This summer’s Off Road Sportsman Challenge was held in Monteagle, Tennessee, the weekend of August 10-11. The trails the competitors would use were previewed the day before the race and it was concluded that the competitors and their vehicles would have a good test of all of their off-road skills and abilities. The weather forecast for the weekend was for cool weather in the low 70’s with a slight chance for rain. This was unusual for August in Tennessee, but was welcomed by all who came out for the event.

The challenge competition started promptly at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Just as the flag came down for the competitors to leave the starting line, the sky opened up and the rain started. It looked like the rain would last the entire day and as it turned out, it did.

On the trail, the competitors had to contend with such major obstacles as Windshield Hill, the Slide, Stair Step, and the Chute. These obstacles were aptly named based on the terrain or the effect that they would have on the competitor’s vehicles.

Of the 14 competitors in the event, two were Toyotas. One Toy (the eventual winner) was an FJ40 Land Cruiser driven by the team of Windham & Windham and an ’87 4Runner driven by Ken Coe with his wife Tracy as the navigator. The field was rounded out by Broncos, Jeeps, Dodges, and a Ford Ranger.

The Challenge was not only a test of speed and durability of equipment, it was also a test of driving and navigational skills. Each team was required to complete each section of the course in a certain amount of time and navigate the course based on directions supplied to them at the start of the event.

By the time the sun set on Saturday’s activities, every team had suffered some sort of mechanical difficulty. The problems ranged from burned up winches to broken axles, broken steering arms, and failed clutch linkages.

When Sunday arrived, it was still cloudy and a shower came through during the driver update session. The rain ended and it remained overcast for the remainder of the morning. This made for a challenging track on the obstacle course.

On the obstacle course, the teams were required to accomplish several tasks involving different skills. These tasks included the blind folded driver course, climbing Twin Peaks, the make shift bridge, the short course and the long course.

The blind folded driver course had the driver blind folded with the navigator giving directions and the event being timed. Twin peaks involved driving over a steep berm and touching the front bumper to a tree. Then the driver had to make a tight 90 degree turn backing up a steep mound and touching a flag on a stake. Then he had to drive forward and touch the flagged stake on the adjacent mound, then back up and return to the start line. It turned out to be tougher than it looked. The makeshift bridge involved the navigator taking two 4x4 beams and spacing them to allow the driver to cross a deep gully in the shortest time possible. The short course was a quick ride through a pit of tires with a sharp turn and a run up a steep rise for the best time. The long course ran throughout the obstacle course area and include woods, mud, rough terrain and more mud.

After the mud had settled and the competitors got cleaned up, the point totals were compiled and the winner was determined. The competitors had to wait until Sunday evening for the awards banquet to find out who the winners were. When it came time, the team of Windham & Windham driving a Toyota FJ40 were awarded the first place trophy. The event ended with everyone looking forward to the next Challenge in Murphy, North Carolina, in October.

This site created and maintained by Sparrow & Finch, Inc.

© 1997 Sparrow & Finch, Inc.