The Adrenaline-Fueled Sport of Ice Racing (PHOTOS) | The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel

Every winter, racers convene in LaPorte, Minn. to race their cars—on ice.

ByEuna ParkJanuary 12, 2016


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Ice Racing in Minnesota. (Ackerman + Gruber)



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A 2005 Ford Crown Victoria, dark brown with a few dents on its sides, is rolled onto the race track. It dons a cobalt-blue “13” on the front left door and holds a 4.6 police interceptor motor, but this car won’t be racing on asphalt. It’ll be speeding between 50 to 60 mph on a frozen lake with a giant pink monkey attached to its roof. This is ice racing in Minnesota.

A man named Kurt Honer first opened Garfield Lake Ice Racers club in LaPorte, Minnesota 14 years ago in this small town of 111. Today, former ice racer Kris Baker, 58, runs the non-profit club as its president.

“I’ve loved racing my whole life,” Baker told weather.com. “I love being around racing. I don’t care if you race tricycles or cars... I’ll get kick out of it.”

From January to mid-March, Garfield Lake Ice Racers hosts races every Sunday afternoon. The club currently has 40 active drivers who are divided into either an A or B class. While temperatures can get close to minus 40 in the winter, racers and sometimes over 100 spectator cars will still come out to brave the negative temperatures for a race. Unfortunately, the 2016 season has been put on hold as the ice is not quite ready yet.

Robert LaRose, 45, a current driver and board member of the club, said that racing requires at least 18 inches of ice that must be approved by the county sheriff. As long as the ice is thick enough, no matter the weather, drivers and fans will all be out on Garfield Lake. “Even if it’s windy out or cloudy out, we’ll still go out and race,” La Rose said.

Every driver builds his or her own car—there is currently only one female driver at Garfield’s. Many of the cars are mid-80s Chevy Caprices or full-sized wagons and everything has rear-wheel drive. “Those cars are getting real hard to find,” LaRose said. “They’re a little bit more solid cars, heavier steel...They’re well-made cars.”

Garfield’s only female racer, Colette “Letty” Huston, 26, also drives a 1988 Chevy Caprice. Her racecar, inspired by the design of a Minnesota State Patrol car, is burgundy with white front doors that are decorated with an emblem in the shape of Minnesota. During the week she works as an Area Beer Sales Manager, but on Sundays, during the racing season, she’s a top-class driver.

She began her racing career driving with her husband in 2014. “The first year we raced, we were engaged,” Huston said. “After when we raced our own cars, we were officially married. We like to call it marriage therapy on ice.”

The duo now drives their own, separate cars. Last year, Huston won fourth in B class, coming in 18th overall. But the “Boobie & Booty Patrol” driver—that’s the name of Huston’s car—wasn’t always interested in racing.

“I had no idea, even before meeting my husband, that ice racing existed,” she said. “This is all a very new pastime for me, but I love it—I look forward to it.” Though the sport is challenging, Huston said that she’s developed a “burning passion” to race every winter.

Everyday drivers often avoid icy roads, worried about the dangers of slipping into an accident, but ice racers say otherwise. “It’s not as bad as when you’re racing on asphalt,” LaRose said. “Even if you get hit on the side, the ice will let you slide when you’re on impact. There’s a lot of fender benders, and that’s basically about it.”

“The ice conditions, sometimes the temperature is below zero, so your ice is going to be really hard,” said Huston. She also explained that warmer conditions provide better traction for the cars, as the ice will be slightly melted and softer to drive on. For these Minnesota ice racers, 20 degrees is warm.

More than the ice itself, flying snow dust is potentially the biggest challenge in the race. The dust flies up and around the cars, fogging up a driver’s view. To minimize such dangers, the club has created strict requirements for the cars: LED headlights and taillights as well as mudflaps to prevent snow dust.

Like every sport, ice racing brings together the athletes and their fans. In LaPorte, it brings together the entire community.

LaPorte has “one gas station, one grocery and two bars,” said Baker. “We’ll generate $5,000 and bring it into the businesses.” Garfield Lake Ice Racers donates everything they receive through entrance fees to the LaPorte community. From contributing to the local school’s prom fund to helping the dive rescue and recovery team, the club gives back in every way they can.

“[Ice racing] is a great thing,” said Baker. “The community…brings in so much money to the community, it’s unreal.”