World Championship ICE Racing “Crazy Train” Tour at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK -- January 31.
Saturday, January 31, 7 p.m.
Vibrant Arena at the MARK, 1201 River Drive, Moline IL
On January 30, patrons of Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK are invited to witness as the most fearless racers shred the arena's solid ice track with more than 2,000 razor-sharp studs in their tires, the World Championship ICE Racing “Crazy Train” Tour finding its competitors hitting off-the-chart speeds, and going from zero to 60 mph in less than three seconds, as they battle for the World Championship ICE Racing Title.
As stated at ICESpeedway.com: "The first-ever indoor speedway ice race was organized and promoted by a motorcycle dealer in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1975. The next was held in New York State and the third was organized by a group of racers and their families in the summer of 1976. This event was held in the Kent State University Hockey Field House in Kent, Ohio. As fate would have it, then speedway rider, Gary Densford, staying in Indiana at the time, was invited to compete in this event by his close friend Bob Hetrick. Hetrick ended up winning the event and Densford finished second. More important in the big picture of things, it started the wheels rolling for what is now the World Championship ICE Racing Series.
"Technical innovations have improved the sport dramatically since those early days. The biggest improvements have come in the areas of tire and stud technology. In 1982 ICE adopted a stud rule making use of a single designed stud mandatory. The new 'Ice Getter' stud was specially made for ice racing and related motorsports activities, primarily on frozen lakes, ponds and rivers in North America’s cold weather regions. The Ice Getter was a good universal stud that allowed for better traction and no increased ice wear (a very important consideration for indoor ice racing). This stud was about a second per lap quicker and gave very consistent traction.
"Over the years, ICE has developed and incorporated many innovations into the sport. Most of these improvements have been in the areas of technical regulations and developments, safety regulations and competition rules. One of the most important in the overall scheme of things is the institution of the ICE Progressive World Race Format. While the concept of a 'new' progression style race format may appear simple enough, achieving the desired end results are not always that simple. The goal was to create a format that rewarded the riders’ performance while giving the ticket buying race fans the best possible, most exciting racing event. In the 1970s, with overwhelming fan approval, ICE was the first organization to hold a Main Event at the conclusion of a championship speedway race format. The top points scorers earned positions in the Main. Nowadays most promoters and organizations have adopted this format for their major speedway championships. We have taken our original concepts several steps further in adopting the 'Progressive World Race Format. The race format you see today has achieved the original intent of providing challenging and fair racing for the competitors while building to an exciting grand finale for the fans."
The World Championship Ice Racing “Crazy Train” Tour comes to Moline's amphitheater on January 31, admission to the 7 p.m. event is $15-35 ($5 for the pre-show pit party), and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting VibrantArena.com.
