By: Shawn O’Brate
FREMONT COUNTY – Over the course of the past two weeks the 108th Fremont County Fair took place in Riverton with major events like rodeos, monster trucks, concerts, and bull riding all filling the night sky throughout the eight day event.
To finish the fair’s large assortment of events and fun activities was the highly anticipated Figure Eight Races at the Fremont County Fairgrounds arena.
Last year’s inaugural races featured only fifteen cars, a miniscule amount compared to this year’s forty entries that elongated the event till late into the night, but it laid the groundwork for the most-attended event of the week.
Those forty cars battled it out from before the sun set till long after the dark clouds and rain filled the air, driving and evading one another in order to preserve their car as much as possible for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and eventual championship race.
Back and forth they raced, sometimes meeting in the middle with a large THUD sound that rattled the fully-packed stadium and caused a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” throughout the arena.
Some vehicles were flipped over, some were stuck in the dirt, and some were even stalled in the middle of the arena which caused even more havoc in the races throughout the night, all in an attempt to win the $2,000 grand prize and chance to call themselves the victor over the rest of the competition.
Cars painted like vehicles from classic movies like Talladega Nights and more skirted around the dirt circles and collided with force until only one champion remained at the end of the night, Reagan VonKrosigk in the #95 car which was painted like Lightning McQueen from the Disney / Pixar movie Cars.
VonKrosigk also won last year’s inaugural Figure 8 Races with the same car and plans on using it again next year at the fair when even more cars are likely to join. When asked about the competition this year compared to the smaller amount last year VanGrozik responded with a smile:
“This feels great but I came into it not knowing what to expect,” VonKrosigk said as he was congratulated by friends and family, “There was lots of competition, I just got really lucky with my car.”
But, as the saying goes, ‘the car is only as good as the driver behind the wheel’. And this driver now has a huge target on his back coming into the Fremont County Fair’s third year with the Figure 8 Races next summer.
“I’m excited, I can’t wait to try again,” VonKrosigk said about next year before looking at his #95 car, “hopefully she can win it all again.”
The winner of the race had a lot to celebrate at the end of the night, and not just because of his own success, but also because of his brother, Luke, who won third in the same event.
“The Bruise Bros.” took the figure eight races by storm and look to do the same next year.
The Fair was a huge success throughout the week, with all sorts of events bringing people from all over the county and the state to Riverton where they not only spent money but had a good time no matter which events they partook in.