TORRINGTON – Whether preparing for mud drags or mud bogs, getting the proper mud consistency and depth takes a trained eye.
To prep for the drags, a leveler is pulled behind a tractor to get all of the dirt packed down and even. Then the lanes are measured from the grandstands and barrier. Here in Torrington, the lanes are set back 25 feet from the barrier and more than 50 feet from the grand stands. Each lane is 20-feet wide and 180-feet long.
Once measured, a raked is pulled through behind a tractor to loosen the lanes and prepare them for water. A water truck is then driven next to each of the two lanes to make the mud. Don Cearns, Valley Motor Sports’ president, always looks for consistency. He said that is the biggest key when preparing the lanes for the drags.
“When I’m in the water truck going down the lanes, I’m looking for dry spots,” Cearns said.
He looks for dry spots in each lane, and then comparing lane to lane. He said he doesn’t want one lane to be a different consistency than the other, making it an unfair race. The closer he can get both sides to match, the fairer the race.
Even between classes, the mud drag pits change. Starting with the pro-mod class, the least amount of water is applied, because the cars mostly go over the mud. Then from the stock class up through the classes, more and more water is applied to create more mud for the higher classes.
In mud drags, it is a simple drag race, but on mud. The need for consistency is apparent because the drivers are racing directly against each other instead of against the clock. Bogs are against the clock. The fastest through the pit is the winner. If there is no successful pass through, the furthest driver picks up the win.
For bogs, the stock and super stock class runs through the mud drag pit, with more water added. Between drags and bogs, more water is poured in from the water truck, making the pit soupier and more of a challenge to get through.
The mud bog for the modified class, which includes trucks that are entered by climbing up the tire, is much different. An excavator is used to toss dirt in, out and around the pit, creating a treacherous path. Water is added to the pit and there is even some standing water in portions of the path. Although there is no rhyme or reason in creating a modified bog, there is still the idea that is should be at least passable.
“You want them to make it through,” said Cearns, who takes a back seat during the construction of the modified bog because he runs in the class. “Not everyone wants to fly through like the drags, but people don’t want to get stuck after 10 feet.”
Saturday at the eclipse bogs and drags hosted by Valley Motor Sports, there was a hole as deep as 5 feet in the modified bog.
The eclipse bogs and drags was the final event for Valley Motor Sports this summer. It was the fourth of the year, following two Thunder in the Valley races and the Big Gun Shootout. The group is scheduling to plan more events for next summer.
