so last weekend i was out playing on the lake with my Camaro, and when i got home i made a stupid facebook page for a fake ice racing association... well, a week later it's got like 70 followers with no promoting on my part and people asking when this is going to happen and saying how it has to happen. people asking what kinds of cars, studs or not, etc..
i know nothing about this sort of thing: how does one go about setting something like this up? how to cover the legalities, the logistics of controlling people that think that demo derby is the only valid form of motorsports? how to get local companies to help with it?
one thought i had was trying to get some other group that already runs ice races around MN to do it, but based on what i've seen of their videos they don't really cater to the kind of crowd that lives in this particular part of the state: not a lot of Subarus in this area, but there are a lot of Caprices and Lincolns that were brought up from Arizona for the next demo car season as well as facebook pages full of $500 and cheaper fwd econobeaters.. there are a few circle track racers around here, but i don't think anyone knows what road course racing is beyond what goes on at the kart track in the next town.
it's too late to do anything this year, what with winter being almost over and what not.. but next winter is an option, and it would be cool to have something like this that isn't 100 miles away. i have a perfect lake that is easily accessed off a major US highway 45 miles west of Minneapolis that is no longer seen as a really good fishing lake, so it's not like a lot of fishermen would be pissed off my the noisy cars..
I think the next step is to call K&K Insurance Agency and the town hall for the lake.
In reply to novaderrik:
You should contact forum member "iceracer" he is a member of Adirondack Motorsports Enthusiast Club aka AMEC/ icerace.com. I'm pretty sure that they are the largest ice racing organization in North America. I'm sure they can give you some good advice. FWIW, A small town may be very welcoming to an event like that, It's great for breaking up winter monotony.
i think this area in general has a lot of pent up need for some motorsports- or really anything remotely fun to do, for that matter... 20 years ago, they had radar runs and vintage snowmobile races out on the lake every year that attracted good crowds from all over the state.. before that, a lot of the top dirt track roundy round teams in the state were from here, despite only having one race a year at the track at the county fairgrounds in town.. they even had some national boat racing series show up for a few years in the early 90's, and they ran pretty much exactly where i want to put the ice racing track. now, it's the center of the central MN demo derby scene, with most of the dominant cars in the state coming from here- i was absolutely shocked when i learned how much time, effort, and money they put into those cars.. they have a few mud runs and truck/tractor pulls at the fair grounds every summer- and i can't help but think that the parking lot and the former front stretch of the old 1/2 mile circle track (now just used for demos and pulling) there would be perfect for some rallycross because it's got a lot of elevation changes..
a lot of the people that have followed my ice racing page are a part of the demo crowd, but some of them appear to have circle track backgrounds based on profile pics, with a few having dirtbikes and atv's as pics..
i think the time is perfect to start making some noise in this town again: all the old people that kept the fun stuff away are dead or dying, and the mayor is a relatively young 38 year old that wants to figure out ways to bring some cash into town and put Howard Lake back on the map of places people want to go to..
I may be wrong, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that there used to be regular ice racing at Howard Lake, like back in the 1950s.
that could very well be.. that would have been my grandpa's generation- i've heard a few tales of stuff that happened around here back then and life was in general a lot more fun- they were the ones that kicked Hitler and Hirohito to the curb simultaneously and they were looking to cut loose.. then my dad's generation came around and they became a bunch of uptight Bob Costas- well, not my dad, he was cool, but everyone else. now they are all dying off, and this is about the most redneck area of the state as far as i can tell.
169 "likes" of the facebook page, which is practically money in the bank...
i just put out a feeler to the IIRA- International Ice Race Association- to see if they would be interested in looking into running some events out here. i figure there's money to be made and they probably like to make money, so why not? if nothing else, even if they don't want to actually put their name on it they know how to get this stuff done and could advise me on the stuff that needs to happen..
After you secure a lake, measure the ice. 12" is a safe minimum
Then plows to carve a track.
Secure enough course workers, scoring, tech and gridding. Also registration.
Rules for competitors and cars. Classes ?
That's the basics. You might peruse our rules for what we run. www.icerace.com
Of course you need insurance. Hard to find and very expensive. so forget making money.
If you plan on charging for spectators. Forget it. Enough problems.
It takes a whole crew to run a race. About 12 will do it. some can double.
Feel free to ask questions.
i know of several people locally that help with setting up, promoting, and operating demo derbies, tractor pulls, and mud runs in the area... one of them owns a lawn care company with a fleet of 3/4 and one ton trucks fitted with snow plows..
but i figured i'd ask the people that do actual wheel to wheel racing type things out on actual ice before letting the locals take it over since they look at you funny when you talk about any form of racing that doesn't involve smashing cars into each other or pulling something the length of a football field.. at least let the "mature" people be in charge until the locals get a feel for "not a demo derby" type of racing..
