Feature ArticleFebruary 13, 2002
LAND O'LAKES NewsWeb HomeContact Us
Snowmobile drag races likely a goby David BrisonThe drags, scheduled for February 23, now look like they will take place. A more or less stationary high, bringing very cold weather, has raised the spirits of the organizing committee. As we went to press, Gary Parks, the race organizer, said that there is now enough ice to hold the event. Gary drilled two holes and found between 10 and 12 inches of ice.
Spencer Robinson, a member of the organizing committee again this year, late last week tested ice levels further out in the lake than Gary, and found seven inches of ice. However, that ice may now be thicker (and likely will be even more so by the 23d). Gary says that they plan to set out the course parallel to the shore heading in the direction of the Sharbot Lake Marina. This will avoid the portions of the lake that froze later - the entire new course now has 10 to 12 inches of good ice and that is what the committee had said would be required.
With the new course, more people will be able to see the finish line from a safe vantage point near the shore. The organizers will not allow any vehicles on ice this time around - at the first organizing committee meeting, a news clipping of several cars and trucks sinking into the water at an event near Detroit was circulated.
Gary is optimistic about the future of the event. He says that there could be an opportunity for the Sharbot Lake drags to become a sanctioned event next year, and if that were done, there would likely be 10,000 spectators at the event. "We will have to see.
how it goes this year and then decide if we want to go bigger. I think it is good for local business to have an event like this in the winter. If we do become a sanctioned event, there is money ($2,500) required up front," he said.
There should be good crowds this year - several events earlier in the season had to be called off, and racing has just resumed in the last couple of weeks. The racers are eager to get in as much racing as possible in a shortened season.
It looks like it will take a major thaw to cancel the event now.
