On Sunday, September 28th, 19 drivers would log into a session, ready to put on a spectacular event- The Trucker’s Tangle 40. The event, originally a Two Fat Guys Sim Racing Promotions [TFGSRP] staple, had been transferred to the control of Reigel Promotions E-Sports [RPES] early in 2025 after some unfortunate circumstances led to the untimely closure of TFGSRP. The event, broadcasted by Fireball Talks NASCAR Broadcasting [FTN Broadcasting] became so much bigger with fireworks coming to the finish of the event, solidifying the prestige of the event in the eyes of the viewer and driver alike.
All drivers in the lobby for the event would qualify for the A-Main automatically, but it was a “top 4 invert” at the start of all heat races to spice up the event from the get-go. The tight action, beginning in the first lap of heat 1 would foreshadow just how exciting the entire night would prove to be. By turn 3 of the first lap, it was a bold move by seasoned Off-Road veteran Thad Countryman that would nudge Josh Whiteman up a groove and open the door for himself to enter in a 3 way battle for the lead by lap 2. Although the race was 3 wide for the lead, competitors Matt Taylor and Mitchell Maynard would each take a sniff on the outside of the battle for the lead but the field would never go 4 or even 5 wide. The action was tight with the top 5 in a tight group for the first 4 laps before the field began to fan out. By the conclusion, Everett Larson was a heat race winner and Thad Countryman was runner-up.
Heat 2 would kick off at a much slower pace as Corey Boudinot would wait until the green flag to drop before firing off. By turn 2, Jimbo Rooney would sneak under as Boudinot took the center lane, and Donnie Watts would look hard at that outside lane against the wall. Tyler Bickford by lap 2 would claw his way into the fight for the lead, and would make a charge to the lead after remaining 3 wide for the lead with Rooney and Boudinot to his outside. A well timed slide job would put Bickford into the lead by lap 4 and Bickford would not look back, taking the 2nd heat win with Rooney just 3 tenths off his tail.
Dana Burdick would fire the field off for heat 3 where he would control the first lap, but by lap 2 the lead was under fire by Sebastian Rios-Davis and Tyler Jackson, both making it 3 wide by the back stretch with slight contact between Rios-Davis and Burdick off the exit of turn 2. Burdick would drop 3 positions by the following lap as Rios-Davis and Jackson would proceed to race side by side for the next 3 laps before trading sliders, which would result in Tyler Jackson barely holding off Rios-Davis for the 3rd heat race win.
Next up would be a brief warm-up session before setting all 19 drivers loose on the 4/10 mile track for 40 laps. The field would line up and do a 4 wide salute before going green with David Kreutz’ booming voice from FTN in the broadcasting booth amping up spectators as the trucks roll toward green. Everett Larson would lead the field to the wire and light the fuse off with an amazing jump on the rest of the pack, pulling a full 1 car length lead on 2nd by the first set of turns. Larson would stay above the rubber and hold the lead until the exit of 4 where Bickford would dive low and make it a battle for the lead as the field crossed the stripe to complete the first lap. Larson would trade lanes and keep a nose under Bickford, but it was Bickford that would assume control of the field. Meanwhile deeper in the field, Sebastian Rios-Davis, Boudinot and Taylor would find themselves in the heart of a hornet’s nest of action, fit with sliders, contact and tight side-by-side racing. By lap 9, Countryman would be challenging Larson for 2nd as the leader, Bickford would grow his uncontested lead over the field.
Drone footage captured a great view of the gap between the leader and 2nd place on lap 9.
Lap 12 would see Tyler Jackson join the battle for 2nd after contact between Thad Countryman and Jimbo Rooney would cause those two trucks to drop back just long enough to let Jackson by. The action had little time to simmer as the pack of trucks around positions 2 though 7 were in a close pack, bumping, beating and banging with sliders and 4 wide action. Miraculously, all drivers remained unscathed in this until the action got a little too hot for one driver on lap 19 as Fred Hoffman would catch a yuke tire in turn 3 and unfortunately spin as a result. This caution would have many drivers take advantage and go for a pit stop to repair any damage, to some it paid off and to others it only hurt them- but when the action was sent back green, it didn’t stop heating up there.
The field would return to the green flag for only a lap before Michael Menees would find himself getting out of shape down the backstretch. Menees caught the wall before being hit head-on by the #113 of Dana Burdick, sending Burdick’s truck airborne briefly before landing right-side up and pointed in the wrong direction.
After these two cautions, it was smooth sailing to the finish as Bickford led Jackson and the rest of the field single file to the restart. By turn 3 following the restart, Jackson would go low and get up alongside Bickford down the front stretch and so would begin the action to follow. With 17 to go, Jackson would take full control and start to slowly walk away from Bickford as the laps clicked off. Further off in the pack though, Corey Boudinot the event’s hard charger would find his way to 4th and start to challenge Jimbo Rooney for 3rd. The following laps would remain very close for much of the pack while the two leaders would run away from the field as Boudinot would reel the two in. Despite Jackson holding the lead, the was not much of a deficit between the top 3. On lap 32, Bickford would throw a slider into turn 1 and reclaim the lead from Jackson briefly before Jackson crossed over and took it back down the back stretch. The duo would continue to race side by side and throw sliders and crossover each other during this time, and Boudinot would silently creep closer to the two. By lap 36, the top three would be nose to tail down the back chute. The following lap would see Bickford park it on the nose of Jackson’s #008 truck in turn 3 and that, according to Jackson, was the moment when the gloves came off.
The following 3 and a half laps would be (as suggested by the headline) an absolute barn burner as Jackson would throw a slider into 1, Bickford would cross over and Boudinot would have a front row ticket to the entire ordeal. Lap 39 would briefly simmer as there were no position changes among the top 3, with Bickford on the point and Jackson on his tail, it was the recipe for a last lap pass. Into turn 1, the top 3 would enter the corner nose to tail before Jackson would dive low on exit and get up alongside the current leader, Bickford. Jackson would enter low with the speed for a slide job as Bickford entered just a groove higher, attempting to protect the inevitable slide job about to occur. The top 2 trucks would make contact and both slide up to the wall on the exit of 4 where Jackson would break away from Bickford and run away with the checker in spectacular fashion. Bickford would retain that P2, and Boudinot would remain in 3rd position after one of the most exciting finishes in the history of The Trucker’s Tangle. You can view event results and find the broadcast link below!