MAUMEE, OH (2-21-10) by Bryan Autullo - FAST Public Relations

With the 2nd Annual Racer's Chili Challenge in the books for 2010, heartburn is most likely the thing everyone took home as a souvenir. Fittingly, the event was held in an old firehouse but there were no hoses to put out the flames caused by this years chili entries. With a large turnout again this year, fans and teams sampled 17 chili creations in three divisions (Sprints, Trucks/Late Models, and Fans/Media) throughout the afternoon. Celebrity judges Rick "The Ohio Traveler" Ferkel, Clay Kirchenbauer (The Undeserving), and Norm Van Ness (NBC 24 Meteorologist) felt the burn as they judged each chili on aroma, taste, and overall presentation. Fremont Speedway had one of the more memorable creations with promoter Rich Farmer serving up his brand of Rough-N-Smooth Chili which had a "racing surface" of refried beans, an infield of chives, and marshmallow soft walls. We weren't in Tulsa, but two miniature die-cast sprint cars were "hot lapping" at this chili bowl. It was also easily the hottest chili in the bunch. Rick Ferkel stated "I should have tasted this one last. I don't think I can taste anything else after this," as sweat beaded on his forehead and his eyes teared up.

Divisional winners were decided by a scoring system used by the celebrity judges and the competition was close. In the Sprint Car division, Hammer Motorsports edged out Colvin Racing by just 4 points. Gibsonburg's Finest took third place while 3J Motorsports rounded out the division. All were within just a few points of each other when the final votes were counted. The Late Model & Dirt Truck division saw Hennig Racing run away with the lead and take the win over Roelle-Wank Racing and Schwochow Racing. The Fans & Media division consisted of 10 teams and the scores were all within 11 points of the winning chili of Jake The Snake who beat out Tailgators by just one point. A three-way tie for third by 4thTurnFreaks, Fremont Speedway, and The Best Damn Chili Team Period saw just a 3 point margin behind the winner. Rounding out the division was Racing World, Scoop & Becky, 5i Fan Team, Team Shiets, and The King's Den. The FAST Series and Hoserville Ohio want to thank all of this years challengers for participating. Each divisional winner received prize packages from Fremont Speedway, Attica Raceway Park, FAST, and Hoserville along with a chili pot trophy. The coveted "People's Choice" award went to Hammer Motorsports with Lisa Hammer proudly hoisting her trophy next to her cardboard cutout of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Congrats to all of this year's winners!

Six participants entered the Computer Man Inc. Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament. With ages ranging from 5 to 14, it was 6-year old Emily Theibert taking home the hardware with her first place effort. Amanda Shammo (age 14) was this years runner up. Both received trophies from Computer Man for their efforts. Jason Sterns from Western PA took home the $50 gas card again this year for the "Longest Tow" to the event by traveling 210 miles from Saegertown, PA. We thank everyone who traveled any distance- long or short - to join us this year and be a part of the FAST racing community.

Once again the KS Sales & Service Hothead Contest took center stage as the crowd gathered around to watch 6 contestants try to down as many Jalapeno peppers as they could in 5 minutes. The competitors stood tall when the contest started, but 5 minutes seemed to be an eternity to a few who turned several shades of red while sweat burst from their pores and their brains kicked in the central cooling system. On the line was a $100 bill strapped to a roll of toilet paper for the winner. When time ran out, Rich Claar and Chris Hall had both downed 11 of the green fire bombs. The two agreed to split 1st and 2nd place money rather than go to the tie breaker run-off consuming more of the green death. The 2nd place prize was $50 and a roll of toilet paper. Hoserville Ohio's Greg Smith downed 9 peppers to claim the $25 prize for 3rd place. Jason Tomcyk still holds the Chili Challenge record set in 2009 when he inhaled 15 peppers in 5 minutes.

FAST and Hoserville Ohio want to thank those who contributed to this event to help make it possible: Fremont Speedway, Attica Raceway Park, Chris Kiser, KS Sales & Service, Computer Man, Inc., Aaron's of Fremont, Wendy's of Fremont, Golden Graphics, and CGS Imaging. Also thanks to all the drivers who showed up to sign autographs for the kids and fans (Byron Reed, Chris Andrews, Craig Mintz, Mike Linder, Bryan Sebetto, Lee Jacobs, Brian Smith, Chuck Roelle, and Dan Hennig). Also, a big thanks to all the members of The Undeserving who came out to sign autographs and meet some fans and eat some chili. It was another successful event to help promote local racing at both tracks and to just break up the winter months until the cars hit the track again in late March.

For more information on the FAST Series and to see photos of this event, log onto www.fastondirt.com and be sure to patronize all of our sponsors. Without them none of this would be possible.



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