Red Bull Frozen Rush

900 horsepower, all wheel drive, and huge studded tires. There’s nothing subtle about these trucks. And there’s nothing quite like it. This is the third year of running Frozen Rush at Sunday River in Newry, Maine, and it’s maturing like a fine wine. Each year they fine tune the event, tweaking it ever closer to perfection.

Honestly, what’s not to like? Full race prep trucks more accustomed to driving in the desert or on the dirt than in the snow going up the side of the mountain. Add a few jumps and slaloms and here you go. The only way I could see it getting any better would be driving up one of the steeper slopes. Maybe add a big berm wall that they can use in the transition to drive around in the hairpin on.

It was great seeing familiar faces there again this year. I ran into ACP who was there with BFGoodrich Racing. Always a pleasure.   The fine folks at Red Bull stepped up their game with media this year, allowing us onto the infield which was a huge improvement. Thank you for that. I also made some new acquaintances, mainly Travis from JeepFreeks.com. Super nice people.

With nine entries this year, along with one and done eliminations, it didn’t take long for the field to narrow down. That doesn’t mean some pretty spectacular racing wasn’t to be had. We had some new entries, a lot of close battles, and even a roll over by Scott Douglas. Luckily, he was ok.

The hard packed and finely groomed track surface became a powdery mess as the conditions quickly eroded on course. Trucks, as well as the preferred line, became less predictable as the field narrowed and the racing progressed. One of the biggest close calls I remember was with Ricky Johnson in the final battle for the title with Bryce Menzies. Ricky was coming down the mountain on the short course side when he got bucked off of one of the whoopty-dos, nearly rolling it. This happened not once, but twice. I honestly think if he were able to make it through those sections without these incidents, he would of taken the title. That being said, he’s lucky he didn’t roll it. It was that close. If not for years of experience and those impressive BFGoodrich spiked tires, I probably would be reporting a different scenario.

But hey, that’s racing. I’m not trying to diminish Bryce’s victory in any way. He ran a super smooth race and deserves his win. He most definitely earned it. I’m just excited to see this event come back year after year. And with each passing year it seems to be picking up popularity. To go from something that started off as a simple idea, to an event that drew more than 10,000 people to watch it live in person, is a good start. That doesn’t include the live viewers who watched on redbull.tv or the taped broadcast set to debut March 1st on NBC. (You see what I did there? Subtle plug..well not so subtle now that I pointed it out.)

For full race results, check below.

Feel free to check out the rest of our images below from the event. Let us know which ones are your favorites! See you again next year!