a show and not hurt the crowd.

Current American National Mud Racing Organization (NMRO) recognized classes are listed below.

Current NMRO Recognized Classes
Class Vehicle Engine Tire
IA and IB Stock Stock, but allowed to have mild mods such as headers D.O.T. legal
II Modified Stock Mild modifications, but nothing severe D.O.T. legal
III Pro Stock Factory production automotive type engine, mods permitted D.O.T. legal, no cut tires
IV Pro Modified Factory production automotive type engine, naturally aspirated only, no turbo or supercharger, nitrous oxide allowed D.O.T. legal, cut tires permitted
V Unlimited/Cut Tires Any automotive type engine, mods permitted, turbocharged and supercharged permitted, nitrous oxide allowed D.O.T., any cut design
VI Unlimited/Paddle Tires Any automotive type engine, mods permitted, turbocharged and supercharged permitted, nitrous oxide allowed Paddle or Scoop

There are many more classes for mudbogging.

In 2008 a new mud racing sanctioning body was formed to crown a national champion. In 2009, The Mud Racers Association (MRA) held a national points series with races across the country in the following states: Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The points classes were as follows Pro-Stock DOT Tires, Modified Cut Tires, and Open Paddle Tires. Mike Lane (Attitude) of Botkins, Ohio was the Open Class National Champion and also set the new MRA National and World Record (MRA, NMRO, & PROBADD) for 200' with a time of 2.110 seconds at the Kansas Badlands on Saturday August 22, 2009. Randy Roberts (Unpredictable) of Richton, Mississippi was the Modified Class National Champion and he set the new MRA National and World Record (MRA, NMRO) for 200' with a time of 2.484 seconds at the Kansas Badlands on Saturday August 22, 2009. Chad Wren (Dirty Sanchez) of Christmas, Florida was the Pro Stock Class National Champion. The MRA maintains national records for all of its classes from street stock to open in both mud bog and fast track races.

History

Mud bogging is a common off-road activity which led to being an organized competition. In the 1970s, organized mud bogs first became popular, as four wheel drive vehicles in general became more popular. Most mud bogs took place at county fairs alongside tractor pulls. By the 1980s, promoters like the USHRA and USA Motorsports began building mud pits in arenas and stadiums, increasing the exposure of the sport. TNT Motorsports also had mud racing for a while, but it was withdrawn.

The National Mud Racing Organization (NMRO) was formed in 1988 by Dayton, Ohio Native Gary Baker to create a standard rule set and form a national championship. This championship is the top honor in mud racing. From 1988-1996, the USHRA and USA Motorsports also held mud racing championships for Class V vehicles, with the USHRA championship usually garnering more exposure (during NMRO races shown on Trucks and Tractor Power on TNN, Army Armstrong would refer to the USHRA champion as the "Indoor series champion"). The NMRO All-Star Nationals were often shown on the ESPN show "Challenge of Power", hosted by USA Motorsports announcer Dave Bennett. Today the NMRO is the only national championship for mud racing. NMRO is also now owned and organized under Family/Special Events, who is the company behind the 4 Wheel Jamboree National event series.

Due to many mud bogs being held in conjunction with monster truck events, several former mud boggers became well known monster truck drivers, including Tony Farrell, Paul Shafer, and Tom Meents. Dennis Anderson's first Grave Digger was also a mud bogger. Mud racers have also moved into the IHRA ranks. Mike Comella, former driver of Bonkers, now runs an IHRA funny car, and Steve Bareman, former driver of Chemical Reaction, now drives for Jim Oddy's Pro Mod team. Dave Ray, former driver of the Midnight Magic vehicle, used to drive an NHRA Alcohol Funny Car.

In March 2007 Mud Truck Television was created in Arkansas. The show is broadcast nationwide on the Untamed Sports TV Network and on several cable systems in the U.S. Mud Truck Television features mud races and events from all over the United States.

Currently, Checkered Flag Productions, owned by former motorcycle daredevil stuntman Ed Beckley, is the largest promotor of indoor mud bog racing. His shows consist mainly of Street Stock, Mod and Pro Mod competitors. Depending on turn out and location, he is known to run class 5/6 type mud dragsters and tractor tired classes.

In 2009 FlyingMUD.com was formed to cover the sport of mud racing. The site offers online media from mud racing events all over the USA