Northern Light

A little over a year ago, I posted about my son-in-law's main hobby and passion, the annual snowmobile race at the Soo.  They do other races too of course, but this is the big deal for the year.



I mentioned very briefly in that post that a film crew had been taping them and another racing family for over a year, making a documentary about snowmobile racing. The mention was so brief that I think most of my friends missed it and were surprised recently when I posted a link on Facebook about a funding effort to raise the final amount needed to finish the film. You can see the trailer for the film by clicking the link on the left.


The funds are being raised on Kickstarter, a site for raising money for all kinds of creative projects. The twist  here is that the goal must be met, or the project gets none of the money pledged.



Most of these pics didn't make it into the original blog post, but I thought it would be fun to show the crew, mostly Nick, following, (or running after!), Ike and Emily getting footage of them before and during the race.


     



 

 



 

While it is certainly exciting to think that my daughter and son-in-law will be in a movie, the bonus is that we have made some great new friends in Nick and Lisa, and their photographer, Anna.



               

                             

                                           

                                                           

                         

            

Normally I would crop a photo taken from this far away, but I love the Where's Waldo look of it. Can you find Nick?

Another 500 laps - the view from the pits

It's another race weekend and we are off to Lincoln, a little burg clear across the state from us on the "sunrise side", almost to Lake Huron.

 

The weather is perfect for racing, around 30 degrees, and not much wind. We enjoy going to this particular race because it's small and they don't limit the number of people in pit row like the Soo has to.

 


Driver's meeting before the race


As long as you are willing to pay, they will give you a pit pass, so we get to hang out with the kids all day while they are doing their thing, Isaac racing and Emily shooting photos.



                                              

                                                Nope, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!

We love watching the little kid's races which at this event are held just before the main race.

 

It's always fun to watch these young kids racing around their own small track.



Some even lean off the sleds on the corners like the big guys even though most of them aren't really going fast enough to need that balance.  Although one little guy got cut off and crashed  ran into the snowbank right in front of us and broke one of his skis. He didn't let it stop him though and finished the race with the broken ski. No time for pit stops when you're only going a few laps!

           

After the kid's races, the MI Cat-500 gets started with a Meet the Racers on the track. The race sleds come out and all the fans come down the hill onto the track to talk to the racers and check out the sleds up close.



 
A young fan poses on the Skid Row sled




Racing is definitely a family affair. Besides the family and friends that are part of the pit crew, Emily is always there to make sure everything is tucked in where it's supposed to be. It's easy to get frost bite if you're not careful.

 



And lots of other family and friends come out to watch and lend moral support. It's a long day, so tents are pitched and fires started to stay warm.





Now it's time to get the fans off the track and start the race!

   

 
Heading up to watch the from on top of the race trailer


Watching the race from pit row, you get to see the pit crew in action. These guys are fast, and you definitely need to stay out of their way so they can get their job done.



                    

                                        

                                                            

                                                              30 seconds and done! Another great job by the Skid Row crew.



It helps that they keep a super organized race trailer. Everything has a place, and they always know right where to go when they need a part or a tool.

   

Although the #33 sled was able to move into 1st place from 10th starting position for a lap or so, the track was increasingly rough as the day went on, and they had trouble getting the right amount of traction on the skis.

 

A minor crash (no injuries!) and a broken handle bar lost them a few laps as well. They hung in there for the whole race though and finished 8th for the day.

                                                   



With two other races canceled, the season is over, but next year I'm sure they will be back better than ever.