The Dead Squirrel Hare Scramble
Motor sports are always popular in places where people have enough room to get into 3rd gear without immediately killing somebody, especially when lots of dirt is available. We’re within hearing range of Hilltop Speedway, the big mud bog event is coming up in Killbuck, and every year, Marlin runs The Dead Squirrel Hare Scramble.
A Hare Scramble is a timed dirtbike race on a closed course, chosen to include a variety of obstacles and challenges. The winner in each class is the rider who goes the farthest in a set amount of time. This year’s race lasted for 90 minutes, and the course wound around for a little over 2 miles in Marlin’s back woods. The winner is whoever makes the most laps, and crosses the finish line ahead of anyone else who happens to be in the same lap.
This year’s winner was Jason Cox, shown above, who always seemed close to the edge of losing control, but never actually did. (The race saw one casualty, but no fatalities—so far.)
Marlin Moore, who sponsors the race on his farm, came in first of two contestants in what was euphemistically referred to as the ‘Over 50’ class. He also out lapped a lot of the racers in the general class (which was generously sprinkled with racers who looked like they could soon be eligible for the senior class).
After capturing the start, I walked about half the course backward, mostly avoiding the contestants, and trying to find interesting parts of the course that were well-lit.
It was an intensely sunny day, that made for challenging shooting conditions. I took all the woodland action shots using a flash to brighten up the bikes, open up the faces, and to help bring down the bright spots in the background.
A larger set of images can be found in my photo gallery.