You might think that your Jeep works pretty good in the sand. "I just air down the tires and keep the transfer case in High range" is what you are likely saying to yourself. And, to be honest, this scenario is a lot of fun in the dunes. However, it is the equivalent of taking a stock Wrangler into the rocks: there is the potential for a whole lot more. The good folks at the National Sand Drag Association (NSDA) have been having fun in the sand since the early 1960s. The full series of events throughout Southern California and Nevada are extremely well-organized and also well attended. There are classes for everything from kids' quads to full-blown alcohol Funny Cars at these family-friendly events, but we were more interested in the Jeeps that dominated the Sportsman and Pro Mod classes.
The fast Jeeps run in the Pro Mod class and don't look anything like what you might be accustomed to seeing on the trail. The stretched wheelbases and high-horsepower are familiar features, but that is where the similarities end. Low ride heights, two-wheel-drive, and even (gasp) independent front suspension with rack-and-pinion steering are common at the sand drags. These vehicles run down the 300-foot track in 4 seconds at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. To put this in perspective, the fastest Top Alcohol cars cover the same ground in two and a half seconds at over 150 mph.
There are "heads up" classes for Top Fuel, Top Alcohol, and Pro Mod, but the bulk of the racing is bracket racing. This means that you can still take home some cash at the end of the weekend if you are consistent; you don't necessarily have to be the fastest. That doesn't necessarily mean that you should show up in your stock Wrangler, though, and expect to dominate. Check out sand-drags.com for more event info.
Matt Hegwood's Jeep runs a...
Matt Hegwood's Jeep runs a 496 big-block Chevy that makes nearly 800 horsepower on nitrous. The power is routed through a TH400 to a Ford 9-inch rear axle. The front suspension uses A-arms and coilovers.
Timing lights at the sand...
Timing lights at the sand drags are just like at the drag strip, except the track is only 300 feet long instead of a quarter mile. In the Sportsman classes each yellow light comes on individually, but in the Pro classes the tree goes from yellow to green almost instantly.
Paddle tires are a necessity...
Paddle tires are a necessity to turn fast times in the sand drags, and they take a lot of horsepower to spin. Depending on the track conditions, paddles in the sand can hook up harder than slicks on pavement. These are from Sand Tires Unlimited, but another option is to run used drag slicks with vulcanized paddle cups like the tires available from Skat-Trak.
Clayton Record was blistering...
Clayton Record was blistering fast all weekend long in his Larry Minor-built sand Jeep. Record was undefeated in the Pro Mod class on Saturday.
Fred Russo ran a 4.36 on a...
Fred Russo ran a 4.36 on a 4.06 dial-in in Pro 2 in the first round, which was good enough to advance. He eventually fell to Mike Bolton, who took the class win.
Technically this is not a...
Technically this is not a Jeep, but it is considered one of the first jeeps. Bill Gonzalez drives a heavily-modified Bantam BRC-40 in the Pro 2 class.
Nearly all of the Jeeps we...
Nearly all of the Jeeps we saw at the NSDA event were 2WD. While many of the Jeeps had a-arms in the front, Steve Foster used a gutted Dana 30 housing for a 4WD appearance.
April Soares managed to win...
April Soares managed to win both the Sportsman 1 and Sportsman 2 classes in Primm, Nevada. The difference between the classes is the dial-in time to run the course, so faster vehicles have the option of running again in a slower class, but they have to be easier on the throttle so they don't break out.