The saying goes "Build it and they will come". The Rum River Trails Association built it and for 17 years snowmobile fanatics have been coming to Princeton, Minnesota on the last weekend in August for The Outlaw Grass Drags and Swap Meet. The 3 day event has something for everybody with snowmobile grass drags, huge swap meet, manufactures and dealer tents, ATV pull, Free ATV test rides, kid events along with good food and cold beer. Put in for that vacation day because you're going to want to be here on Friday. The Swappers come in early and you need to be there to have first chance at the treasures that come to the Outlaws. Vintage is very popular at this event so a large selection of old sleds and parts can be found. Of course deals on used sleds from all years abound thru out the swap.
The other great attraction for Friday is the Outlaw Vintage Grass Drags.
OVGD has grown into one of the most popular races in the Midwest by keeping the racing fun and affordable. It also could be that we race at night! Vintage drags under the lights is great to watch and even better to participate in. We offer classes for all degrees of racers from Open Mod to Stock. The Stock classes are drawing more and more racers every year as people are hearing about the professional set-up with a fun atmosphere. I guess having to pay only $10 a class to race doesn't hurt either. Winners in the "stock" classes included Casey Root, Louie Hauck, Tracy John, Geordie Hanson, Craig Matthis and Todd Danelski. The "mod stocks" are a crowd favorite as these sleds are running tuned pipes and are dialed in for some very competitive action. The "mod stock" top riders were Josh Erdman, Ken Day, Ben Bosch, Leah Tanner, and Fred Smith but pushing these guys hard with some great second and third place finishes were Jeff Lausten, Bryan Mahler, Scott Bischke, Jeff Brown and the always popular "Kawasaki Kate". "Open mod" brings out the big boys with 1 cylinder up to 4 cylinders and run some of the fastest times down our 500 foot track. Leah Tanner edged out Ken Day and Charlie Travaille in O.M. Single and she also took the win in O.M. 0-440cc just ahead of Scott Bischke and Josh Erdman. In O.M. 441cc and up, Josh Erdman got his win on the DRP 1000 with Jeff Lausten second and Leah Tanner third. The Outlaw Vintage Speed Run rounds out the night as racers run for top speed in 500 ft. Dale Sloper took the "stock D" on his Rupp Nitro F/A at 64 MPH and Josh Ermdan took the "open mod" at 98 mph with the Delaughter Racing Polaris 1000cc giving both teams a good pay day.
Saturday brought another full day of swapping with every inch of the swap area full. The reputation of the Outlaws as being one of the most "friendly" events brought in near record crowds. If the swap meet didn't interest you the Outlaws offer many other great activities. The Vintage Snowmobile Show had many restored and rare sleds to drool over. NSRA ran a full schedule of "late model" snowmobile grass drags to keep the race fans happy. The always fun "Kitty Kat" races gave the kids the spotlight and the chance for parents to cheer on their sons and daughters. ATV enthusiasts have their events with an ATV Pull as well as FREE test rides of the new factory models on our all terrain "test track". We don't forget the ladies because "shopping" is available in a number of the dealer tents for bargains on clothing, boots, helmets, and other essentials. Cold beer to quench your thirst and a great selection of food are always available thru out the grounds.
What more could you ask for? How about one more day of these great activities. The gates reopened at 7 am on Sunday for more racing, swap deals and dealer previews.
The 6 snowmobile clubs that put on the Rum River Outlaw Grass Drags and Swap Meet want to say "Thank you" for supporting our event. All the money raised goes back to the local trail system. Mark your calendar for the last weekend in August 2011!!
Submitted by; Brian Sutton
