Day of Destruction Wins
The first ever Lange and Fetter Eve of Destruction was a success in so many ways! A jam packed crowd filled the stands to capacity, a record number of racers and participants signed in for all the events, and A LOT of DESTRUCTION took place!
The day kicked off on schedule at 3pm when the Hotch's Auto Part Junior Enduro hit the track. This race for kids 14 - 18 with no Saturday night racing experience was a thrill for the twenty youngsters as they raced for 30 laps with on 1 red flag as #08 Tyler Williamson rolled his mothers Stinger car off turn 1. Tyler emerged unharmed and the race continued. At the end of 30 laps it was K101 Josh Flieler crossing the line for his first ever dirt win followed over the start finish line by 576 Cole Rightmeyer and 55DD Jeff Davey to round out the top three.
Up next was the first Leon's School Bus qualifier. #19 Mark Rinaldi held of a hard charging #15 Kyle Sopaz to win from the outside poll.
Ladies then took to the track for a 30 Hotch's Auto Parts Ladies Enduro. Lap one saw some excitement as #06 Tasha Wells rolled her father’s car in turn 1. After the race resumed it was green to checker for Comp 4 regular Wendy Dadson who took her #42 to victory lane. Dadson was followed by rookie 6 Stephanie Bird and 02 Stinger driver Angie Kirby
Leon’s Bus Qualifier #2 was next to the track and this time Kyle Sopaz would not be denied, taking the heat win over Mike Workman. On a side note Promoter Mark Rinaldi smashed the #19 bus hard into the wall breaking off the right front wheel. This left Rinaldi in a dilemma as this was the bus he was going to try and use to smash through the motor home later in the day.
The Hotch's Auto Parts 150 Lap Monster enduro would now be center stage. 71 hopeful drivers lined over half the track with hopes of taking home the big one! The green flag flew and it was a flurry of action as the cars were now spread out completely around the track trying to manage the slick conditions. A number of yellow flags and two red flags slowed the race and forced the officials to cut the race short at 109 laps and it was 21 Charlie Pedersen declared the victor! 66 Mark Packer and 21 Ryan Davis completed the top three.
The School bus feature was now upon us and it was the #325 of Blair Freeman that brought the busses to the green. Freeman was able to hold onto the lead for a number of laps in a race that saw a lot of attrition. By the half way mark Bob Green had moved into the lead followed by #77 Bernie Rhebergen and the "Maestro" Derek Vreugdenhill. With 4 laps remaining Rhebergen blew a rad hose forfeiting second spot to the Maestro followed by Rick Sopaz in third.
What might have been the most hilarious event of the day was the Trailer Race. With a number of different trailers and accessories from boats, to furniture, camping trailer and riding lawn mowers it wasn't long before the track was littered with trailers and their paraphernalia. The only rule for the trailer race was that the driver’s trailer needs to still be attached to win. At the end of the ten lap race there were only two cars with trailers still attached but the rest of the drivers continued to try and take out the two remaining trailers. The 49 Eric Potts was able to keep his trailer for the win while #3 Robert Edgar came a strong second, losing his boat but keeping his trailer. 41 Andy Fletcher got the prize for the most entertaining trailer that featured a well decorated boat with a giant stuffed Ape behind the wheel!
The Flag Pole race hit the track next and proved to be highly entertaining but also required a high amount of skill. 1 Brandon Gregory and 01 James Seymour battled it out the whole race and both were very successful at circling the flag pole every lap without too much contact. The two traded spots numerous times until Seymour grabbed the lead for the last time on lap eight and Gregory suffered mechanical issues.
The Workman Auto Repair Gauntlet hit the track with veteran driver Bernie Rhebergen behind the wheel of the Limo. He and his team of “Good Guys” had to stay ahead of the 8 “Bad Guys” in an attempt to finish 5 laps. The 8 "bad Guys" mission was to try and stop Bernie and his team in the limo. With the limo team shooting paint balls and rotten tomatos at the enemy the contest was on. Unfortunately after some serious hard hits from the "Bad Guys" the limo suffered mechanical failures and the "Bad Guys" were all victorious.
The Car Long Jump had the 55DD taking the largest leap of over 36ft from the 3 foot high ramp in the infield, 8 cars competed in the event.
The entertainment was not to be stopped there though as crews quickly began assembling the motor home in the infield. With the original bus having been broken in the school bus heat, Promoter Mark Rinaldi was in need of an alternative option. With the help of sponsor Scott Blackburn of Brighton Recycling, a new bus was found and quickly brought to the track. Rinaldi had been anxiously anticipating this spectacle all week and jumped the big yellow bus, just off the road into the motor home! Unfortunately he didn't make it completely through but the crowd was still thrilled with the attempt.
With the grandstands still full at the end of the day, the Brighton Recycling Demolition Derby rounded out the race card with 14 smashem’ crashem’ demo cars to entertain the fans. 85 Robert Coombs was the last man standing after the carnage that came from the cars beating on each other.
With the 2010 race season come to a close the Rinaldi family and staff wishes to congratulate the Champions in each division and thank all the participants, fans and sponsors for another great year. The 2010 Celebration of Champions will be held on January 15th, 2011, kicking off another year of racing action.