There will be plenty of take-offs Sunday at the Spencer Airport during the Black Knights Car Club’s annual drag races.
Vehicles have to be registered and insured in order to race. “It has to be safe to drive and it has to have DOT approved tires, whether it’s a car or a pickup,” said Black Knights president Nick Marinell.
The event will start at 11 a.m. “And it’s just for fun,” Marinell says. “There are no classes. There is no payout.”
It costs $5 to race once. It costs $30 to race all day. The vehicles race according to when the owners pay those fees and line up. “If you end up with your Corvette next to a Volkswagen Bug, that may be an interesting race. It won’t last too long, but we go 350 feet,” Marinell said. “You’d be surprised how fast cars can go in 350 feet.”
Marinell expects about 100 vehicles to be racing on Sunday. Tickets for spectators are $5 each. The event is a fundraiser for charity. “We help people who can’t afford to pay their medical bills take care of that,” Marinell said. “We’re a non-profit organization and we’re just here for the benefit of the community.”
The Black Knights also award scholarships to students in the automotive programs at Iowa Lakes Community College.
(By Ed Funston, KILR, Estherville/Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson also contributed to this story.)