PORT ANGELES — There will be plenty of thrills, spills and new boats and drivers, guaranteeing plenty of excitement as the sprint boats return to Extreme Sports Park west of Port Angeles on Saturday.
“Wet and Wild in Port Angeles” is the first major racing event of the summer at ESP, which will be hosting a second day of ASB Racing Series sprint boat races on Sept. 10.
“We’ll be seeing lots of new drivers this year,” said Melody Pozgay, one of the race organizers.
The sprint boat races feature two-person boats with a driver and a navigator and a constantly changing race course that don’t give competitors much time to memorize. Because of the extreme speeds and tight corners, there are plenty of crashes, though the boats have roll bars and other safety equipment to protect the occupants.
Also new this year will be YouTube and Internet racing personality ”Cleetus McFarland”, who has entered a boat to race Saturday.
The event begins Friday evening with a “show and shine” night at the Lower Elwha Food and Fuel at 477 S. Dry Creek Road and U.S. Highway 101 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sprint boats will be on display and people can also meet drivers and get autographs, Pozgay said.
On Saturday, the gates will open at 8:30 a.m., with licensing runs beginning at 10 a.m and racing beginning at about 10:30 a.m. Racing should wrap up between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., Pozgay said.
There will be three classes of boats racing around the ever-changing track at ESP — modified, 400 and unlimited. There will be three local teams among teams from all around the country — Wicked Racing, Live Wire Racing and Dark Horse Racing, based out of Oak Harbor.
Tickets are $35, $25 for children 17 and under, military service members and senior citizens. Children 5 and under are free and adult members of the Lower Elwha Tribe are $25 while Lower Elwha Tribe children are $15. People can camp overnight for $25 a night and can reserve a campsite by going to extremesportspark.net. Camping opens at noon today.
Tickets can also be purchased ahead of time at extremesportspark.net or at the Lower Elwha Food and Fuel.
The event will also be livestreamed at the Extreme Sports Park Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/extremesporspark and at Extreme Sports Park’s Youtube channel. You can find a link to the YouTube channel at extremesportspark.net.
Pozgay said the event generally attracts 3,500 to 4,000 people most years. She said she noted a big uptick in ticket sales beginning Tuesday, she believes possibly because McFarland announced he is racing at the event. “He’s an influencer for gearheads,” Pozgay said.
McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, is an online racing enthusiast from Florida with his own website (www.cleetusmcfarland.com) and YouTube channel — www.youtube.com/c/SPOCARVideos. His YouTube videos average 700,000 to 900,000 views each within a week.
