Saturday people from across Northern America gathered to watch the 40th annual I-500 snowmobile race. The event fills Sault Sainte Marie with excitement every year.

The International 500 (I-500 for short) is an annual snowmobile race held right here in Sault Sainte Marie once a year.

According to legend, a few businessmen were having lunch and looking at the 1968 Indy 500 pace car (a 1968 Camaro) when the I-500 first became a feasible idea. They began to ponder why there couldn’t be a snowmobile version of the Indy 500. Could a snowmobile make it 500 miles? It wasn’t long before the dream was set in motion. Land (formerly an ammunition dump for Fort Brady) was acquired and a committee was established. The community seemed extremely eager about the idea as the track progressed quickly. It now takes 3 weeks and 1,800,000 gallons of water to ice the track properly. Rules were obtained from the Indy 500. The race tradition began in early 1969, with time trials starting on January 26. The fastest qualifying time was 57.1 mph. The very first race was held on February 8, 1969. In the first year, one man finished after racing a solid 13 hours.

This year’s race was quite a bit different. We’ve evolved from having time-keepers in the back of pickup trucks to using transponders and the machines are definitely faster. In 1969, spectators could cross the track between machines, this year the fastest qualifying time was obtained by William Long III with a speed of 91.5 mph. Unfortunately, his machine experienced some trouble in the beginning of the race on Saturday and he finished in 19th place. Corey Davidson, who placed 22nd in time trials, finished the race first with a time of 7 hours and 50 minutes. The race has become such an excitement for the town and even the northern half of the state. People come from around the nation to race; John Lynch, who finished 14th, is from California. There’s such a buzz around the event that it’s become the year’s highlight for many people.

John Bosek, who finished in 9th place, said “It’s something else just to get around all the people. You build a bit of a fan base.” He also talked about getting to see the kids. Several of the drivers visit four local schools to introduce students to snowmobiles. John, who has been racing for 24 years, also mentioned how you get into the race: “You do want to get some kind of experience.”

Anyone can sign up for the race if they have a snowmobile. But it’s wise to have some track experience first. It’s a whole new game when there are people constantly on either side of you.

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