By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The mud was flying in the mud pit. The tires were smokin’ in the burnout pit. Kids were jumping, getting their faces painted, and being miniature off-road drivers on the radio-controlled crawler course.
The 2nd Annual BG 4X4 Fest filled the Wood County Fairgrounds on Saturday with interactive, adventure-packed events that an estimated 3,000-4,000 people watched and participated in.
Jeep owners Bryan Spencer of Portage and Justin Cunningham of Defiance showed off their off-road vehicles as part of the festival’s convoy. They started at Culver’s on the south end of town and rumbled through downtown on the way to the 10 a.m. start at the fairgrounds, where they lined up their 4X4s along the track in front of the pulling field.
Cunningham has loved driving Jeeps since he started driving. “I’ve had CJs and XJs in the past,” he said in Jeep lingo, referring to Civilian Jeeps and third-generation Jeep Cherokees.
His latest, a modified 2011 JKU (Unlimited), has been a work in progress. It’s also his daily ride and the vehicle he uses for off-road recovery and rescue operations during the winter.
“These are just a bunch of adult Legos because you can change anything you want about them,” he said about the Jeep Wranglers. “This one is going under the knife either this winter or next summer. It’s getting the axles pulled out and getting Super Duty axles on 40-inch tires for more power and torque.”
Spencer became a Jeep enthusiast 17 years ago after he got his first Jeep in a trade for a motorcycle he was trying to sell. It didn’t take him long to discover the thrill of the off-roading scene.
“It’s kind of like a family community. You meet a lot of people and wind up taking vacations halfway across the country with them just to go do trail rides,” he said.
His current off-roader is a 2012 two-door Wrangler built on a stretched wheelbase body and frame. “It’s not something you can buy off the lot,” he said about the unique custom fabrication that took nearly four years to complete.
Spencer planned to watch some of the sled pulls and then head back to the mud pit to watch, but he would not be running his Jeep through the mud. “I prefer rock crawling. I don’t go seeking out mud holes to see if I can bury it,” he said.
Mud pit heaven
Woodville resident Richie Bailey was all-in when it came to running his Wrangler through the mud pit on Saturday with his 10-year old son David and 15-year-old daughter Jasmine. Plastered in mud from head to toe, they were happy and eager to make another run.
Mud bogging and dirt bike riding are part of the family’s fun times, Bailey said.
Chiann Bonds of Bowling Green was all smiles after her first-time ride with friends through the mud pit in an open-air 4X4. She had attended the fest in 2024 and had a blast, but this year she was determined to be an active participant. She didn’t regret the mud bath for a minute.
From mud pit to burnout pit
A first-time activity to watch or participate in was the burnout pit. Austin Ferrell, owner of NWO Showdown, organized the burnout pit at the festival, bringing a trend “for more interactive and high-energy action sports entertainment at community events, appealing to participants who enjoy pushing their vehicles to the limit.”
See a video of one of the trucks in the burnout pit.
He started the unconventional rubber-burning fun at Walmart meetups, but they kept getting kicked out of the parking lots. The trend caught on through social media, and over the past five years, he has developed the once humble events into his now-successful truck show.
“It’s very family-based,” he said about the NWO Showdown mentality for employees and spectators. The 4X4 festival was an ideal event for introducing his side business to a wider audience at a venue that will host the 2026 NWO Showdown on April 11.
Park and Shine
The southeast corner of the fairgrounds was filled with cars and trucks on display by proud owners.
Roger Long of Bowling Green was especially beaming about his 1990 Ford show truck. Though it wasn’t an off-road vehicle, he chose the 4X4 Fest as another opportunity to share his car.
Long had a lifelong hobby of restoring and showing cars in competitions. His first vehicle was a 1939 Ford Coupe, but he also bought and restored a 1930 Ford Roadster pickup and a 1956 F-100 pickup.
He did not build the truck he showed at the fest. He found it at a body shop in Georgia. “I was drawn to it because the price was right, it drove exceptionally well because of an upgraded automotive suspension, and it was already customized in prime condition.”
At 82, he’s enjoyed cars and trucks his whole life, but admitted, “It’s an expensive habit.” He’s turned a couple of his vehicles into lamps, but nowadays he and his wife, Char, attend shows more for enjoyment than competition.
Fun for the family
Family fun is exactly the reason Maura Duran of Perrysburg brought her two children, Tegan and Brady, to the fest. They planned to “do everything,” Duran said as she waited for her kids to get their faces painted by Ms.Chie-Chie of Holland, Ohio.
“We did the bounce house, but we’re excited for all the food trucks and to see the burnouts happen,” she said. “We always like to take advantage of the things that all the local communities around here do.”
They’ve attended the Wood, Lucas and Fulton county fairs and the Melon Festival in Milan, Michigan. “It’s important to instill the value of small-town communities that are part of these types of activities, just like I experienced growing up in Perrysburg,” she said.
The Pratt Pavilion featured a variety of vendors, including the radio-controlled crawler space and the kiddie tractor pull. The crawler course was a real hot spot for the young and the young-at-heart. With rock crawling and bridge crossing obstacles, the course kept little ones occupied as they tried to maneuver the battery-powered, miniature trucks and off-road vehicles through the course, though not always successfully.
Overturned vehicles were common, requiring the little people to lug the trucks from one obstacle to another.
Vendors, including presenting sponsors Thayer Family Dealerships and Visit BG, showed their support for the 4X4 Fest in the pavilion.
Brandee Brossart, marketing and engagement lead for Visit BG Ohio, talked about the recent Citation of Excellence award the 4X4 Fest won.
Amy Davis of Round N Round Gifts shared the customized products she sells in her Bowling Green shop. “They invited us to come, so we showed up in support and to push the custom work we are doing.”
Dana, the Maumee-based company that specializes in manufacturing axles and drivelines for Wranglers, Broncos and Ford Super Duty trucks, was there as a sponsor for the event that features many of the brands they create parts for.
A North Baltimore couple found a shaded spot to enjoy a cup of French fries from Frank’s Fries, one of the dozen or more food vendors on hand. “We came for the food trucks, but also to see the pulls and other things going on here.”
