Mud Trucks Gone Wild at Virginia Motor Speedway

By Scott Huntington - December 20, 2016

jeep

Welcome, friends, to the most SFW video out there with the words “gone wild” in the title. That is, unless there’s a “Cuisinarts gone wild” video out there that we’ve somehow managed to miss. (Don’t inform us, please.)

The fall 2016 mud-bogging event at Virginia Motor Speedway (VMS) delivered all the wailing engines and flying mud we’d expect. Among the multitude of contenders in the “Pit” competition — essentially a one-truck timed drag race through some seriously deep and sticky bog — the Jeep marque, specifically the JK, more than held its own against an array of capable mud-boggers.

The gang at Busted Knuckle Films, a fraternity of true gearheads, did the mudding community a favor by capturing this epic mudfest in all its gloppy glory, and there are some must-see outtakes in their twelve-plus minute video below.

A pair of Wranglers open things up and show the competition how it’s done. It’s easy to see how the compact wheelbase and light weight of the Wrangler platform make short work of the pit, with both Jeeps managing to put some air under them.

The action heats up as subsequent classes introduce more and more radical vehicles, including fully-custom mud-buggies, dove-tailed pickup trucks, and a beautiful Jeep with open headers. There are more than a few would-be monster trucks in the lineup, with our favorite Grave Digger impersonator making an appearance at 6:08.

Around the 8-minute mark, some unholy act seems to unleash all manner of custom mud-sleds, a few of which come in the form of sizable vintage trucks that look like they could haul a small army through the muck. Car guys, rejoice — there’s everything from a vintage Mercedes-Benz to an IROC Camaro here, and they’re all riding high on swamper tires.

The unlimited class really delivers with what we’d like to think began life as a Jeep belching methane fumes; it clears the pit in the blink of an eye around 10:26. None of the trucks in this class disappoint, but then there’s really nothing about this video not to love, unless you feel sorry for the owner of the Mad-Max-inspired rig that makes an appearance at 11:06, who likely made a stop at the parts store on the way home.