Spud Speedway brings fair-like atmosphere to Caribou

  CARIBOU, Maine — For all the residents of Caribou and its surrounding areas who have missed out on the Fourth of July fair experience for many years, this year was a little different thanks to Spud Speedway’s 50th year Motorsports Fair. Although the Spud Speedway fair was not actually held during the Fourth of July weekend, but rather the weekend after, the anniversary celebration still provided northern Aroostook County residents the opportunity to take a weekend off from the real world, and experience all the fun activities the Spud Speedway team provided for four straight days.
From July 10-13, Spud Speedway was not just a racetrack for cars, but instead was a place for cars, monster trucks, bands, carnival rides and vendors of all types to come out and celebrate the business’ longevity. There were ferris wheels, bumper cars, a merry-go-round and a long list of other activities that gave the celebration a very fair-like feel.
The celebration started on Thursday night with the gates opening at 4 p.m. when the rides provided by Smokey’s Greater Shows were first introduced to those eagerly awaiting the onset of the 50th anniversary celebration.
G-Force Adventures was also in attendance at the fair with a makeshift laser tag arena built inside a 6,000 square foot “Super Dome” tent.
“We’ve been pretty busy so far,” said co-owner of G-Force Adventures Kim Plavnick. “The first couple days weren’t quite as crowded, but on Sunday we’re holding a cash-prize laser tag tournament that is sure to draw some people in.”
G-Force Adventures continued their laser tag competitions throughout the four days of the event, and found themselves attracting many fair-goers throughout the weekend.
At 7 p.m. a burnout competition was held on the racetrack, which was then followed by the first annual 100-lap Pink and Blue race, in which contestants were able to choose whether to raise money for cancer or autism research.
On Friday, the fair held arguably their most exciting and well-attended event of the weekend, as the “Night of Destruction Monster Truck Mayhem Show” was geared up and ready for some crushing excitement for all ages. One of the more interactive elements of the event was the pre-race pit party held on the track prior to the race. During this hour-long party fair attendees had the opportunity to get up-close and personal with the trucks and the drivers. The Monster Truck Mayhem Show featured monster trucks like Aftershock, Jethro Tow, Back Draft, Instigator, Krazy Train and Maine’s own monster truck Crushstation. The trucks competed in events like the wheelie competition, a jump contest, side-by-side racing and the freestyle competition, which appeared to be a fan favorite.
On Saturday and Sunday, the gates for the fair opened at 11 a.m. and included all the old-time carnival rides and events that family members of all ages came out to enjoy. One fair attendant, Chelsea Cyr spoke about the fun times she had on Saturday, as she took her 3-year-old nephew Nathan Corbin of Presque Isle to the event for an afternoon of fair fun.
“My nephew had a blast,” said Cyr, 23, of Caribou. “It’s a good time for families to come out and enjoy.”
When asked what Corbin’s favorite part of the fair was there was little hesitation in her answer.
“I think his favorite part was riding the kiddie rides and he sure loved the lemonade,” she said smiling. “It was a good event and a good fair atmosphere for sure.”
Other events that took place on Saturday included a pie eating contest, a hot dog eating competition, arm wrestling, kickball, potato sack races, pedal bike and kart races and last but certainly not least a giant 40-player twister game. Saturday night was concluded with a 50th year anniversary alumni celebration.
Sunday marked the conclusion of the fair, but the events were still just getting revved up. The day started with the G-Force Adventures laser tag tournament, followed by the Griffeth Ford 50th year Mustang Rally Classic Car Show, which took place on the Spud Speedway race track. The car show was broken up into different classes of classic cars, with a special division made just for Mustangs.
Upon conclusion of the car show, Sunday also included an exciting Battle of the Bands event, in which eight different local bands competed for a cash prize, as well as an opportunity for a certain amount of studio-time provided by Ashes 2 Ashes Recording Studio in Presque Isle. The bands competing in the event included, “Lucid Idols” of Caribou, “Kindred” of Frenchville, “Aggression of the Undecided” of Presque Isle, “Western Flames” of Caribou, “Auto Pilot” of Madawaska, “Reckless” of Limestone, “Rooney and the Revolvers” of Presque Isle and “Adequate” of Woodland. Each band was judged based on crowd interaction and response.
The winners for both the car shows and the battle of the bands are as follows: First place in the Battle of the Bands competition was “Adequate.” The band received a $750 cash prize and six hours of free studio time. For the Griffeth Ford Mustang Rally Car Show, the Antique class was won by Gerald Michaud with a 1931.5 Graham Prosperity. The Classic class winner was Steve and Linda Hartford with a ’58 Edsel. Muscle class winner was Frank Desjardin with a 1971 Chevelle SS. The special interest class winner was Joe Lapierre with his custom golf cart. The Truck class winner was Dan Cyr with a 1951 Ford truck. The Mustang class winner was Kraig Dumais with his 2013 Ford Mustang and lastly, Best in Show went to George Knorr with his 1969 Ford Mustang.
According to Spud Speedway owner Troy Haney, the event was definitely a success and the Spud Speedway family certainly hopes to continue the trend of holding these types of special events.
“Overall, the event itself was surely a success,” said Haney. “We didn’t get as many folks coming out as we had expected and hoped for, but all in all the weather was great and all the events were great.”
Haney also praised all those who helped coordinate the event, as they deserve much of the credit for being able to put on such a large-scale event with such little experience.
“This was, of course, the first time we’ve ever held the event, as it was in honor of our 50th anniversary,” said Haney. “For a first-time event, I think it was a huge success, and we look forward to holding more events like this in the future.”
The next event at Spud Speedway will be the Atlantic Open Wheel Tour held on Saturday, July 19 at 7 p.m.