Minnesota's snocross central: Elk River's ERX snomobile racetrack

One of Chris Carlson's fondest childhood memories is spending Thursday nights with his dad at Steinke's racetrack in Soderville, Minn. They'd watch for hours as snowmobiles raced around a high-banked oval track.

"We could always go because even if we had things going on during the weekends, we could always sneak away to these races," Carlson says. "It was really fun going as a kid, watching the races, being a part of it, smelling the race fuel, and I vividly remember the great racing."

So when Carlson and business partner Todd Plaisted saw an opportunity to create the Elk River Extreme (ERX) Motor Park snowmobile racetrack in 2007, Thursday evenings were the obvious choice for an entry-level race series.

"We're all busy on weekends," Carlson says. "We're with our families, we're riding snowmobiles, we're racing other places. A lot of people appreciate this because they have things on the weekends, too. It's a format that works."

ERX's seventh Thursday Night Grassroots Series began on Dec. 18, and will continue on five more Thursday nights until March 6. The style of competition is called snocross, which features a serpentine track with bumps, jumps and sharp corners made entirely of snow. It's winter's equivalent to summertime motocross. On Thursday nights at ERX, there's a class for nearly every level of beginning rider.

"A lot of motor sports enthusiasts secretly, quietly think they can race or want to try it, but there's some barrier," Carlson says. " 'It's too expensive, I can't buy a race vehicle, I don't have the equipment.' There are no excuses here. They can show up, we'll make it happen."

Enthusiasts include a local banker, says Plaisted, who gave it a shot one Thursday and has been a regular for the past two years.

The ERX site, along Highway 169, about 2 miles north of the Elk River commercial area, was chosen for its easy access, its proximity to a pond for snow-making and for its amphitheater-like landscape, providing a sizable track with excellent spectator viewing.

It's also located along the snowmobile trail that runs parallel to the highway. "We have people who ride here, race for the night and ride home," Plaisted says.

During the days, it's available for rent to racers (often the top-level pros) who want to practice. A few regional races take place on weekends. But Thursday nights are the most popular event.

It's become what Carlson and Plaisted dreamed — and then some. In the first year, race nights would attract up to 125 entries. "I thought, 'Look at all the people,' " Plaisted says. "Now we have 225 to 240 entries on Thursday evenings. I don't know if we envisioned it being this successful."

"We're drawing more entries in this series than some of the largest regional races in the country," Carlson says. "If the weather is right, we can have 1,000 fans screaming, hollering, laughing, eating hot dogs, drinking hot chocolate and having a good time." Competitors and spectators come primarily from the metro area, with a big draw from the northern suburbs.

Plaisted, who owns a landscape company (Plaisted Companies Inc.), and Carlson, who owns a snowmobile aftermarket parts company (Sportech Inc.), decided they could combine their business acumen, Sportech's marketing expertise and Plaisted's earth-moving capabilities to create a practice area for their kids.

But they wanted more. They noticed that there was no access to a safe, welcoming race venue for novices. Other venues, with more experienced racers, were intimidating to new racers. "There was a real void," Carlson says. "There was a real need for a venue where people could be introduced to snocross racing at a grass-roots level."

Ryan Springer of St. Francis is one of those racers. ERX was his gateway into snocross racing about two and a half years ago. Now he races at a semipro level on the national snocross series. "I would have been very intimidated and scared to start at a different place," he says. He first came to ERX as a spectator and was intrigued enough to give it a shot.

He showed up to his first race with an older-model Polaris and a homemade trailer. "I got hooked right away," he says.

His family and some friends came to watch. The sport was new to them, too.

Plaisted and Carlson work to ensure that the atmosphere is friendly and unintimidating. They work hard to ensure competitive but clean racing. Track workers will wave the black flag as soon as someone starts driving in an unsafe manner.

Track workers are also known to take newcomers under their wings. So are the Thursday night regulars. "If a sled breaks down, you've got people from four different trailers trying to get your snowmobile ready to make the next race," Plaisted says.

There's also a warming building for when it gets too cold, plus contests and games for spectators. The family emphasis is strong: ERX sells hoodies from size 2T. They even have a separate practice track for the smallest competitors.

And the racer families have their own brand of fun. "They're a competitive group," Carlson says. "They have crockpot contests — who can decorate the crockpot with full vinyl graphics, who has the best creamed corn. They share, their kids hang out, and that's what it's all about."

Lynn Keillor is a Minneapolis-based writer and editor.