The Swamp Buggy Races began in 1949, a formal competition between hunters who, until then, could only brag about how much faster their much-modified Everglades machines were than the next guy’s.

Swamp Buggy Queen Jami Pearl Torrella emerges after being dunked by top winner Tyler Johns Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015 at the Florida Sports Park in Naples, Fla.

Naples, Fla., is home to the "swamp buggy" races, an Everglades tradition that dates back to 1949. Although airboats and cars have long since eliminated the need for swamp buggies, racing the ...

It’s been a long 10 months for swamp buggy racing legend Eddie Chesser. Fresh off his 21st Big Feature win in March, Chesser was itching to defend his title in November, which was supposed to be ...

Nope, not airboats (good guess though)—it's swamp buggies. The craze was pioneered by Ed Frank, who began wrenching at age 12 and owned his own garage and machine shop by 19. By 1947, he had ...

Swamp Buggy Drive Through the Everglades For this installment of "I'll Try Anything," PM contributor Jeff Wise heads to Florida for a scary but exhilarating ride through the swamp. By Jeff Wise ...

As the buggies uses and popularity grew, more hunters and farmers started building their own swamp buggy. These builders would gather together and share a few engineering secrets here and there ...

Swamp buggy rides, airboat trips and horseback rides, gator wrestling and snake shows will be on the agenda. Camping is available at the nearby Big Cypress campground.

Swamp buggy users fear access to the Big Cypress will be lost. It was set aside as a preserve to allow for things like swamp buggies, airboats, hunting and fishing, Adams said.

Racing swamp buggies is deeply rooted in the history of Naples and the surrounding area, including the Everglades. But what are swamp buggies and how did the tradition begin? As one might imagine ...