Snowmobiles drag the grass in Preston
For those who race and climb snowmobiles, it’s a way of life. But come summer, life must be put on hold, sitting in a garage or trailer until the snow comes again.
Enter the Snowmobile Grass Drag Association, a group of friends that got together to figure out how to make the summer go by faster.
“We started it as a snowmobile club,” said Lori Kent of X-treme Snowmobiling Sports (XSS). “We wanted to get some grass drags going on. A bunch of us friends got together, then it just grew.”
Randy and Sherrie Hobbs are the owners of Hobb’s Turf Farm in Preston where the second year of the snowmobile grass drag races were held.
“One day [my husband and a friend] were just sitting in church and they thought it would be fun to do something crazy in the summer, like ride the snowmobiles on the grass,” Sherrie Hobbs said. “After about five years, they really did it.”
Kent, secretary of XSS, said that they started it because they wanted to have some fun during the summer months. They had a pretty good response for their first year with around 75 racers participating.
“We thought we knew what we were doing,” Kent said, “[but] it was a mess. It started at 9:30 a.m. and went until 10:30 p.m. We were using headlights on the track.”
Kent said that this year they were prepared for that and brought lights. However, she didn’t think that would be a problem because she felt that they were really organized this year. She was right. The races were over by 6:30 p.m.
Close to 85 racers competed this year. Kent said that there were at least 200 races ran throughout the day.
“Grass race circuits across the country are growing,” said Myron Nelson, a 15 year ‘sledhead’ from Woods Cross. “All other forms of snowmobile racing is kind of decreasing, but right now grass
circuits are really popular.”
Nelson was the first winner of the day, winning the first heat of the mountain modified 800 division. By the end of the races, he had finished second overall in the mountain modified 700, the mountain modified 800 and the modified 1,000. He was competing in other events, but was unable to finish because of a broken chain.
Nelson’s nephew, Gary Warner, raced as well, placing first in the open modified and second in the mountain modified 1000 class.
Nelson said he races because he loves building sleds and competing. For him, the adrenaline rush is one of a kind and he likes the feeling of just knowing he can do it and can win.
“[I] always wanted to race,” he said. “[I] bought my first snowmobile and went on from there. It’s cost me thousands of dollars since then.”
Preston, Idaho, resident Clint Bruberer, who was a spectator at the races because his sled was in the shop, said he thinks people race because “everyone wants to know how fast their sled is. Everyone wants to see if they can beat the next guy. They spend a lot of time and money getting [the sleds] running and this is how you find out how you did.”
This sport isn’t just for the once-in-a-while snowmobiler. For those that want to get to the top in this sport, it takes a lot of time and money.
“It takes a lot of money to buy all the good parts,” said Todd Jones of Malad, Idaho and one of the early members of the snowmobile grass drag association, of what it takes to be at the top. “A lot of self-drive to be good at it. A lot of time in the shop getting your sled ready to go.”
Bruberer said it is hard to race sometimes because the modified sleds are high-maintenance.
Most who race seriously have been doing it for along time. Jones said that is probably because they race in the junior and mini classes and follow their parents around. But that’s not always the case.
“I’ve been racing since I was 4, so long time,” said Cliff Briggs, of Syracuse. “To stay out of trouble in school is actually how it started. I was told that if I stayed out of trouble then I could have a bike and a sled.”
Briggs also said that, after the sled has been modified, the key to winning the actual race is to “put your weight all the way back and put your head down.”
Briggs ended the day placing third in the improved stock 700.
The next race will be in Tremonton on Oct. 16.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu