1:45pm
Details on Black Wednesday parties announced at Liar's Club, Buddha, Lava, darkroom and Bar Deville
Photographs by Chris Lake
Tailgaters pack the parking lot at Illiana Speedway in Schererville, Indiana, by 4pm July 26 in anticipation of Crash Fest #1, but their thirst for mayhem isn’t sated until the trailer race gets under way on a figure-eight track at around 9pm. There, all manner of vehicles towing trailers, topped with everything from boats and campers to a lone toilet, smash each other’s loads to smithereens as they careen around the track. “KB Junk Man” savors his victory over runner-up “General Villa”, but Villa wows the standing-room-only crowd when his trailer lets loose a mass of orange helium balloons after taking a hit. Wrecked rides, such as the “69” van, above, are easily towed away, but it takes the Speedway crew hours to sweep all the errant auto parts off the track.
I witnessed this Crash Fest trailer race, and it is truly one of a kind. The drivers literally smash into each other as they make their way around the entire track. Talk about chaos! The winner, "KB Junk Man", sent another competitor air-borne just before taking the victory. It was literally a smashing good time for all!