OMAO — Getting dirty is the name of the game. Sixty drivers put on a show for about 4,500 spectators Sunday at the second annual Kauai Mud Out, hosted by the Garden Island Motorcycle Club with Kuhio Auto Group and
OMAO — Getting dirty is the name of the game.
Sixty drivers put on a show for about 4,500 spectators Sunday at the second annual Kauai Mud Out, hosted by the Garden Island Motorcycle Club with Kuhio Auto Group and the Knudsen Trust.
“Really fortunate to have Ryan Mackey, Kuhio Auto Group and the other sponsors like himself, everybody to make something like this happen. And the Knudsen Trust, obviously,” said GIMC President Bertram Almeida. “I think everybody is having a good time.”
The objective for the drivers was to ride their vehicles as far and as fast as possible through a mud pit that was 150 feet long, 25 feet wide and 5 feet deep. The top three finishers in each of the four classes received cash prizes.
“It’s only going to get better,” Almeida said. “We learn every time. We try to move forward and learn from some of the mistakes we’ve done. It looks like, with the right help from everybody, it’s going to be a bigger and better event every year. This time, we included motorcycle riders — the two best in Hawaii. Hopefully, we can do it again next year with more riders.
“First and foremost, we’re a motorcycle club. So, eventually we want to incorporate the dirt bikes back into the event — which they used to have back in the ’80s,” he continued. “Just grateful for the beautiful weather and everybody coming out.”
Whereas in last year’s event most drivers stalled halfway though the pit, most of them completed the distance this time.
Mackey also said holding the mud bogging event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of several other sponsors and volunteers.
“It’s really important. I did sponsor the event, but there’s a lot of people that made it come together,” he said. “They’re all responsible for making this thing happen. The success is really, truly those guys that put this thing together. I’m so happy. Everybody is safe. I think everybody is enjoying the show. It looks like the turnout is bigger than it was last year.”
Mackey was also one of the drivers that competed. He ended up finishing fifth in the modified class, driving the 150-feet in 5.60 seconds in his Ford F350.
“If the truck was skipping and it had paddle tires, it would have went a lot faster,” Mackey said. “But the mud is deep. The tire size that I had (54-inch bogger tires) actually helped me get through the pit. It was really, really deep.”
