Picture this: 58 tricked-out prerunners lined up and waiting at the starting line of the Victorville Motocross Complex on a crisp and clear winter afternoon, with 1,500 prerunner-savvy off-road enthusiasts primed to watch the action. That description pretty much sets the tone for the United Prerunners Society's first big-time event, the Prerunners.com Sand Blast 2001.
Formerly known as Inland Prerunners, the SoCal-based club's new name keeps with their big plans for the group, which includes adding members in Nevada and Arizona. The club's meeting schedule is unique. Various off-road shops throughout the Southwest serve as rotating hosts for the club's meetings, which keeps the get-togethers fresh and serves to bring in new members when the club comes to their town.
Located in the California desert, the Sand Blast track was well-groomed and more than a mile in length. It featured challenging and varied terrain, including sandy berms to roost, plenty of tight and medium-tight turns, big and small jumps, and a couple of straightaways where competitors could just let 'er rip. United Prerunners Society made sure there was a class for almost any truck, including Modified Prerunner, Pro Prerunner, Pro Racer, Women's Prerunner, and Street Legal Sedan. If you'd like to be a part of Sand Blast 2002, visit www.prerunners.com for details.
If Evel Knieval Drove A Prerunner
One of the most anticipated sideshows at Sand Blast 2001 was the jump-for-distance competition. On the track's front straightaway, right in front of the enthusiastic crowd, was a large supercross-style jump that was specifically designed to launch the trucks high and long. And long they went indeed, with many of the street-driven trucks flying over the 50-feet mark with the greatest of ease. It was impressive to see trucks that were driven 100-plus miles to the event hang it out, air it out, then high-tail it home sans trailer.
The big jumper was Riverside, California, resident Rick Huseman, a professional shoe who flew his Fabtech-sponsored, Huseman Engineering-built Ford Ranger to a distance of - hang on - 84.6 feet. The CORR Pro Lite driver also posted the quickest lap time of the day, a blistering 1.14.97, thanks in part to the Ranger's 350hp four-banger engine.