(Winchester, IN) – For one of the few nights in its history, traditional racing took a back seat to good ol’ fashioned fun at Winchester Speedway on Saturday night. The 2^nd Annual Night of Destruction & Thrills played to a near capacity crowd that saw craziness like no other time at the legendary ½-mile speedway.

The night kicked off with bus rides for fans of all ages. Hundreds of people can now say that they have taken laps around the World Famous Winchester Speedway. This was followed by spectator one-on-one drags where Derrell Sunday in his 2000 Pontiac Trans-Am defeated Jonny Ballenger in his 1990 Chevy S-10 in the final. The school bus race followed with Randy Owen taking the victory over Basil Stanley, William Cornwell and Jeffery Richarett. These lumbering giants ended with a near photo finish for second place!

The ladies would be next to take to the track for a "Powder Puff" race featuring amateur women. Mt. Summit’s Jamie Wood, came out on top followed by Molly Swift, Darlene Watson, Shirlee Lester, and Brandy Bryant. The bible college student Wood delighted the crowd when she climbed from her car through the sunroof and proclaimed, "I’ve never done anything like this," and "I must have gotten my talent from Dad!"

Following the ladies was the first ever two-car "Push Me" race, where one running car pushed another non-powered car around the track. Teams tried to stay together to be the first to finish the 10-lap event. An intense battle between the team of Tom Gossar and Tom Bryant and the Jonny Ballenger and Chad Ogden pair highlighted the event that was eventually won by the Gossar/Bryant duo. The Ballenger/Ogden team finished second, followed by teams of Thomas and Trent Gossar, Jeff and Shawn Bucher, and Tom Looper and Kyle Fitzwater.

The exciting night also featured the first appearance of the AutoCross cars which compete under the Rouse Promotions sanction. These passenger-type cars negotiated a track on pit road and the grass that featured multiple hills and jumps. Brad Becks claimed the victory in the AutoCross Feature with first time competitor Tommy Bryant coming in second. Dave Morris, Russ Snow and Marty Turner rounded out the top 5.

During a quick intermission, Ohio’s Todd Troutwine performed a tribute to the legendary Evil Knievel with a "Mini-Bike" ramp-to-ramp jump over a car on the front-stretch. More comical than dangerous, it was a delight for the crowd as Troutwine was dressed in red, white and blue regalia complete with a hero’s cape.

The much anticipated Trailer Race was next up and the crowd got their money’s worth as 16 cars, trucks and vans with trailers behind them took to the track. For the 2^nd year in a row Knightstown’s Eddie Chew won the award for the "Coolest Trailer" as determined by cheering from the crowd. When the green flag dropped on the actual race, Tom Gossar and Jonny Ballenger were at it again, battling for the lead. Ballenger spun Gossar early in the race, only to have the extremely fast Gossar return the favor near the end of the race. Gossar survived all the carnage on the track to claim the win, followed by Jeff Bucher, Ballenger, Trent Gossar, and Clyde Hamilton. Trailers carried items such as boats, refrigerators, TV’s, recliners, and a myriad of other items that made crashing through them fun for the whole crowd.

The reigning Winchester Speedway "Roll-Over" champion, Jonny Ballenger, would be back to defend his title and definitely lived up to the moment. The Mooreland, IN resident thrilled the fans with an end-over-end flip from the ramp rather than the traditional side to side roll. When all the flipping and rolling was done, the event ended in a three-way tie for First Place between Ballenger, Greg Stansbury and Jed Ike. Utilizing fan applause to break the tie, Stansbury would claim the title and shared with the crowd that his trophy was the first trophy he had ever won in ANY kind of competition.

Next up was the exhibition everyone was waiting for …the monster truck "War Wagon" driven by Huntington, Indiana’s Andy Hoffman. He delighted the crowd with a car-crushing, wheelie-standing, high-jumping display on the front-stretch that had the crowd on their feet. He then proceeded to pit road to get into position for the Grand Finale. With fireworks going off behind him, and a "Pool of Fire" in front of him, he gunned the huge machine down pit road, launched into the air for a long distance jump, and nailed the landing in the pool of flames. Flashbulbs were plenty as "War Wagon" successfully made the jump and carried the flames with him in his run-off from the landing. Hoffman exited his truck to a thunderous cheer from the crowd. Hoffman later stated that "that was one of the coolest, or should I say HOTTEST things that I have ever done in my career! And you can rest assured that it was a once in a lifetime stunt!"

The grand finale for the night was the area’s first Independence Day celebration complete with fireworks that delighted the crowd for 15 minutes. Upon completion, fans exited the speedway with plenty of discussion about what kind of fun would be in store for next year’s event.

Traditional racing returns to Winchester Speedway on Sunday, July 18^th for "Family Fun Day" at the Speedway as well as Randolph County Appreciation Day. Headlining the racing events will be the first visits of the year by the USA Modifeds and the Howe CRA Late Model Sportsman. The Vore’s Welding & Steel CRA F.W.D. Compacts will also be racing.

"Family Fun" is the theme for the day, and there is plenty scheduled. There will be kids bicycle races, inflatable fun houses, free snow cones, and a fans-only pit stop challenge to go along with the great racing on the track. Tickets are only $10 for adults and $5 for students 9-18. Kids 8 and under are free. Randolph county residents will be admitted for only $5 with proper identification. Spectator gates open at 10 am with racing starting at 2 pm.

For more information about this and other events at Winchester Speedway, fans can visit the website at www.winchesterspeedway.com.