Shawn Blythe won $10,000 by taking a leisurely stroll … at 150 miles per hour.
After outlasting nearly 400 rivals over 12 hours, the Sedley, Va. papermaker reached the finals of “Pinks: All Out” on Saturday at Maryland International Raceway braced for another heated 10 second sprint down the quarter-mile track. Instead, his opponent’s car suffered catastrophic engine failure at the starting line. Blythe punched his 1989 Chevy S-10 anyway to thrill the overflow crowd at Budds Creek, Md. This was TV after all.
“All I wanted to do was make an appearance,” Blythe said. “I never thought I would win it.”
The popular SPEED channel show is known for “Lose the race, lose your car” where pink slips (titles to non-gearheads) go to the winner of the drag races. But creator Rich Christensen sometimes varies the format to a daylong elimination where 16 finalists are taped thundering down the black asphalt so loud that ear plugs barely soften the bomb-like explosions.
It’s like the street racing featured in “American Graffiti” with cars varying from 1960s Chevys, once thought lost to scrap yards, to a 2002 Trans Am. Kings used to race their best horses. Now it’s who has the most horse power.
“It celebrates that you don’t have to be a rich guy,” Christensen said. “You can be an average Joe. It’s all about guys who have regular jobs and on the weekend are car enthusiasts. They’re warriors fighting for their lives here in the ultimate pressure cooker.”
Sometimes, the warrior is a lady. Laura Bello is a 43-year-old grandmother from Bernville, Pa. who reached the final 16. The library administrator admitted her daughter once thought Bello was “nuts,” but the taste for burning rubber is addictive.
“It’s the chance for everyday people to become heroes for 15 minutes,” she said.
And a chance to remain 16 forever. Robbie Cockrell, 55, reached the semifinals before his ’66 Chevy Bel Air was nosed by Blythe by .03 seconds. Still, the Camp Springs, Md., electrical company manager admitted racing along the present I-295 when it was a country road in the ’60s and Saturday was a flashback to those space shuttle launch-like moments down the lane.
“Maybe all those years of street racing as a kid are coming back to help me,” Cockrell said.
Christensen negotiated side deals as racers could bet their $1,000 earnings in the final rounds. Fans in the stands weren’t afraid to choose sides using greenbacks, either. Pinks is all about putting up or walking away. The episode airs Aug. 9.
“When it’s not right, it’s an OK TV show,” Christensen said, “but when it’s right and the magic starts happening it’s one of the best shows on TV.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
