It was a colder than expected day but the racing was hot and Driftpile proved to be a great warmup for the race season! After a long lay-off it was great to be back racing, see some familiar faces and welcome some new ones.
Tech went smoothly as registration was in a trailer right beside the tech area so competitors could get assistance and advice from the crew as to which classes to register in. The ladies in registration found it a little cold but fear not ladies, a second heater is being installed in the trailer before it will be used again!
Racers went heads up on the two-lane track to test both their driving and tuning skills against the fierce competition. As for the driving skills, quite a few racers were a little too amped up and found themselves jumping to a red-light start. Quote of the day after a jump start, "Well I sure screwed that up." (Dwayne Heinz)
Fast Freddy Hebb from Whitecourt did well the previous race season and picked up right where he left off with wins in two classes. Another previously successful racer, Mike Simmonds from High Prairie also did well with his name appearing in the results several times along with his brother Jim.
First time SSRA racer Lawrence Juneau of Slave Lake brought a real nice pair of triple Ski-Doo Machs - a One and a Z. His sleds ran as great as they looked.
A new team with racers Kole and Brody showed up and were strong competition in the stock and improved classes. Word is they plan on attending several of the races this season so be on notice they had their sleds on kill. Well done and welcome guys!
The turbo Cat from the Overbore Racing stable looked quick early in the day, finding the traction they needed to take a heat win. However, a punctured cooler took them out of contention and left the door open for Mike LaValley to power past the turbo'd RX-1 of Star Saskamoose and take the Outlaw final and title of Fastest On The Snow on this day.
Thanks to our hosts from the Driftpile Cree Nation, all the spectators who lined the track and the competitors for putting on a show!