Rick Mercer Thrills the Crowd During the Eve of Destruction
Lange and Fetter Ford presented the second annual Eve of Destruction that featured a special guest this year as Rick Mercer from the CBC’s Rick Mercer Report was not only on hand at the speedway but competed in a number of events! Fans came out in large numbers to brave the cold temperatures just to watch Speedway Staff orchestrate a day of what seemed like nonstop chaos that was highly entertaining.
The day started out with the Workman Auto Repair 25 lap Junior’s race. Criteria for entering this race were that competitors had to be between the ages of 14 and 18 years old with no Saturday night race experience. Sixteen youths took the initial green flag and were off and flying. At the end of 25 laps with one red flag for a roll over by Courtney Mastin was won by youngster Cameron Pederson.
The 35 lap Quinte Septic Ladies race was up next and once again sixteen competitors took to the track. This time however as the name indicate all competitors in this race were all of the female gender. Former Street Stock and Ladies Class competitor Cindy Mosco proved she has not lost her touch as she came out on top with a checkered flag.
The Hotch’s Auto Parts 100 lap Monster Enduro was the third race to hit the track and 70 drivers took the initial green. The race ran quick and the action was fast, a little too fast at times causing officials to water the track three times throughout the 100 laps in order to slow the cars down. First time winner Blair Turcotte of Trenton beat 69 other cars to complete the scheduled distance of the race and took home not only the hardware but the $500.00 top prize.
Up next was the much anticipated Trailer Race featuring Rick Mercer of CBC’s Rick Mercer Report. With a field of twelve participants each with a trailer of some sort attached the crowd anxiously awaited the hilarity. Rick Mercer was driving the number 67 Man Cave Racing minivan accompanied by Chad Currie, towing a retro tent trailer. The race started out with a couple of caution laps to allow our guest star some time to get a handle on the 1/3rd mile clay oval and when the green flag dropped he jumped at the start and racing as if he was a veteran. In the first lap Mercer held his own until going into turn one as his special edition Prowler imploded, scattering debris over the track. Veteran racer Bernie Rhebergen in the 77 was following closely behind in third going into the first turn; Rhebergen had the 111 of Barry Grills pushing hard on his boat trailer and got caught in debris and rolled his van. With the red flag out to clean up the roll over track officials used the down time to clean up some debris from the trailers. Both Rhebergen and his passenger daughter Tamara were checked out and OK. The race commenced with Mercer back in the lead. Derrick Greig and Paul Reid executed a smooth move on lap two as Reid was able to mount Greig’s trailer and ride through turns three and four. Other highlights of the event was the Most Original Trailer Bonus going to the number 29 Fowl Mood Team of Jan Steenstra and Richie Saunders towing a fishing boat with passengers of stuffed chicken costumes. Greig and Steentra and Frank Grills would soon be the only three vehicles running with trailers and were in a tight race while Mercer and others were still running but without trailers and continued to race trying to remove the other trailers. Frank Grills would end up hitting an infield tire and rolling with his trailer coming out of turn 4. The race was red flagged for a second time as Frank got out and jumped on the car for the fans. The race was called at this time and Greig was declared the winner followed by the Fowl Mood Racing Team while Rick Mercer ended up in 3rd place with no trailer left and a flat tire!
Clearview Auto Glass presented the Flag Pole Race, participants had to complete 10 laps around the oval and then circle a flag pole positioned at the start finish line each lap. Fourteen competitors started this event and the 15 Mark Packer started on the pole and won the action packed race. Just because he started up front it didn't mean it was an easy race as Packer dropped as far back as 5th place and made his way back to the start.
The Car Long Jump that saw minivan number 9596 piloted by Josh Burn travel almost 40 feet, that's right in a Mini Van! Burns took home the one time prize of $200.00.
The ongoing of battle of good versus evil was replayed in the Gauntlet race with Rhebergen and Mercer driving a 1977 Ford LTD. The premise of this race is for the Good Guys driving the gauntlet vehicle to race for 6 laps and fend off the bad guys (four drivers in four cars). With Rick Mercer as the passenger as well as two more helpers in the back seat armed with fruits and vegetables, and a paint ball gun just to make things a little more interesting, Rhebergen piloted the massive 400 cubic inch 8 cylinder car around the oval. On lap two they were almost thwarted but some serious manoeuvring by Rhebergen got them loose and back around the track they went. Every time the bad guys thought they had Rhebergen and Mercer stopped they were able to manoeuvre there way out of trouble and continue on. The battled was not limited to the track either; they were off the back straight, in the infield and even almost in the creek at one point. The Bad Guys finally stopped Mercer and Rhebergen on the back straight just 1/2 a lap short of completing their mission. Mercer jumped on the roof of the car and began to shoot paint balls in the air to the delight of the packed grandstands.
The Brighton Recycling Demo Derby was up next with 12 cars entering the small box. Track official made the decision right at the start to water the ring down in order to slow the cars and ease the impact. In a derby that lasted almost 30 minutes long the number 12 Shane Vale came out on top!
To end the day Promoter Mark Rinaldi was determine to finish what he had started last year and launch a bus through a motor home. Last year he was only able to make it half way through so with fierce determination he piloted the bus around the track in preparation for launching it. It would take Rinaldi 4 or 5 attempts around the track as his need to be sure of a smooth and straight approach to the launch ramp. Finally he would come around 3 and 4 turns to point the bus into the infield and make a run for it. Unlike the previous year with greater speed, a better ramp and a lot more determination Rinaldi exploded through the motor home and the crowd went crazy!
All in all it was a great day of action and destruction! Brighton Speedway would like to thank Rick Mercer and his crew for attending and competing. We would like also thank all the sponsors of the day and Brighton Recycling for providing many of the vehicles and props used throughout the events! We would also like to thank all the drivers, fans and sponsors that made 2011 a great season and invite one and all to join us in January for our Winterfest event.
Top Three Finishers
WORKMAN REPAIR JUNIORS RACE
1) 20 Cameron Pederson, 2) Mitchell Klompmaker, 3) 22cc Collin Gregory
QUINTE SEPTIC LADIES RACE
1) 22 Cindy Mosco, 2) 12K Stephanie Bird, 3) 14W Wendy Dadson
HOTCH’S AUTOPARTS MONSTER ENDURO
1) 4 Blair Turcotte, 2) 24 Dave Small, 3) 7x Derrick Greig
TRAILER RACE
1) 84 Derrick Greig, 2) 29 Jan Steenstra & Richie Saunders, 3) 67 Rick Mercer & Chad Currie
THE FLAG POLE RACE
1) 15 Mark Packer, 2) 888 ½ Mike Tompkins, 3) 7 Cody Morgan
THE LONG JUMP
1) 9596 Josh Burn, 2) 91 Steve McNevin, 3) 6 Kyle Sopaz
BRIGHTON RECYCLING DEMOLITION DERBY
1) 12 Shane Vale, 2)17 Wayne Patrick, 3) 816 Jeremy Gale
Photo Tags
1) Promoter Mark Rinaldi was determine to finish what he had started last year and launch a bus through a motor home to the thrill and delight of the fans during the 2nd Annual Eve of Destruction at Brighton Speedway.
2) Rick Mercer of CBC’s Rick Mercer competed in the Trailer Race at Brighton Speedway on Saturday, October 1st. Rick’s retro tent trailer imploded in turn one as he raced ahead of the pack in the 15 lap event.
3) Josh Burn launched his minivan number 9596 over the jump in the infield to soar over 30 feet and take home the $200.00 payout for the Long Jump Competition during the day of Destruction at Brighton Speedway on Saturday.
