ACCORD – Hundreds of race fans descended on the Accord Speedway right off of Route 209 this past Friday and Saturday to watch competitors duke it out on the track to attain the title of King of the Catskills — along with a healthy purse of $6,000 cash. The event caps off the Speedway's season, which runs from April to October each year, and it's during the weekend's eight division speed-fest that each race feels like a main event unto itself.

This is no exaggeration: just five laps into the first race of the evening, one car collided into the backside of another, ramming it up against the boilerplate — or side wall on the track's turn — and flipping it over. Racing was briefly suspended while the Ellenville Rescue Squad drove onto the track to make sure the drivers were okay, and a tow truck (a necessary fixture of any race, it seems) took the busted car off the track. Once the accident was cleared, the race's frantic and fast pace resumed, with cars sliding and drifting into and out of turns, all vying for the top spot and to be first past that checkered flag.

The basics of the game's rules are simple: the first one to finish is the winner. The races themselves seem uncomplicated at first glance, mainly because the track is nothing more than an oval, a quarter-mile in circumference, and composed of tacky dirt that's been maintained and prepared in such a way as to give the cars' tires as much "bite" as possible. Watching a race unfold, though, reveals the fact that drivers have it a lot tougher than just driving around in a circle. They must compensate for the way their cars' back-ends fish tail as they careen around the track's turns, which are banked at about 20 degrees or so, all while avoiding (as much as possible) getting smashed by their opponents and the concrete or boilerplate walls that surround the track, and looking to secure that front spot in the race. Lightning reflexes — or the lack thereof — mean the difference between taking home a trophy and a heavier wallet or getting your car smooshed up against a wall.

Furthermore, once you get off the track, you see that's where the science and strategy behind the sport is formulated. Between races, drivers and pit chiefs and their crews work relentlessly to squeeze every ounce of speed out of their cars, increasing motor performance while reducing drag. Steve Pados, the Speedway's announcer and head PR manager, puts it simply on Friday night when he said, "It's a very costly sport."

Of course, when asked what makes a winner, Pados offers an even more simple, almost zen-like proverb, as first said by former longtime racer Brett Hirn.

"A winner has a program; a loser has an excuse," said Pados.

At the end of the weekend, racer Jerry Higby took first place and the King of the Catskills title — as well as an extra $500 bonus for winning with the smaller 358-cubic inch motor in his car.

The sport's appeal isn't too hard to figure out once you get yourself to the grounds and feel the intensity of the cars' motors from back in the stands. It's exciting and intense; the engines rumble so loud that you can feel them rattling your bones, while the smell of the dirt and exhaust can leave you feeling breathless — a feeling that gets intensified when you see the cars blazing around the speedway.

But leave it to a true racing fan to really show how that bond between a gearhead and his sport of choice is first forged. Bill, a fan from Woodstock, put it best on Friday night, shortly before the race began.

"I went to a race with my dad years ago, and just seeing the cars," said Bill, "I felt like they were a magnet, and I was a piece of steel — I was instantly attracted."

Coming up at the Accord Speedway will be the Wreckage in the Catskills demolition derby competition on Saturday, October 10. More information can be found at their website, accordspeedway.com.