Whiplash Motorsports is a Phoenix-based off-road racing sanctioning body that was formed about 20 years ago and now holds about 10 races a year in various locations across Arizona. The desert racing events have classes for trucks, buggies, motorcycles, quads, and UTVs.
This picture says it all for an exhausted and discouraged rider near the end of a race. His quad stalled and would not restart with only a few laps left to go. | 
The UTV-class vehicles raced on the same course as the trucks and buggies. Their speeds were lower, but they hit the jumps too. There were Rhinos, TomCars, and various other similar miniracers. | 
The track zigzagged its way across the dirt course area at Firebird. The view from the stands was distant at places but allowed a good overview of the entire track. |
This year, Whiplash hooked up with Firebird International Raceway during the Monster Truck Jammin' Nationals to bring racers and fans Grand Prix-style track racing on a dirt course. Numerous classes were run for all vehicle types with classes ranging from novice to pro and from children's age groups on up.
Wiley Moe Racing entered this Jeepspeed 2WD fullsize Cherokee and gave the leaf-spring suspension a good workout on the whoops and jumps. | 
This Hellion-sponsored truck driven by Eric Kirby gave it an enthusiastic go in the Sport 1450 truck class, but some malady left Kirby with a DNF at the end of Saturday's race | 
Grant Wilson races his '72 Bronco often. It takes some driving skill to race such a short-wheelbase rig fast. A Ford GT40 302 crate motor gets him where he wants to be quickly when traction lets it hook up. |
Firebird set up a number of tracks for the various races in its large dirt area. These tracks included berms, jumps, whoops, and all the usual dirt obstacles. Fans got to watch the action from off-track sidelines or seated up in the grandstands.
Ed Smith and his '74 Ramcharger are a common site at local track and Tough Truck races. This Dodge has been gutted and stripped to make it lighter for this kind of competition. | 
The 1451 Sport Truck of Todd Elam was one of the faster Toyotas. His modified chassis scooted quicker using a Chevy Vortec V-6 that spun torque into a beefier Ford 9-inch rear axle. | 
The Ford truck of Brandon Nelson took a firm nose dive coming off a jump. His Pro 8 rig runs a Ford 302/C6 combination and was fun to watch. His class was out on the field at the same time as a couple of the buggy classes. |
We caught the action both weekend days as the buggies and Pro Truck class battled it out on the twisty dirt track. Sport Truck classes attracted quite a few racers, and we saw everything from garage-built (but competent) budget trucks to some high-dollar, big-horsepower rigs.
The FiberwerX-marked truck driven by Tyler McNeil ran fast and soaked up the track well. With good speeds on the straights, many of the trucks went a good distance with all four tires off ground. Tyler pulled a Sixth Place finish in the Sport class on Saturday. | 
Brad Hemphill placed Second in the Saturday race in Sport 1450 truck class. Staying in the throttle and on the track kept him moving ahead of the pack. Maybe the Batman action figure tied to the front bumper had something to do with the win? | 
Cory Thomas was easily the fastest 1450 racer on the track. His big truck had loads of power and a suspension that soaked up the course. He roosted it up coming out of one of the sweeper turns headed to the other end of the course. |
Along with all of the off-road racing were plenty of show-vehicle displays, monster-truck freestyle, drag racing, and a new-vehicle testdriving track.
There was a class for everyone at this event. These are Trophy Karts (kids fit best) propelled by a 265cc air-cooled four-stroke using a CVT auto tranny. They can reach speeds of 40 to 50 mph and soak up the bumps with about 16 inches of wheel travel. | 
The weekend was not without component failure and carnage. Dean Jasinski's Pro 1-2 buggy was hard-carving a tight turn when something on the front A-arm let loose. He dragged the canted tire for a short distance but then gave up the Saturday race due to the damage. By Sunday, the car was fixed and ready to go again. | 
As is usual with an all-vehicle start, the first couple of turns got highly congested. The Sport 1450 truck class was running bumper to bumper and fender to fender and made for some good spectating. |
This Toyota truck piloted by Cole Foster got off to a slow start in Sunday's race when his truck became high-centered on one of the track barricades. After getting free, he put the hammer down and did a nice job of soaring off the backfield jumps. | 
The Pro classes were a blast to watch and kept the fastest speeds around the track. Todd Wyllie got some good air in his fullsize Chevy coming down one of the longer straights, while the car fielded by the Steve Labrie Team tried to chase him down. |  |
If you're into desert racing, you should check out a Whiplash Racing event or come to one of the various dirt-related events out at Firebird Raceway. You can always find info on upcoming events at
www.whiplashracing.com or
www.firebirdraceway.com