ColePhotography: Race the cops... No ticket ???

That's right and it happened many times this past weekend at Brainerd Dragstrip . A three day event , two of which was spent burning rubber at Brainerd , where the "Beat the Heat" organization held their 2011 world finals . Now , so that you all know... "Beat the Heat" was established in 1992, a national non-profit organization consisting of Police & Firefighters using marked emergency vehicles to pull in attention and interest of the public for educational purposes. No tax dollars fund this program , it's all done by donations ,sponsors and straight from the pockets of each member in this awesome program. As the BTH website states...
GOALS of BEAT THE HEAT, INC.
1. To EDUCATE the young people of our communities about the problems of illegal drug and alcohol use and the horrors of impaired and distracted driving,
2. To ENCOURAGE young people to stay in school and be an achiever in life,
3. To PROMOTE a better UNDERSTANDING between the Police and the communities they serve and,
4. To EDUCATE the general public about the sport of drag racing, and encourage everyone to race on the dragstrip NOT IN THE STREET.

On a more sensitive note , I ran into a story that puts a lot into perspective. As I was closely checking out the amazing paint work of a 1985 S10 owned and operated by Lt. Rey Alonso (Crew chief -Andrew Alonso) I noticed many faces in the work , as it turned out , Lt. Alonso told me he went to a local shop to ask about getting some fresh paint and among the conversation the shop owner of Split Image asked about the use of the truck and after he heard it was for the BTH program tears came to his eye's and he proudly stated he would paint it for free...if Lt. Alonso didn't mind him painting a girls face on the truck. This "girl" he wanted to paint was a passenger ,victim of a fatal street racing accident and was also his Niece. A very touching story that I'm thankful Lt. Rey Alonso shared with me , so I could share with all.

On to the burning rubber and cutting tree's part. Friday was the time to see these mean machines test their rides before the big "Showdown" Saturday. During Friday's fun anyone with a set of wheels could challenge a BTH member to a heads-up race on the strip, a "good guy vs bad guy" scenario... which was always fun to watch as the spectators rooted on their favorites , whether it be a cop or local street car with some go fast parts under the hood . It was a day long battle that drove late into the night which made for some awesome sights when BTH members flipped their lights on and lit the track with red & blues! And no one will forget the test pass Friday night of the Tulsa Heat Wave jet car , driven by Sam Ives , that made the most unforgettable sights & sounds...along with a blistering 175mph pass.

Saturday started with more crowds filling the track and scoping out all the cool rides close up. Everyone there was happy to let you in on all the details of their machines , Camaro's to a slick 1974 Porsche 911 RSR from Fort Worth, Texas. All waiting to battle it out in the BTH 2011 world finals "Showdown" . With two classes in this event (Mod cop & Pro cop) running the field down in a bracket format to a final race between the winners of the two classes for the chance to be the 2011 TOP COP . All of which kept spectators excited in the bleachers and on the fence , as they watched "The man" rip the strip for the chance to be Top Cop . As the day ended (with exception of another awesome pass by Heat Wave-video posted) the results came in as....
Mod Cop Champion, Mike Carroll