Bikers blow smoke, tires in the pit at Myrtle Beach Bike Rally. A look at burnout contest

As motorcycles file into the Murrells Inlet biker bar Suck Bang Blow’s parking lot, riders rev their engines in a call-and-response cacophony. It’s 8 p.m. on May 17, 2024, and the crowd knows what’s coming.

The wall of sound has utility; it helps ensure the bike’s engine doesn’t stall, but it’s also just fun to do — a biker will happily volunteer to rev their engine if you ask. But on this night, during the 2024 Myrtle Beach Spring Bike Rally, the bikers have an opportunity to go head-to-head in a burnout contest where the sound of cheering crowds is almost as loud as the roar of the engines.

A maneuver where bikers hit the gas while breaking concurrently, the objective of the burnout contest is to either wear or blow out the bike’s tires in a battle to see who can excite the crowd the most. Dewey Horvat didn’t even wait until the contest started. A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native, Horvat drove his bike with his girlfriend seated behind him straight into the burnout pit — a small stall with glass walls and ventilation on the roof attached to the back of the bar.

He gunned the engine, and the machine roared and strained as Horvat revved it. He and his significant other quickly disappeared behind a wall of thick gray smoke as the crowd cheered, many taking their phones out to document the action. It was Horvat’s second time doing a burnout. He hadn’t planned to do one but was guided into the box and decided why not.

“I just went for it,” Horvat said afterward.

Horvat only stayed in the box for a few moments. Still, other bikers, sometimes two at a time, revved their engines and brutalized their tires for minutes — the outside venue reaching a crescendo as bikers driving past the contest unleashed their machines in solidarity with the contestants consumed in a cloud of smoke.

The experience is intimate for spectators, as those closest to the action are sometimes pelted with the shaved remains of tire debris generated from each burnout — the black residue coating their faces and hands.

Most competitors are young men, and the burnout contest seems like a fun rite of passion. Still, an occasional older contestant rode their ride into the arena for an opportunity to excite the crowd. The plumes of smoke can get so big that you can see them fill the sky as you drive past Suck Bang Blow.

It’s Tony Sarzynski who encourages the audience to cheer. Known as “Tbone” — the nickname on the back of his shirt — Sarzynski fills the time during lulls in the action with off-color humor and jokes while standing on a wobbly stool in front of the burnout pit, microphone in hand.

Tbone’s seen a lot of contests during his 26 years at Suck Bang Blow. A typical night features 25 to 40 Harley Davidson motorcycles and other brands testing their metal.

While fun to do, the burnout contest also serves as a way for families and friends to ensure their loved ones connect with their life’s passion, even in death.

Sarzynski said that some people place others’ ashes in the burnout pit, which mix with the pieces of tire and smoke that build up within the box.

“(It’s) their last wish ... One of their friends or a loved one goes in and does the burnout and kind of spreads the ashes around, and it’s usually a pretty emotional thing,” Sarzynski added.

For Sarzynski, the winner needs to be memorable; duration alone won’t secure victory for the biker. However, the contest is dangerous for the participants’ expensive rides, and the line between fun and disaster is quite slim in the box.

“A guy last year had a high dollar bike, he blew apart, probably about $15 to $20,000 worth of motor and transmission,” Tbone said. “The engine exploded, and when it did, it took parts of the transmission and everything that bolted to it apart.”

Those who successfully wear out their tires without damaging the bike get helped to one of two tire repair stations at the venue. The bikes are so wobbly after a burnout that spectators sometimes hold steady and help the driver push them along.

Seth Crater operates one of the bike stands at Suck Bang Blow; his hands are stained black from working on bikes.

Outside Crater’s stand sit stacks of removed tires destroyed from burnouts.

The risk may not beworth the reward. The contest does come with a cash prize, which is $200. However, the victory purse only covers half the $400 cost to repair a biker’s destroyed wheels, Crater said.

But bikers participating in the contest get something else. Crater revealed a silver necklace with a medallion that reads “Suck Bang Blow” on one side and “Spring Rally 2024 I put my s.... in the pit,” a memento to the roar of a motorcycle’s engine.