10 Best Things About Haydays — Sept. 11-12

The 44^th annual Haydays grass drag, swap meet and snowmobiling party is a less than a week away, and with its new location it’s bound to be interesting. Here is my unofficial, quickly thrown together and hardly thought about Top 10 Things About Haydays.

1. The Swap Meet – This is where you can find the windshield you’ve been seeking for your primary sled, the seat for your older sled and the clutch for your vintage sled. Plus, you can sort through the mess of clapped out dirt bikes, occasional kitchen appliances, old neon beer signs, off-brand used power tools, tires & rims, artificial Christmas trees and weed whips, among other things. Remember to bring your best haggling skills.
2. The Grass Drags – Call me old fashioned, but Haydays started as a grass drag, and I still truly enjoy seeing the boys (and occasional girls) settle the score for who can build and race the fastest equipment on dirt. It’s called a grass drag, but it sounds like the entire course this year will be on a clay surface. Either way, expect 500 feet of racing, lightning fast equipment, the smell of race gas and turbo-charged egos.
3. 

   Buy something...please....

   Vendor Displays – Whether you want to check out the new sleds, talk to the guys who make traction products, leer at the pretty girls tossing out Ski-Doo T-shirts, shop for a new jacket or helmet, dream about the hot aftermarket performance setup for your sled or subscribe to the best damned snowmobile magazine in the sport (and I’m not talking about Snowmobile, Race Gas, Snow Action, City Sledder, Snow Week, Sno-X, SX illustrated, Snow Trader, Hot Sled, SnoTrack, Invitation to Snowmobiling, or Race & Rally – they’re all dead!), there’s a lot to see at Haydays.

4. The Weather – Yeah, we all love winter, but it is kind of cool going to a snowmobiling event in shorts and a t-shirt, and better yet, seeing all of the gals at the event in shorts and T-shirts or bikini tops — helllllloooo ladies!  
5. The Motorsports Freestyle Shows – The high-flying freestyle show featuring sleds, bikes, quads and the occasional off-road truck has become a staple at Haydays over the last 10 years. See young men with more guts than sense fly launch off of ramps and do oddly-named and dangerous aerial maneuvers while obnoxious music blares through staticy speakers.
6. Seeing Vintage Sleds – Haydays has a formal vintage sled area called Memory Lane where you can restored beauties, and the swap meet with packed with unrestored relics. Either way, Haydays is a great place to celebrate this sport’s great history.  
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New Race Venue in Minnesota: ERX Extreme Motor Park

MINNEAPOLIS (September 30, 2008): The first of its kind motorsports park in the Twin Cities has broke ground and is set to go green December 18, 2008. Located in Elk River, Minnesota adjacent to Highway 169 on the outskirts of the Twin City metro area, the Elk River Extreme Motor Park (ERX) will offer snocross, motocross and more to starved motorsports enthusiasts throughout the Midwest.

Site of the new ERX Motor Park in Elk River, MN

Located on 14-acres of rolling terrain, ERX Motor Park will feature year-round action with a focus on grass roots racing, giving first timers and recreational enthusiasts a chance to hone their skills and more importantly to simply have fun with friends and family. Park designers are taking all levels of experience and all forms of racing including snowmobiles, motorcycles and ATV¹s into consideration as they design the track into the varying elevations that encompass the park.

“The idea behind ERX is to create a motor park where amateur riders can come out and try racing in a nonthreatening environment,” said Chris Carlson, co-owner of ERX. “While we’ll have the ability to adapt the track for professional level racing, we want to create an environment where everyday trail riders, clubs or organizations can come out and enjoy a day or evening of fun with their families.” To do so, the ownership team of ERX will keep entry fees low, track time abundant and offer something for everyone.

During the week starting November 15, ERX will offer open snocross practice on a professionally designed and built track, and the same will hold true during the summer months, when open motocross practice will be available.

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