Off-road racing students face a bumpy learning curve

John Williams isn't afraid to let students fail ... once in awhile. Failure, he's found, teaches them what they can't or shouldn't do. And failure leads to greater success and better drivers.

Williams is the director of Miller Motorsports Park's off-road school.

He teaches students — in their vehicle or driving one of the school's — to crawl over rocks, negotiate through valleys, over boulders, out of deep holes and up cliffs.

All of which may seem rather mundane to owners of vehicles made to go off-road.

But there's more to driving off-road then stepping on the accelerator or brake.

"In my case, I'd driven the foothills around Logan and thought I was ready for almost anything. I went to Moab when I was 17 and had my eyes opened. I learned a lot in a very short time," he recalled.

Which led to his opening a four-wheel specialty shop, which led him into the pro rock crawling ranks for eight years before coming to Miller's track.

Through his experiences, he's developed a method of instruction that teaches what isn't taught on the open road.

Such as: "Moving across a steep sidehill while trying to keep the vehicle semi-level and backing down through cones, which may sound easy but it's not," he said. "Or, having the vehicle almost vertical on a steep incline with the front tires pulling and the back tires off the ground."

This the first year students have been introduced to a completely redesigned off-road park. Currently, classes are taught by reservation, either for a single individual or group. Next year there will be pre-set dates.

Williams said in some cases an individual may have purchased a new four-wheel vehicle, "and wants to learn more about its potential.

"We drive their vehicle to start with. Then I like them to drive the school vehicle. I like them to see the difference. School vehicles are modified. Driving a modified vehicle is really 10 times safer than a stock vehicle."

Miller's vehicles are Jeep Rubicons that have been highly modified for maximum off-road performance. They are equipped with long arm kits, special front and rear bumpers, a winch, 5.38 ring-and-pinion steering, custom wheels and mud-terrain tires.