By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Fans of fast trucks and flying mud are in luck. Mud-racing is back! The Southern Nevada Mud Racers (SNMR) are presenting the Mesquite Mud Drags on Saturday, April 1 at the Mesquite Motocross Park. Rregistration begins on-site at 8 am the day of the event with a mandatory driver’s meeting at 11 am. Racing begins at noon.
Mud racing is fun for the whole family whether you’re watching or participating. It is a perfect combination of mud and machinery – with prize money thrown in to make things more exciting.
A racetrack is prepared: a 150-foot-long pit of deep mud. Vehicles race down the track to see who gets the best time in making it to the end. The races start with the big power trucks that essentially float and paddle along the mud. Then the event works its way through to the smaller vehicles as the mud gets shallower from usage.
“We try to get the mud just right,” said Larry Skaggs, SNMR president. “We want it deep enough for a lot of fun, but we like the trucks to make it to the end of the track. Sometimes they get stuck and we don’t like to have to pull them out.”
All that mud makes the races a hit for all ages. Skaggs said, “This is great family entertainment. There is mud-flying everywhere, lots of big trucks, and good food.”
Spectator admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 6-12. Kids 5 and under are free.
One of the most anticipated events of the day is for the spectators and is free to enter. At half-time there is a traditional “Dash-for-Cash” that lets spectators get down into the mud and, hopefully, take home extra cash for their laundry bill. Stakes with $20 bills attached will be placed in the mud and entrants get to race through to pick up as many as they can.
The actual racing events will have a little bit of everything with over $4,000 in prize money.
There are 4 ATV classes that are $20 per contestant to enter. They are Pee Wee, Junior, under 500 cc’s and over 500 cc’s.
After the ATV classes, the truck classes start. The Super Street and Powderpuff classes are $40 per contestant. Powderpuff contestants can use any truck for their contest. There are 4 big truck classes: Pro Mod, Mud Mod, Pro Stock, and Super Stock. These races are $50 each to enter.
This year’s event is also a benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada. There will be a silent auction of donated items to benefit Make-A-Wish. SNMR is looking for sponsors both of items to be donated and checks made out to Make-A-Wish.
SNMR used to host their local event at the Clark County Fairgrounds. However, Skaggs said working out permits with both the county and the BLM was both tedious and expensive. When he was offered use of the Mesquite Motocross Park for his event, it was a win-win situation, he said.
Mesquite Motocross Park is located at 970 Peppermill Palms Blvd., Littlefield, AZ. More information can be found at southernnevadamudracing.com.
