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MotorTranscript
00:00 (rock music)
00:02 (rock music)
00:04 (engine revving)
00:31 - Top Truck Challenge 2015.
00:33 The Mini Rubicon.
00:36 Five minutes makes it a rock race
00:38 to get across this course.
00:39 Two tires out of bounds, you're disqualified.
00:42 Like the sea, here at the coast of California,
00:46 these rocks are ever-changing,
00:47 just like the tidal pools on the coastline.
00:50 Yet we have a surprise.
00:52 After these rocks, they just...
00:54 Hold.
00:57 Kimberly Gray picked pole position in the Mini Rubicon.
01:00 She's first gotta traverse the Sea of Tranquility,
01:03 and then into the dip at Over Our Mountain.
01:05 Now, the trouble with this year's Mini Rubicon,
01:07 for them, that is,
01:08 is they've only got five minutes to get through this.
01:11 So like last year's rock race, it's a rock race,
01:13 pressured for time, but it's difficult.
01:16 She's doing really good so far,
01:24 letting the suspension do its work.
01:26 Spotter's talking to her on the opposite side,
01:29 giving her guidance.
01:30 Now they've got the first major obstacle.
01:32 Nice climb, straight up.
01:42 Let's see if she can stick it.
01:44 Now, this is where you want your Mickey Thompsons
01:48 to have low air pressure.
01:50 So, and she climbs right over it.
01:51 Look at that.
01:53 She is just doing great today.
01:54 Oh, she's high-centered.
01:59 Nice, those Mickey Thompsons
02:01 are really hooking up on the rocks.
02:03 Now she's going into the Pit of Despair.
02:06 This is a huge drop.
02:08 It's gotta be intense to be in the cab,
02:11 this kind of drop.
02:13 Look at that.
02:14 There's some major stress on components here.
02:18 And she's cranking it tight.
02:20 Look at that, incredible articulation.
02:25 And she's making this look easy.
02:28 Oh my goodness, holy diver.
02:31 Eric Cam's hot in the pocket seat.
02:34 I'm expecting he's gonna hit this hard and loud
02:36 'cause that's his style.
02:38 The course has been mellowed out a little bit,
02:41 but not enough to make it a quick jaunt.
02:44 All right, he's already on the mountain
02:58 at 37 seconds, so this is really good.
03:01 He also is rearranging the rock pile.
03:03 There he goes, he asked for permission to hit it,
03:10 and he did.
03:11 Just moving the rocks around,
03:13 drops into the Pit of Despair,
03:15 brings some rocks in with him,
03:16 and he's out.
03:17 Incredibly enough, Jake is back into the mix
03:23 here in the Mini Rubicon.
03:24 He only missed one event,
03:25 got his truck back together,
03:27 and he's here to play.
03:28 He's got that 3.0 Supra turbocharged motor,
03:32 just put it in before he came here to Top Truck Challenge.
03:35 Just sounds like angry squirrels screaming away.
03:39 He was just called the two minute warning,
03:41 now it is legal to stack rocks here,
03:42 but that's a lot of burden on your spotter.
03:45 They gotta be in good shape to heave those rocks around.
03:48 And the rock he plopped in,
03:49 I hope it's in the right place for him.
03:51 No mercy for it.
03:54 He's gonna make, and there he goes.
03:55 He's made it.
03:56 He's under a minute.
03:57 What can he do in less than a minute?
03:59 He's gotta settle it down a little bit,
04:04 focus on where he's going.
04:05 Oh, and there's the...
04:18 And there he's called it right there.
04:20 Oh my goodness.
04:22 Ryan Agin enters.
04:24 (whistling)
04:27 Now a spotter is carrying a radio, communicating with him,
04:32 and carrying some straps just in case they need a winch.
04:34 But remember, with five minutes,
04:35 you don't have a whole lot of time
04:37 to spool out a winch cable and do something with that.
04:40 So this has gotta be all or nothing now.
04:43 There he goes after a beautiful lean over.
04:48 He's made it over the pile.
04:50 Now the crowd is cheering him
04:52 because he's only got one minute left
04:54 to get through this course.
04:55 He's gotta pull a miracle out.
04:57 Oh, he's trying to push that rock over,
05:00 but he has the power.
05:01 He does it.
05:02 He's gonna go to the winch.
