((PKG)) ICE CAR RACING ALASKA
((TRT: 06:15))
((Topic Banner: Ice Car Racing))
((Reporter/Camera: Rafael de la Uz))
((Map: Homer, Alaska))
((Main character: 1 female))
((Sub character: 1 male))
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
My first ever race was in a pink Ford Pinto and they called it
the Pink Pony. I was driving with my dad in town and we
drove past Beluga Lake.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
And we see these cars out on the lake. We tear on down.
What's going on? What is this? We go down there. There's a
sign that says they're broadcasting on the radio. So, we turn
it on. Now we’re listening. We're watching and we're just
riveted, staring over the dash, just loving it. This is so cool,
coolest thing I've ever seen.
And then it says on the radio, “We're looking for kid racers.”
I didn't dare hope. Nobody wants me to drive their car.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
Come on. I'm just a girl, a young girl. I don't really know
anything.
((NATS))
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
My dad says, “Let's just go.” So, we go in and now I'm
nervous. I'm afraid but I walk in and all of a sudden,
every car driver is just leeching on to me, “Come to my car.
No, come to my car. Come, try my car.” And it was really a
confidence boost. It felt very cool that they didn't care. They
didn't care that I was young, or I didn't know anything, or that
I was a girl doing what was supposed to be a man's sport.
And so, I walked in and they said, “Hey, can you drive a stick
shift?” And I said, “Sort of.” And they said, “Great!” and
shoved me in a car.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
It was incredible. I went out there and I ran the entire race in
first gear because I couldn't reach the clutch.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
So, on the weekday, I'm at home but I’m working. My
husband has his own job he must go and do.
I do everything that it requires to take care of the kids in the
house. Sometimes that’s doctor appointments and it's in the
back of my mind during race season what I'm doing and
what time we can spare. We have our meetings Friday
nights and that really just starts it. Now you're in race mode
from 6:00 p.m. on until Sunday evening,
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
race mode. We check on the tires. We check the oil and the
filters, and then you've got to paint it, you know,
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
because the way it looks is really half the battle.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
And then Sunday morning, I wake up. I make everybody
breakfast. I pack lunches. We get the car ready and we go
down to the lake and just hope.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
So, for the season, we have a few prerequisites before we
even bother putting anything on the ice, before we take our
cars out there with all of our tow vehicles. That’s thousands
and thousands of pounds [kilos] for each person, for each
set. We have to have a minimum of 16 inches [40 cm] of ice
where our track is at. And the way that we do that is, we
usually take a chainsaw down and then we measure how far
it is, but by the time we get down there to start racing, most
of the time, you stick your blade down there and never hit
water.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
Fine by me. We'll drill a couple of holes so it's not just that
one area.
And that comes with a very, a large responsibility, because
once people in the town, just citizens, see that the Homer
Racing Association has started to have a presence out on
the lake, they assume
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
that the lake is fine. And they’ll just go out there. Kids will go
out in their moms’ Subarus and start driving around. So, if it's
not suitable, we feel guilty because we gave them the
message that it was.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
We're all patriots. We all have a lot of pride in our country.
We all have a lot of pride in our state, and we will stick with
that.
So, it's important to us to pay our homage, to pay respects to
our country and our state. So, we send out our American flag
first, always first, and then our Alaskan flag to go behind
them. We all wait. Everyone removes their hats.
We put our hands over our hearts, and we do our best to
watch them do their lap around. We've done our respects.
We do it every weekend. It's tradition.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
Originally when the association began, they were racing for
a payout. So, it was money.
But at the time, we were also charging spectators a gate fee
to watch, and we no longer do that. That got really rough and
people got really upset and that became a little more bang
and clash and a little less family associated. So, they
decided,
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
you know, it would be more fun is if we were racing for beer.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
And that was fun until it started to create a dangerous racing
environment because at that point then we had alcohol in the
pits and that kind of leads itself into
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
some dangerous lanes and we decided this is, this can't
continue. Now you're racing for theoretical things. It's a
sense of pride. It's good skills. It's fun because sometimes
you've got a car that is not evenly matched with another, but
your racing ability will help you make the difference.
((NATS: Man and children talking))
Yeah, got to get out of the way. Oh, here she comes. Here
comes the momma. Oh, yeah!
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
If it's not family oriented, I don't want to be there.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
So, if it's not family bonding, if you're not together and you're
not having a good time, why do it?
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
((Photo Courtesy: Rafael de la Uz))
We have longstanding members that were there in the 50s
that are still here, but now it's their children and
grandchildren and sometimes great-grandchildren, coming
down and being part of the association.
And that's what's going to help keep us see into the future.
If my children decide that they don't want to ice race when
their time comes,
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
which is sooner than I'd like,
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
then the association won't last. It'll just be me and my
husband until we can't anymore and then
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
nobody else will take it up and that's kind of a bummer.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
We get very lucky in living in Alaska where there are areas
where you can take your kids and have them practice more
or less. That's one of the reasons why I love racing and why
I love bringing kids into the association because they get
drive time at a really young age in the safest environment
that they can be in.
We've got helmets. We've got lots of safety gear. We've got
fire extinguishers. They're in an armored car. They're
wearing sometimes five-point harnesses. They're in the
safest location they could be for anything to go wrong.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
I feel like you don't get it until you get it.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
It seems to me like you're just putting money into something
that's not really earning you anything other than a good time.
But what else are you going to do on a Sunday afternoon
with your whole family?
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
What are we going to do?
