NEWRY — Every Super Bowl Sunday, millions of Americans flock around the television to watch the two top football teams in the National Football League face off against each other.
However, prior to the football game, viewers will have the chance to watch the Red Bull Frozen Rush, a series of head-to-head races using off-road trucks, held at none other than Sunday River Resort.
Darcy Morse, spokesperson for Sunday River, said Friday morning that Red Bull approached the resort earlier in the year about hosting the Frozen Rush event, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday Jan. 10, 2014, and will make its national premiere at 3 p.m. Feb. 2, 2014, on NBC as part of the Red Bull Signature Series, several hours before the Super Bowl.
“The event will run in conjunction with our annual College Week,” Morse said. “It’s never been done before at Sunday River, so we’re extremely excited about the opportunity. We’ve always worked with Red Bull for our College Week, but this is much bigger than that.”
The Red Bull Frozen Rush, according to the Red Bull website, is a “new, head-to-head, off-road race” where “eight 900-horsepower Pro4 trucks will defy the wintry conditions to rip figure eights, fly off jumps and climb snow inclines.”
Morse said eight professional truck drivers will be racing, two at a time, along a track that spans the lower slopes at South Ridge.
The drivers are Ricky Johnson, Bryce Menzies, Greg Adler, Johnny Greaves, Scott Douglas, Rob MacCachren, Carl Renezeder and Todd LeDuc.
“The course will be arranged in a figure-eight shape and will have an over-and-under jump,” Morse said. “The trucks actually have spikes on their tires that are two centimeters long. They were specially manufactured by BFGoodrich Tires. The race should be really fun to watch. It’s similar to the Baha Desert races that take place out west.
“We actually had a couple of drivers take the trucks up on the slopes and test out the spiked tires,” Morse said.
The race will be free to watch, he added.
“We have a special area cordoned off to the side of the track, where people can watch, free of charge,” Morse said. “If people aren’t able to watch the event live on Jan. 10, it will re-air on NBC the day of the Super Bowl.”
Morse added that the beginning of January is normally the time of year where there is “an event gap” at the resort.
“The Red Bull Frozen Rush is a great way to fill that event gap,” Morse said. “Plus, it helps bring some attention to the resort, since it’s an event that will be aired nationally.”
The Red Bull Frozen Rush, which airs nationally on NBC and NBC Sports, is part of the Red Bull Signature Series, a program that airs extreme sports competitions, ranging from snowboarding and downhill skiing to mountain biking and freestyle motocross.
For more information, visit www.sundayriver.com.
mdaigle@sunjournal.com
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