September 28-29, 2001; Marshfield, WI: - Both days the pit area was full of men and women alike to have some fun and destroy whatever they could for the Second Annual Eve of Destruction sponsored by 95.5 WIFC. The crowds were also out to enjoy the full show both days.
Saturday night's events included five rollovers throughout the night. A car rolled over during the forward / backward race. Ryan Pribbernow rolled over twice, once in the tire race and the second time in the trailer race. Travis Dodson and Darin Seubert rolled over in the trailer race, and Derek Woehrle and Mike Loveless rolled over in the trailer race too. Before the opening ceremonies commenced, announcer Mike Fonder, spoke of those who have lost their lives in the tragedies on the east coast and held a moment of silence for them and their families. Then the opening ceremonies with the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, and many competitors with cars showing their patriotism proudly made the lap for the National Anthem. Several Motorcycle stuntman were here to show off their talents throughout the both nights. One even entered the burn out contest Friday night. This however caused a mechanical problem and he could no longer ride it that night or the following day. Friday and Saturday's show both began with the Cruiser racing. Both One-Man and Two-Man Cruisers were on hand and created some excitement. Travis Zvolena and Fran Esser won the One-Man Cruiser Heat events Friday night. The feature event brought out some extreme action as on the checkered flag lap, Rodney Feltz and Travis Zvolena were battling for the lead and Feltz's car climbed up the side of Zvolena's. Zvolena took the win, Feltz second, Don Tieman Jr. third, Fran Esser fourth and Scott Havelicek fifth. Mike Dodson and Luke Hall won the heat and feature events Friday night. The father-son team of DuWayne and Kyle Davis finished second in the feature. Travis Dodson and Darin Seubert third, John Heili and Jeff Bates fourth and Ed Hoffman and Travis Hamm fifth. Saturday night, Travis Zvolena won another One-Man Cruiser heat, and Don Tieman Jr. winning the other. In the One-Man Cruiser feature event, Tim Firkus grabbed the early lead and held on for the win. Fran Esser finishing second, Zvolena third, Brendan Klueckman fourth and Steve Bores fifth. DuWayne and Kyle Davis were back for the Saturday night Two-Man Cruiser action, taking home a heat win. Mike Dodson and Luke Hall winning the second heat. Dodson and Hall also won the feature event. Travis Dodson and Darin Seubert second, Dewey Meyer and Rick Mason Sr. third, Jesse Zopfi and Jarrod Dolph fourth and Jim Williams and Phil Helmrick fifth. The Forward / Backward racing was slated to run only Friday night, but an overwhelming 37 people wanted to run it Saturday as well, so it was added to the Saturday program. This event, the driver has to make one lap forward around the track, and the second lap in reverse. The first one to complete both laps is the winner. Last year only a few people were able to actually make a complete lap in reverse, this year over half of the entries were able to finish. Another change this year was the number of people crashing into each other as some were starting their reverse lap while others were just finishing the forward lap. The winners Friday night were Mike Dodson and Luke Hall in their Two-Man Cruiser. As if it weren't hard enough to compete in this event with one driver, they need two to make the car go. Saturday's winner was Fran Esser, beating out the rest of the field by at least 500 ft. The burn out contestants were allowed to burn for 30 seconds each. Friday night's winner was Joe Ortner of Pittsville in his 1969 Red Firebird. And for winning the contest Friday, Joe received two tires from Tires Plus. Saturday night's winner was Randy Noland of Merrill in his 1969 Blue Camaro. Randy is sponsored by the Merrill Ice Draggers. The thing with Randy is, he brought his car up to burn, and before the smoke even started to roll, his engine blew up. After he won, he donated his winnings to the Red Cross for the September 11, 2001 Relief. Fran Esser brought out his 350 V-8 Boss Hoss Motorcycle again this year, and burned for the crowd. And Rodney Feltz brought his $60,000 Red Venom Viper out both nights to whip donuts and burn rubber. Some extra events were also added throughout the nights, as the crowd was shown what a car air bag looks like when it goes off. Friday, the Blues Brothers showed up with their car to burn for the crowd. And Rodney Feltz blew-up the engine in an 80's Chevrolet Camaro. The Tire Race ran both nights as well. The object of this race is, each car has a tire tied to its bumper. The drivers must try to remove the other drivers' tire. The last car with the tire still attached is the winner. Friday night's winner was the Two-Man Cruiser of Travis Dodson