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The feeling among everyone that both participated and spectated in the first two days of the Bloomsburg 4-Wheel Jamboree was one that began with eagerness. By the end of Saturday, the entire vibe among all those inside the venue went the entire way to excitement and happiness.
Saturday’s crowd across the entire fairground was the largest seen in Bloomsburg in the last six or seven years, showing that the 4×4 culture was high and mighty.
The final day at the jamboree usually is one where some of the participants have to get ready to head home a bit early, whether because of the long drive, or since the truck they brought is so large it takes an entire crew to strap it down to make it ready for travel. Still, a lot of festivities were on the slate for the final day, including the final classes of mud bogs, and the smokiest part of the entire show, the burnout contest.
All the while, work was being done in the pit area for the monsters after the freestyle frenzy on Saturday night.
Friday night’s winner, Mark Hall in Raminator, saw the team make a transmission swap after his Ram would not move under power. Across the way, work was continuing to be done to JR Seasock’s Play’n Hookie. By morning, the right front tire was off as the team was working on a bent hub and housing to prepare for the final show. The remainder of the fleet went through a nut-and-bolt to ensure everything was tight and right for the final show in the afternoon.
The sun was bright in the sky, but the temperatures were once more beginning to climb. The water truck spent extra time on the infield, and the gravel entrance, as the heat was just pulling moisture out of the track.
Up until the beginning of the final show, the track had some moisture, but as the trucks rolled out for introductions, it began being clear that the typical Bloomsburg Sunday show was taking place, as the water was going away, and the dust was taking over.
Still, the show must go on, as qualifying went on and saw the prior day’s winner, Daron Basl, take the Blockhead toy truck to the top of the charts.
Round 1 had the usual run of winners, with both Hall and Jack Brown in Dozer making their way to victory. Brandon Derrow pulled off the triumph on the s-track in Bad News, taking out RJ Turner in War Wizard. It was the semi-finals when things really brought the crowd to it’s feet.
The opening match in the round of four brought Derrow and Basl to the line, with Basl taking the inside lane to get the sweeping run out of the corner to the finish. After taking the lead into the right-hander, Basl and Derrow got tight entering the final hill, but it was Basl pushing the block to victory. However, the dust buildup from the first corner was still lingering in the air. This wasn’t a big issue for the tough trucks, since they were not kicking up as much. But, for Basl, this caused an entirely different set of circumstances.
At the finish line was a pair of loader tires, designating the final corners for the tough trucks. Basl avoided the first, barely, but he then hit the second one hard and caused the Blockhead chassis to kick up onto the right side. Basl fought to bring it back, only to suddenly kick onto the left side as the truck rode up the embankment. Hammering the throttle with everything he had, and the track officials letting him do everything in his power to bring it back on the tires, he would cyclone on the sidewalls before laying the truck on it’s side.
Even Derrow waited to go back to the pits and ran over to the truck to see if his fellow competitor was alright. The newest chassis from DCT was pulled onto the tires, only showing some body damage, and started right back up and headed to the pits.
After dusting themselves off, literally, officials fired up the second pair for the semi-finals, and this round would go to Hall, making him 3-for-3 in final round appearances.
It would be a rubber match between the two competitors, with Hall taking the win in the semi-finals on Friday, then Basl taking the final round on Saturday. The two lined up together, with Basl back in the same lane that caused him to upend the block truck one round earlier.
Basl got the jump off the line, holding a slight edge into the opening corner. Hall began to power up over the second jump, having to adjust his line as he entered in to make up time. Basl, knowing what happened in his prior race, decided to just go for it. That attitude was exactly what it took to power DCT to it’s second racing win of the weekend, making the most popular truck for the Bloomsburg crowd victorious in three straight competitions.
SUNDAY RACING
- Round 1: Blockhead BYE RUN (Fast Qualifier), Bad News Travels Fast def. War Wizard, Raminator def. Play’n Hookie, Dozer def. Rammunition
- Semi-Finals: Blockhead def. Bad News Travels Fast, Raminator def. Dozer
- Finals: Blockhead def. Raminator
The track crew, knowing the tires and barriers were going to cause issues, began moving them to the railing, because the final event for the weekend was ready to get rocking for the fans that withstood three days of heat, blistering sun, and humidity. As an extra bonus, track crews moved some more dirt that was at either end of the mud pit and built a pair of launch ramps from the backstretch to the infield, giving two new obstacles to hit for the fans that stuck it out.
Seasock got to test the hills out first and got some air off the gravel stack in the apex of turns 3 and 4, slinging around and going after the sky shot on the front stretch. But, the launch caused the truck to land on the back end, which in turn broke the tie rod on the rear axle. The hometown boy, a second-generation driver, after battling motor woes all weekend saw his finish come in an abrupt form.
Turner came out and hit the side of the mud pit just as he did the prior times, roaring the pro mod monster across the entire infield. He did do something he had yet to do all weekend, likely because it was always being used to competition.
Ripping across the track, blasting the side of the racing lane, he would turn the white and purple Willy’s and suddenly make it look like a Hershey bar. Turner splashed War Wizard right into the mud pit, making his Michelin tires sling the slop just as he did back in his early racing days.
The crowd was ecstatic for the run, especially since Turner did the bog dive with no hood, and only a tarp for the roof due to body damage from earlier in the week.
Kurt Kraehmer, who has been having one of his best years at the wheel of the second namesake Hall Brothers Racing truck, came out and put on a strong run that showed the brunt of the HEMI horsepower, something he could not do on Friday due to a broken champagne.
Derrow made his first time in Bloomsburg a memorable one as he stayed consistent all weekend long, and Sunday was no exception. With the Sign Pro flag waving and flopping in the wind, Derrow continued to make it cool to deliver bad news. He was unable to get the truck to do one of his signature tailgate-dragging wheelstands, but at the end of the day, the crowd was ecstatic to see a truck that had never been to the fairgrounds at any time.
Up next was the truck that looked like some of the heavy equipment, as Brown brought out the Dozer and took to the track in a big way as he ran all across the dirt and gravel, kicking the dust up with every move. At one point, Brown let the dust settle and perched on top of the racing lane, but with the front tires on the concrete rail. He would get the best run up of his entire weekend, popping into a nose wheelstand, the second on the day after Turner, to make the fans have a hard choice of who was winning on the afternoon.
Hall finished his weekend out with another classic run that made the HEMI fans roar to life, especially since it was the first time the team was back in Bloomsburg since 2019.
However, with one truck left to go, the anticipation was up at a peak, and once Basl took to the dirt, it was quickly becoming clear that no one, nor no obstacle, was safe on the afternoon. Body damage still being shown, the new chassis for the team was handling to absolute perfection.
After nearly five minutes of action, with dust in the sky, and also all over the track, Basl parked right in front of the stands, and brought out the broom to take the complete sweep of the final show and closing out the 2024 edition of the Bloomsburg 4-Wheel Jamboree.
It is not the end of the season for the jamboree, because just as one event ends, preparation begins for the next. Come mid-September, specifically September 13-15, the Fall 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals come to the home of the jamborees, and what is still the motorsports capital of the world, the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
With the success and positive feedback from the Pennsylvania faithful, there is a strong hope that this year could become the best year the jamborees have seen in quite some time.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
- Events Incorporated
- Sky High Rides
- Hall Brothers Racing
- DCT Powersports
- Seasock Motorsports
- Bad News Racing
- War Wizard Racing
