Mitch Siniak, #77, of 100 Mile House took home first place in the Day of Destruction hit-and-pass race at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Williams Lake on Sept. 11.
Siniak was clearly excited to have won in his first time racing on a circle track.
“This is huge. This is something that I have started in my life, I did something … and I carried it through, with the help of my pit crew.
“I’ve drag raced, and gone in the mud drags before, but I was told that circle racing is a lot different.”
The Day of Destruction races saw drivers treat fans to a hit-to-pass, a smoke show, king of the hill and trailer-and-boat races during which drivers towed old boats behind them and an old camper was placed on the track as an obstacle.
In hit-to-pass races, drivers are required to smash into the driver ahead on every lap before they can pass their vehicle, and must complete 100 laps (or the most laps) to win, Siniak explains.
There was a lot of mechanical work to do before the race, and he and his pit crew worked tirelessly to get the car ready in time, he explains.
“We were working every night for the [previous] two weeks. It was so dark we had to have lights out there, and we just had the car finished to go on the trailer the night before.”
Siniak says getting the final steps ready, including passing the technical inspection to get accepted into the race, was a crucial phase they all celebrated.
“We were all like, ‘ah, yes, this is the best moment ever’. It was one of the best things I have ever done.
“It was one of the most scariest; [the racing] was very intense.”
To a spectator watching these races, it might not seem so fast, but out there in the heat of it all, it feels “crazy,” he explains.
As to what the most exciting experience of the race was, he first points to the boost he got from his pit crew with its great support and reassurances.
“It’s kind of hard to put one moment on it – going into the pits, I had a really good pit crew and they kept telling me ‘you’re doing really good, get back out there, go, go go!’ whenever they filled me up with fuel and changed tires.
“Then it was ‘get back out there and put your foot to the floor – the crowd’s loving it!’ It was kind of like a video game, I just put my foot to the floor and just went. It was amazing.”
Siniak works at 100 Mile New & Used Auto Parts, and credits his employer for its sponsorship in supplying all the parts in the yard he needed to build his car and for loaning him the deck truck to haul it to the races.
Another auto parts store also surprised him by offering support.
“NAPA in 100 Mile House said “give me a list of all the [parts] you still need, and here you go” and they gave me a whole bunch of stuff for free.”
While Siniak also won the heat race on Sept. 11, the main event race was a bigger accomplishment, he says, adding he will definitely compete in hit-to-pass competitions again.
“As I get into it more and more, I’ll move up into the super stock – the stock car-style ones – and then I’ll go up from there.”
“For now, I’m enjoying what I’m doing and getting practice on the track.”
Other race win results
Overall, race fans were treated to a weekend of thrills and spills to cap off another successful season at Thunder Mountain Speedway.
The first race day, Sept.10, was the season’s points championships, featuring bone stocks, pro minis and street stocks.
Crowd favourite #187 Robert Rosette of Toosey captured second place while Riske Creek driver #22 Ken Wasen took home third.
Fourth place went to #5 Brian Bettles, fifth went to #35 Harley Astleford and sixth went to #18 Jason Howlett who had to abandon his car when a fire broke out after he hit a camper.
With files from Angie Mindus.
