The first ERoCC event of the 2003 season was held in northeastern Tennessee and attracted spectators from as far away as New York, Florida, Louisiana, and Michigan. The official estimate of 8,500 attendees was more than double that of the last event, which also set a new record. The host town of Jellico, with only three motels and a handful of restaurants, was stretched beyond capacity, and the overflow of attendees had to seek accommodation in nearby towns.
Ken Blume, a mechanical engineer and jet engine specialist from Lowell, Arkansas, drove away with First Place in the Unlimited class with a low score that no one else came close to. Blume attributes his performance to excellent communication with his spotter Chris Carlson, good strategy, and his new tube-frame 'crawler. The new rig is distinguished by a PT Cruiser grille and features a 4.3L Vortec V-6, a Turbo 350 tranny, a Dana 300 transfer case, Volvo portal axles, cutting brakes, and BFG Krawler tires. You may recall seeing Ken's last rig on the cover of our March '03 issue, following Ken's Third Place finish in the first Super Crawl.
Local favorite Dennis Stacy and his spotter Brad Ott took First Place in the Legends class with a '92 Jeep Wrangler. A new Jeep TJ entry from Shupe's 4x4, clad in yellow-and-green Shupe competition colors and crewed by Les Allan and Chris Sonen, took Second Place; not bad for a first outing.
ERoCC's Darrell Motley and his team of course designers keep raising the bar on these events and finding ways to make them increasingly more difficult. The unpredictable weather of the Appalachian Mountains, coupled with a generous amount of loose dirt and slippery red clay, can create obstacles that are arguably unequalled by any of the popular western venues.
All ERoCC competitions to date have been held at an abandoned strip mine, part of a 600-acre property belonging to the Clear Fork Mining Company. This 10-acre plot is maintained by the Trail Keeper's Foundation, a non-profit organization. The organizers of the Eastern Rock Crawling Championship Series are all elected officers of the foundation, whose volunteer members take active measures year-round to control soil erosion and ensure that the property continues to flourish.
"If you regularly attend rockcrawling competitions and haven't yet made it to an ERoCC event, consider putting this one on your itinerary. We'll see you there."