The first Pat Parker Memorial Grass Drags at the Penobscot Snowmobile Club in Hermon last August exceeded expectations.
And it looks like the second one is going to be even better.
The second annual Pat Parker Memorial Grass Drags will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 19 and 20 in Hermon and one of the race organizers, Byron Ogden, said there are already 150 snowsleds entered, 74 more than they had a year ago.
Ogden, the trail master at the Penobscot Snowmobile Club, said the course will be significantly improved and they have also added more parking by cutting down some trees.
“The track will have a lot more grass this year. Last year, there was a lot of clay and dust,” said Ogden.
Kirk Small Jr., the race director and promoter, explained that a sponsor donated a $10,000 irrigation system which played a vital role in growing the grass and improving the track’s surface.
“Now it’s one of the best tracks in the Northeast,” said Small.
Small is affiliated with the Bangor-based 1400-member Central Maine Snowmobile Racing Association and approached the Penobscot Snowmobile Club about staging a summer grass drags event over a year ago.
The late Pat Parker was a friend of Small’s.
And Ogden, friend Nick Pomeroy and the other club members were willing to give it a shot.
“They have been excellent to deal with,” said Hermon native Small, who helped design the two-lane course.
Small and the race organizers have been meeting every two weeks to prepare for the event.
“It is hard to believe how far we’ve come in just over a year,” said Pomeroy. “There won’t be as much dust and clay and we’ve levelled out a few rough spots.”
Small has helped set up other snowsled courses at the Presque Isle fairgrounds, Shin Pond Village and Plymouth Pond. Plymouth Pond is just for ice/snow racing while the other three are for both ice/snow and grass drags.
“Snowmobile racing roots run deep in Maine dating back the circle racing at Bass Park (in Bangor),” said Small. “We want to bring it back.
“My son (Kirk Small III) has to leave the state to race,” said father Kirk who is hoping to establish a racing circuit within the state.
“That would be good for economic development in the state. Everyone gets a piece of the pie,” said Kirk Jr., noting that the racers would stay in local hotels and fill the restaurants.
Some snowsleds will reach speeds of over 130 miles an hour on the 500-foot course, which then branches out to another 1500 feet for stopping purposes.
Small said he has raised $4,000 for the event and most of the purse money comes from the entry fees, which can be as high as $250 per sled in the 1,000cc Pro Mod Class and $200 per sled in the 1,000 Pro Stock Class.
Small said there will be 24 sleds in both classes.
The top four finishers in each class will earn money.
Ogden said there will be approximately 18 classes altogether and the racing will begin at 10 a.m. each day.
There will be a number of top-notch racers from across the country and Canada at the event according to Small and Ogden.
Former world record holder Michael Bailey will come from Saginaw, Michigan, to participate and Small pointed out that Chad and Roy Oliver and Chad Closson are other nationally renowned racers who will take part.
And Newport’s Billy Sawyer, who beat Bailey at the Haydays grass drags in Minnesota last year, headlines the list of Maine riders.
Admission will be $10 and kids 10 and under will get in free. Food and beverages will be sold.