On the last weekend of September there was only one place to be, a place where you could find some of the best racing in Saskatchewan, get a helicopter ride, a good burger and good ole Prairie fun all in one place. Hundreds from across Saskatchewan packed the stands for one of the biggest events of the year in the southeast. On Sept 28 - 29 Derrick Big Eagle held his third annual Flyin' High at the Eagle Showdown at his race track just west of Manor. Dozens of modified cars including hobby stock and street stock cars from Western Canada were on hand to kick up dust for fans. Racers from the U.S. were also on the track, some from neighboring North Dakota and some as far as Los Cruces, New Mexico. Big Eagle is a lover of cars and racing and sees the event as a way to entertain the community. In the last couple of years the races have seen gradual success and Big Eagle said the event went over well this year.
" The car turnout was goodoverall it went really smooth, the drivers were all happy, it's a nice little race to just come out and everybody was really happy with the 50 lap feature we did with the 'modifieds' on Sunday," Big Eagle said.
Big Eagle who is an advocate of family and community built the race track as way unite the community and host events to raise money for the local fire department.
"I did it in a way to benefit the fire department in Manor, to try and get a little more equipment for them - looking for a new fire truck being a little town as small as Manor is, we're not funded that heavily. So we need the support from community members and this is what my wife and I, family and friends do to try and help out the fire department - is put this event on and raise some money every year.
It was windy, the sky was bright and there were smiles in the stands as the engines of modified cars roared and zipped around the track. One of the announcers described the event as having a race track in your back yard, an analogy which was spot on. Many of the drivers themselves became spectators as the excitement from the track grew.
Richard Kroll from Swift Current, SK attended the event with his son Tyson Kroll who participated in 2012 and returned this year with his father.
" It's an awesome weekend, it's our first time here, actually, Tyson was here last year and brought us this year, so we brought two cars," Richard Kroll said.
The winners from the weekend included Gary Goudy from Stoughton, SK who took first place in the hobby stock category; Greg Mann beat all drivers in the street stock group and Stormy Scott from Los Cruces, NM won the modified class.
Those who wanted to take their excitement to the skies had the opportunity as they could hop in a helicopter for $50 and get a quick bird's eye view of the track and surrounding area. Big Eagle was particularly pleased with this aspect of the event and said it was a lot of fun for all who attended. The two day event proved to be thrilling for both fans and drivers and Big Eagle said he hopes to get the event growing bigger every year and increase the amount of money they raise. This he said would allow the town the opportunity to acquire the equipment and facilities it needs.
