A few locals find fun in mud
Cody Ward drives his truck through a mudpit at the annual mudbogger in Hot Springs.
Who knew the simple mixture of dirt and water could turn into a weekend of entertainment.
Who knew the simple mixture of dirt and water could turn into a weekend of entertainment.
Sitting in the middle of Hot Springs is a giant mud pit designated for one purpose and one purpose only; for people to see whose car can make it through the pit This is a sport known as mudbogg and has been taking place in Hot Springs for the past nine years in a row.
The idea is simple. There is a large mud pit with different levels of holes throughout the pit and the objective is to get enough momentum to drive the car and make it straight through the pit.
"It's a bunch of guys who get really creative making a great, big, huge, jacked-up truck and the biggest, deepest gnarliest hole and then they trash the rig they just dumped a ton of money into," said Kevin Brown, Hot Springs resident and organizer of the mudbogg.
Brown decided to bring the mudbogg to Hot Springs back in 2001 because he was bored and wanted to bring something fun and entertaining to the community.
Although only a handful of cars and mud enthusiasts turned out to the weekend's mudbogging event, the few had a free-for-all with their cars through the mud pit.
Brown said in the past few years the event has taken place, anywhere from 60 to 150 racers would show up with packed bleachers full of spectators eager to see some muddy action.
When there are a high number of cars that turn up for the mudbogg, they usually compete in separate classes based on the type of car. The racers are judged on who can make it through the pit the fastest. Many of the cars get stuck in the mud and Brown has to come out with his Backhoe to drag them out of the pit.
On Sunday there were two racers who showed up to the mudbogg pit, Dave Swope and Cody Ward, both of whom were eager to get muddy and see what their vehicles could do.
"I like the thrill of it and getting dirty and the challenge," said Ward.
According to Swope the trick to getting a vehicle through the mud is tall tires and a lot of power.
Comments or questions can be emailed to Reporter Danielle Switalski at reporter@vp-mi.com.