Race Week Celebrations Largely Peaceful

The young man walked toward the truck and looked like he was ready for a fight after the driver honked at him for stepping out in front of the moving vehicle.

That combatant look he had only a second before quickly changed into an apologetic expression when he saw the driver was Highlands County Sheriff's Office Major Mark Schrader.

"I'm sorry," were the only words that came out of the man's mouth.

The incident could sum up the majority of the post-12 Hours of Sebring activity Saturday night at Sebring International Raceway; there was lots of drinking, celebrating and revelry, but it never got out of hand.

"This is the quietest I've ever seen it," said Schrader, who has been patrolling the races for 15 years. "The crowd's getting big, but not unruly. We make sure they have a good time and don't get hurt."

Indeed, most everyone who was camping in the raceway's Green Park seemed to be having a good time. A large crowd gathered at a grandstand to hear a band jam to classic rockers like Steve Miller Band's "The Joker."

Others were showing off their best dance moves to the beat of loud rap music.

Then there were those who combined comfort and fun. Circling through the park for about an hour was a truck hauling a trailer. Secured on that trailer were two sofas that surrounded a large cooler. About eight happy-go-lucky young adults were sitting in the trailer, blasting music and waving to everyone they encountered while cruising the grounds.

The only real issue was when deputies and firefighters responded to three small fires, the first two being set within minutes of each other.

Schrader said this has been a past problem, as those who have had too much to drink decide to burn pieces of furniture. On Saturday, the furniture was old couches.

A West Sebring Fire Department brush truck arrived to the blazes and firefighters would quickly have a hose to them. A chorus of boos erupted from the crowd when the third fire was extinguished. One man even got angry and started yelling at six law enforcement officials, who quickly worked to calm him down. Another person started yelling at the man and told him to leave the deputies alone, even going so far as to call him a "dumb (expletive)."

Schrader said an increased law enforcement presence at SIR the past few years has helped curtail the lewd and disorderly behavior that used to be a bigger problem.

Saturday night, there were 51 personnel from the sheriff's office, local police departments and state and federal agencies providing security.

"When we started making arrests and ejecting more people, the word spread," Schrader said. "We (also) have zero tolerance for underage drinkers."

There were 11 arrests since 6 p.m. on Saturday. One of them was a young man being escorted from the flagpole area - another popular gathering spot - in handcuffs after a fight. Dispatch had also earlier alerted authorities that a woman in the party zone was claiming battery by her boyfriend.

The first two days of Race Week were relatively quiet. Only three arrests were reported, with two of them being juveniles charged with possession of alcohol by a minor and the third being a Largo man charged with possession of marijuana, according to information from J.P. Fane, with the sheriff's office.

On Friday, Steve D. Griffin, 48, was injured after he fell off the tailgate of a pickup truck. He was taken to Florida Hospital Heartland Division before being sent to Sarasota. The incident was still being investigated.

Also on Friday, six minors were cited for possessing alcohol, one adult was charged with resisting arrest with violence, three were arrested for marijuana possession and two face counts of having pot and drug paraphernalia.

During Saturday evening's tour of the raceway grounds, Schrader spotted a man who was holding what looked like a bong. He got out of his truck to investigate and discovered that it was actually an unfortunately-shaped souvenir cup.

Surprisingly enough, the man was quite honest about what he planned to do with the cup later in the evening.

"He told me he was going to make it into a bong later, but not here because, 'You guys will put me in jail,'" Scharder said.