Hughes second in Stock Figure 8 race at Perris

Perris Auto Speedway held this year's first Night of Destruction races April 2, and Weston Hughes finished second in the Stock Figure 8 race.

The 2006 Fallbrook High School graduate leveraged a third-row start in the 12-lap race to finish behind only winner Mike Lerwill.

"I didn't realize that I would do so well in it. It's the first race for this car. The car did better than I expected," Hughes said.

Hughes made his Night of Destruction debut last year with a 1984 Ford Taurus, which was one of the smallest cars at the crashfest. This year he is driving a 1992 Jeep Grand Cherokee. That vehicle had rolled over and was declared a total loss by the insurance company, so Hughes was able to obtain the Grand Cherokee inexpensively.

Lerwill began the race on the inside of the front row, got the jump when the original green flag was thrown, and led for the entire race. Hughes realized he would not be able to overtake Lerwill for the lead or even catch up to the Lakeside driver who began his racing career at Cajon Speedway. "No way did I have a chance at that," Hughes said of leading the race.

Hughes thus was not disappointed at being so close to first place and settling for second. "I'm stoked on it," he said.

Hughes was raised in Fallbrook and moved to Wildomar three years ago. On June 6, 2015, Hughes made his Night of Destruction debut and finished eighth in the Trailer Figure 8 main event and eleventh in the Demo Cross feature. The regular Figure 8 races were not split into stock and modified classes until this year, and on July 25 Hughes finished sixth in the regular Figure 8 race for his highest finish prior to his April 2 result.

Hughes made his racing debut with motorcycles in 2014 and competes in local races suitable for his Honda CRF 450. That year Hughes and Oceanside driver Nathan Chavarria watched a Night of Destruction at Perris and decided to build racecars so that they could drive in the events.

Perris Auto Speedway began its Night of Destruction races three years ago. Demo Cross is a demolition derby run on the quarter-mile oval track; drivers face obstacles on the track as well as each other. Four races are run on the Figure 8 course: a Stock Figure 8 race, a Modified Figure 8 competition, a Trailer Figure 8 event whose rules require the trailer to remain connected to the driver's car, and a Chain Figure 8 race which debuted April 2 and involves two cars chained together with a driver in the front car and a brakeman in the rear vehicle. The Night of Destruction event with the least contact is Spectator Racing, where two spectators driving their own registered cars start on opposite sides of the quarter-mile track to determine the faster vehicle over two laps.

Hughes also competed in the April 2 Demo Cross race, but when his engine temperature became hotter than desired he pulled off to save his car for future races. The next Night of Destruction will take place April 30.