The once-a-year thrill of seeing a topless show has filled the grandstands at Middlebourne, West Virginia’s Tyler County Speedway for 26 years. As the name implies, it exposes those who we love to watch center stage by removing their tops — in this case, the roofs of their super late models.
“This unique show all came about to give the fans a bird’s-eye view into the cockpit,” said Dan Patterson, Tyler County Speedway promoter. “The fans love it. They can see the drivers fighting the steering wheel. It is probably our most popular event of the year.”
This year’s event did not disappoint. Beckley, West Virginia’s Henry Hornsby, a 20-year-old pharmacy student, led 39 laps of the 50-lap feature. Pressure on Hornsby came from 23-year-old civil engineer Ryan Montgomery, of Fairmont, West Virginia. The battle took a turn when they encountered lapped cars. Montgomery (12) got by them. Hornsby, however, had an encounter with the lapper that resulted in a punctured tire, deflating his hopes of a victory.
That opened the door for Montgomery. Sort of.
“With two laps to go, I made a big mistake — I hopped the cushion,” Montgomery said.
Derek Doll, of Greenwood, West Virginia, ducked under Montgomery along with Colten Burdette, of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Montgomery had to settle for third. It was Doll’s second straight topless win.
“There is no difference in the car’s performance while going topless at a bullring,” said Montgomery, referring to the tight confines of the ¼-mile Tyler County Speedway. “Topless racing is done for sheer pleasure.
“It has an old-school attraction for fans. For drivers, it’s a cool experience. You have a lot more vision and can watch the other drivers’ techniques of handling their cars on the track while you race.”
Montgomery admitted to one small advantage in going topless.
“Hand signals are easier to see,” Montgomery said. “One crewman is on the infield with sticks. On the other end of the track is someone on the outside using hand signals. It’s hard to miss a signal when you’re topless.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
