State-Journal.com - Muddin' for a good cause

State Journal/Hilly Schiffer Luke Lanham, 18, and Bethany Moore, 17, share a kiss while Sarah McCormick, 18, and Quen Moore, 18, all of Shelbyville, sit on the front of a truck to watch MuddinÕ for Cancer, a benefit for the Franklin County Relay for Life, on Twilight Trail Saturday. Kentucky Mud Masters organized the event.

Photo By State Journal/Hilly SchifferBrendon Lyons, 6, rinses mud from under his armpits after he ran in the Dash for Cash as Tyler Lacy and Austin Wynn wait their turn in line at Muddinâ€™ for Cancer.

Photo By State Journal/Hilly SchifferPhilip McLemore races a custom-made dune buggy on a 100-foot mud track.

Photo By State Journal/Hilly SchifferKayden Lyons, 3 of Frankfort, covers his ears while eating a hot dog, sitting in a lawn chair and watching cars race through a mud pit.

Trevor Tingle stood in a makeshift announcer’s plywood booth with two large speakers on the roof.

It was time for a break from his running commentary – and to hit the crowd up for a worthy cause.

“Open up your pocketbooks and give what you can,” Tingle shouted as a bulldozer evened out a 100-foot long mud track.

Tingle played the announcer during Saturday’s Muddin’ for Cancer, a benefit for the Franklin County Relay for Life organized by the Kentucky Mud Masters.

The event on Twilight Trail had 74 race entrants slinging mud and trying to make the fastest time through the muck. They raised $2,000, half will go to Relay for Life and another $500 will go toward the Versailles chapter of a leukemia foundation.

More than 300 were on hand for the Kentucky Mud Masters’ seventh event. Some sat in the single set of bleachers to the left of the announcer’s booth.

Others parked their trucks and trailers next to the track and either sat on tailgates or in lawn chairs in the truck beds. Many stood around the track.

“We’re here to support our neighbors since they run the event,” said Janny Goins, who watched from a lawn chair. “It’s a good cause and a lot of fun to go to.”

Some drove more than four hours from Newport, Ind., while others came from Maysville, Mount Sterling, Vanceburg, Lawrenceburg and other Kentucky cities.

Of course, Frankfort residents made up a large portion of the crowd.

They paid $5 before parking, and children 12 and younger got in free.

Tingle, president of the Kentucky Mud Masters, tried to make it affordable for families.

“We set the price at half of what the Franklin County Fair costs,” Tingle said over the phone on Sunday. “That was to try and make this event affordable and try to get people out here.”

Race participants paid a $25 entry fee and got two attempts at the track. Prize money was calculated depending on how many entrants were in each class.

Several different classes of vehicles tried to post the fastest time through a straight, 100-foot muddy track that eventually became a muddy trench.

A variety of makes and models were entered. Older Chevrolet Silverados, Ford F-150s, a newer Dodge Ram, and even a custom-made blue dune buggy, that could only complete one run instead of two, were part of the spectacle.

Drivers’ best times were counted.

Stan Minor, 38, from Maysville, won the pro street stock class with a time of 2.74 seconds with his ’79 Ford Bronco. Minor said he has spent around $8,000 on upgrades for the SUV.

“Doing this for Relay for Life is definitely a good thing,” he said. “Plus it’s a fun thing to do. They had a pretty nice little mud hole here today, and it was a little rough and exciting to try and stop at the end.”

During one break between races, boys and girls 16 and younger ran the Dash for Cash, a race split up by sex with the winner getting a cash prize collected from the audience. Tingle provided running commentary for this series of races as well.

Like the vehicles before and after them, participants left the track with a fresh coat of brown.
While the girls ran for the nearest water hose to clean up, the boys stuck around and had an impromptu wrestling match.

Marsha Toles-Smither, group treasurer, and Tingle started Mud Masters Oct. 4, 2007, after Toles-Smither’s cousin, Jamie Toles-Wiard, was diagnosed with cancer. Toles-Smither and Tingle organized a mud-racing event to raise money for Toles-Wiard’s treatment.

Toles-Waird passed away in March 2008.

Since then, the events’ proceeds have gone toward cancer research and treatment.

“Cancer has been a big part of my life because several family members and friends have either died of it or have been battling it for a while,” Toles-Smither said Sunday.

“People don’t understand that once you’re diagnosed with cancer, it stays with you for the rest of your life. Even if you beat it, it’s still there.”
Over time, the group has built a dedicated group of followers.

“One girl who was here yesterday has never missed an event,” Tingle said Sunday. “Marvin Downey, who races in the super stock class, donates all of his winnings every time. People are starting to take notice.”