A weekend of RACING

Another Octane Fest comes to a close.

While gusty winds and chilly temperatures made things a little harder for spectators, the Lahontan Auto Racing Association felt the motorsports festival was a resounding success.

Jerry Roseland, a board member for LARA and co-organizer of the event, noted there was good turnout for all events. He added the monster trucks were the crowd favorite; while some competitions were cancelled due to lack of attendance — only three trucks entered — the stands were packed for the freestyle exhibition.

The daredevil, The Crusher, was another popular event. Saturday, The Crusher launched his car into a tower of vehicles; one of them fell back on the stunt car, crushing the roof and forcing the driver to exit through the back seat. According to Roseland, the weekend’s driver was a regular on the show American Stuntmen.

Sunday’s day of racing at Rattlesnake Raceway also suffered a low turnout. Roseland, however, said the day itself may have been a factor; he noted many people were likely either at church or spending the day with family. He added Sunday races usually have low turnout.

Roseland said this year’s festival went smoother than last year. This is the second year LARA has produced Octane Fest, and the 10th year of the event itself. He said the LARA staff members and volunteers received compliments.

“People came up to all of us and said how great it was,” Roseland said. “It was a pretty cool deal with lots of positive feedback.”

He added LARA has “every intention” of producing Octane Fest again next year. He said they will be involved in some way, even if it isn’t the same people organizing everything.

After a recap meeting Monday, Roseland also said the organizers discussed adding another day to next year’s calendar. They also talked about possibly changing the program to generate more interest among the community.

The full event results were not available at press time. More results will be published in an upcoming issue of the LVN.