Taking It Off the Track: Exploring the World of Off-Roading

Taking It Off the Track: Exploring the World of Off-Roading

Since the creation of the engine, there has been the innate urge to take automobiles off the road and test them against the natural landscape. What that ultimately means to the auto fan depends on the local environment. 

From the American South to the Middle East, to Europe, each and every location has its own style when it comes to taking a vehicle on an off-road track. While there is plenty of crossover, some places just lend themselves to one off-road sport over another. 

Every region has its own style of off roading, depending on the local terrain and culture. Mudding, rock crawling, dune bashing, and cross-country/rallying are each a blast in their own right, though they look very different in terms of their technical skills and fan base. 

This article gives you a basic understanding of the terrain, norms, and major events that go into each off roading style. 

Mud Bogging 

2 Mud Bogging cars on a mud track

A widely popular form of off roading in places that receive a fair amount of rain to create a rich mud hole, often called a “bog,” mud bogging, or mudding, is probably the most popular in the American South. Though events do take place all over the country and beyond, the vehicular modifications that characterize the sport are even more pervasive than the sport itself.

Though 12-inch lift kits, huge tires, engine snorkels, and four-wheel drive are seen on Jeeps and trucks all over America, a true mud-bogger will gun it with or without these fancy accessories. Cut-offs, daisy dukes, and dirty boots personify the culture of the sport, making it a blue-collar man’s dream. Monster truck-like modifications are pretty popular in this space, but the true heart of the sport is simply dirt-poor off-roading fun.

Events and locations are much like a huge fanfare of rednecks. Huge muddy fields filled with trucks, all-terrain vehicles, and four-wheelers make it seem like there are no rules, but specific events are more structured than they appear. Bog runs, truck pulls, and other events provide clear winners in the sport, followed by a beer-fueled party to celebrate, of course.

Mud Bogging Events to Check Out:

Redneck Yacht Club – Taking place in Punta Gorda, Florida during the spring break season, this event hosts everything a redneck could ask for – yacht-sized trucks, bikinis, and the hot sun.

Rednecks With Paychecks – A little over an hour north of Dallas, Texas, people come from all over to get out of the summer heat by playing in the mud. This event is the perfect example of how everything’s bigger in Texas.

Rock Crawling

Rock Climbing with a car

In contrast to mudding, rock crawling consists of slow-speed precision driving to maneuver over and around rock formations that serve as obstacles. The one requirement for this extreme motor-sport? Rocks. So this naturally lends itself to areas that have craggy and rough terrain, like Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado.

Watching the drivers cling to the rocks, you can immediately tell they’re putting some high-tech hardware into their machines. Four-wheel steering, roll cages, and upgrades upgrades upgrades, definitely make this a rich man’s hobby – but that doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the action.

Competitions literally defy the laws of physics. Watching a jeep on big wheels cling to the side of a huge boulder is nothing but impressive, and scoring these events must have engineering PhDs as a requirement. When going to a rock crawling event, prepare for a lot of energy drinks and Pit Viper sunglasses.

Rock Crawling Events to Check Out:

Texas Top Gun Shootout – Like ants, drivers scurry in and out of Texas boulder crevices, showing technical driving skills and pure tenacity when it comes to maneuvering. 

Trail Hero – A much more vertical event in the deserts of Utah, drivers are required to become motorized rock climbers as they gun it up and down the terrain.

Dune Bashing

Dune Bashing in the middle of the desert

Think Lawrence of Arabia, but with motorized vehicles ripping up and down the dunes instead of horses idling their way across the desert. Barren wastelands, like the Mojave or the Liwa, have always enamored the human mind, and when technology progressed enough to make these lands conquerable, humans conquered. It’s only natural!

Scaling 300 meters on a dune in the middle of the desert is like something out of Mad Max, completely impressive and jaw-dropping. Like with rock crawling, vehicles need to be completely equipped to meet the demands of the desert. From special tires to kill switches, dune bashing is an investment in thrill.

More than money being a barrier to entry, it is definitely the terrain that makes dune bashing inaccessible. How many deserts are in the United States? Four. And most of them aren’t dune-centered. The biggest events are definitely in the Middle East, where oil money has transferred into crazy past times. Driven by pure adventure, Saudi princes and tycoons tear across dunes only described in science fiction novels.

Dune Bashing Events to Check Out:

Liwa International Festival – 24 days of the biggest dune bashing in the world, Abu Dhabi becomes a hotbed of insanely expensive buggies and enthusiasts ready to face Moreeb, one of the tallest dunes in the world.

Glamis Dune Season – Much more of a desert party from October to April, people come from all around to camp out, make high-flying jumps, and scale the dunes.

Cross Country/Rally Racing

Racing car on the desert with a mountain in the background

Going the distance demands a whole different mindset than the quick, impressive movements of many other off-roading styles. Still, there is never a compromise when it comes to going fast or being loud. Cross-country races, among others, are a whole different breed of extreme motorsports requiring vehicles to not only be fast, but drivers to be adaptable in multiple environments.

On a smaller scale, trail riding is a great simple afternoon activity for your stock vehicle. But cross country, or off road, tours require sophistication. Traveling entire countries at 110 mph, fans basically on the track, and fiery crashes, there isn’t much a driver hasn’t seen.

Racing is highly popular all across the world, but Europe holds it down for the insane dedication they put toward the sport. Like Americans and NASCAR, they live and breathe for the action, except they’re driving on back roads and snaking through small towns. Cross country exists in a space that is relatable to the audience (but yes, drivers are still walking brand deals).

Cross Country/Rally Racing Events to Check Out:

Secto Rally Finland – The real-world equivalent to pod-racing from Star Wars, drivers weave around the Finnish backcountry at bullet speeds making tight turns and major jumps.

Baja 1000 – Taking place in Southern California into Mexico, surfers head to the mainland to see off-road trucks rip across rugged terrain in a multi-day race built on endurance and insanity.

Summary

There is more to off roading than taking a vehicle off the highway and doing a couple of donuts. If not held down by fiscal responsibilities, souping up a vehicle with expensive hardware can be an easy way to get into the world of extreme off-roading. 

Regardless, fans from all over the world can appreciate the skills and culture that come along with taking it to the limit. Through mud bogs or up soaring dunes, humans love to take it off road.

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