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Photos By: Don Creason and Kamdon Shaw
For far too long the east coast has been without a major off-road event. While there have been a host of events in the southern USA and plenty out west, the mid-west and east coast have been nearly devoid of major mud slinging, rock bouncing, and back flipping entertainment.
With the continued growth of the off-road hobby, it only seemed logical to bring a show to the east that was as big as many of those out west. So for three days from June 20 – 22, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky, the east went epic with the Unlimited Off Road American Show and Expo.
This three-day event brought together 125 off-road vendors and fabricators, 40 racers by invitation only, and more than 7,500 off-road fans. The three days were packed with great racing, demonstrations, and the latest in off-road parts and gear.
Digging In
Friday was used as a set up and business-to-business day. There were presentations by industry members and plenty of preparations by the event staff to get ready for the big weekend ahead. We spent part of the day walking and talking with vendors including TNT Customs, Currie, and Weld Racing.
TNT was showing off its new coil-over conversion kit for the JK four-door Jeep. This kit is based on the 2-1/2-inch internal bypass FOX shock. The 2-1/2-inch shock was chosen by TNT due to the weight of the four door JK. According to TNT’s Bob Levenhagen, “The four-door JK is a little heavy for a two-inch shock, the 2-1/2 drives great on the road, and performs off road.”
This kit is not for the faint of heart according to Levenhagen, requiring significant fabrication to the rear frame rails including frenching in new buckets for the system. All that work pays off with an end result that allows for use of the 2-1/2 inch coil-overs with factory width differentials.
The front requires some frame modifications and welding as well, and the entire system will add three-inches of lift to a JK.
Currie was out in force with two booths at the event. Its outdoor booths were set up primarily to support local partner MOAB Offroad. MOAB brought out several very cool Jeeps including its own in-house project which features an aluminum body and LS power. There was more aluminum from Currie throughout this bad boy all the way down to the knuckles and other key components. We look forward to seeing this one on the trails and the street when its completed.
Weld Racing was showing off its REKON line of forged wheels. The B57B beadlock is a one-piece forged wheel available in 17×9 with 4.5-inches of backspacing. They also brought out their F58 and F54 forged one-piece wheels which are available in 17 or 20-inch diameter.
The REKON wheels are forged from 6061 T6 aluminum for strength. They’re available for most five and six-lug trucks, and feature Weld’s nano-ceramic clearcoat for protection of the wheel, low maintenance, and easy cleaning.
Outdoors
Final prep work was being performed to the off road course Friday to get it ready for racing on Saturday and Sunday. The course was filled with several whoops and table-top jumps, as well as a few mud pits, steep inclines, and even a backflip wall for stunts Sunday afternoon. With racing planned for Southern Rock Bouncers, Ultra4s, Mega Trucks, and Side-by-Sides, this course appeared to feature a little bit of everything.
Late in the day we were treated to some testing and showing off by a few of each vehicle including Bill Baird’s awesome Ultra4 racer. Unfortunately before official practice could begin for all racers, rain moved in and ended the day.
A Dirt Flying Weekend
Saturday and Sunday brought out the sunshine and beautiful weather. Temperatures were hot, but not punishing. Crowds came out by the thousands to watch all of the action as racers in every category put on a show with high flying jumps, and plenty of dirt and mud roosting everywhere.
We watched several Mega Trucks take to the course fighting their way through the mud and flying over the table tops with ease, and as you can plainly see in the Buckin’ Productions video below the Mega Truck action was awesome. The morning was not without carnage as everything from parts flying off to rollovers occurred on the course during the qualifying rounds.
The Southern Rock Bouncers put on some great races as well, climbing a steep hill course and also making their way around parts of the rest of the track. We watched these racers twist, turn, and climb their way through the course to see who could come out with the fastest time.
You can always count on some carnage at an event like this.
UTV’s were also in the racing action, and the Side-by-Side racers didn’t disappoint. Grabbing incredible air as they flew over the jumps, these racers never let us drop the camera all weekend.
However, it was the Ultra4 racers we think everyone wanted to see, and these included Bill Baird, Tony “Rosco” Rietdorf, and Shannon Campbell. Watching these drivers expertly pilot their machines around the course at some amazing speeds had the crowd pressing against the barrier walls and cheering for more.
The Races
Saturday and Sunday both culminated with relay style racing in which two teams would face off for the best time on the course. Each team was comprised of one vehicle from each category of racer taking part in the event. As one truck completed the course, their next teammate would take off to complete their section. When it was all over, the fastest combined time for a team would win. The racing order was Mega Truck, Ultra Four, Side-by-Side, and Southern Rock Bouncer.
On Saturday team one was comprised of:
- MTS – Joshua Vadovsky
- SRRS – Danny Smith
- Ultra-4 – Bill Baird
- SXS – Brit Mansel
While team two was made up of:
- MTS – John Gordon
- SRRS – CJ Bynum
- Ultra-4 – Tony “Rosco” Rietdorf
- SXS – Trenton Parks
It was a close match between the two teams, with team two taking the win by a margin of just under eight seconds, incredible for a course this size. Team two turned in a total time of 239.467 to beat team one’s 247.439.
Sunday saw a similar racing format with two teams again facing off late in the day. This time however, it was two different teams than the day before.
Sunday’s team one included:
- MTS – John Gordon
- SRRS – Bobby Tanner
- Ultra-4 – Bill Baird
- SXS – Brit Mansel
While team two was comprised of:
- MTS – Keith Spiker
- SRRS – Danny Smith
- Ultra-4 – Shannon Campbell
- SXS – Tripp Pullen
The racing was faster and the margin of victory even closer, with the differences in the two team’s times coming in at under one second. Team one pulled off the win with a 223.064 to team two’s 224.032.
There was plenty of freestyle action Saturday afternoon to get the crowds cheering at the end of the day's racing.
Saturday ended with some awesome freestyling action put on by two of the Mega Trucks, one Side-by-Side, and Shannon Campbell in the Monster Energy Ultra4. Sunday fans were treated to a few attempts at the flip wall. This included the first ever flip of a rock bouncer pulled off by Richie Keith. CJ Bynum didn’t disappoint either making a successful backflip in his Side-by-Side.
The first ever Unlimited Off Road American Show and Expo was a huge success and a great show for fans from around the region. We look forward to heading back to Louisville to check out what will likely be an even bigger event next year. Be sure to check out the Off Road Xtreme Gallery below for hundreds of photos from this 2014 premiere event.
