The Night Brushcreek Stood Alone

Saturday night at Brushcreek had that cold‑and‑cozy feel you only get in March. Folks were huddled around the fire between the grandstands, swapping stories, warming their hands, and settling in for 100 laps of enduro chaos. Everywhere you looked, people were settling in, bundled up, ready for whatever the night threw at them.

And the cars… man, the cars were a show all by themselves. Sedans, minivans, pickup trucks, even a General Lee look‑alike out there mixing it up. It’s the kind of field where you don’t pick favorites, you just pick a lane and hang on.

They started the traditional direction, but halfway through the night the whole field ducked back into the pits, lined up again, and came back out running backwards! Only at an enduro do you get a mid‑race direction change like it’s synchronized swimming.

I was shooting from Turn 1 most of the night, bouncing between photos and video, trying to keep up with everything happening on track between greens. And honestly, the action between greens was just as wild.

The water truck broke down - twice. First time, it buried itself in the wet clay on the front stretch. Second time, it died in the middle of Turns 1 and 2. What followed was its own little saga: first a skid steer pushing it back to the jumps, a tractor trying to save it, breaking the hitch arms, then another service truck finally chaining up and saving the day! It was a whole rescue mission inside the race, and it brought one of the longer red flags of the night. I think the drivers were happy to get the time to hydrate and clean their windshields and visors, but you couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer determination of everyone trying to free that poor truck.

The other long red flag was a much more serious moment. A big pile‑up on the backstretch left one driver needing medical attention, and crews were with them for a good while. The whole place went quiet. Drivers climbed out immediately checking on them. Fans stood still. It was one of those moments where the night stops and everyone remembers how real this sport is. Thankfully by the end of the night, word was he was okay, but it was a scary stretch of time.

We started with 30 cars by my count. After the halfway mark, only twelve were still rolling. By the final lap, just four were left to cross the stripe. That’s enduro racing in a nutshell - survival first, speed second.

When the dust settled, the top three were:

1st - Nick O’Bryant

2nd - Sam Grooms

3rd - Tyler Large

A cold night, a cozy fire, a stuck water truck, a scary moment, a direction change, and a field that refused to quit until the track itself finally told them otherwise. Brushcreek was the only event in Ohio to hold out and run this weekend, and by god it had a story to tell... and everyone who was there lived a little piece of it.

Full event photos posted over on the Facebook page!

Cars lined up and ready to go as the drivers and crew go over last-minute discussions at Brushcreek Motorsports Park - March 14th Endurance Race