Motorsports
Brrrrring It On!
You know right off the bat that this is crazy. What else would you call an event that mixes high performance racing machines (snowmobiles that go 120-plus mph), with minus 30-degree temperatures and a one-mile oval snow track that is circled five hundred times (between the green flag that starts the race and the checkered flag that is waved to indicate the race is complete)? Folks who seem to have a touch of antifreeze in their veins don’t call it crazy…they call it the International 500—an event that has been held every year for the last thirty-eight years during the first few days of February.
Ground Zero for this frigid fling is Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Marie, or simply referred to by most as the Soo), along the shores of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The International 500 draws quasi-factory sponsored teams as well as privateers (mostly privateers) vying for the winning purse which runs into the thousands of dollars. Money aside, all who come to compete, and the fans who come to watch, do so mostly because they love the prospect of enjoying nature’s ultimate “brain freeze.”
Hearing some of the folklore about the 500-mile snowmobile race, Heartland USA went north to see what this unique event is all about. And what a hoot it is. The Yoopers (as the folks from the UP call themselves) do a first-rate job at finding amusement anytime of the year, but they do an especially good job at having fun in the dead of winter.
Before heading north there were some important preparations we had to make. We needed to be properly equipped for the unbelievable deep freeze we were heading into, so we went to Cabela’s. The foul weather gear we acquired included the latest in cold-fighting apparel technology. We will bear our personal testimony that the Cabela’s clothing/apparel system we were equipped with did an awesome job under these extreme weather conditions.
The dangers associated with cold weather such as this are several. Any skin (for example, on the forehead) that, even for a moment, gets exposed to such horrendously low temperatures and gale force winds as are found along Lake Superior in February can be characterized as feeling like a blow torch being applied to the skin. If not properly attired, this climate can be hazardous to anyone’s health. Knowing the signs of frostbite and hypothermia, and how to prevent injuries that result from being out in the cold, is essential.
With our preparations complete, we headed for the Soo and the 500-mile snowmobile race we had heard so much about.
The International 500 attracts racers from as far away as Sweden, France, North Carolina, Alaska and all over the northern woods. The I-500 also draws several thousand spectators who come to watch the action—taking place in the one-mile oval pit below—as they peer over the top of a steaming container of their favorite beverage, soup, chili or barbeque. Many spectators show up in RVs (motorhomes, travel trailers, truck campers, fifth wheels) and, reminiscent of the 1960s, there are a plethora of old yellow school buses that have been converted into rolling bunk houses and base camps for fans. As with the vintage school bus conversions, these units are equipped with galleys and LP furnaces. And just like at a NASCAR Cup event, these folks tailgate, party and gather for a good time.
The folks who put together the first International 500 nearly forty years ago, as well as those who have subsequently been the stewards of this unique event, have borrowed heavily from NASCAR’s rules and protocols. The race is structured in much the same way, with practice and qualifying, with the much sought after pole position (who starts at the front of the race) being the pot of gold at the end of the pre-race rainbow. They even make use of the lucky-dog procedure, which allows the first driver down a lap when the yellow caution flag comes out to get back on the lead lap.
On the average, thirty to forty competitors qualify for and compete in the race. During the race there are caution flags, red flags, black flags, green flags and the much coveted checkered flag. The most often used, however, are the yellow caution flags or red flags that temporarily stop the race. These are frequently waved because white-outs blow in off of Lake Superior, making it impossible for the racers to see each other standing still, let alone at race speeds. What always follows a white-out condition is the armada of snowplow-equipped pickup trucks that move out onto the track and remove the snow before the race can continue.
Now here’s another thing that is quite different about the I-500. It takes about seven hours to complete the 500 laps around the one-mile track. The longest I-500 ever run lasted almost fourteen hours because of yellow caution flags and red flags being waved due to blinding snow flurries. The first race, run in 1969, included top speeds down the back straightaway of 75 mph. Today, it’s not unusual for a snowmobile to be clocked at speeds of 120-plus mph down that same back stretch.
You would think that because of the huge amount of snow that falls due to the lake effect (about 300 inches during the course of the winter), that there would be few preparations (if any) required to groom the track for racing. That’s not the case. Every night for two weeks before the event, between midnight and daylight when the temperature is at its coldest, tanker trucks spray the track continuously with water to create a layer of ice that can be as much as eighteen inches thick—especially in the banked turns. Over the two-week period prior to the event more than two million gallons of water are laid down simply because an icy surface is much faster than one covered with snow.
Because the race can take so many hours to complete, and because of the extreme cold, some teams have two drivers that share the driving duties—but not all. There are those who were born and raised swimming around in the deep end of the Paul Bunyon gene pool, and these rugged characters run the entire race all by themselves, even if it takes 10 to 12 hours to complete. The only rest they get is when the yellow caution flag comes out, when a red flag temporarily stops the race, and during pit stops (yes, there is also a pit road and pit crews). The primary responsibilities of the pit crew is to refuel the snowmobile, give refreshment to the driver, and several times during the race they will change out the carbide blades on the front skis that permit the snowmobile to turn. Occasionally the engine-driven track (it looks like a conveyor belt covered with spikes or cleats) that grips and propels the snowmobile across the ice may malfunction, and teams sometimes elect to change these in the pits as well.
So what about the 2008 International 500? It will be held on February 2, with the week leading up to the race seeing the teams arrive to test their machine setups and make the preparations necessary to first qualify and then to compete in the event. It’s interesting to note that after qualification they can continue to work on their machines and change race set-ups.
The city of Sault Ste. Marie really turns on the hosting duties for those who come to compete, as well as for the thousands of fans who journey to this frozen bit of America to enjoy the race. If you decide to make the trek, just be sure to stock up on exceptionally warm garb...and bring a big Thermos bottle.