CHRIS LOWREY
LUSKVILLE Aug. 3-5, 2018
The smell of burning rubber and fuel filled the air at Luskville Dragway as it hosted its biggest event of the year on the weekend with a purse totaling more than $100,000.
Now in its 38th year, Luskville Dragway’s Bracket Bonanza featured four different classes and nearly 200 racers.
The weekend kicked off on Friday with the big dog shootout and the fan favourite golf cart races.
After the golf carts were packed away, those in attendance were treated to live music from the band Ambush.
Saturday morning’s events started bright and early at 8 a.m. and featured all four classes – Super Pro, Semi Pro, Street Eliminator and Junior Dragsters.
Each race was a straight shot for 1/8 of a mile. In true ten-second car fashion, the fastest vehicles were posting times under five seconds and topping out at speeds around 150 mph.
The racers lined up and were down the track in short order, highlighting the efficiency of the event.
With a couple of hundred racers and more than 5,000 attendees over the course of the weekend, it’s the dragway’s biggest event bar none.
“This is our Christmas,” said Luskville Dragway owner Arnie Malcolm.
The more than 100 trailers that dotted the field adjacent to the track was a testament to that.
Malcolm has been overseeing the dragway since the early 1980s. He’s the one responsible for just about everything around the track from mowing the lawns to cleaning the toilets.
Malcolm said a typical day during the Bracket Bonanza weekend sees him waking up at about 5 a.m. and finally hitting the sack at 2 a.m.
However, he doesn’t spend the whole time bustling around doing work for the track, the weekend presents the odd opportunity for him to kick back and blow off some steam with his fellow race enthusiasts.
It’s clear that Malcolm and those who traveled to Luskville for the event are passionate about racing.
The racer who traveled the furthest came all the way from Newtown, N.J.
A trip down pit road showcased the camaraderie of the event. Many racers spend time walking around and getting to know their fellow competitors while scoping out their ride.
“We’re a big family,” said racetrack photographer John Chambers. “I used to come to the track when I was a kid.”
He said that many of those who were racing frequently see each other at different events all over Canada and the United States. The next competition for many in attendance is in Wawa, Ont. in two weeks.
The fact that the winner of the Super Pro class took home $10,000 shows why so many people are so passionate about racing – it can pay the bills.
Not everyone was tearing down the track on four wheels, others needed far more than just four.
Serge LaPierre re-fitted his 1996 Arctic Cat Thundercat so that it could race on asphalt.
The former snowmobile has been outfitted with a long, smooth rubber track on the back instead of the usual one found on most sleds. He also added several wheels along the front in place of the traditional skis.
The machine boasts around 200 horsepower and a 1000 cc top end.
LaPierre said that although the competition was tough, he nearly had a perfect start for his race. Ultimately, he said he was pleased with his posted time of 6.1 seconds, but seemed to have pinpointed what was slowing him down.
“I gained weight so I’m slower,” he said with a laugh.