and Darin Seubert. Saturday night's winner was Brendan Klueckman. The Relay Race brought out some smashing and crashing. In this event, two cars need to partner up. The first partner starts from the start/finish line and makes a lap. When he comes back to the start/finish line, his partner is waiting to make his lap, but the two cars need to touch first. Some drivers were nice about it, slowing way down before hitting their partner. Others smashed right into the back of their partner, letting him know "Get Going!" The winners of Friday's Relay Race were Rodney Feltz, partnered with Randy Krall. Saturday night two Two-Man Cruisers teamed up for the win. Jesse Zopfi and Jarrod Dolph in one car, and Dewey Meyer and Rick Mason Sr. in the other. Each night, before the Trailer Race began, "Hot Rod" Rodney Feltz put on his show. Friday night, his attempt to jump over the Speedway's pond, nicknamed "Langreck Lake," didn't quite make it. Rodney climbed out of his car after it landed in the water, and dove into the water. Rodney made a promise to the crowd that Saturday night; he would make it all the way over. So, Saturday night, with a different car, Rodney made the jump over the pond and drove around to the front stretch. The crowd roared as he came out. Rodney's words were, "Piece of Cake." And now, the crowd was in for a surprise. Rodney took the same car he jumped the pond with, through a 30 foot year 2000, travel trailer, with furniture inside and all. Four Times!! He drove up a ramp three times through it from one side, and then finished it off from the other side without even using a ramp. Once again, the crowd went wild for "Hot Rod" Rodney. The Trailer Race was next. This year, the track for this event was twice as big as last year. Friday night's race went almost caution free, with no major pile-ups. John Becker emerged as the winner of that race. Saturday night's race went a little differently. With in the first minute of the race, Ryan Pribbernow rolled his car over again, after just rolling it in the tire race. During the next caution, for a traffic jam, Travis Dodson and Darin Seubert were sent to the pits because their trailer had been taken off. As they made their way to the pits, they drove over some debris and rolled their car over. The race was stopped again, when Derek Woehrle and Mike Loveless rolled over in their pick-up truck. Shad Krause, survived all the cautions, rollovers and traffic jams to be the winner. The 5 1/2 foot trophies donated by Burt Awards, were awarded to the best survivor of each night. The crowd chose the winner each night, by cheering for their favorite survivor. Friday night, Rodney Feltz, who of course did all those crazy stunts, also participated in every event but one, won the trophy. Saturday, it was a close call between Ryan Pribbernow and the team of Mike Dodson and Luke Hall. Pribbernow had raced in most of the events both nights and rolled his car over twice. Dodson and Hall had also raced in most of the events both nights with a total of three wins. It was close, but the crowd cheered Ryan Pribbernow to victory. Friday, "Airplane Freddy" Fred Sibley burned a car with his jet engine Little Red Beer Hauler. Saturday night though, Rodney Feltz, feeling as though he hadn't destroyed enough, brought out two cars. Parked them on the front stretch, and asked the crowd if they would like to see him drive over the cars with his Hummer. Using the Hummer as a Monster Truck, on his second attempt, Rodney crushed both cars. And for the Grand Finale Saturday night, "Airplane Freddy" brought out his Little Red Beer Hauler. With its ground shaking, ear-piercing power burned through two cars. He shook the ground so hard; he set off car alarms in the cars parked in the parking lot and woke up the neighbors. When Fred Sibley, better known as "Airplane Freddy," puts on his helmet and firesuit, lights his ever-present cigar, jet fans know they are in for an ear-piercing, flame throwing spectacle. After having originated the bigger than life fire shows, he began searching for a new and totally different aspect to thrill the fans. As always he has come through in fine style. Fans are in for their biggest thrill when he rolls his new "Little Red Beer Hauler" jet dragster to the starting line. The big, red, mean machine sports a new concept in turbo jet racing, a J33-41 Allison centrifical engine. The first and only one of its kind, it is designed to compete with the new breed of faster, jet powered dragsters. Equipped with a new type of flame throwing, smoke blowing fire show, it will please every pyro-maniac in the house. Having spent five years building "The Little Red Beer Hauler" in his spare time at his family's big shop in Elkhart, Indiana, both Fred and his nephew say it was time well spent. "Beer Hauler" takes them one step closer toward their goal of having a four car show. |
