The 20th Anniversary of the Raccoon Lake Outboard Power Boat Races are this weekend. Practice rounds are on Friday before the races begin late Friday afternoon and continue through Sunday afternoon. Al Owen, a boat racer himself, has coordinated each year of the event.
“It’s the last race for NBRA and US title series. With that being the case, racers are trying to get their points, plus championships,” Owen said. “We’re expecting probably 60 trailers or so, and 140 entries overall.”
Owen says some of the boats travel extremely fast.
“The lowest speeds are in our novice classes. They are in the 50 miles per hour range,” Owen said. “These are our beginner drivers, hydroplanes and runabouts, actually. Then we have speeds in our mod classes that go up to about 90 miles per hour, plus some of them 95 or better. Then the title series is the methanol burning division. Their boats are a little larger, all the way up to the capsule boats running about 110 miles per hour.”
Once again, the boat races have partnered with Castle Ridge as the sponsor of the race and Smoke on the Water Fest for the 5th straight year. Owen says every year Castle Ridge is adding to the event with more vendors and entertainment each year. He adds the best place to watch the event is Castle Ridge. The Smoke on the Water event is free to the public.
For more information you may visit castleridgeevents.com.
