Vroom... vroom....

This post is a bit late in appearing, because we've been home for a week now and I have just now downloaded the photos from our last night in Penticton...


The Penticton Speedway is up in the hills above Penticton, nestled off the side of the road; a small oval track with bleachers, a concession stand, and some very busy johnnys-on-the-spot.

With great anticipation we arrived early, for burgers, hot dogs and ear plugs (a MUST, especially for small children) and excitedly awaited the action.

I'm not sure what type of racing this is classified as, but if I were asked to name it, it would be: Big And Small Beaten Up Vehicles With Loud Engines, Hand Painted Numbers And Low-Grip Tires That Screech And Slide Into Each Other All The Time. (Oh, and there should be something in there about smoke and burnt rubber)

I'm guessing that most of these cars were built by their owners and some buddies using parts they found in the auto-wrecking yard, by the side of the road, or in their mother's sewing kit, because they fell apart ALL the time... sometimes the axle, sometimes a tire, but mostly other pieces of metal stuff I didn't recognize. The tires coming off were the most fun, because the sparks from the wheel rims were simply spectacular - kind of like surprise low budget fireworks!

There was one 'mean guy' driver who seemed terribly aggressive and diligently intent on running the others off the road, which he did one by one, all night. The testosterone levels rose steadily as the victims struggled to regain control and resume the race. I'm amazed they didn't organize against him and gang up to render him immobile. If it had been a Hollywood movie, they would have.

Then there was the blue car...

I think the blue car was actually two little old ladies with a trunk full of crabapple jelly returning from an afternoon in the country, who just took a wrong turn. They putt-putted around the track at a speed that can only be described as leisurely, being lapped several (I lost count at 4) times, and when they passed by, you could see they were chatting... "So Millie, shall we do plums next Saturday? ... Now WHERE is that turn-off to the church?"

The blue car quickly became the crowd favourite; the children began doing 'the wave' each time it passed by the bleachers... which seemed like every 15 minutes or so... and the race winner even concluded his victory lap long before the blue car was finished! If you ask the children which driver's autograph they would rather have, they would all say the blue car... and so would I.