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Home » Event Recap & Preview: No Prep Racing Takes Over the Grove
Mother Nature is a special woman full of head scratching surprises. Running an outdoor based business, you see more and more of these surprises. While she ties our hands when it comes to rain some of the weather anomalies we like to make an opportunity. In December 2022, we hosted the first annual New Years at the Grove No Prep Drag Race. The weather leading up to that event was rather gloomy to put it nicely. So when the weather did a 180 and ended up with a 50 degree forecast with full sun, we did not question it. We were hopefully but cautiously optimistic that this might actually be a possibility to make this “winter” drag racing a thing. Fast forward 11 and a half months and we were looking at about the same as last years. Not great but not terrible weather. Our fingers were crossed and we were just hoping for the best forecast for the “Maple Grove Weather Triangle.” While it was definitely chillier than last year, we were still in the presence of the sun. With some sun and time, almost anything is possible to put on a drag race.
Since this was only our second year for the event we were still feeling out the popularity of the event. We expected a higher attendance than the first year but not a high as what we had. While this was a great problem to have, it did mean the day would run a little longer. Normally that is not a big deal in the summer months when the days are full of endless hours of sun. However, when you are in the middle of the chilly months and sunshine becomes a premium you have to adapt. And adapt is exactly what the Maple Grove Staff, fans and diehard racers did. The lights were turned on, second and third layers of clothing were added and the cars kept flying. Even as the temperatures dropped, the excitement and energy could not be touched. The tensions were high and the stakes were even higher for these No Prep racers. They had a one track mind to finish this event, no matter how many articles of clothing they needed to wear between runs.
This event was such a hit that it is once again back on the schedule for 2024 and more events similar are on the horizon.
If you missed the opportunity to participate or spectate at the New Years at the Grove race on December 30th, here is your second chance. Whether you were not interested in braving the cold or if there was not a class you could race, we have the answer for you!
For the spectators our best advice is to layer up! More layers are better than less on that off chance we are blessed with a 50 degree full sun kind of day. Just because gates are advertised to open at 7am, save yourself some downtime and arrive closer to the start time around 10am. That lets you save some time out in the cold before the sun comes up and warms the day up. Parking is in the pits, so if by chance you want to layer up or down, or want a few minutes in the warmth you are close by.
For the racers on the fence about running…our advice is try it! Whether you’re not crazy about taking your race car down the track on an unprepared surface or if its still not ready, we encourage you to come out. You probably have the itch for racing just like we do. The solution is to enter the Daily Driver Class. Yeah, you read that right, a daily driver class…so bring out that grocery getter and get your fix of racing. You can read more about the daily driver class on the flyers below.
For the racers who participated at the New Years race in December…well we expect to see you back! We had a blast spending the day with you and we want to welcome you back.
