SUN RIVER — At the Sun River Mud Bog Races, as tires sink into the dirt, community rises up as people get together to race for a good cause.
Merja Farms Inc. grows dryland wheat, but in the summer it hosts Mud Bog Races.
Side by Side Mud Drags, Sand Drags, Slime Races, and Tough Truck courses bring racers from all around to Sun River to race in six inches of mud.
All the money raised from the races goes back to the Sun River Robotics Club, or other places it is needed in the community.
“We've just been doing it for the robotics,” said Elliot Merja, founder of Merja Farms Inc. “Like one of the racers had a leukemia blood issue and needed money. And so we raised money for them, and then another one had a cancer problem, and we raised money for them too.”
For the racers, it’s a great time to get behind the wheel, like Shelby Fowler and her 1973 Chevy K20.
“This is our first time here. We've never raced here,” said Fowler, who is a part of the Eureka Dune Runners, “We usually go as far as Roy and Drummond, and then that's about as much as we race. So this year are going a little bit out of our comfort zone.”
The Mud Bog Races bring together a racing community, no matter what you race or how you race it.
“You get to meet a lot of different people,” Fowler said, “We've met a lot of people across the state that we've made really good friends with. So…racing communities is always a family community. So it's good.”
“The race family is incredible,” Merja said, “So they've been coming for years and and the relationships we get with them is just incredible.”
If you missed the July 13-14 races, there will be more August 17-18; click here for more information.
