By Jordan Kuehne

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, September 18th, 2010) – On a night of thrills and spills, it was Vinny Mangiaracina that raced to a championship at the legendary Rockford Speedway, closing his 15-lap Crap Scrappers Hornets coronation with a feature win that easily locked up the crown. Shawn Ogden crossed the finish line first while Devon Dixon came home second, but both drivers failed post-race inspection allowing Mangiaracina’s third-place finish to become a fitting season-ending victory. The action was fast and furious all over the high-banked oval as monster trucks and spectacular stunts left fans amazed before Doug Rose blew everyone away when he torched a Suburban with his legendary Green Mamba Jet Car.

Shawn Ogden jumped out front in the early stages of the final 15-lap Crap Scrappers Hornets swarm of the 2010 season as a caution on the second lap bunched the field up once again. Vinny Mangiaracina entered the season finale with a sizable margin in the points standings.

Ogden ostracized himself from the field on the next restart escaping the clutches of Devon Dixon as he maneuvered himself back to the a comfortable cushion out front. Dixon negotiated his way into the bridesmaid’s position with five laps remaining as he set his sights on Ogden and the top spot.

Mangiaracina didn’t have to worry about the championship battle as he locked up the title as soon as he started the main event. The champion worked his way into third with two circuits to go as Deric Bloomingdale dropped to fourth.

With the white flag in the air, Ogden cruised around the high banks of the quarter-mile oval hitting his marks with ease to cross the finish line ahead of Dixon. Both drivers were disqualified after the race though, handing Mangiaracina another win on the final night of the season for the division.

Mangiaracina locked up the title in style with his victory, seizing the championship by 49 points over Steve McBride.

“These last two weeks have been rough for me,” Mangiaracina stated in victory lane. “It’s very cool for us to get this done, especially in this car. I have to thank the crew and everyone who made this possible for us this year.”

Bloomingdale came home second as Mark Seipts recorded a solid third place finish. Jocelyn Davenport and Justin Pearson rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively.

While the racing took center stage during the Budweiser Night of Thrills, it was Doug Rose and his Green Mamba Jet Car that stole the show. Rose torched an old Chevy Suburban during his final burn, lighting up the fall evening with flames and the roar of his jet-powered rocketship.

The crowd was impressed, cheering wildly during Rose’s six-minute burn just as they had applauded his efforts earlier in the evening when the Green Mamba Jet Car put on a fire show that left black marks across the high banks of the historic racing oval. After help from local fire departments to put out the fiery Suburban, nothing more remained but metal and a melted down frame.

The other scene stealers throughout the evening came in the form of Mark Schroeder and Ryan Rice and their respective monster trucks, the Felon and the Incinerator. Wowing the crowd with their freestyle runs, both drivers left dirt all over the racetrack with dizzying donuts and the crunching metal of crushed cars succumbing to the high-powered machines.

Rice hit a snag during his freestyle run, landing against the turn four infield wall with his front right tire stuck behind the barrier. After a few minutes spent extricating himself, Rice fired the Incinerator back up to the crowd’s delight and proceeded to leap into the air off the propelling crushed cars and do donuts with a flat front right tire.

After Rice’s run was over, SPEED TV analyst Mark Schroeder got his chance to wow the crowd and put on a show. Schroeder didn’t disappoint, peppering his impressive run with an array of donuts and jumps, going airborne at seemingly any moment before landing down with enough force to propel his truck onto two tires. The fans appreciated both driver’s efforts.

The behemoth beasts had introduced themselves in style earlier in the evening with the Illinois Monster Truck State Finals.

After round one went to the Incinerator in a close call, the Felon and Mark Schroeder edged out Ryan Rice to collect a tight victory in the second round. With the series tied at one, a third and final rubber round awaited to decide the championship.

Mark Schroeder piloted his Felon monster truck to the championship victory and the Illinois Monster Truck State Finals title as he nosed out Ryan Rice’s Incinerator for the win.

“It’s always fun and a good time when we come to Rockford,” Schroeder admitted. “I love these big tracks where we can get good speed and air and just hammer down into third gear and let’s go!”

The Rollover Contest ended up looking a lot like the Smokey Burnouts Contest should when four of the five contestants ended up smoking up their cars via fire or burnt up rubber along the way.

A veteran of the Rollover Contest, Rich Schinderling Jr. gave the fans several encore performances despite flattened tires after clinching the victory with seven points on his first two jumps. Each driver received a point for each quarter turn so a full rotation was worth four points.

