FELLSMERE – The day didn’t go exactly as planned for Treasure Coast Motor Sports’ grand re-opening of MESA Park with its first mud-bogging races.
Only a fraction of the trucks expected to show, showed. But there was an impressive crowd nonetheless, according to organizers.
“We sure tried the best we could,” announcer Lee Wagoner told the crowd of a couple hundred strong. But with the Sebastian Clambake down the road and other racing events in the region with far larger purses, the racers just didn’t make it.
The turnout, though, to organizer Ike Heckler Jr.’s way of thinking, was not bad at all.
“I think the grand opening was a success,” he said, noting that there were between 600 and 700 people out to see the races throughout the day.
Beth Bonvie, of Vero Beach, brought her 3-year-old son, Connor, and her parents out to MESA Park so Connor could see the trucks.
“He loves monster trucks,” she said.
While there wasn’t much action out on the track, she said that her family enjoyed being able to spend a day out in the beautiful weather.After the races, she told VeroNews.com, that she was disappointed with the event – and that her family spent $30 to get in. Bonvie added that she would have liked to have seen the organizer offer a discount to future races.
Amber Cerda, of the City of Fellsmere’s Beautification Committee, was also out at the park with other members, selling beer as a fund-raiser for the committee.
“It’s going slowly, but surely,” she said, noting that the other competing events had put a damper on the opening of MESA Park.
Organizers agreed that the event would have been better for all involved if more trucks had shown up. However, it did give them a chance to see the track – and crowd – in action and serve as a trial run of sorts. They expect a larger showing from racers next weekend.
Heckler has scheduled races every Saturday from now through the end of January, beginning around 9 a.m.
The cost of admission is $10 for adults – VIP tickets are $20 – and children 12 and younger get in free.