Last Sunday, Solomon Bennett was in hog heaven. Not only did the low-budget racer found some crew members from the stands, he got to kiss a hog. That’s a good thing, because it meant he won the Whole Hog 50 at Stuart International Speedway.
(For more on Solomon Bennett, read “Solomon Bennett: This $25 Paint Scheme Wins Races and Fans.”)
The crew came courtesy of the track program “It’s All About the Kids.” Promoter Mike Van Genderen developed it to get more young people and their families involved in racing.
“The only rule is that a team has to pick a family they never saw in their lives — preferably someone new to racing, complete strangers,” Van Genderen said.
Van Genderen chose three drivers to pick a family from the stands. Bennett had his friend Andrew Rice help with the task.
“We were running late, so I asked Andrew to spot a family that he said looked like they would appreciate being upgraded to the pits to be part of a team,” said Bennett. “So, we welcomed them as part of our crew for the night.”
The family consisted of Jacob Graham and Cassandra Wruck, who brought their two children, Harper, 6, and Jeffrey, 6.
“They asked a lot of questions,” Bennett said. “We showed them how it all works and how we work to adjust the suspension, change tires, and even add fuel. The whole process was interesting to them.”
Having the family as his guest incentivized Bennett to do well.
“I thought it would be cool if I won, and then the family could get the full experience,” Bennett said. “They had an effect on me. It made my night. They even got me to be excited enough to kiss a pig — something I never did before.”
That’s right, Solomon Bennett laid into the kiss with the gorgeous hog, which came courtesy of local racer and brainchild behind the event, Ben Eaton.
“The other drivers were kissing the hog on the top of her head,” said Bennett. “I was excited after winning, so I kissed her right on her nose. It was a pretty slimy kiss, but I didn’t care. I feel if you are going to do something like this, do it up right. The huge reaction from the crowd was something I won’t forget.”
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.
