PRINTGettin' Nasty
Drivers get dirty at Flatnasty's 15 hour nightmare
Catalin Abagiu
April 3, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
It is a widely shared hope of drivers and auto insurers alike that most people will live their licensed lives without ever rolling an automobile. This is not the case for John “Marko” Markovich. He remembers a weekend last year when he rolled five times while on a night run. “It’s like being in one of those gyroscopes, like at the county fair,” Marko says. “I don’t feel out of control when I roll.”
Worry not, concerned drivers. Marko won’t be found on the paved roads society knows so well. He is a trail-rider; his tires go where few have gone before. Trail-riding is a recreational sport where drivers navigate their rigs through wooded trails, climb hillsides and dodge trees. Just as a surfer craves waves, Marko’s life revolves around riding boulders and trekking across wicked terrain.
Related MultimediaFlatnasty Off-Road Park, near Salem, Mo., hosts numerous events throughout the year, including The 15 Hour Nightmare. This year’s nightmare was March 29 and 30. At Flatnasty’s darkest event, participants rode predetermined courses from 4 p.m. Saturday until 7 the next morning.
Night riding is a time for rock crawlers like Marko to reveal the
darker side of their driving persona.
No, Marko is not crazy. He just enjoys driving life on the wild side. “I’m a junkie to adrenaline,” he admits without hesitating. “I am a rock junkie.” V
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Photos by Catalin Abagiu
