Matt Myrick, left, joins Jake Burkey in his Busted Knuckle crawler at the King of the Hammers races in California.
Busted Knuckle
A common love and a common ‘drive’ led two young men into a unique business
Story and photos By David Moore
T
hree factors bond Matt Myrick and Jake Burkey. Both love driving extreme off-road buggies and challenging ridiculously steep rocks and hills. Both love building these wild machines. And both love it that they quit “normal” jobs to make a living doing something they truly love – owning and running Busted Knuckle Off Road. They’re in their fourth year as partners in the growing company located at a shop atop the hill four miles southwest of Dodge City on Ala. 69. Jake does design and engineering. Matt handles marketing, the gear they sell and films. They fabricate and build limited-production off-road buggies (think Polaris RZRs on mega-steroids) that are basically large, precision-engineered roll cages riding on 43-inch tires driven by a 376 Corvette engine that gallops with 530 horses. Sound wild? Wait until you rip up and down outrageous mountain trails and climb ridiculously steep rocks, or race one across the desert. You can get a “roller” and finish it out yourself for around $20,000. But want a really wild ride? Matt, Jake and their team of 13 quality-driven employees will build you an extreme Busted 56
FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2022
