Sunday River’s ‘Frozen Rush’ – The World’s Only On-Snow Truck Race

By Heather Burke, Boston.com Correspondent

My brothers once drove their car up a ski trail in Vermont. They thought it was hilarious – very “Dukes of Hazard”. The ski resort management saw it more as illegal, trespassing and property damage. If only they’d been sponsored by Red Bull, they would have been outfitted with a Red Bull emblazoned truck, condoned by the ski area to compete before 10,000 fans. Sunday River is hosting the 2nd annual Red Bull Frozen Rush 900-horsepower truck race on their ski slopes Friday. This the world’s only Pro 4 off-road truck race on snow.

South Ridge at Sunday River has been transformed into a wild Red Bull-style snow derby course with concrete reinforced berms, hairpin turns, and gap jumps for the head- to-head race of pro drivers who are not accustomed to snow. The nine drivers race 900 horsepower customized trucks with spiked 35” BF Goodrich tires. These trucks are super loud and raspy like chain saws. In fact, you could hear them all over Sunday River’s slopes during Thursday’s qualifiers.

I had the opportunity to ride along in a Frozen Rush truck, it was a ridiculously scary snowy acrobatic ride. We took air, went sideways, I screamed… and I have newfound respect for these drivers that reach speeds of 90 mph on snow. They are crazier than my brothers.

Motorsports legend Ricky Johnson won the first Red Bull Frozen Rush race in 2014. Sunday River has a history of zany events co-hosted with Red Bull, dating back to Simon Dumont’s quarterpipe construction in 2008, where the Sunday River freeskiing native set the world record ski jump height. The Dumont Cup at Sunday River has been hosted each March ever since with a Red Bull sponsorship and is now its seventh year.

Sunday River’s Red Bull Frozen Rush event is free for spectators, welcoming snowsport fans and motorheads alike. The big snow show down is at noon on Friday. Red Bull will live stream the race at www.redbull.com/frozenrush. Check it out — it’s nuts.

By Heather Burke, Photos by Greg Burke