Root for the underdog

By Chelsea Yarnell

For the TODAY

The four competitors barrel down the race track, neck-and-neck. It looks like there’s a clear winner, but then shoulders are thrown. The top two are thrown off their game from the scuffle. Out of nowhere the third-place racer overtakes the leaders and earns the crown. Sometimes the underdog wins — literally.

Each Fourth of July, wiener dogs come out of the, uh, dogwood for a chance at glory in the Firecracker Wiener Nationals wiener dog races. This unique holiday tradition, now in its 17th year, will be hosted at the Phyllis Baker Park in Rockaway Beach, with races beginning at 1 pm.

“I grew up in Portland and every Fourth of July we’d have a family reunion at a beach house in Rockaway Beach,” Firecracker Wiener Nationals emcee and organizer Eli Newell said. “In 2006, we were leaving the parade and saw a sign for a wiener dog race. We figured it was a joke.”

Newell and his family fell in love with the event and through the years came to be the main coordinators.

“We’ve grown it from a 20-person crowd to a 2,000-person event,” Newell said. “It went from four dogs to 60 wiener dogs, which is crazy; it’s almost too many wiener dogs. We’ve had to extend the racetrack because there’s so many people sitting along the grass and then rows of others standing.”

Wiener dogs from all over the country somehow, almost magically, appear for the races.

“Wiener dog owners, they’re a special lot,” Newell said. “It’s like owning a Camaro, when you hear there’s going to be a bunch of others you come together.”

Racing eligibility is simple: if it looks like a dachshund, it's a dachshund. Registration opens at noon with a suggested $5 race fee. Dogs will be assigned to a heat in the tournament. Four dogs will race at a time with the top two advancing to the next race.

“It isn’t over until the top two cross the finish line,” Newell said. “It happens every year: a dog will look back, throw a shoulder and take out the top two.”

Racing will continue until one dog is crowned the Firecracker Grand Champion.

“Winners get a little trophy, a t-shirt and glory,” Newell said.

A non-wiener dog race is also hosted for all other breeds wishing to race. While not held in a tournament style, it still promises a fetching-good time.

“It’s nice to have a fun, heart-warming event where everybody can have a fun time,” Newell said.

Firecracker Wiener Nationals benefits the Tillamook Animal Shelter. Each year the event raises roughly $10,000 for the organization.

“The Tillamook Animal Shelter is amazing,” Newell said. “We interact with all the volunteers. They’ll take anything and help; they do such amazing work. I mean, they’ll take a snake if it sprains its ankle.”

The races are free to attend, but proceeds from t-shirt sales as well as their “couple buck” hotdogs are also donated back to the Tillamook Animal Shelter.

Newell would like to remind spectators to arrive early, and with so many other Independence Day festivities in Rockaway Beach, to expect traffic.

After the wiener dog races, stick around Rockaway Beach for the Fire Department’s Fireworks Show, starting at dusk at the Oceans Edge.

For a full list of Firecracker Wiener Nationals racing rules (the first one is “Have Fun,” with the second being: “Don’t ruin anyone else’s fun), go to firecrackerwienernationals.com.

Photos courtesy of Firecracker Wiener Nationals