Schinderling Jr. knocked off Brad Henry by one point to take home the hardware and make it a clean sweep in the Rollover Contests for 2010 at the high banked quarter-mile.

In the actual Smokey Burnouts Contest, Alan Bekielewski pushed his Pontiac Trans-Am to the pinnacle before blowing his motor and taking it down in one pull. With several drivers smoking up the infield during their 20 second runs, ‘Beaker’ only needed one go to win over the crowd and the competition, collecting the hardware.

Spinning around the track, the Skid Cars spun into the memory banks of the fans. Fresh off a victory in the Rollover Contest, Rich Schinderling Jr. paced the nine car field in his “Squeak”-mobile. Schinderling Jr. lapped the field by lap three, letting the back hangout as cars spun all over the place on the high banks.

Schinderling Jr. managed to slide his way to another win, his second of the evening, edging out Gary Oscarson for the trophy.

Oscarson returned later in the evening for the Jumpin’ Jack Crash, an event designed to pit the nine competitors against each other with the longest jump by a vehicle taking home the win. Oscarson’s winning ways continued as he outgunned all comers, soaring through the night sky and flying the furthest with just one car remaining before hanging on for the honors.

The opening event of the evening got the proceedings off to a promising start. ‘Suicide’ Strahorn piloted the “Hot Rod Limo” through the Flaming Limo Steel Crash as the fans cheered him on, flipping the car over before steering his machine to a finish.

“I wasn’t scared,” a relaxed Strahorn stated after the spectacular stunt. “It’s all about putting on a show for the fans and that’s what we did.”

Putting on a show seemed to be the theme of the night and ‘Scary’ Gary Oscarson led the way all evening, including a short stint in the Gauntlet Race.

Oscarson had his delivery truck flipped over on the first lap of the Gauntlet event as his chance to make the designated distance fell short within seconds of the start.

One good hit in his rear end got the van airborne before it turned onto its side in turn three. Oscarson was able to walk away unharmed as the crowd roared their approval for ‘Scary’ Gary’s hair-raising ride.

The final Crap Scrappers Hornets Challenge event of 2010 took care of business as Deric Bloomingdale got out of the loo the quickest and notched the win in the Crap Scrappers Hornet Challenge Outhouse Race topping five other competitors. Steve McBride’s participation in the event locked down the overall Hornet Challenge title for 2010 and earned him the top spot for the season long points battle.

Racing returns to the high banks in two weeks for 'One Great Racing Weekend', the 45th annual National Short Track Championships at the legendary Rockford Speedway. With Josh Nelms looking to defend his title as National Short Track Champion, 12 divisions will be in competition over a series of three days of exhilarating action, the culmination of which is the renowned Super Late Model 200-lap showcase. The excitement gets underway on Friday, October 1st with the green flag waving at 7:07pm sharp.

For a complete schedule of events for the 45th annual NSTC's, as well as competitor information and more, visit the track website at www.rockfordspeedway.com or call the Speedway Box Office at (815)633-1500.

Rockford Speedway Results Week 18

Hornets

A-Main 01 -- 1. Vinny Mangiaracina, Rockford; 2. Deric Bloomingdale, Rockford; 3. Mark Seipts, Loves Park; 4. Jocelyn Davenport, Rockford; 5. Justin Pearson, Belvidere; 6. Robin Ulrey, Rockford; 7. Steve McBride, South Beloit; 8. Dennis Claus, Jr, Loves Park; 9. Billy Rogers, Rockford; 10. Shawn Ogden, Machesney Park; 11. Devon Dixon, Janesville, Wis.

Heat 01 -- 1. Deric Bloomingdale, Rockford; 2. Jocelyn Davenport, Rockford; 3. Dennis Claus, Jr, Loves Park; 4. Billy Rogers, Rockford; 5. Nick Schneider, Rockton; 6. Shawn Ogden, Machesney Park.

Heat 02 -- 1. Steve McBride, South Beloit; 2. Justin Pearson, Belvidere; 3. Vinny Mangiaracina, Rockford; 4. Mark Seipts, Loves Park; 5. Robin Ulrey, Rockford; 6. Devon Dixon, Janesville, Wis.

Challenge 01 -- 1. Deric Bloomingdale, Rockford; 2. Devon Dixon, Janesville, Wis; 3. Robin Ulrey, Rockford; 4. Billy Rogers, Rockford; 5. Nick Schneider, Rockton.