WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is one of those tracks that needs no introduction. Home to the legendary Corkscrew, it has hosted decades of wheel-to-wheel battles between some of the world’s finest sports cars. So when Ferrari Challenge North America rolled in for its June 19-21 weekend, everyone expected the Prancing Horse to command all the attention. Everyone was wrong.
Video captured by spectator Riley Tessler and shared with KSBW 8 showed a Salinas Fire Department engine doing something you don’t normally associate with emergency services: drifting. On track. At Laguna Seca. With what appears to be a fair amount of commitment.
The crew behind the wheel was identified by Salinas Fire as driver Kevin Coon and tillerman Hayden Parker. A tillerman is the firefighter who steers the rear axle of a hook-and-ladder truck. So not only was a fire engine drifting at a racetrack, it was doing so with a two-person steering arrangement. Points for coordination.
The clip spread quickly, and it’s easy to see why. Against a backdrop of Ferrari Challenge qualifying sessions, Club Competizioni GT activity, and Passione Ferrari owners lapping the circuit, a sliding municipal fire truck wasn’t exactly on the schedule. Yet here we are.
Not the Ferrari Anyone Expected
The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque racing series that has run since 1993, pairing gentlemen racers with proper Prancing Horse machinery on circuits around the world. Laguna Seca is a natural fit, given its prestige and its place in California motorsport history.
The June event featured qualifying, sprint races, and owner lapping sessions. Premium stuff, start to finish.
The Other Vehicle That Left Its Mark
And then there was the fire engine, leaving skid marks of a different kind. Whether the truck’s appearance was arranged as part of the weekend’s programming or simply a well-timed opportunity isn’t clear from the available information.
What is clear is that Coon and Parker made the most of it.
Why This Works
There’s something genuinely enjoyable about watching a piece of heavy rescue equipment doing something it was never designed to do, on a track designed for exactly the opposite. No horsepower figures were provided. No lap times were recorded.
But for the fans in attendance, it was probably the most memorable thing they saw all weekend. And they were watching Ferraris.