05:07 There's no way they're even gonna get hooked up
05:09 and be able to winch.
05:10 This is a complete waste of time.
05:12 Nothing's gonna happen here.
05:14 Oh, he can't even get there.
05:18 There it is.
05:19 It's over.
05:20 (crowd cheering)
05:23 And Jason Moon will enter the mini Rubicon
05:28 to get some points.
05:29 Now he's gonna try and see how far he can get
05:32 in just front wheel drive.
05:34 The more distance he can make, the more points,
05:37 but it doesn't look hopeful.
05:39 (engine revving)
05:42 Now he's got another broken shaft in his front axle.
05:53 He's down to one wheel drive.
05:56 Not good.
06:07 And there they're calling it.
06:08 Five minutes up on the clock, Jeremy's spotter exits,
06:14 and they're gonna attack this course hard and fast.
06:16 And this is where it gets a little tricky
06:17 when you're rock crawling with a clutch.
06:19 Rock crawling with a clutch is a whole different sport
06:22 than rock crawling with an automatic.
06:25 And look at that smile on Jeremy's.
06:26 Smiling from ear to ear, he is having a fun time.
06:29 Have fun time.
06:30 (engine revving)
06:33 All right, so he's technically not out of bounds yet
06:44 'cause he has to get two tires out of bounds.
06:46 He's got one tire out, but the judges are letting him go
06:49 'cause he's still got one tire in on that side.
06:52 And there's the time, he's out of time.
06:55 All right, Daniel, another one of our Canadian competitors,
06:59 he got out of bounds in the last event.
07:02 So he's gotta make up some points
07:04 with a really good run here in the Mini Rubicon.
07:07 Ooh, something let go.
07:18 That's not a good sign, he's lost his rear,
07:21 his rear shaft.
07:25 So on his Rockwell 2 1/2 tons,
07:27 he snapped something there in the rear.
07:28 He's down to three wheel drive.
07:30 This is gonna make it more difficult.
07:33 He's working it, he's down to a few seconds
07:38 and there he's broken again.
07:39 So this may be it for him.
07:41 - You're going it.
07:42 - Yep, both rear axle shafts are broken.
07:45 Mike and Thumper with his 555 engine
07:49 enters into the Mini Rubicon.
07:52 He's got some great suspension parts.
07:54 He is a rather heavy rig, he's got plenty of power.
07:57 Let's see how he plays this.
07:58 Beautiful truck, not very often you see a truck
08:09 with such nice body work and flame job and everything,
08:11 but he's already damaging it up against the tree.
08:15 - One minute!
08:21 - One minute.
08:23 (engine revving)
08:25 He is really working it.
08:30 And into the pit of despair he goes.
08:32 Nose first, hammer's out.
08:35 My goodness, oh, and it lets go.
08:38 That was a finish if I've ever seen one.
08:44 Now you said you've got 20 years of wheeling experience.
08:47 How many of those years have been on the Rocks?
08:50 - Probably about five, four or five.
08:52 - Well, it showed you really shined.
08:54 The communication between you and the spotter was awesome.
08:56 The great hookup, your line was perfect.
08:58 And then this last little bit, you took a little damage.
09:01 Do you have another drive shaft?
09:02 - Yes sir, we've got four.
09:03 - They came prepared, that's what you gotta,
09:06 get a shot of this right here.
09:08 There we go.
09:10 There's the carnage, totally pretzeled that puppy.
09:18 And Cam cleans up on our not so mini Rubicon
09:21 with Bowman and Gray about a minute behind.
09:23 The hill climb.
09:29 You got five minutes to get through this thing.
09:31 And hey, by the way, if you fail,
09:33 you roll down to the bottom.
09:35 The hill climb, a vertical challenge
09:38 with steep burns up to 57 degrees.
09:41 Loose dirt, off-camera hill climbs.
09:44 It takes a lot of preparation to get ready for the hill climb.
09:46 Seat belts, roll cage, helmets, a change of underwear.
09:50 Yep, hill climb, we're ready.
09:52 Ryan's up first.
09:53 Let's see how he does as the first competitor
09:56 with the obstacle being at its greatest.
09:59 He's gonna back up and get a running start.
10:05 He hits it hard.
10:08 (engine revving)
10:11 Oh no, and I think that doomed him.
