No Fire, Many Sparks; Pikes Peak Hill Climb soldiers on.(2002 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb)

This year, it was the fires. With 10 wildfires burning across the state of Colorado, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was again engulfed in controversy. Last year, the death of driver Chandler Bruning during qualifying cast a shadow over the 79th running of the race. In 2000, top chassis-fabricator John Wells smashed his trophy in protest of low payouts to the winning drivers. In previous years, legal challenges from the Sierra Club and the typical financial problems associated with staging a race of these proportions have dogged the organizers.

And so it was that by mid-June, extremely dry conditions near Colorado Springs had closed the Pike National Forest to recreational use and certain locals were adamant the race posed too great a fire risk. Just a week before practice was to begin, the 80th running of Pikes Peak was in jeopardy.

But, as always happens, the 12.4-mile, 156-turn race to the 14,110-foot summit went off as planned on June 29. You don't get to be 80 years old without being resilient. Race, city and forest service officials agreed to go forward after implementing some additional safety precautions and banning the traditional camping on the mountain the night before the race. Indeed, the 2002 Falken Tire Pikes Peak International Hill Climb finished without incident. One volunteer was overheard late Saturday evening remarking, ``kind of anticlimactic.''

Similar refrains were heard most of the day at the finish line.

The road was spotty. Some sections had grip; others were covered in marbles. A newly paved first mile of the course accelerated tire wear. Warm weather didn't help engine reliability or power. It had been that way all week in practice-race day was no different. There would be no breaking the 10-minute barrier this year, no matter how good the car, no matter how precise the driver. Rod Millen's 1994 record of 10:04.06 would be safe.

Focus fell to the class championships and the individual battles, none more important than those in Super Stock Truck/SUV and Super Stock Car. The father-son team of Leonard and Clint Vahsholtz would be running in these two classes, coming to the hill this year tied with Bobby and Robby Unser for most father-son victories at 21. Considering Pikes Peak's nickname, ``Unser Mountain,'' the Vahsholtz family certainly had something to prove.

Fittingly, the elder Vahsholtz broke the tie in his Ford Bronco with a triumphant run of 12:02.95, taking the Super Stock Truck/SUV title. He then cheered his son to an 11:53.05 win in Super Stock Car, but only after Clint was forced to restart when a red flag was thrown for a stalled car on the course. For the younger Vahsholtz, the win in his Ford Mustang was a record seven straight in that class. Yet for all the excitement over the family's triumph, neither class offered a close race: Leonard won by nearly 30 seconds, Clint by more than 32.