MEDWAY, Maine — The 3 to 5 inches of snow on the ground outside the East Branch Sno-Rovers clubhouse Saturday were not nearly enough for snowmobile riding, but plenty for snowmobile drag racing.
That’s why organizers of the Katahdin Area Snowmobile Racing Affilliates, or KASRA, are hopeful that next weekend’s Northeast Winter Nationals drag races will draw hundreds of snowmobile racers and fans to the clubhouse.
Jim Stanley, a volunteer race coordinator, said the club’s dozen or so racetrack volunteers have been spraying the 2,200-foot drag racing track or piling snow scraped from the club’s parking lot and a nearby field since Christmas.
Volunteers Maynard Michaud, Steve York and Willard Perry used pickup trucks, backhoes and two dump trucks to plow together piles of snow in the lot and carry them to the far end of the track on the southern end of the club property Saturday.
Volunteers will polish the track daily until the first races start at 11 a.m. Jan. 21.
“I believe we have 10 inches of ice out there right now, or more. It is a big block of ice,” said club president O.C. Stanley, who is Jim Stanley’s cousin.
“Making that track ice is the biggest thing we have to do every year,” Jim Stanley said. “We can only draw so much water out of our hydrant at one time. There were times we drew down so much water that we had to leave it alone for a few days.
“We are making wine out of water, that’s for sure,” Stanley added.
Club members formed KASRA to celebrate snowmobiling, carve a unique niche in the Maine outdoors sports scene with snowmobile drag racing, and develop a new revenue stream for the Katahdin region economy, which already has world-renowned snowmobile trails.
Snowmobile drag racing is not unlike auto drag racing. It’s loud, precise and a little amazing to the eyes. From the starter’s light pole to the finish line is 660 feet of ice. That’s the racing portion of the track. The rest is for slowing down.
Located at the clubhouse on Hathaway Road, about a mile from the East Millinocket line, the snowmobile drag racing track is the only one in Maine not built on a waterway. The club charges a $5 gate fee for people 12 and older.
The first and second years of racing were challenging for the club’s race organizers as they had to assuage doubts from their landlord, Katahdin Forest Management President Marcia McKeague, that the event would be safe for riders and spectators. Racers commonly hit speeds in excess of 120 mph.
But no serious accidents have been reported since the event’s beginning, O.C. Stanley said. That’s a tribute to the club’s volunteers and the members of the East Millinocket and Medway fire departments, who donate water and pumps to the track-making.
“We take our safety as seriously as we take our racing,” O.C. Stanley said.
The Stanleys hope that the lack of snowmobiling in the Katahdin region will help draw more of a crowd to the events. Pre-race registration will run from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, with races starting at 11 a.m. that day. Sunday’s races start at 10 a.m.
“At least this weekend it will be a big boost for this area,” Jim Stanley said. “We have racers from New York to Nova Scotia calling and saying they are going to come.”
The East Branch Sno-Rovers supports Quimby and her National Park
“The list the committee provided has several new names among those who
already had publicly declared support for a study. They include the
Sierra Club, Environment Maine, the Natural Resources Council of Maine,
West Branch Choppers and the East Branch Sno-Rovers, Jo Mary, Twin Pines
and Ebeemee snowmobile clubs.”
Source: http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2011/10/05/news/penobscot/quimby-park-effort-gathering-momentum-supporters-say/
Thanks, but no thanks, I will find a better way to spend my weekend.
Good, have a good one, that just means more hot dogs for the rest of us. When did it become that if people have a difference of opinions that you couldn’t support each others businesses, endeavors, have dinner together or maybe go sledding together?
I would hope that the people of Medway and East Millinocket think more of themselves, area businesses and organizations than to lower themselves to the levels that some have in the Katahdin region.
Just as a point of clarification: Jim Stanley, one of the primary organizers of the drag races and a club member, is the same Medway resident who is collecting petition signatures to challenge via referendum that town’s being the only municipality whose leaders have declared their support for the national park feasibility study. As near as I can figure, club members who support a study are working together with those who don’t because they all believe this event, and the club’s welfare, comes before politics.
Its also the same Jim that signed a letter of support as West Branch Choppers.
Snow Clubs are kind of like biker gangs it seems to me.
1 You ride on gasoline propelled vehicles.
2 You have club houses.
3 You all wear patches on your jackets flashing your gang name and colors.
4 Despite all your differences, in the end you all still answer to the “Queen B” don’t you?
“Sons of Anarchy”, comes to Medway Maine. I see an all out turf war breaking out next! :}
Are you for real ??
Sounds like he’s on salts! Not making much sense is he?
no hes not making an sense at all
Ahhhh …I`m sure you will be missed by all.NOT..
Thank you for demonstrating first hand that the anti-park people are really just envious of their neighbors.
Pro-Quimby supporters can say what they want, but the fact is that most sledders dont trust Quimby— why should they, she lied to them and blackmailed them, and its been proven that a park would block most access to sleds, ATV’s and motorized vehicles,,, as well as hunting & fishing….
At the end of the day the vote will come out that most dont want Quimby’s Park.
The real sad part to all of this is that this event is overshadowed by an agenda driven liberal, hell bent on limiting access— remember, the goal of these greenies is to remove man from the land…!
Also from the October article on organizations on board with the park study, I see that the grand darlings of the Magic City are on board – Gerald Pellitier Inc. Once again, the only reason the Pellitier’s are on board with the study is because of money. Rudy and Eldon do alot of work for The Nature Conservancy and the Appalachian Mountain Club. So because of money, they have to publicly come out in support of their handler’s political views, even though personally, they may feel different. Amazing isn’t it? One can look at these park supporters and see the undercurrent of money being behind it all.
They also do alot of work for Roxanne.
Somebody’s got to install those gates, pull those bridges and put those rocks and ditches across Quimby’s roads to keep out the rabble.
You talk about all the gates Roxanne has put up, do you know the actual number of gates that she has put up?
The only reason the East Branch Sno Rovers and Ebeemee support the study is because of money – in this case money from the State to finance their trail grooming efforts. The exalted rulers of the other 2 clubs – Jo Mary and Twin Pines, are very tight with he who controls the purse strings of the State’s snowmobile grooming program. These 2 exalted rulers operate high end lodging establishments, so will benefit directly from the supposed influx of tourists Quimby National Park is rumored to bring. As long as the Sno Rovers and Ebeemee are marching in lockstep with the exalted rulers’ political views, these 2 clubs are treated well when it comes time to dole out the descretionary trail grooming money. It’s sickening really, but it’s the politics of snowmobiling.
An interesting side note – the Sno Rovers and Ebeemee don’t even have trails that cross the Queen B’s property. Why do they even have to take a position? They’re not directly affected by the Queen B in any way. They’re taking a position to support their exalted rulers to assure they get a generous cut of the snowmobile trail funding pie. It’s all about money.
Something for everyone to do and people balk about it. Go and eat a hot dog…