Colorful, patriotic, original , outlandish, fast

GOSHEN-Six beds, six teams, and the race was on. The Bedrocks, sponsored by Arcadia Landscapes, won the third annual Great American bed race last Sunday. For a time they were pillow-in-pillow with the Q-Bloomers, sponsored by Ray and Maureen Quattrini, but the Flintstones-inspired racing bed pulled ahead at the end. The winning team had Jay Menzo as captain and coach. Doing the running and pushing were Richie Herrera Lima, Francisco Bernache, Enrique Herrera, and Hector. Rene Soriano, as Bam Bam Rubble, stayed in bed, slamming his trademark stone-age club. Everytime the Q-Bloomers got close, Soriana/Bam Bam slammed that club with increasing vigor, which spurred his teammates to pick up the speed. "It was an incredible motivational tool," Menzo said. Before race day, the team practiced on old lawnmovers, another key to their success, Menzo said. The Q-Bloomers, a tribute to the Goshen in Bloom beautification program, featured Ray Quattrini and his sons, Jared and Brian, and his daughter, Tarin, along with Ray's future son-in-law Sean Hackbarth and Paul Aponte. Although the team did not win for overall speed, they did get the prize for Most Colorful bed. Other winners included Padre 1 for Most Patriotic; Batman for Most Original and Most Outlandish, and the GOVAC Bumblebees for Classiest. Livin' La Vida Loca, the Mexican community's entry in the race, raced a bed built to resemble a bedbug.