FORKS — West End Thunder returns to Forks today for the beginning of the 10th season of summer drag racing at Forks Municipal Airport.
Each installment of the summer weekend series will feature one-eighth-mile drag racing, a classic car “show and shine,” and food vendors at the airport on South Forks Avenue.
The event will return July 18-19, Aug. 15-16 and Sept. 19-20.
This year, West End Thunder also will host a special event Aug. 29, Hot Thunder Nite, which will be a citywide car show.
On race weekends, racing will begin at 10 a.m. both days, with gates opening at 7 a.m. for drivers and 8:30 a.m. for spectators.
The car and motorcycle show will be from 9 a.m. until the races end each day.
Typically, between 25 and 40 cars are displayed at each day’s event.
Adult admission is $10 each day. Children 12 and younger will be admitted free.
Registration for the car and motorcycle show is $15 each day.
Drag race registration is $35 daily.
Bright, sunny weather is forecast for this weekend, said Rod Fleck, city attorney and planer.
In the past, races have been cut short by rain.
“The best way to avoid a drought is to have the races run,” Fleck said.
Hot Thunder Nite, Aug. 29
Hot Thunder Nite will be held throughout the downtown Forks area, said Lissy Andros, executive director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce.
The event will include a cruise-in to Forks for a night of hot rods, hot motorcycles, music, beer garden and a salmon bake.
Forks Avenue will be closed for the night so the hot rods can use angled parking on the street from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Andros said.
Forks Avenue is also U.S. Highway 101. Permits for a closure with detours are in hand, she said.
Other venues will be used to display trucks and rigs that enter the evening’s events, she said.
Andros said details are still being worked out. More information on Hot Thunder Nite will be released as it becomes available.
Airport racing
West End Thunder has conducted the summer event at Forks Municipal Airport since 2006.
The race series requires a special exception from the Federal Aviation Administration.
FAA policy prohibits airports with grant obligations to close for nonaviation uses. The city airport has such obligations.
The city, which owns the airport, and West End Thunder were granted an exception in August 2006 and extensions after that.
In 2010, the FAA denied the city’s request for an extension and said the 2011 season would be the last.
Since that time, the city, West End Thunder and the FAA have worked out agreements to allow the races to continue, and the agreement is still standing, Fleck said.
As of Wednesday, the airport had closed to aircraft and was ready for the West End Thunder equipment to be moved in, he said.
For more information, visit www.westendthunder.com.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
