MUD, SWEAT & GEARS

The definitive overview of 23 years of Four Wheeler’s legendary Top Truck Challenge

- Ken Brubaker

Top Truck Challenge (known simply as TTC or Top Truck), was an epic, weeklong competition held at the Hollister Hills SVRA near Hollister, California. It ran for 23 consecutive years, from 1993 to 2015. For most years it was comprised of 4x4s selected by Four Wheeler readers from applications submitted by Four Wheeler readers. This made TTC a reader-driven competition from beginning to end. Competitors challenged a number of off-road-centric events, including the legendary Frame Twister, Obstacle Course, and Tank Trap. From its humble beginnings, the event grew in popularity and there was even a Top Truck Champions' Challenge to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of TTC where all the previous Grand Champions were invited to return for an incredible, epic throwdown. It's also worth noting that TTC inspired many things through the years, including videos, similar events, a clock, and the development of the 54-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Claw TTC tire.

TTC helped to make the competitors and their rigs household names. Folks like Heath Biggs and his Scorpion MK1, Mike Niebuhr and his Quagmire Chevy pickup, John Joling and his Rodent Exterminator '72 Ford F-100, and John Reynolds '73 Bronco, along with many others.

TTC was a big chapter in Four Wheeler history and its popularity continues today. For those of you who email us wondering if TTC will return, we say; maybe a return is inevitable.

Read on for a fascinating overview of Top Truck Challenge's 23 kick-butt years.

1993: Year One