BILLINGS — The Shrine Motorsports Park hosted the season opener for mud bogging on Saturday.
“We’re all out here for the same purpose. Have some fun, get dirty, give the crowd a good show," said Beau Zygmond, a driver who was said by another driver to be looking for "throttle therapy" after a "long winter."
Many of the drivers remarked that the dirt-oriented motorsport is a representation of America's blue-collar history.
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“America was built on blue-collar boys and women. I mean, look at all the pioneers that pushed west," said Zygmond, "When you’re out there all alone, I mean, you’re not gonna find a mechanic.”
Drivers like Jason Smith said Montanans would "have the know-how" to be able to participate in a sport that would require the handy work needed for the upkeep of vehicles with the five-to-thirty-thousand dollar modifications made to qualify many mud bogs.
Smith was driving his friend's vehicle named "The Bootlegger."
“(Travis Kholhbeck) was one of the most generous, most loyal, honest people you could meet," said Smith, "This was his racer and he passed away this last year … We’re racing it in honor of (him).”
He said continuing the tradition of racing mud boggers and honoring Montana's blue-collar lineage is what Kholhbeck would have wanted.
