In the world of off-road adventures there is a unique event that is not a race, not a competition, but it is an off-road driving experience that will push your driving skills in a variety of terrain that includes the desert, uphill climbs, water crossings, and it even blends in a bit of exotic wildlife viewing. Oh yeah, and it all happens in Texas.  Let’s not forget you have to own a Ford Raptor SVT to participate.

Welcome to the Texas Raptor Run at the Texana Ranch in Blackwell, Texas. This year marks the fourth year of the event, which ran from April 16–19. A field of just over 100 vehicles and 15 vendors converged on Texana Ranch’s 5,000-acre hunting and racing destination. The ranch is so large that it is home to a 43-mile desert course that changes slightly from event to event. The course features go-fast straightaways with whoops leading into 90-degree turns, while other parts of the course feature hills and descents across the limestone and caliche hillsides that are littered with scrub cedar and oak brush. Those sections of track transition to descents into lush fields interlaced with chicanes through what can best be described as the Texas version of the Serengeti Plain.

Watch out for the buffalo, especially the white one. They do not move for vehicles, even with sirens and horns blaring. Plus, it is a ranch rule: if you hit an animal, you buy it. Some of the animals are not cheap, although they are rather tasty.

The first two days of the 2015 Texas Raptor Run became a sporting event of how well drivers could tackle the the mud and rain. Unlike desert races and rock race events on BLM land, TRR is on private property and vehicles were allowed to stay on course and play in the mud after the torrential downpours on Thursday and Friday. Mud. Texas clay mud that made its way into every crevasse, bushing, and heim joint, not to mention piling up on skid plates and lower a-arms. Trucks easily gained 200 pounds after their romp in the mud, but participants were having fun flinging dirt and splashing in puddles. Never mind the $100 car wash later.

Rain delays were intermittent at best, but while the track was being checked by the staff for re-opening, it allowed participants to visit vendors that came from across the country. ReadyLift Offroad opened up a dry spot under their semi’s awning to allow 806 Desert Customs to change out an oil pan that met a rock and didn’t survive. Nitto Tires showcased their Terra Grappler G2 and Exo Grappler on course and in their booth. SDHQ was parts headquarters for anyone that broke just about anything on course from brake lines to steering. Addictive Desert Designs showcased their 2016 F-150 with custom Raptor fiberglass fenders and full A.D.D. armor. They also debuted the HB bumper and rock rail lineup for the F-150 and Raptor (HB stands for Honey Badger). Got lights, got lux? There was even a lighting shoot out on Saturday night that KC Hilites proved why they are leading marketplace for LED lighting technology.

However, the grand daddy of them all was an unannounced surprise: Rogue Racing and Shelby American brought out the Shelby Raptor Baja 700! This truck does not like to sit idle; it is an angry beast under the hood with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger, new throttle body, fuel injectors, heat exchanger and exhaust. Shelby is only offering 50 Baja 700 trucks, and they will move fast - double entandre intended. Don’t be fooled, Shelby’s Vince LaViolette and Gary Schechner did not let the Baja 700 sit in the vendor booth all weekend just to look pretty, as LaViolette took it out on the track and showed Texas Raptor Run what 700 horses under the hood was capable of in the mud. It was awesome to watch him put the truck through its paces on the 43-mile track, and not once but three times! They may or may not have slid into a tree at one point too… it’s a prototype, right?

Saturday of TRR proved to be worth the wait, as the weather was spectacular all day at a balmy 86 degrees. The sun came out and dried out most of the track, allowing participants to enjoy it to its full potential. Raptor owners were brave enough to jump their truck at the Fox Proving Grounds, there were multiple mud splashes, throttle assaults on the whoops, exotic animals sightings, and plenty more.  A brisket BBQ and raffle benefiting Race For The Wounded was held Saturday night before the tour of exotic animals. The event raised over $10,000 for Race For The Wounded.

All in all, if you own a Ford Raptor SVT and want to take it out to the dirt and play with it, Texas Raptor Run is a great event to put your truck through its paces and have fun. If you have a Raptor and want to find out more about TRR, visit http://www.texasraptorrun.com/.