Sunday began with the Kiwanis Breakfast and included a swap meet and the Car Corral. The trophies and awards were handed out at 10 o'clock Sunday morning but more excitement was ahead. The tractor pull continued from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with arts and crafts selling the whole time.
To the young and the young at heart the best was saved for last -- the Burnout Contest. For the uninitiated, a burnout does not consist of a "chirp" of tires as a clutch is popped. Getting rubber while leaving a stoplight does not a real burnout make. A real burnout can only be achieved by a vehicle that is equipped with lots of horsepower, Positraction and carburetion. It usually requires larger tires and a distinct lack of an exhaust system that combine to achieve maximum horsepower and major tire smoke. A good burnout can, and should, last over eight seconds and the best ones last longer than that. The noise created by the horsepower is second only to the amount of smoke that is billowing in the air during and after the burnout. The roar of the crowd is the best judgment of how good a burnout is and judging from the multiple roars on Sunday, the quality was outstanding. Joe Bean and his 1972 Camaro won the contest with an awesome display of smoke, but everybody wins at a burnout contest. Where else can these fire breathing machines legally unleash their extreme horsepower in an almost reckless and exciting manner? The spectators that gathered to witness the noise and smoke were ecstatic as each successive machine attempted to outdo the previous one. The throngs that gather for a burnout contest only add to the atmosphere with cheers and jeers.
The first year of Fortuna Redwood AutoXpo was an outstanding success. The preparation and presentation by the city of Fortuna, as always, was the key to that success. The participants and their automobiles, tractors, engines and antiques make the show the exciting event that it is. It could not be possible without the hundreds of hours of planning, preparation and paperwork done by the many volunteers and dedicated staff members involved in creating and presenting the auto show. And now they are already working on plans for next year's event and if it can be made any better, the city of Fortuna will do so.