Southern Rock

Rockcrawling as a competitive sport first gained broad recognition as the result of a number of widely publicized events held in the American West. Rocky desert terrain provided the ideal combination of features, the most important of which was an abundance of obstacles that could challenge the best drivers and machines. Adding to this was the fact that the venues were centrally located and were easily accessible to spectators and officials.

Few organized competitions were held east of the Mississippi. This was not due to a lack of interest or a shortage of talent. Just look at how large both Chris Durham and Ken Shupe have loomed in RCAA and other events, and they are both from South Carolina. It was really due to the fact that no one had organized a series the East Coast could call its own.

Thanks to the efforts of Darrel Motley, Tim Rettig, Chad Adams, and The Trail Keeper's Foundation, an Eastern venue was identified that possessed the necessary combination of features to host a top-notch rockcrawling competition. Hence, the Eastern Rock Crawling Championship (EroCC) was born, and it was modeled largely on the ground-breaking events that have become so popular on the West Coast in the past two years. It was decided that four events would take place over the course of a year at an abandoned coal mining quarry owned by the Clear Fork Mining Company, located near Jellico, Tennessee. The site has since been dubbed the Jellico Rock Obstacle Challenge Course.

The first weekend of September marked the fourth and final event of ERoCC's first season. With some 3,000 spectators in attendance, food and refreshments were served up by volunteers from the Morely Baptist Church, the Campbell County Sheriff's Department provided security, and the White Oak Volunteer Fire Department was on hand to deal with any emergencies.

To date, the ERoCC events have delivered the cutting-edge machines, skillful maneuvering, breath-taking ascents, rollovers, and tumbles that have come to characterize rockcrawling competitions across the nation. If the response to ERoCC is any indication, rockcrawling is clearly gaining popularity in the East, and it's certain to achieve broad acclaim for its contribution to the sport.

Ken Shupe climbs the third...        read full caption Ken Shupe climbs the third ramp on "Full Throttle."

Rusty Bray's spotter, Dale...        read full caption Rusty Bray's spotter, Dale "Doc" Garrett, goes along for the ride on "Double Winch." ERoCC rules allot a credit to a team when the spotter accompanies the driver in the vehicle.

Troy Meyers of Attica, Indiana,...        read full caption Troy Meyers of Attica, Indiana, works up momentum to get to the top of "Yota Hill."