LIMESTONE, Maine — Hundreds of racers and spectators came out to the Loring Timing Association land speed races held over the weekend at the former Loring Air Force base. Rubber burned against asphalt as cars, trucks, and motorcycles raced down the lengthy landing strip in a pursuit of triple-digit speeds.
Racers lined up behind the hot box in hopes of reaching record speeds. Matt Dick, having just raced, sat in his car near the end of the line and waited for another turn.
“This my third time racing this year,” said Matt Dick of Mapleton. “I take turns racing with my son, Madison.’
“We’re racing in a 1993 Pontiac Formula Firebird with an LT1 350 engine,” said Madison Dick. “We bought it used a while back, and it has all of the original parts.”
The father and son’s maximum speed with their car is 142 miles per hour.
Spectators and racers alike could buy numerous refreshments at the Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots booth near the line of racers. They sold hot dogs, hamburgers, and even fresh maple syrup.
“We’re very pleased to be given the opportunity to raise money for children here,” said Toys For Tots Coordinator Rudolph St. Peter. “We’ve helped 2,636 children in northern Aroostook, 800 in central Aroostook, and 1,100 in southern Aroostook. Ninety-seven percent of what we collect goes to the children, while only 3 percent of the proceeds go to admin.
“There are plenty of events planned for the future. One example is that we’re having the comedian Crazy Jake is come up to the Caribou Performing Arts Center on December 5th,” he added.
Race coordinator Tim Kelly of Arrowsic felt optimistic about last weekend’s event.
“We’re bringing in people from all over North America,” said Kelly. “Due to poor conditions, there will be no racing at the Bonneville Speedway this year, so the people who would have otherwise gone there are coming here. If they stop holding races, then this will probably be the fastest place in the world to run.”
Kelly is happy with all of the racers who signed up for this year’s event.
“These people truly are the salt of the earth,” said Kelly. “They’re really a good bunch of guys, and of course there’s a bit of friendly competition between them. We’ll probably do around five or six hundred runs by the end of the weekend.”