((NATS))
((TRT: 06:15))
((Topic Banner: Ice Car Racing))
((Reporter/Camera: Rafael de la Uz))
((Map: Homer, Alaska))
((Main character: 1 female))
((Sub character: 1 male))
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
My first ever race was in a pink Ford Pinto and they called it
the Pink Pony. I was driving with my dad in town and we
drove past Beluga Lake.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
And we see these cars out on the lake. We tear on down.
What's going on? What is this? We go down there. There's a
sign that says they're broadcasting on the radio. So, we turn
it on. Now we’re listening. We're watching and we're just
riveted, staring over the dash, just loving it. This is so cool,
coolest thing I've ever seen.
And then it says on the radio, “We're looking for kid racers.”
I didn't dare hope. Nobody wants me to drive their car.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
Come on. I'm just a girl, a young girl. I don't really know
anything.
((NATS))
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
My dad says, “Let's just go.” So, we go in and now I'm
nervous. I'm afraid but I walk in and all of a sudden,
every car driver is just leeching on to me, “Come to my car.
No, come to my car. Come, try my car.” And it was really a
confidence boost. It felt very cool that they didn't care. They
didn't care that I was young, or I didn't know anything, or that
I was a girl doing what was supposed to be a man's sport.
And so, I walked in and they said, “Hey, can you drive a stick
shift?” And I said, “Sort of.” And they said, “Great!” and
shoved me in a car.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
It was incredible. I went out there and I ran the entire race in
first gear because I couldn't reach the clutch.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
So, on the weekday, I'm at home but I’m working. My
husband has his own job he must go and do.
I do everything that it requires to take care of the kids in the
house. Sometimes that’s doctor appointments and it's in the
back of my mind during race season what I'm doing and
what time we can spare. We have our meetings Friday
nights and that really just starts it. Now you're in race mode
from 6:00 p.m. on until Sunday evening,
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
race mode. We check on the tires. We check the oil and the
filters, and then you've got to paint it, you know,
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
because the way it looks is really half the battle.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
And then Sunday morning, I wake up. I make everybody
breakfast. I pack lunches. We get the car ready and we go
down to the lake and just hope.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
So, for the season, we have a few prerequisites before we
even bother putting anything on the ice, before we take our
cars out there with all of our tow vehicles. That’s thousands
and thousands of pounds [kilos] for each person, for each
set. We have to have a minimum of 16 inches [40 cm] of ice
where our track is at. And the way that we do that is, we
usually take a chainsaw down and then we measure how far
it is, but by the time we get down there to start racing, most
of the time, you stick your blade down there and never hit
water.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
Fine by me. We'll drill a couple of holes so it's not just that
one area.
And that comes with a very, a large responsibility, because
once people in the town, just citizens, see that the Homer
Racing Association has started to have a presence out on
the lake, they assume
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
that the lake is fine. And they’ll just go out there. Kids will go
out in their moms’ Subarus and start driving around. So, if it's
not suitable, we feel guilty because we gave them the
message that it was.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
We're all patriots. We all have a lot of pride in our country.
We all have a lot of pride in our state, and we will stick with
that.
So, it's important to us to pay our homage, to pay respects to
our country and our state. So, we send out our American flag
first, always first, and then our Alaskan flag to go behind
them. We all wait. Everyone removes their hats.
We put our hands over our hearts, and we do our best to
watch them do their lap around. We've done our respects.
We do it every weekend. It's tradition.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
Originally when the association began, they were racing for
a payout. So, it was money.
But at the time, we were also charging spectators a gate fee
to watch, and we no longer do that. That got really rough and
people got really upset and that became a little more bang
and clash and a little less family associated. So, they
decided,
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
you know, it would be more fun is if we were racing for beer.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
And that was fun until it started to create a dangerous racing
environment because at that point then we had alcohol in the
pits and that kind of leads itself into
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
some dangerous lanes and we decided this is, this can't
continue. Now you're racing for theoretical things. It's a
sense of pride. It's good skills. It's fun because sometimes
you've got a car that is not evenly matched with another, but
your racing ability will help you make the difference.
((NATS: Man and children talking))
Yeah, got to get out of the way. Oh, here she comes. Here
comes the momma. Oh, yeah!
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
If it's not family oriented, I don't want to be there.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
So, if it's not family bonding, if you're not together and you're
not having a good time, why do it?
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
((Photo Courtesy: Rafael de la Uz))
We have longstanding members that were there in the 50s
that are still here, but now it's their children and
grandchildren and sometimes great-grandchildren, coming
down and being part of the association.
And that's what's going to help keep us see into the future.
If my children decide that they don't want to ice race when
their time comes,
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
which is sooner than I'd like,
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
then the association won't last. It'll just be me and my
husband until we can't anymore and then
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
nobody else will take it up and that's kind of a bummer.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
We get very lucky in living in Alaska where there are areas
where you can take your kids and have them practice more
or less. That's one of the reasons why I love racing and why
I love bringing kids into the association because they get
drive time at a really young age in the safest environment
that they can be in.
We've got helmets. We've got lots of safety gear. We've got
fire extinguishers. They're in an armored car. They're
wearing sometimes five-point harnesses. They're in the
safest location they could be for anything to go wrong.
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
I feel like you don't get it until you get it.
((NATS: Marina Brooks))
It seems to me like you're just putting money into something
that's not really earning you anything other than a good time.
But what else are you going to do on a Sunday afternoon
with your whole family?
((Marina Brooks, Secretary, The Homer Ice Racing
Association))
What are we going to do?
((NATS))
