Photo credit by David Oldfield

Paul Simon’s “Slip-Slidin’ Away” could be Ken  Peerson’s theme song. An avid mud-racer, Ken built his  own racing truck after first retro-fitting two rigs for his  nephews, who got him started in this venture three years  ago. He gets parts and services from Drip and Drizzle, Car  Quest, Shinglehouse Wrecking and Howell Automotive, all  of whose logos adorn the truck bed, but Ken works on his  truck about 30 hours a week.

“I have the least amount of  money in it of anyone – the only things new are the windshield,  sparkplugs and wires,” he says.  What makes his vehicle distinctive is its army green  color, decals representing all the armed services, his Sea  Bees serial number emblazoned on the hood and American  and POW flags flying from the bed. His tailgate sports the  slogans “Support Our Troops – Enjoy Our Freedom” and  “Got Mud?” It’s his way of showing his support for the  military.  Ken is a disabled Vietnam Vet, who suffers from Post  Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Born and brought up in  Coquille, Ken went overseas when he was eighteen and  returned on his 21st birthday, a different person. Unable to  settle back into routine small-town life, he struggled to find  his equilibrium in a hostile environment.

People didn’t have  any respect or appreciation for the sacrifices he and his  compatriots had made on their behalf; and the service  didn’t know how to deal with the young men who were  traumatized by their experience. Ken has now been through  the PTSD training four times but he still has problems.  “It’s something you learn to live with but you don’t get over  it,” he says.  Eventually, Ken became a log truck driver, married and  raised a family in the home that his great-grandfather built.  Attached to that, he constructed a huge shop where he once  worked on his logging truck. Now that he’s retired, that  space serves as his mud-racing rig garage. At the moment  he is replacing rods and pistons in the 6- cylinder engine.

“I’m the only guy around without a V8. Everyone says,  ‘here comes the old army truck’ when I pull up,” Ken  chuckles.  For those who have never seen a mud race, rigs are  divided into classes, dependent on things like wheel and  engine size, and race against each other on a track that has  been churned up, then molded into individual lanes with  wide berms in-between to prevent collisions. Generally, the  courses are 200-300 foot long straight-aways. It can get  pretty rough, with trucks careening from side to side and  occasionally flipping over, or catching fire. Ken carries an  extinguisher and has a strong, 3-point automatic release  seatbelt for safety.  He races from mid-May through October, from Coos Bay  to Camas Valley, as part of a group of 15 rigs called the  Barnyard Toyz. Their racing schedule ends about the time  mud season rolls around because it’s just too cold and wet.

Last year he participated in a race on New Years and ended  up mired in 36 inches of mud and had to be pulled out with  a caterpillar. Fourth of July at Riddle, where they race the  clock instead of against each other is more to his liking. “I  have a lot of fun!” Ken asserts.  But he is also proud to be able to promote the military  and is pleased when other motorists give him a thumbs up  or a salute. Recently, a woman told him how much she  appreciated his support; she had just lost her son in  Afghanistan. If you asked him what his theme song is, he’d  likely reply, “God Bless America”.