UPDATE: I haven’t recycled this point since 2009, so many might not have seen it.
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Originally posted Feb 26, 2009: This is another set of excerpts from an episode of Exploration Northwest called ‘Mud Race’. As I reported in the post about the Meeker, aka Naches, Trail post, Linda McCune from the Don McCune Library kindly has given me permission to provide some clips from the Jeeping1 DVD, a collection of 3 episodes of Exploration Northwest related to pacific northwest jeeping. To order this DVD, you can contact Linda McCune at 206 726-2650 and ask for the Jeeping1 DVD. It costs $24.95. I encourage you to purchase is as she has the video for a Jeeping2 DVD, but has not created it yet.
The race was sponsored by the Yakima Jeep Jockeys, a club formed in 1963. They began their 4×4 Championship Racing series in 1971.
The Mud Bowl episode was shown in 1977. Mostly, it follows Jim Merritt as he prepares for the race, discussing a little about how they silicone various items to keep out water. Plenty of video showing different stages of the race. It’s a bit reminiscent of the Florida swamp races, though the water holes aren’t quite as deep or long (If you have never heard of it, you can read about the Florida swamp races at four wheeler’s online magazine and here’s a you tube video from a 1996 race).
From the Mud Race episode, I selected two clips. Clip one shows Jim getting ready to race and shows the driver’s pre-race meeting. The second clip shows the final race with Bill Smith from Tacoma taking the win.
Here’s Clip One:
Here’s Clip Two:
