Saturday, April 17, 2010

AWANA Grand Prix

The city of Collinsville was overcome by a terrible storm as Orange Lightning lit up the night! Ok... the weather was clear, but Orange Lightning was still out in force tonight!

I'm talking, of course, about Wesley's pine car :) Brad spent countless hours getting the
Block of Wood into a perfectly aerodynamic shape. Then, Wesley worked to get the color scheme just right. In the end, the car looked fast even when sitting still.








We headed to the church where the car was weighed and checked in. The weight limit is 5 oz. - Orange Lightning weighed in at 4.93 oz. :) Before the races, I was asked to man the AWANA camera and act as paparazzi for each racer - Meanwhile, Brad was a design judge. Needless to say, we were busy well before the races began.... And once the races were underway, the pace only picked up!



The younger children got to race first. By the time the older kids got their turns, the crowd was on the edge of their seats!



Finally, it was Wes's turn. He was placed with 2 other cars and they all 3 whooshed down to the finish line - Wesley's car WON! And in the following rounds as Wesley's car was sent down the ramp with the remaining T&T kids, he knocked them all out of the running... Here's one example of the anhiliation:







And here is Wes, playing it cool after his first victory:







Throughout the rounds in Wes's division, only one car racked up as many victories as his. In the end, it came down to Wesley versus Lauren (from down the street)


Boy vs Girl


Orange vs Pink


First Place was on the line....


It was a photo finish....




Sadly, Lauren beat Wesley in the final round! It was ok though because it was a close race and ...

There's Always Next Year!!






In the weeks leading up to the big race, our chairman of the deacons was often seen bragging about his car. He would be racing anyone willing to go up against his maroon race car - He claimed it had never been beaten in 42 years. Needless to say, we all eagerly awaited the unveiling of The Legend!!


True to his word, Mr. Billy beat out the competition left and right!


After the races were over, a few kids wanted to pit their cars against his - even though they weren't in the same division as The Legend!


In the last race of the evening - Orange Lightning went up against The Legend....


It wasn't even a photo finish, but I had my camera ready just in case...


See for yourself:




It was Wesley by a MILE!!! The crowd went wild! Mr. Billy stared in disbelief!


Naturally, a proud mom was waiting to grab Wes in the Winner's Circle!! You can tell that he's proud of his trophy - I am, too!


Second place for a first timer isn't too shabby ;)




Wesley already has plans to bring Orange Lightning back next year for a grudge match.

Watch out Lauren!

2 comments:

L said...

Loved the story of Orange Lightning! :) Great photos of it all. :)

laura said...

the story of orange ligthing is so interesting the photos i loved great bloggers