Four Wheel Slide

Thirty-three years ago, a group of guys trying to figure out what they could do with their Jeeps during the winter months came up with racing – on ice. Today, Our Gang Ice Racing has become a Georgetown Lake staple on weekends in January and February. Club president Jean Denny says she got hooked twenty years ago, racing a four-wheel drive Toyota pickup across the ice; then she started looking for bigger and better things to drive. “People do it who have been priced out of skiing,” she says. “It costs $20 to come race versus the price of a lift ticket.” The races are elimination style, so you race until you’re beat. “And you start on opposite ends of the track, so there’s no way you can hit,” she adds. To make sure the course is safe, the club measures the ice depth with a drill before the races. It was eleven inches thick at last check. “We like more than that, but we can race on just eleven,” Denny says. Saturdays are the best days to race, or watch, because that’s when the vehicles with “cheater tires” that have big bolts in them come out, and those sometimes flip over, Denny says.

Registration is from 8 to 9 a.m. If you’d rather just watch, spectators are always welcome. Denny suggests arriving between 9:30 and 10 a.m. For vehicle requirements, videos and other info check out www.ourgangiceracing.com.
Sat., Jan. 10, 2009