We hate to hear it but Fall for All is last big event at Gray Rock ORV for at least a year. The event is usually the biggest of the year bringing in rigs and drivers from all over the south. Fall for All 2011 was one for the books. Drivers were going all out knowing they might not get a chance to wheel Gray Rock again. Big name obstacles like Cable Hill and Tub Rock for many make this park the wheeling mecca of the South.
The day started off as it always does with tons of the baddest buggies in the South rolling in. Everyone got unloaded and we headed out to the first trail, Tub Rock. It was dry and even the Rail Buggies were making it up it. This didn’t keep the buggies from putting on a show. Bobby Tanner stabbed the throttle in his Coleworx built Screaming Blue buggy and never let out until he was out of sight. Ritchie Keith wheelied up it in the John Deere Buggy and Garry Smith aka Super Garry went up it in reverse. The obstacle was a great warm up for the drivers and the rigs. Once everyone had their fill we headed over to Big Egg.
Big Egg gets its name from a huge egg shaped rock at the bottom of the trail. Once you get past it the trail splits off 3 ways. The middle line being the hardline. Chris Smith started off the show with his new Burple buggy. He was hard on the gas, got a little crazy, and ended up on his lid over on the left trail. This Obstacle was tough wet or dry. A few other rigs broke on their attempts. Bobby Tanner walked right up it without hardly hitting the gas. After a booing crowd he went back to the bottom and put on a show with a full throttle attempt. Jordan Tanner throttled up the middle ledge with his Screaming 2 buggy. Tim Cameron and Trenton Park were the last 2 buggies to conquer the climb before we all headed over to Bunny Slope 3.
Don’t let the name fool you. Bunny Slope 3 is one of the most difficult trails Gray Rock ORV has to offer. It has one huge undercut ledge half way up that is bigger than most of these buggies. The trick is to climb the right side of the trail and get your front tires on top of this ledge. Then back up and give it all you got. 14 year old Hadden put on a show as he stood his buggy up on 2 wheels. Man to be 14 this kid can drive with the best of them. He kept his composure backed off the ledge and flopped it on its side. The crowd uprighted his buggy and as soon as the buggy cranked he had the throttle matted and when the dust cleared he was sitting at the top of the trail. Tim Cameron one shotted the obstacle on his first full throttle attempt breaking his second RCV Axle Shaft of the day. Travis Lovett broke in his new Sosebee built Hitman Buggy on its lid after some serious throttle jockeying. He shouted out ” I didn’t build it to look at”. Jordan Tanner shatter an RCV on his attempt at the nasty undercut ledge. Adam Woodlee did a wheel stand roll over and landed right back on his tires facing down hill so he kept on driving as the crowd cheered. Next stop was the infamous Cable Hill.
Cable Hill is the most well known obstacle in the South. Many rock bouncers measure their new buggy builds by whether or not it can make it up Cable Hill in one shot. Lack of Rain had left the once insanely slick Cable Hill dry as a bone. John G took his 38 special show rig up it like it was nothing. The extra traction didn’t keep the Rock Bouncers from putting on a show. Tim Cameron started it by riding the top of the 8 foot gully in his Showtime Buggy only to snap the driver side front wheel and tire off at the knuckle. This was the most insane carnage I had ever witnessed. Tyler Rogers pinned it to win it and wound up climbing a tree in his Yellow Buggy. The Grand Finale to the event was something I never expected. Peter Basler hit the gas in his LS3 powered BTF buggy at the bottom and never let off. He came flying up Cable Hill and hit the final ledge with enough speed to back flip his buggy onto its lid! With the trail blocked and the Trackhoe needed for recovery every one loaded up their rigs and got ready to drive home with a parts list in their head of what needed repaired or what parts they needed to upgrade before the next ride.
Gray Rock ORV is one of my favorite parks. I hate to see it go, even if it is only for a year. It is being shut down so they can mine part of the park for coal. I have been told that all of the major obstacle will stay, but only time will tell. At least we sent it out with a bang.
Peter Basler’s insane Cable Hill Back Flip!
Tim Cameron’s insane Showtime Carnage on Cable!
Be sure to check out the Full Playlist Below that includes all of the videos from Fall for All 2011. Just click the Next Button to go to the next video in the playlist. You can watch them all right here.
Crawl Magazine
Essentially Off Road aka EOR also had the brand new CRAWL Camaro Buggy there for its debut. This thing was a work of art and included a Turbo charged LS1 under the hood. The course was a tough one consisting of 75 yards of rocks and 2 nasty ledges that would take finesse and a ton of throttle to conquer. The competition was fierce. Parts were being pushed to the braking point and then some. Rollovers were common and so was the smell of smoking tires. After a nasty round of competition the John Deere Buggy driven by Richie Keith was on top. He actually rolled the buggy on the first ledge, but as soon as it landed back on all fours he was off again to make the fastest time of the round. Round two had its fair share of carnage as well. Tim Bacon was driving his son’s Purple Passion buggy and after some full throttle
