Brick's $10k Awarded to Jonnie Manees

Sep 29, 2014

It was a nail-biter at Brick’s Offroad Park as 15 Big Trucks competed for the $10,000 “Winner Takes All” Prize in the Mud Truck Challenge.

Winning the prize at the very last minute was Jonnie Manees of Dudley, MO, who made it through the infamous Brick’s Slough in just 4 minutes and 56 seconds. In his truck “Strictly Business.” Manees was the very last driver of the day to churn his way through the slough.

It was an exciting win, coming after Ron Hoppe had managed to get through the slough twice in both trucks he had brought to the event, but his times could not beat Manees’. Ron Hoppe had gotten through it first in 14 minutes and 47 seconds, and then at 8 minutes and 15 seconds.

It was a heart-breaker for him, and for a couple of other drivers that nearly made it through the slough, but were stopped just short of victory by mechanical problems.

When presenting the $10,000 check to Manees, Brick’s owner Jay Brickell asked the crowd if they wanted to do it again next year.

The whoops and hollers from the crowd were a resounding, ‘Yes!”

The drivers are all vowing to come back next year, bigger and better than ever.

As for the heart-broken drivers who didn’t quite make it, they note that is part of what makes the Mud Truck Challenge so much fun and exciting for the drivers and spectators.

As Joe Crane said, “You can go from being on top of the world one minute, to feeling completely defeated in the next.” Crane had gotten the front wheels of his rig over the finish line, and then stalled because of a break-down.

“That’s just the way it goes sometimes,” he said. ‘But yeah…..it was a heart-breaker.”