ROSEVILLE, Calif. – A large crowd of race fans dressed in their Halloween best flocked to All American Speedway for the return of the Pumpkin Smash Enduro on Saturday night.
Loren Chitwood made the most of the homecoming, scoring the $1,500 victory after 100 laps of competition and three segments of racing. Richard Lavallee won the $1,000 to win Riebes Auto Parts Trailer Bash as well.
Race fans helped smash pumpkins all over the one-third mile speedway before a truck load of soap and water was applied to the surface. Chitwood started ninth but worked his way past Wes Brown for the lead on lap 21. Brown drifted back to fourth and was involved in a back-and-forth with Scott Woessner that included a grinding crash for a red flag. Brown managed to return to competition after losing several laps but Woessner’s night was over.
Chitwood smashed his way to the lead after the first 50 laps followed by Jose Hernandez and Adam Baggett. The second segment was a 30-lap run in the opposite direction around the speedway, again with a new application of a truck load of soap and water. Brown dominated the second segment with Chitwood coming on strong late to finish second ahead of Ken Winland.
For the third and final segment, racers ran through the infield and around tractor tires for a unique challenge. The 20-lap event on both dirt and asphalt saw Chitwood leading most of the way. His pace fell in the final laps, with Brown nearly stealing the victory in a close finish. Hernandez finished closely behind in third position for the segment as well.
All three runs were combined for the 100-lap final rundown with Chitwood scoring the overall win over Baggett. Winland finished third ahead of the team of Hernandez and Blake Disomma. Veteran drivers Gene Guinn and Lynn Everett rounded the top-six finishers.
Chitwood nearly doubled his pleasure in the 20-lap Riebes Auto Parts Trailer Bash. A competition caution on lap 15 bunched the field up for the finish. Chitwood lost his boat and trailer in the ensuing battling, knocking him out of the competition.
Richard Lavallee, who won last week’s Demolition Derby as well, led the field across the finish line. John Humphrey drove the “Shark Car” to second place while Lavallee’s teammate Jesus Campos finished third. Campos also won the Master of Disaster prize.