Garfield Lake Ice Racing Club looks back on 25 years, celebrates milestone on unique surface
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 17—LAPORTE — It was approaching noon on Garfield Lake's slowly-melting surface on Sunday, March 8, and Tom Lindahl needed to gather the competitors for a pre-race drivers' meeting. He he did what anyone else would do.
Lindahl grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun.
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"This is my starter pistol," he quipped. "I would use my .45, but it's 50 cents a shell now."
He fired two shots in the air, easily getting everyone's attention, as the ice racers quickly huddled in a circle to prepare for the final race day of the season.
It was a gorgeous late-winter afternoon, almost too gorgeous. Temperatures were well above freezing all week, and Sunday was no different, hovering in the 40s.
Some drivers were worried about ice conditions on the track, which is plowed on the south end of Garfield Lake. But after inspection by some of the organizers in the morning, they decided that the ice had one more race in it for 2026.
After giving the divers a few safety reminders, Lindahl ended the meeting with one last note:
"Be safe, have fun and don't wreck anything."
The Garfield Lake Ice Racing Club has been doing just that for 25 years. Racing on a track plowed on the south end of the lake, the club is filled with a cast of characters where everybody knows everybody.
"You know, Laporte, it's got a little bit of history," said Reid Watson, who's been with the club since its inception. "They used to call it Robber's Roost, apparently, way back in the day. So it's just my kind of people — outlaws."
Lindahl added: "Let's face it, these are mostly rednecks here — good ol' boys. It's camaraderie. Most of the time, you'll see grills out, people cooking. A day like today, everybody's just having fun, and that's what keeps them coming."
For longtime club members, it's hard to believe that 25 years have passed since the green flag first waved on Garfield Lake.
"I figured some do-gooder would, you know, shut us down for fear of pollution (or something)," Watson said. "I mean, anywhere you go, there's always going to be somebody that doesn't like seeing people have fun."
In 2002, Kurt Honer was looking for something to boost his local bar — now called The WoodShed — after a few slow winter seasons.
"The Vikings sucked. We had no snow for two winters. I had to do something to get people in there," he said.
Locals like Watson had been making the half-hour drive to Hackensack to race on Birch Lake. Honer had seen some races himself when an idea struck him: why not do the same thing on Garfield Lake?
"We've been going strong ever since," Honer said.
Of course, not all were pleased by the new club. One Laporte resident in particular wasn't happy about the club's noise every Sunday, even after mufflers were added to the cars.
One day, she called the sheriff to complain about the club again, but there was only one problem: the club didn't race that Sunday.
The club hasn't gotten any complaints since. It's become a staple on Garfield Lake every winter. Drivers routinely go 60-70 MPH on the straightaways, as spectators surround the snowbanked track in their cars, undoubtedly with the heat blasting.
The community in Laporte has embraced the ice races so much that the club wanted to give something back in return. Thanks to money from pull tabs sold at local bars, the club donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to places like food shelves, schools, homeless shelters and many more.
"They donate to people in need," Watson said. "In fact, years ago, I had a sickness — pulmonary embolism — and they showed up at my place with a check, helping me out. They are happy to help out the community."
Lindahl has been with the club since 2003. For years, he had been the flagman. This year, however, he was named the club's president, making sure each race day goes off without a hitch.
For the drivers, ice racing lets them scratch their competitive itch during the cold months. Like Lindahl says, not everyone's into ice fishing, so what else is there to do?
Many who come from a dirt-track racing background think they can easily transfer their skills to ice racing. But there's no comparison to the discipline of ice racing requires, according to Lindahl.
"Dirt track guys come here thinking they're going to have an advantage. They don't," he said. "It's totally opposite. This is a completely different style."
The biggest difference would be the front studded tires, used for grip on the ice. Drivers use those tires and the front end of the car to carry them through the turns, something dirt racers aren't used to.
The two rear tires — usually $150 apiece — aren't studded and have to be replaced before each race day.
Then there's the fun part: the passengers. Drivers need a spotter riding shotgun to keep an eye on who's around them, while others sit in the back to help weigh down the car.
Watson likes to crank the tunes and the heat while he's racing with family or friends in the car. That's what makes ice racing his favorite, he said.
"I mean, you got a carload of your buddies and you're leaning on another carload of your buddies," Reid explained. "So, there's eight people laughing and carrying on ... it just doesn't get any better."