The Halloween Classic Recap

In case you missed the Halloween Classic XXXII, here is a recap:

At the end of the Greatest Sportsman Race in the World, there was one driver undefeated in the Main Event.  With switches you would find on your living room wall and a dome light that is more often found in a basement illuminating a workbench, Steve Obertanec worked his way through the field of Modified, and laid claim to the Gold Gremlin of Summit Classic XXXII.

His racecar, switches and lights and all, exemplifies the story of the Classic, and for that matter the larger, longer story of drag racing at Norwalk Raceway Park.

There is a great adventure in the Summit Classic.  Weather forecasts cannot deter a thousand racecar crews and families from loading up the trailer, the motorhome, the pickup, or the semi-hauler for a week of food, friendship, and oh, yeah- six or seven trips down the racetrack.

So you came, in droves.  Many of you had no idea it had been raining in Norwalk since Friday morning, and except for a miraculous opening of the clouds shortly before we started racing Sunday, and ten minutes following the final round of the Classic Warm Up when the rain started again, that we were saturated with seven inches of rain by Wednesday morning.  But you came anyway, lined up on the asphalt or ten miles away in a strange wane-be- town of Avery, and made the best of it.

It was almost like using a living room switch to turn on your converters.  You made the best of what you had.

We partied, and laughed and found out that Jon Bon Jovi cannot hold a candle to Dennis Cook.  We stood by the fire in the cold drizzle, with wet noses and shivering Goosebumps.  But we stayed.  And no one asked, why.

When the racing began, the week seemed to belong to the few.  Rick Baehr, Vic Ellinger, Keith McLennan, and then a man named Obertanec.  These men rose to the top of a long list of drivers, all braving the cold and wet of an early week to be blessed at the end with warm temperatures and blue sky.

It is difficult to narrow the Classic down to just a few thoughts; a few moments that stand out in the Greatest Sportsman race in the world.  Maybe it was John Frisch and daughter Wendy sitting together handing out candy to the kids.  Maybe it was Don Stokes wearing the crazy joker hat on his helmet.  Maybe it was the new shock Andrew Coffey gave us with his costume this time around, and the pride he has in himself for shedding over 100 pounds this year.  Or maybe it was seeing Ron Moore with his birthday cake plopped on top of his bald head, and his great smile as he exclaimed, “Best hair gel on the market.”

OH yeah, there was drag racing.  But the Classic, and correct me if I am wrong, is so much more than running dead on your dial.  It is more than a red light, green light, or breaking out at the top end-be it a quarter mile or an eighth.

Isn’t the Classic about all about husbands and wives, fathers and sons and daughters?  Isn’t it about brothers, sisters, and friends you’ve just met, or known forever (or since Summit Classic XI)?

The Classic is an adventure, a modern day western, complete with hardship and bravery and patience and fortitude.  You, the racers, are the cowboys.  And some have all the best equipment, the nicest saddles and the pure-bred horses.  But here comes a man named Steve Obertanec, riding bareback on a horse he trusts with his life, and come away at the end with the grand prize.

Summit Classic XXXII is in the books.  On the back of this sheet, the winners are named, and the “oh so close” records of the runners up.  As you read through the names of the children, the husbands, brothers, sisters, and wives, consider what makes the Summit Classic the Greatest Sportsman Race in the World, and if you need coaxing, it be the man, woman, or child holding this sheet.

The Bader Family, and the Team at Norwalk Raceway Park wish you a very happy off season, a Merry Christmas, and extend a hope you will come back and race with us next year. 

Our hats are off to you, and May God bless the Greatest Sportsmen Racers in the World.