LAC LA NONNE – Bob Hudson from the Lac La Nonne area has invested his time and efforts to participate in ice racing as part of the Northern Alberta Sport Car Club.
“It's challenging when you are going around the corners. You're pretty much out of control sliding sideways, said Hudson.
“There's some very competitive cars and it gets extremely congested when you go into some of these corners and people are passing you on both sides.”
Hudson raced in the SnoMo event on Feb. 15 at Alberta Beach.
They ran into some vehicle challenges and with the extreme cold weather he did not race on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Last year, he raced in seven events and enjoyed it.
Hudson and his son had attended the Alberta Beach SnoMo event a few years ago and were interested in how to get involved and race themselves in the Chevette class.
They contacted the organizers, the Northern Alberta Sport Car Club.
The first step was getting a racing license and Hudson had to attend a full-day training course to accomplish this.
The second step was to get a car.
Hudson and his son lucked out in finding a Chevette that had been used in ice racing previously.
With some minor work done and a custom paint job the Chevette was ready to complete and meet the race guidelines.
There are strict guidelines are set by the Northern Alberta Sport Car Club on what can be done to the Chevettes to qualify for racing.
Racers use studs on the tires for traction but even the number of studs on each tire is defined.
No additional weight can be added to the car to improve traction.
The Feb. 15 SnoMo Alberta Beach event had 19 Chevettes racing and Hudson has seen as many as 23 Chevettes participate in an event.
The conditions made it really challenging, with blowing snow reducing visibility to almost nothing at the beginning of the day, according to Hudson.
Racers get points for the laps completed around the track which has a combination of straight aways and curvy corners.
At the end of the year there are trophies and prizes are presented for the more competitive drivers.
Hudson and his son are in it for fun right now.
They are looking at getting a second Chevette for racing in the coming years.
There are five to six races each year.
This year the final ice racing event at the Lac La Biche Winter Festival of Speed is happening on March 1 and 2.
There is more information available on the Northern Alberta Sport Car Club (NASCC) website: nascc.ab.ca/
The NASCC was found in 1957 with its first ice race at Alberta Beach in 1961.
As of 2022 the club hit a milestone with fourth generation racers in the club and racing.
