Main Street Rides

April has always been one of my favorite months to get the Jeep out and kick off wheeling season. When Aubrey and I lived in Colorado and I was working for Bestop, April meant one thing: Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. It was the unofficial start of the season. Now that we’re in Georgia, however, Utah is a bit too far to make that trip an annual tradition.

This year, I decided to welcome April—and wheeling season—by entering a Terra Trophy Rally event.

The Terra Trophy Championship is a series of off-road endurance rallies held at various locations across the United States. The Terra Trophy Double 14-Hour Endurance Rally at Windrock Off-Road Park in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, served as the opening round of the 2026 season.

Competitors are divided into three classes:

• Small Tire (37” tires and under)
• Big Tire (40” tires and under)
• Unlimited

Teams can compete as a single vehicle or as a multi-vehicle group. I entered the Small Tire class with my 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on 37s, alongside my friend Stephin Smith—also known as Smitty’sGarage—and his wife Hannah in their VK56-swapped Nissan Xterra on 35s.

With two long days of wheeling ahead, our task was to complete a set of predetermined trails in any order we chose within a 14-hour window each day. GPS tracking monitored our progress, with time penalties issued for skipped segments, exceeding park speed limits, or poor trail etiquette—such as blocking a faster-moving competitor.

Day One

We arrived early to set up camp at Windrock and attended the driver’s meeting at Parolee’s Pizza just outside Oliver Springs, near the historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. It was a great opportunity to meet other teams, review rules and routes, and enjoy some good food before the competition began.

Windrock is known for unpredictable weather that can quickly turn trails into slick, muddy challenges. Fortunately, we received just enough rainfall to keep the dust down without making conditions overly treacherous.

Stephin, Hannah, and I had mapped out our Day One strategy the week prior. We decided to start at the far west end of the park and tackle one of the most difficult trails first. Our hope was that most teams would begin elsewhere, allowing us to avoid traffic bottlenecks.

We were right about avoiding traffic—but we also found ourselves on one of the weekend’s most punishing trails.

Early on, Stephin’s Xterra suffered a broken CV axle. The trail featured a steep elevation gain littered with large boulders and sharp rocks. Just before the boulder field, a massive petrified log split the trail into two narrow lanes. Choosing the left lane proved costly. The Xterra squeezed in just tightly enough that Stephin had to climb the log with his passenger-side tires. With the steering bound up under load, the CV axle twisted and snapped.

We attempted to winch the Xterra forward and received assistance from a Land Cruiser that had come up behind us. Ultimately, I anchored to a tree behind the Xterra, rigged a snatch block, and winched the rear end sideways off the log to free the differential. Once recovered, Stephin quickly replaced the broken CV axle with a spare he had wisely packed.

Although that first trail cost us time, we ran the remaining routes efficiently and completed Day One in about nine hours—well under the 14-hour limit.

Windrock and eastern Tennessee offer stunning scenery, with sweeping views of the Smoky Mountains and terrain that ranges from rock gardens and log obstacles to steep climbs and mud pits. I kept a GoPro mounted on the dash and recorded highlights throughout both days.

Day Two

Day Two brought similar weather, with occasional mist drifting across the mountains. Most of our route was on the east side of the park, where the terrain proved more waterlogged and muddy than the west.

Despite accidentally starting with the trail we had planned to finish on, we moved at a strong pace and completed the required routes in under seven hours—this time with no mechanical issues.

On our way back toward the main road, we mistakenly ventured onto a trail that wasn’t part of the rally. It turned out to be one of the more technical sections of the weekend, filled with deep ruts and severe off-camber stretches. A few obstacles required multiple attempts, but we worked through them and ultimately crossed the finish line with plenty of time to spare—both rigs completely coated in mud.

Heading Home

Competing in the Terra Trophy Double 14-Hour Endurance Rally was an incredible experience and my first time participating in any form of motorsport competition. We had an absolute blast, and I was impressed with how well my Jeep performed. Aside from a steering stabilizer that took a beating, the Wrangler handled everything without complaint—and I was able to make the four-hour drive home without a trailer.

We noticed that single-vehicle teams generally finished higher overall than multi-vehicle teams, and our group landed roughly mid-pack in the Small Tire class.

For someone who had no interest in owning a Jeep prior to 2020, my Wrangler has now become the longest-owned vehicle in my garage by a wide margin. While I still prefer a manual sports car for most on-road adventures, the Wrangler’s versatility keeps it from being replaced. It simply does too many things well.

There’s something special about taking the road less traveled—especially on a summer evening with the Bestop Core Doors installed and the top folded back.

Enjoy the included dash cam footage from both days, along with Terra Trophy’s general event recap! I get interviewed at roughly 6:33 :).