ROCKCRAWLER.com - UROC - 2002 Event #1

The first UROC event of the 2002 season took place in St.George, Utah from February 14-16. St.George is an entirely new location that had never been used before. The new site turned out to be perfect for rockcrawling with easy spectator access and epic rock formations that resemble those found in Moab and other parts of Southern Utah. In addition to the new site, UROC also introduced a new two-class system that was a hit with competitors.

This new course provided a mix of technical & extreme vertical obstacles that were some of the toughest UROC obstacles ever. Obstacles like Anarchy Alley and the Axle Buster provided excitement for some of the top names in rockcrawling, like Curt Hildebrand, Chris Durham and Joel Randall. Only 8 of the 50 plus contestants managed to make it over these two obstacles!

Curtis McNeill from Salt Lake City drove out of Anarchy Alley on his side, further demolishing his once pristine ride. With his motor smoking and mangled sheet metal hanging in ribbons, Curtis hammered past the finish gate to the roar and applause of the cheering crowd. Curtis has become a hero and crowd favorite to the spectators and has earned the respect of his fellow drivers.

Troy Muse from the Pirates of the Rubicon left his tail gate and other body parts on the path through Anarchy Alley. Troy made several valiant efforts to get through before succumbing to the winch. However, Troy was so lodged in the heart of the obstacle that it took three winches to pull him out!

Lewis Shimhouser, hailing from Utah, gave everybody a thrill as he charged the Anarchy Alley until he filled the cylinders with oil from the crazy vertical angles. This left his lifeless Jeep in smoking ruins a few feet from the finish line and at the mercy of the winch crew. Undaunted, he raised his fist in triumph to the cheering crowd.

Chris Monk (also from Farmington) put his Scorpion over on its side at the foot of the Axle Buster near the finish line. Chris gave it all he had and the roaring of crowd approval could be heard from ½ mile away!

The event went off smoothly and kicked off what is sure to be a great year for UROC as all the excitement builds up to the World Championship SUPERCRAWL in Farmington, New Mexico this October. The SUPERCRAWL will pit the top ten competitors from major rockcrawling organizations from around the world to determine who is truly the world's toughest rock crawler.

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