By: Nicole Kleinsteuber
Chaos ruled the Eve of Destruction at Brighton Speedway on Saturday. A packed house stared mayhem in the face and howled for more on the annual day of
levelling presented by Brighton Recycling and Hotch’s Auto Parts.
• Monster Enduro
A crowded field of 125 cars buckled in for the Hotch’s Auto Parts 100-lap monster Enduro with No. 22C Cameron Pederson scoring the checkered flag. The wild chase was riddled with multiple red and yellow flags but all drivers emerged from their vehicles uninjured. No. 13F Josiah Fallaise proved to be Pederson's toughed competitor as the pair tossed the lead back and forth. Pederson pitted for a flat tire but with all of the madness on the track, he still managed to rally and become the lone driver to finish the 100-lap circuit. No. 77X Max Berry was runner-up, Fallaise third, No. 20 Charlie Pederson fourth and No. 42JR Aiden Fletcher placed fifth.

• Junior Enduro
Kicking off the day was the Hotch’s Auto Parts Junior Enduro. Kids aged 14 to 17 with no previous racing experience got to check out the track and make their way around for 25 laps. Out of 15 rookies 14-year-old No. 747 Noah Heffering took the checkered flag. Next to cross the line were No. 20 AJ Peeters, No. 21 Michael Storey, No. 3T Ethan Thompson and No. 55 Kali Dearmer.

• Ladies Enduro
The Hotch’s Auto Parts Ladies Enduro was a full field of 28 competitors for 35 laps. Veteran No. 78 Shelby Ramsay muscled through the field from her 22nd starting position to victory lane. No. 29A Amanda Bracket, No. 06 Sydney Haight, No. 83C Carlee Gilkes and No. 757 Patricia Matt followed Ramsay across the line.

• School bus races
The highlight of the day was the thrilling 15-lap feature event featuring the Brighton Recycling School Buses. The event kicked off with a four-wide salute for the fans, setting the stage for an adrenaline-pumping race. As the green flag dropped, 14 school buses roared into action, fiercely battling for the lead. The crowd erupted in cheers as the drivers pushed their buses to the limit. However, within just three laps, the action reached a whole new level as a trio of drivers each brought out the red flag. First, No. 27 Cody Juby's bus flipped on its side in a heart-stopping maneuver in turn 2. Then, No. 11 Jim Bryant's bus came to a dramatic rest on its side in the same spot, thrilling the crowd with the unexpected turn of events. The pandemonium continued as No. 3 Jon Driscoll's bus rounded Turn 2 and sent shock waves through the fans by flipping on its side. All of the drivers emerged uninjured. It was a race filled with jaw-dropping moments and non-stop excitement that saw No. 77 Bernie Rhebergen make a smooth move into the inside of No. 44 Tom Grant for the lead. Rhebergen scored his third Eve
of Destruction victory with Grant taking second and No. 75 Frank Flieler third. No. 45 James Seymour who was the wild man on the track taking it three-wide at every opportunity placed fourth and No. 98 Kyle Rhebergen in fifth.

• The Gauntlet
The Gauntlet race later pitted Bernie Rhebergen's Quinte Access Bus against six bandit cars. Rhebergen's mission was to finish five laps before the bandits could stop him. Rhebergen put up an amazing chase as he flew into the infield and through a sponsor sign to get away. He took several hits up until the last lap before the bandit cars pinned him to claim the victory.

• Minivan race
Polesitter No. 75 Travis "Hammer" Mclean was the driver to beat in the action-packed Gord's Water 12-lap Minivan race. No. 69 Tom Grant and Eric Delbianco proved to be Mclean's toughest competitors. On the last lap, Mclean pulled a smooth move around a stalled van in turn 4 and squeezed past Grant on the outside to checkers. Grant took home second, No. 95 Chris Lammle was third, No. 67 John Driscoll fourth and No. 199 Mike Perry fifth.

• Flag pole race
The flag pole race required 18 drivers to navigate the flag pole figure 8. No. 22C Cameron Pedersen took home his second win of the day with OPP Steve Insley in
second. No. 3 Jake Stavro was third, No. 27 Jessica Farnden fourth and No. 5C Adam Flieler fifth.

• Trailer race
The 15-lap Northshore RV Park Trailer Race had seven entertaining entries this season, including No. 1959 Jason Lowry and his daughter who won the best-appearing category for their bright pink Barbie trailer. The object of the race is to finish with your trailer still attached. No. 99 Alex Woods' boat flew off his trailer in the lead lap providing a ton of carnage on the front stretch. While they weren’t intact as the laps ticked down No. 85N Nick Hendricks and Lowry’s trailers were the only ones attached. The race quickly turned into a demolition derby with Lowry's trailer the last one to survive. Hendriks placed second, Woods third, No. 767 Bill Rows fourth, and No. 8R Tim Wilson fifth.

• Long jump
The long jump competition this year was epic and straight out of a scene from the iconic Dukes of Hazzard TV show. Channeling his best Bo Duke, No. 01 Tim Moore soared to victory, defending his title with a jaw-dropping 72-foot jump in his bright orange General Lee. As if that wasn't thrilling enough, he did it while being chased by Steve Insley’s best-appearing OPP car.

• Demo derby
The day concluded with 10 entries in the ever-popular Brighton Recycling Demolition Derby. The muddied pit at the end of the day continued to entertain the full
grandstands. With destruction all over the place, No. 69 Thom Rodgers waved the final checkers on the day. No. 12C Jacob Bogle was second and No. 19 Andrew Reid was the third man standing.

The 57th season at the Brighton Speedway has officially come to a close. The staff, management, and the Rinaldi family want to express their sincere gratitude to the teams, drivers, sponsors and race fans for their unwavering support this season.