Mud racing combines the competition of track motorsports with the thrill of off-road driving. The racers involved compete to be the fastest through a mud track filled with pits and holes. These mud racers, called mud runners, include dragsters and four-wheel drive pick-up trucks. The sport, also known as mud bogging, has combined the extreme racing of mud pits with the custom culture of top level trucks.
Mud racing emerged as a sport in the early 1970s in Northern Louisiana. What started as recreational driving for truck owners soon became a sport when mud racers began organizing and competing. With the expansion of mud racing into Southern Louisiana, Texas and Alabama, permanent pits began to emerge. Mud racers would compete at fairs and establish pits in small arenas.
Mud races are most often competed in pits and tracks of up to two or three feet of mud. Pits span many distances, from 50-80 feet short, hilled tracks, to 300 feet twists and turns. To traverse these pits, trucks are usually four-wheel drive, though they do not necessarily have to be. Many of the mud boggers competing complement their trucks' power with a supercharger. These superchargers allow more fuel to be given to the engine, which supports more oxygen and more work in the engine.
With tracks across the Southern United States and infiltrating the Northern part of the country, mud pits vary in details, features, personality and difficulty. They have mud drags and pits, and range from hills to bogs to holes in the ground and modified dirt paths. The pits can be man made or natural, with human up keeping to ensure the proper depths of mud.
Today, much of organized mud racing motorsports are governed and promoted by the American Mud Racing Association (AMRA). This organization follows in the steps of USA Motorsports and other organizations which provided rules and promotions for mud running competitions. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, mud racing began to hold national championships, which continue to this day. Today’s AMRA sets rules for certain restrictions and truck classes. These include tires, suspension, engine size, camshaft size and carburetor size. All organized mud racing tires must be street legal and Department of Transportation approved.
The culture promoted by these organizations has include safety and toughness. Mud racers have also added a certain flair to their sport, often seen in the flashy designs and paints of their trucks. The sport has earned its reputation from some of its more famous racers. These mud racers are often exuberant personalities with flashy styles. They include Chuck Country and Tony Farrell, both National Mud Racing Organization (NMRO) champions. They are among the faces of a sport that has brought art, competition and attitude to swamps and pits around the country.