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| The Tank Trap was the most difficult and severe event of the Top Truck Challenge. |
Alex Sanders navigates his 2008 Chevrolet Buggy through the Frame Twister. |
Ten teams selected by readers of Four Wheeler Magazine converged in Hollister Hills, Calif. over the week of June 6 to battle it out in the 2011 AMSOIL-sponsored Top Truck Challenge. Seven brutal challenges awaited.
While most of the competitors emerged from the Tow Test unscathed, the Frame Twister presented a more serious challenge, requiring numerous extractions and preventing most of the competitors from even finishing. From there, competitors moved on to the Mud Pit, where Mike Keller and his 1976 Ford F-350 made it look easy by hitting the mud fiying and skimming along the top.
Deep water and deeper holes greeted competitors on the second day of competition as they tried to navigate the Obstacle Course. The Hill Climb was next, challenging competitors to climb a 60° slope littered with holes and ditches. The Mini Rubicon was given an extra degree of difficulty this year. In addition to deep holes, competitors were forced to navigate through giant boulders.
Faced on the final day, the Tank Trap was the competition’s most challenging event. Huge water-filled holes swallowed trucks and wiped out some of the competitors, causing some to flip on the steep incline and require an extraction.
Despite the serious difficulties, the 2011 Top Truck Challenge produced a pair of winners. Alex Sanders of Arkansas took the win in the Buggy class with his 2008 Chevrolet Buggy, and Steven Montpas of Oregon earned the title in the Truck class with his 1949 Willys pick-up.