Hughes shares Demo Cross season championship

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Weston Hughes, who graduated from Fallbrook High School in 2006, shared the 2021 Demo Cross season championship at Perris Auto Speedway.

"I'm satisfied with it," Hughes said.

Hughes and Riverside driver Austin Kincade both had 378 points for the season. "There's nobody I'd rather share it with than Austin. He's a great competitor," Hughes said.

Whittier driver Doug Schatilly finished the season third with 357 points. Trebor Stephens of San Jacinto had the fourth-place total of 354 points. Chino's Alan Mahoney accumulated 339 points for fifth place.

"We worked at it for years to get the car to where it is and then we finally got a good competitive car," Hughes said.

Demo Cross is similar to demolition derby in that drivers are allowed to take each other out. It differs in that it is run on an oval track, which at Perris means half-mile laps, and that the race ends when the remaining drivers complete a specified number of laps rather than when only one car is still running. A driver cannot back up to hit another driver (a Demo Cross driver can run in reverse if he or she is unable to move the car forward, but it must be in the same direction as the other cars).

Another difference between Demo Cross and demolition derby is that prior to the Demo Cross main event, track officials place obstacles such as tires, boats, and water barrels on the track. Debris from cars along with inoperable cars themselves add to the original obstacles, and while a red flag may be thrown to stop the race for safety purposes there are no yellow flag cautions to remove debris or inoperable cars.

Hughes made his racing debut with motorcycles in 2014. That year Hughes and Oceanside driver Nathan Chavarria watched a Night of Destruction at Perris and decided to build race cars so that they could drive in the events. Hughes first raced at Perris Auto Speedway on June 6, 2015. He initially drove a 1984 Ford Taurus, which was one of the smallest Night of Destruction vehicles, for his Perris races and brought out his 1992 Jeep Grand Cherokee in 2016.

State and County of Riverside regulations regarding spectators delayed the start of the 2021 season until a limited number of tickets could be sold. Perris Auto Speedway had eight Demo Cross competitions in 2021. "I made them all, and I was competitive," Hughes said.

He led in the point standings for all of the 2021 season until Kincade matched him after the season's final race. "I got the championship, but it was still difficult," Hughes said. "The whole year was rough."

Hughes won three of the season's first four main events, taking first in the May 1, June 5, and July 31 races and third in the July 3 competition which was Kincade's first win of the season.

Kincade finished third Aug. 28 while Hughes was sixth. Kincade had the second-place finish Sept. 11 when Hughes exited early for 19th place. Kincade's second win of the season Oct. 30 narrowed the gap between him and Hughes, who took 10th place that night.

"He's really put in a lot of work to get to where he is," Hughes said of Kincade.

The 2021 season concluded Nov. 20, which was the day before Hughes' mother's birthday. "I'd really like to thank my mom," Hughes said. "My mom has been my biggest supporter."

Tracy Hughes is Weston Hughes' crew chief as well as his mother. Hughes' crew also includes Brooklyn McAlexander, Dan Drowns, Fiona Drowns, and Renee George.

The Demo Cross main event races are 20 laps on the Perris dirt oval. Hughes led for the first half of the race before an early exit. "The transmission just gave out on me," he said.

Although 20 drivers began the race, enough other cars had been eliminated earlier, so Hughes was given ninth place. Kinnane finished fifth, making up the 12-point gap between him and Hughes in the points.

The Night of Destruction races also include Figure 8 competition. Earl Cox of Norco won his fifth Figure 8 race of the season Nov. 20 and also won the season championship.

Hughes plans to drive a Figure 8 car next year. "I want to go out and try to beat Earl," he said. "I learned how to win after Demo Cross, so now I am going after Earl."

As the defending champion Earl Cox can expect drivers to target him. Hughes also recognizes the instinct to have success against a defending champion. "That's why I'm not even running Demo Cross anymore. I'll let my cousin go out," Hughes said.

Dan Drowns, who is Hughes' cousin, helped Hughes turn the 1985 Cherokee into a racecar. Hughes will run a Modified race car in the Figure 8 class.