10:19 He got a little bit of air
10:20 and I think he got driveline separation.
10:23 There you can see underneath, separation of the driveline
10:26 and also a break in the weld of one of the drive shafts.
10:30 He's gonna winch to get a little bit more distance.
10:35 Had some weld failures on the front and rear
10:37 drive shaft yokes, so it's just a craftsmanship issue,
10:41 but we have spares, we'll get it back together
10:43 and run the rest of the events.
10:45 On your mark, get set, go.
10:48 Chris Bowman's next in the hill climb.
10:50 He saw what happened to Ryan.
10:51 Let's see if he has a different approach.
10:53 (engine revving)
11:01 (engine revving)
11:04 He is making progress.
11:14 And he also suffered a driveline failure.
11:29 Eric Cam is next, he's got the recipe for success
11:32 on the hill climb, a light vehicle, big tires,
11:34 powerful engine, but that engine's
11:37 just not putting it to the wheels.
11:39 If he can keep that 496 running, he'll do great,
11:54 but he's gotta get it stuffed in the floor
11:57 and make some distance.
11:59 Now's not the time to fix it.
12:01 Oh, he's gotta be frustrated.
12:04 He's trying to crawl it now, lower RPM
12:07 and see if that works.
12:09 That's not working.
12:10 He's out of time.
12:11 Adam's up next on the hill climb.
12:15 Now when you see that black smoke coming over the horizon,
12:17 you think, I think I can, I think I can,
12:19 I think I can, I think I can.
12:20 It's like a little train locomotive coming up the hill.
12:23 Now remember, he is running and attacking this hill
12:26 with a control arm in the back that's bent.
12:29 As you can see, it's still bent,
12:31 hasn't had a chance to fix it.
12:33 I think I can, I think I can, I think I can,
12:37 I think I can.
12:38 And I think it can't.
12:44 Nope.
12:46 - We don't have a tree saver.
12:50 - We kind of roasted the tranny fluid there
12:54 in the last course and just tried to top her up
12:57 and do that, but yeah, not enough,
13:00 not enough traction inside there.
13:02 So we're going to drop the fluid
13:03 and see what's going on here next.
13:05 We're going to go until it sounds expensive
13:07 and then we're going to go a little more just to make sure.
13:09 So we'll see what happens.
13:11 Rubber side down.
13:12 Hope we don't scratch this pristine vehicle.
13:14 We don't want to dent the sides anymore and they, you know,
13:19 this was a cherry vehicle when we started.
13:22 - Jake and Casey are next up to bat here on the hill climb.
13:27 Nobody's crossed the finish line.
13:29 Let's see if they can do it.
13:30 They've got a great chance.
13:31 It's a light vehicle,
13:37 so he's got the best chance of all the other competitors.
13:40 (engine revving)
13:43 - Stuff's right in the side.
14:08 He's just rolling over.
14:10 - Hey guys, coming.
14:32 - He sees the crest, the finish line in his sights.
14:36 (engine revving)
14:38 The first one to finish.
14:41 So redemption's got to feel pretty good.
14:46 You're the first people and only people so far
14:48 up the hill climb.
14:49 You've had a string of bad luck.
14:51 So tell me about how you feel right now.
14:53 - Oh, I'm pumped up.
14:55 Yeah, that's awesome.
14:55 Ready for the next event.
14:57 - Kimberly Gray draws middle of the pack for the hill climb.
15:03 She's going to attack this and see how she does.
15:06 Great articulation.
15:15 Look at that thing flex.
15:17 Little bit of bounce, trying to settle it down.
15:23 (engine revving)
15:26 Drawing middle of the pack is good
15:35 because the hill has been mellowed out a little bit.
15:38 So close, but yet yards away.
15:47 (engine revving)
15:53 (horn honking)
15:55 Now that the hill climb is getting mowed down,
16:05 Mike's going to take his turn at it.
16:06 He's a heavy rig, but he's got plenty of power
16:08 and he's hitting it with air.
16:10 Style.
16:11 (engine revving)
16:14 Motor's running so smooth.
16:30 Whoa, he's off course.
16:31 Can he correct?
16:32 Yep.
16:33 (engine revving)
16:38 (horn honking)
16:41 He can hold his foot straight into it,
16:48 and mash his suspender into the wall.
