The scream of the engines could be heard across town, but you had to get up close to truly appreciate the speed of the sleds as they whizzed past in a blur of color and sound.
“They’re a little crazy out there,” said Christina Bekkela, of Stiles, who spent her Valentine’s Day watching the races with her fiance, Neal Rebman. The couple rode their snowmobiles to the World Series of Ice Drags and watched the races from the bleacher area Friday and Saturday at the West Side Beach in Oconto Falls.
“We’re winter sports enthusiasts,” Rebman said. “We love snowmobiling, and we love going fast.”
“That might be a little fast for us,” Bekkela said, watching the action. “We’ll have a little competition between us and friends, but never something like this.”
For a third straight year, the Oconto Falls Sno-Jokers snowmobile club hosted the International Snowmobile Racing event, drawing a field of 57 competitors entered in 211 events and a crowd of about 3,500 spectators, according to organizer Andy Mercier. Hosting an event of this magnitude brings people into the community from near and far.
“Our community is on the map,” he said. “With that many people in our little town, hopefully everybody benefited from it.”
The opening ceremonies included a rendition of the national anthems of both the U.S. and Canada, in tribute to the citizens of both countries who came to compete in the event.
The success of the event was a credit to the many volunteers who helped stage the competition, Mercier said.
“It shows a smaller community can get together and make this happen, which is kind of amazing,” he said.
The weather was perfect for the two-day event, and ice conditions were excellent, he said. Night racing made its debut this year and was well-received by the racers and spectators.
Allison Walter, of Minot, N.D., said she competes for B3 Racing because she loves “to go fast.”
“And to win,” added Blair Lesy, of the pit crew.
“It’s an adrenalin rush,” Walter acknowledged. The 21-year-old has been racing for four years and competed in her fifth race of the season over the weekend.
“The track is one of the nicest tracks you could ever race on,” said Lesy, of Manitoba, Canada.
He said the racing community is like one big family.
Former racer Kevin Collard, of Kaukauna, agreed. He came to the ice drags to see old friends.
“You make a lot of friends that you might only see once a year, but they’re like family,” he said.
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