I-500 Lack of Entries...

[JoeRainville]

Hey Guys,

I remain a huge fan of the I-500 and cross country racing, going back to the "1966 - 1980 Winnipeg to St. Paul" days up to the modern USXC - Goodridge to Grygla 500 run last year. Some of my favorite vintage sleds are my Deere I-500 racers including a NY 340/s, a Liquidator that was reported to have finished in 76, and a 78 Cross Country Liquifire, plus my modern vintage class racer Liquifire and Dator.

I've attempted the vintage I-500 class most every time it's been run since 2011 with several DNF's and even a few finishes here and there. I even talked Adam into racing my Liquifire after he built my sweet Liquidator two seasons back, with one finish under his belt so far. Rumor has it that he might be building a new sled for next year even.

One disappointing trend to see is the decline in entries. The first year in 2011 we had around 32 or so sleds entered in the Vintage and Vintage Legends (+50) classes. I think the all time high was about 40 sleds total. Last year we had a whopping 5 sleds entered between the two classes in the GG-500.

I understand with the 2019 I-500 being cancelled, then coming back late as the GG-500 caused some uncertainty, but it was a great race, and a darn good time. While I was happy to make the drive up from DFW, it would be nice to see more guys out there. I know there has to be 40-50 race prepped I-500, vintage cross country sleds ready to go, and I know some were built and never raced unfortunately. Any thoughts from you guys on what would get you back on the track, or get some of you new guys out there for the first time?

I know cost has come up several time, and the USXC has lowered the entry fee down quite a bit from when they were attempting the point to point Winnipeg to Bemidji run, so that does help. The length is much shorter than the 180 mile loop they used to run out of the 7-Clans Casino. I believe the GG loop is about 125 miles, with one gas stop. So the length is more reasonable.

I would be interested in hearing what you think...

-"John Deere Joe" Rainville

[Cabindweller]

My issue is that I am too old and my body has seen its better days, the bulged disks in my back wouldn't take the abuse. Perhaps one of my daughters would drive.

[JoeRainville]

Thanks Jerry.

I posted the same note over at vintagesleds.com and had similar responses. The concerns posted or e-mailed to me ranged from entry costs, being too old or injured to race, the cost of building a cross country race sled, etc.

I can say the entry fee for the GG-500 is much lower than it has been, at about $200 plus mandatory insurance and equipment rentals if needed. I can't add or do anything about the fan base getting older, but I am happy that at 50 I am still healthy enough to complete. A sled can be build pretty reasonably if you don't go overboard with the updates.

I did get carried away with the budget on the Liquidator, but they are an expensive sled to restore. The Updates were not that bad. I spent much mess on my 80 Liquifire since building it in 2010 for the 2011 race and only rebuilt the motor last year after running it out coolant in 2011.

Thanks,
-Joe

[sledhead16]

It is something that ive kicked around doing

[10kTrailfire]

Is there a link or website for this race???

[Matt]

This is last year's page, does not look like they updated a 2020 page yet. https://www.usxcracing.com/index.php/i-600