Eight drivers made the trek across the United States to compete in last year’s Red Bull Frozen Rush, the first multi-competitor edition of the event that pits 900-horsepower Pro 4 short course trucks on the snow. The event returns to the slopes of Sunday River in Maine once again this year, but three of the competitors in this year’s nine-driver field will be coming in without that year’s worth of experience.

The good news? All three of them are pretty quick behind the wheel of a truck. But interestingly enough, none of the three drivers making their Frozen Rush debut this week raced in a Pro 4 truck last season. The plot thickens…

Brian Deegan

If you don’t know Brian Deegan, you don’t know off-road racing. There’s not much that “The General” hasn’t done, whether on two wheels or four; freestyle motocross legend, supercross race winner, Pro 2 and Pro Lite champion, and even Red Bull Global Rallycross gold medalist at X Games come to mind. Last year, he took the Pro 2 title in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, his sixth title in a LOORRS class in the past six years.

RJ Anderson

Some may know him from the impressive XP1K video series, where he pilots a Polaris UTV through treacherous off-road terrain, but Anderson is one of short course’s biggest up-and-coming stars. He took fifth in Pro 2 and third in Pro Lite in LOORRS last season, combining for two victories (both in Pro Lite) and seven podiums.

Chad Hord

In an off-road racing career that dates back two full decades, Hord’s resume is as impressive as anyone else’s in Frozen Rush. With 35 career race wins across three sanctioning bodies, three Pro Lite championships to his name, and a runner-up finish in last year’s TORC Pro 2 standings, he’ll be looking to mix it up with last year’s front-runners from the get-go.

Photo credit: Matt Kalish