Results
May 12thThe Q presents Monster Trucks, Demo Cars, Demo Trucks,
Mini Figure 8’s and ClaimersMonster Performance At Western Speedway
For the first time in many years, Western Speedway had a turnaway crowd Saturday as the Monster Moose and Public Disturbance, Monster Trucks out of Washington, invaded the Langford oval. The stands were full to capacity and the lineup outside was long as the National Anthems of Canada and the US were being sung by April Riedie inside. Racing was delayed for a time to allow as many fans as possible enter the stands to enjoy the full program that included, not only the monster trucks, but a “boat race” for the first time ever at Western Speedway.
The first of three trophy dashes started the night with a win by Brian Wakelin in the Claimer Division, Doug Richens won the Demo Car Dash, while Kail Beck took the honors in the Figure 8 Class.
The monster trucks then took the center stage for the first of three performances and they were very quick in bringing the crowd into the program by a huge jump and wheelie from Public Disturbance. He launched over stacked cement barriers and then stood the truck up on the rear wheels and down the front stretch at full throttle. Monster Moose, driven by Jen Consoliver, was just as impressive as she launched over a car and stood her truck up on rear wheels.
Heat race winners included Shawn Connaroe and Brad Watkins in the Figure 8 Class; Doug Richens and Alex Gwilliam in Demo Cars; Scott Tabbernor and Brian Wakelin in the Claimers. After leading most of the race, Mike DeRepentigny spun on the last lap giving the lead and win to Wakelin followed by Chris Broughton and Chris McInerny.
The second performance by the monster trucks again saw the young lady from Washington show she is not afraid to put the Monster Moose through its paces. She launched over a few cars and almost stood the truck on its tail-gate and coming down on all fours in one of the best wheel stands of the night. Both drivers showed little hesitation in hitting and launching over the cars with these 1500 hp monsters of destruction much to the delight of the crowd.
The first lap of the Demo Car Feature saw Mike Makow, Sherri Baker, and Smokin Joe Liberatore crash going through turn two with Liberatore taking the brunt ending his night. On a complete restart George Haywood took the lead early followed by Billy Stidston and Jim Young. Doug Richens moved from mid field to take out Stidston and set sites on the leader.
Driving a very fast car, Richens caught Haywood in turn four and tried to take him out. A spin by both drivers ended this attempt. This allowed “Buck” Ford, driving the #15 car, to take the lead. Over the next several laps, Ford built a big lead but another caution bunched the field on lap thirteen.
On the restart, Ford led Haywood and Richens who both worked themselves back into contention by picking off cars at will. Richens and Haywood continued their battle as did Stidston over the last five laps. When the dust settled, Ford hung on to win his first Demo Car Feature followed by Richens and Jim Young.
The Figure 8 Main featured lots of hits and crashing and banging. The race was red flagged on lap nine as Kail Beck’s car caught fire. On the restart, Brad Watkins had the lead with Kyle Ridley in second and Kevin Knight third. The dust finally settled with Ridley taking the checkered flag with JJ Taylor second and Knight held on for third.
Twenty Claimers lined up to take the green in a twenty lap Feature race. Scott Tabbernor grabbed the lead early while Wakelin wasted little time moving from the rear of the field and into the top four within the first five laps. Meanwhile, Chris Broughton took over in front seven laps down and began to build a good lead. Wakelin and McInerny battled for several laps until McInerny took the spot on lap 10.
On lap 14, the field fell under a caution for a car spinning on the backstretch. Over the last six laps, even though two more caution laps slowed the pace, Broughton walked away from the rest of the field to take his second Feature in a row. McInerny crossed the line in second with Wakelin coming home third.
The very first boat race provided lots of action and flying debris. The idea is to keep your boat tied to your car while the rest of the field tries to smash it or dislodge it. In a ten minute time span, boats were passing cars while cars were passing boats and other cars. Eight drivers took up the challenge and in the end, George Haywood had most of his boat intact and was declared the winner in a very entertaining event.
The monster trucks again took the track for their finale. Brad Campbell, during an earlier interview, vowed “To tear ‘em up and put on a good show for the fans in our first visit here,” and that they did. Campbell, driving Public Disturbance, stood the truck in the air and crashed on a travel trailer that offered little resistance and folded like cardboard from the onslaught of the big truck. Jen, in Monster Moose, crushed other cars and left little of what was once a Cadillac plus another round through the already mashed trailer. Throughout the whole evening another truck rigged to offer rides to the public used the piles of dirt and a section behind turn one and two to give fans a feel for the power of the trucks. They were still at it as Brad and Jen accepted the applause of the appreciative fans. The organizers were somewhat overwhelmed by the fan response to the Monster ride as this was the first time this group offered the rides.
Photos and Story by Ken Keating,
Illusion Photography
