LAKEPORT, California -- The three-day memorial day weekend action at the Lakeport Speedway concluded Sunday night with the "Fiberglass 500" boat race. Fifteen drivers towed 15 boats behind their cruisers, bombers and other boat racers on a wet race track for 35 minutes with the packed-house crowd choosing Kyle Medina as the overall winner. There were crashes, spins, fires, destruction, and at the end a race track full of smashes boats in this rolling destruction derby type of event.
The green flag fell on leader Ken Moeller, and as he pulled away, Medina’s car and "Fast Eddie "boat were the first spin out. Derek Thorn’s "Slick Willy" was the next to be taken out.
Andrew Snider’s "Titanic" stalled early in turn four with the car catching on fire. The skipper and three crew members all got out uninjured except for getting wet by the water cannon that was flooding the infield and race track.
Eric Johnson, driving Paul Lauenroth’s cruiser with the "Pirates of the Carribean" in tow, was the first to lose his boat, but a small part of the bow was still attached, allowing Johnson to continue. Next Johnson set his sights on Bob Strauss, ramming Strauss’s "696 club" boat and sending it into a wild spin. Moeller was hit and stalled in the infield as Smithhart was being turned around. Smithhart towed his "Chuck Worthing Special" directly into on-coming traffic until he was able to spin it back in the right direcion.
Strauss spun again on the front stretch as Kenny Grinols’ rig stalled on the back stretch.
Moeller finally fot back on the track at mid race but was side-lined the next time around by Strauss. Scott Sabol lost his boat early but continued to ram other cars and boats which is not allowed according to the rules. Track officials had to red-flag the event twice before Sabol finally obeyed the black flag and left the track.
The final 10 laps saw Kevin Sabol, Matt Briggs, Rick Bryant, Davey Jones, Buddy Silva, and Thorn all lose their boats. With only two laps to go Smithhart stole Strauss’ boat, pushing the "696 Club" with the front of his car while dragging his own boat behind.
Still running at the end were Smithart, Medina and Johnson. The crowd applause gave Medina the win with Smithhart second and Johnson, who had lost the last piece of his boat on the final go, third.
The next boat race, the "Eve of Destruction" will be on July 22. For boat race rules call the speedway office at 707-274-2844.
