Gearing up for mud at motorsports event
Mudbog event comes to Inuvik
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, September 1, 2016
INUVIK
Summer may be wrapping up but, with one weekend left, Inuvik's motorsports enthusiasts are gearing up for the biggest event of the season.
Kurt Wainman, left, and Russ Reed take a break from working on Wainman's mudbog truck to show off the vehicle, affectionately named Little Pig. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo
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"We're doing it to bring entertainment to the community," said Kurt Wainman, president of the newly formed Iron Horse Klub, which is organizing a mudbog.
"Everything we do is entertainment for us, so we figure everyone's gotta get a kick out of it."
Wainman has been organizing a demolition derby once every two years for more than two decades, but plans fell through this year. Instead, he and a group of like-minded truck owners decided to put together a mudbog for Sept. 4.
It will kick off with a parade starting at Jim Koe Park at 10 a.m. The event itself kicks off at 11 a.m. at the gravel pit on Navy Road.
Funds raised are going to the Children First Society.
Wainman said turnout for the derby in past years has ranged anywhere from 10 to 30 vehicles, but that he hopes to see between 20 and 30 trucks for the mudbog.
Some will even be coming in from Whitehorse and Dawson for the event.
"Everything that makes a more active community, the healthier a community you're going to have," Wainman said.
"You can see there's already lots of hype."
Just driving around the industrial area, Wainman said he has seen more than 10 trucks obviously stripped down in preparation, with many more out and about around town.
The goal for a good mudbog truck is to get the vehicle as light and fast as possible, he said, but there are still some rules. All tires must be road legal, although they will be divided into three classes based on the size of the tire.
This is just the first of many events the club hopes to organize.
Wainman said 20 people showed up for the first meeting and the organization has goals that include running snowmobile races, bike shows and demolition derbies - basically anything to do with motorized vehicles.
He also has plans to find or build a clubhouse somewhere down the line. Until then, the wrap-up party Sept. 4 will be at the Legion, with the whole community invited. He said he hopes people turn out as spectators and also as participants, and that the event grows year over year.
"There was a mudbog in town before," he said.
"It's nothing special. If it drives, you can drive it in a mudbog."
