CULLMAN – On Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, the first race in the Southern Rock Racing Series will be held at Cullman’s Stony Lonesome OHV Park. The SRRS will hold its event at Stony Lonesome for the first time, in what will be called the Southern Points Race.
According to the SRRS, the sport of recreational rock crawling and hill climbing has evolved quickly in the southeast into what is being called “rock bouncing.” High-horsepower buggies are built to launch up insane climbs, and fast. The SRRS was formed, “after seeing these guys out on the weekends putting on a show and decided to put together an organized racing series that would allow these guys to do what they enjoy, only with the added organized safety aspect, excitement and risk/reward of competition.”
The event will kick off on Friday, March 11 at about 3 p.m. Stony Lonesome Park Manager Tyler Lindsey says that pre-registration is not available for the event. Participants should arrive the day of the event and register onsite before the race gets underway.
“On Friday we’ll have the side-by-side challenge,” Lindsey said. “I’ve been trying, personally, to get this event to come here for about two years.”
When asked about the possibility of overcrowding, Lindsey said he doesn’t expect that to be a problem.
“We’re expecting between 2,000 to 3,000 people, weather permitting,” he said. “If it rains the day before and takes care of the mud, it’s not too cold out, and everything, we could have a lot of people here.”
On Saturday, March 12, the “rock buggies” will be climbing hills and rocks and other challenging terrain. That will start up, according to Lindsey, at around 10 a.m.
“We don’t clear the area where the rock buggies go because those guys like a challenge. What we do clean up and clear out is for the spectators, so I expect it to be a great event for watching and spectators,” said Lindsey.
Lindsey believes that the economic impact of having events like this and the others that the OHV Park holds brings a unique benefit to the county. Not many other counties in the southeast have high-quality OHV (off-highway vehicle) parks like Stony Lonesome, let alone Alabama.
“It will bring so much out-of-town and out-of-state revenue,” Lindsey said. “And since we’re a self-sufficient, nonprofit site, all that money gets to go right to the county.”
Stony Lonesome is a part of Cullman County Parks and Recreation. It is located at 10075 Alabama Highway 69 South in Bremen.
To see all of the park’s events, visit http://www.stonylonesomeohv.us/events.html. You can also find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stonylonesomeohv.
