North Carolina's Mechanical Advantage Racing top team at Snowshoe Mountain's Hillfest

Mechanical Advantage Racing was arguably the team to beat over the weekend at Snowshoe Mountain Resort's First Annual Hillfest. Organizers said the event drew more than 150 drivers for a chance to see who could make it up the 2.5 mile hill the quickest.

Mechanical Advantage Racing (MAR) Owner Kendall Samuel, of Hendersonville, N.C. and his friend Grant Walker, who currently lives in Michigan, decided to bring their race cars to the competition. MAR is a Subaru-style tuning shop in N.C.

"This is an interesting new event, " Samuel said. "I have always wanted to come to Snowshoe. Mainly, because if your car breaks down, we brought our mountain bikes ... So your weekend isn't over, even if your racing is. It's a really cool combo location."

Over the course of the three-day event, the racers were consistently at the top of their class each day. Walker took the top time overall on Saturday with a 94.052 seconds in his 1995 Mazda Miata (Race Class). However, Samuel finished 2nd overall for the weekend in the Street Class, in his 2000 Subaru Impreza, at 93.020 seconds.

"This was actually my daily driver in college," Samuel said, pointing to his race car. "So, now this car's got a full roll cage and we have rebuilt everything."

Samuel, who has a degree in mechanical engineering, said he made several adjustments to better his time for each crack at the 11-percent incline over the weekend.

"I really liked running yesterday (Aug. 9)," Samuel said. "I'm a little nervous for today because both Grant (Walker) and I, we were at the top of our classes yesterday and it was awesome and now everybody got faster... I was so close to 1st, and now I need to cut like 5 seconds. I went from like 4/10ths off of 1st to 5 seconds from 1st with seven people ahead of me. So, we made some adjustments. We put different tires on, stickier tires. I think the weather had a big effect yesterday, with the rain. Now we are dry for sure. Also, no one had seen the course before. Now people are getting more familiar. I'm hoping a combo of a better car and me being more familiar will make a difference. You never know until you run."

Walker, who came to the competition at the urging of Samuel, said he was unsure of what to expect.

"My friends told me there was a new hill climb in West Virginia and asked me if I wanted to come," Walker said. "I didn't have an engine in this thing two weeks ago. (Samuel's) style of motivation is kinda like, 'you won't do it' and that's a challenge to me. So, I wanted to prove him wrong and I got an engine and got it in and got it running and now it's running pretty quick."

Walker said he had never been to West Virginia before the weekend, but was impressed with the scenic beauty.

"It is beautiful here," Walker said. "The mountain roads are amazing. It would be really cool to come for a vacation down here. The roads everywhere are really nice."

For more information on Mechanical Advantage Racing, you can find them at maracing.net or on Instagram under Mechanical_Advantage_Racing. To learn more about Hillfest visit www.westvirginiahillfest.com, Chaosfabshop.com or www.snowshoemtn.com.

RACING EXPERT -- Mechanical Advantage Racing owner Kendall Samuel prepares to make a run at Snowshoe Mountain's Hillfest, last weekend.Photo byBenjamin E. Simmons