MUD RACES: MEN, TRUCKS AND SLUDGE

GORDONVILLE -- Got mud?

Ooze, pickup trucks, ATVs and dune buggies were in plentiful supply Saturday at the 1998 Mud Races in Gordonville Park, where nearly 100 racers signed up to compete.

The premise is simple enough: Drive through the big mudhole in the middle of the park faster than any of the the other guys.

Oh, and don't get stuck while you're out there.

"If you get stuck, you're not going to win," explained Mike Woeltje of Cape Girardeau. Woeltje was driving a 1978 Chevy 4x4 for Saturday's race, the same vehicle he uses for every day driving.

Getting stuck isn't just the kiss of death; it's the ultimate humiliation for competitors in Saturday's race.

"I haven't seen anybody get stuck except for the guy who broke his drive shaft," Woeltje said. "It could be kind of embarrassing."

"It's a chance to get through without having to be pulled out," said Keith Jackson of Jackson, who was one of two dune buggy drivers signed up for the race. "If you have to get pulled out, that's embarrassing."

Announcer Gary Matlock made that point when one hapless driver didn't even make it out of the gate.

"The rest of these guys would like to race sometime, too," he said.

Woeltje was one of 48 drivers waiting in line for his turn to compete in the super-stock category Saturday afternoon.

Woeltje had a good reason to be there.

"I just like playing in the mud," he said.

That was a common refrain among racers.

Jackson said he liked seeing how his vehicle competes against others.

And there's always the grime element.

"And you get pretty muddy," he said.

A mud-splattered Gibbie Yates of Fruitland was working on his ATV while the truck drivers were lining up to compete.

"The rear end's screwed up," he said.

Saturday's race combined two of Yates's favorite things: Mud and competition.

"You have a good time doing it," he said.

Jackson couldn't decide which he liked best -- the mud or the racing.

"It's a little of both," he said.

Jackson has been racing for about 10 years, and regularly travels to Sikeston, Bonne Terre and Effingham, Ill., to compete.

"Where I can find a race, I'll race," he said.

Competition included 48 super-stock pickups, 37 stock pickups, 11 modified trucks and two dune buggies.

"It's growing every year," said David Youngblood, one of the volunteers organizing the race and making sure competitors were lined up and ready to roar.

Proceeds from Saturday's race benefit the Gordonville Fire Department.