16:50 And now he has no wheel spinning in the front.
16:54 No front axle movement.
17:02 He's a two wheel drive.
17:05 Wouldn't be bad if he's out in the sand dunes,
17:07 but here on the hill climb, you need all four.
17:10 There it is.
17:11 Time's up.
17:12 All right, Jeremy, you ready, buddy?
17:14 You worked this hill, now you're gonna drive up it, right?
17:17 See you up top.
17:18 On your mark, get set, go.
17:19 And Toby sends Jeremy off.
17:23 Now, Jeremy's been here plenty of times,
17:26 but this time behind the seat,
17:27 he's getting that pucker factor feeling
17:29 of the hill climb in its full glory.
17:31 (engine revving)
17:37 (horn honking)
17:40 And he's working the clutch well.
17:49 You know, working with the clutch on
17:51 these kind of events is talent, it's art.
17:54 And there he is, fast across the line.
18:00 Now, Jason was an alternate who became a competitor.
18:05 Now he's had just ups and downs here at Top Truck Challenge.
18:08 So he is just walking up this with ease.
18:27 Now, Jason Moon, you have been a basket full of surprises.
18:31 You've had some really bad lucks
18:32 breaking me about everything you could yesterday.
18:34 And today you just smoked the hill climb.
18:37 Tell me about it.
18:39 - We're very pleased.
18:39 I don't, we're just ecstatic.
18:41 I'm kind of speechless right now.
18:42 We're so happy to finally make a couple of courses in a row
18:46 with no breakage, give the vehicle an opportunity.
18:49 The motor's not right, but the suspension is performing.
18:51 The lockers are performing.
18:53 We're doing okay.
18:54 We just gotta keep dialing on the motor.
18:56 And if we improve through the event, then we'll be rolling.
18:59 - So you need another month or so
19:00 to get ready for this competition?
19:02 - Maybe six.
19:03 - Okay, but good job.
19:04 You're pulling it together in the last minute.
19:06 - Thank you.
19:07 - I hear a 427 screaming up this hill.
19:11 It's Dan.
19:12 He's got a flat course.
19:13 It's been mowed down.
19:14 He's the last competitor.
19:15 So he's got every chance to really speed up this hill.
19:18 (engine revving)
19:21 (horn honking)
19:50 - Smoking!
19:52 That's all I can say, man.
19:53 I heard that 427 just screaming up that hill.
19:55 You just cranked.
19:56 Now you had a little hiccup.
19:57 It looked like, were you intending to use your rear steer
20:00 at that last little incline there?
20:02 - A little bit, yeah.
20:03 We were trying to get her up on the side a little bit
20:05 to get it back over a bit.
20:06 But yeah, we just powered through.
20:09 Yeah.
20:09 - Yeah, that was the only thing that hung you up.
20:10 You had your rear steer.
20:11 It was pointing you into the hill, kind of bogged you down.
20:13 As soon as you centered, you took right off.
20:15 You did a blitzing speed.
20:17 Congratulations, man.
20:19 - And Moon is full of surprises.
20:21 46 seconds on the hill climb
20:23 with Dan close behind him in a minute and a one.
20:26 - A ton of pulling power.
20:33 You saw that.
20:34 (engine revving)
20:37 (rock music)
20:39 the hill.
20:40 (rock music)
20:43 (rock music)
20:45 (rock music)
20:47 (rock music)
20:50 (rock music)
20:52 (rock music)
20:55 (rock music)
20:57 (rock music)
21:00 (rock music)
21:02 (rock music)
21:04 (rock music)
21:07 (rock music)
21:08 - Can't wait.
21:09 (rock music)
21:11 (rock music)
21:14 (rock music)
21:16 (rock music)
21:19 (rock music)
21:21 (rock music)
21:24 (rock music)
21:26 (rock music)
21:28 (rock music)
21:31 (rock music)
21:33 (rock music)
21:36 (rock music)
21:38 - How about on Facebook, you see that?
21:40 (rock music)
21:42 (rock music)
21:45 (rock music)
21:47 (rock music)
21:50 (rock music)
21:52 - And there it goes.
21:53 The spotter's got to cross the line with him.
21:55 One and the spotter finishes.
21:57 There you go.
21:57 Woo hoo.
21:59 (wind blowing)