When is the I-500 snowmobile race? Here's what to know in Michigan
"Here, you'll feel your heart thump in your chest at the sights and sounds of professional drivers giving it their all. You'll feel sweet chills and thrills of the track, as the industry's fastest, sleekest snow machines tear around the only One-Mile High-Banked Ice Oval track in the world," the race's website says.
The I-500 race, which takes place Saturday, brings together professional riders and fans alike to enjoy the snowmobile competition in Sault Ste. Marie, amid northern Michigan's frigid, snowy winter.
Here's what to know.
The International 500 snowmobile race is the largest snowmobile race in the world. The I-500 is test of endurance, with racers competing to see who can record 500 miles the fastest.
It started 56 years ago after a conversation between friends about whether or not a snowmobile could go 500 miles in one day like a racecar. The first official race day took place on Feb. 8, 1969.
More: Lunar New Year traditions in Michigan. How you can take part in the celebrations
The I-500 will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday. Gates open at 8 a.m., opening ceremonies are at 9 a.m.
More: Snowmobile trails beckon. How to stay safe on Michigan's 6,300 miles of trails this winter
The I-500 takes place at the track, 984 W. E 4th Ave. in Sault Ste. Marie. The only 1-mile, banked ice oval track in the world sits on the east side of Interstate 75 next to the Sault Ste. Marie municipal airport, and not far from Lake Superior State University.
The I-500 began in 1969, modeled after the Indianapolis 500 auto race, according to the race website. In the ensuing decades, the annual snowmobile race has brought hundreds of thousands of tourists to Sault Ste. Marie for the unique event.
Race week kicked off Sunday with kids races. On Monday, participants had a chance to meet the riders and get their autographs, along with ice skating around the 1-mile iced oval during Skate Night at the Track.
Tuesday marks Opening Day, or Bud Clarke Day, with the start of qualifying races.
The I-500 Pub Crawl, which is not an official race event, is set for Thursday in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. People will get special shirts with the names of bars on the back, and bartenders at those bars will sign the shirt to mark that they have completed that section of the crawl.
For a full schedule of events, visit the race website.
The Miss I-500 Pageant takes place at Kewadin Casino on Friday night before the race, Jan. 31. Winners will be crowned in the Miss I-500, Junior Miss I-500 and Princess I-500 Pageant categories.
More: How cold is too cold to walk my dog? It depends on the dog
A collectible I-500 button gets spectators into the full week's worth of official race events, including the I-500. Buttons are $30 — or $40 Canadian.
Buttons can be found at a wide variety of Sault Ste. Marie businesses and locations, but can also be purchased at the admission gates at any of the event days.
Fore more information, visit the I-500 website.
That first race in 1969 is also the Longest Time to Run Race record, at 13 hours, 42 minutes. The Shortest Time to Run Race record was set in 1995, at 7 hours, 36 minutes.
The coldest race on record was in 1996 when the temperature reached minus 31 degrees.
The closest race finish was in 2023, when Tommie Bauer Racing won over D.L. Racing by just 0.0001 seconds.
For more I-500 statistics, visit i-500.com/past-finishesrecords.
More: New owners have big plans for Owosso Speedway, investing 'millions' in Michigan's oldest track
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: I-500 snowmobile race to return to Sault Ste. Marie
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hypebeast
a day ago
- Hypebeast
McLaren Reveals Triple Crown-Inspired Livery for Project: Endurance
McLarenhas unveiled a striking new livery for its Project: Endurance Le Mans Hypercar duringMonterey Car Week, paying tribute to the marque's first Triple Crown victory at the 1974 Indianapolis 500. The design echoes Johnny Rutherford's Indy-winning McLaren M16, finished in McLaren Orange with a dark blue center stripe inspired by the Texas flag. The roof carries a lone white star in homage to Rutherford's 'Lone Star JR' nickname, while his race number 3 sits alongside McLaren's Speedy Kiwi and Speedmark logos. First shown at the24 Hours of Le Mansin June, Project: Endurance marks McLaren's return to top-level endurance racing. The customer-focused program offers buyers an authentic Le Mans Hypercar and full access to the development process, team personnel and an exclusive two-year track driving program at world-class circuits. Owners will train with professional drivers and receive pit crew and engineering support, creating a pathway to mastering the hypercar on track. The new livery will be showcased to depositors, prospects and fans throughout August at events in Monterey, Dallas and Miami, ahead of the car's competitive debut in the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
1 Unstoppable Growth Stock That's On Track to Double by 2030
Key Points A weak auto market is likely to benefit auto parts retailers like O'Reilly Automotive. Anemic job growth may cause consumers to delay new car purchases, which also helps O'Reilly. O'Reilly's valuation is currently high, which might concern some investors. 10 stocks we like better than O'Reilly Automotive › Five years ago, who would've guessed that O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY) would be one of the market's big winners? But its share price is up roughly 240% since then on a split-adjusted basis, crushing the S&P 500's five-year return of 106%. How did O'Reilly do it? Well, besides having one of the catchiest jingles out there ("Oh, Oh, Oh, O'Reillyyyyyyyy...!"), the company has been rapidly opening new stores and buying back stock. Its shares just split 15-for-1 in June. Even though its split-adjusted share price has doubled in less than three years, O'Reilly stock could double again by 2030. Here's how. Weak auto sales are an auto parts retailer's dream U.S. auto sales have been going through a rough patch, and recent trade policy changes seem likely to make things worse in the short term. New tariffs on auto imports and various imported auto components have now kicked in on top of already high tariffs on automaking essentials like aluminum. This seems almost certain to boost the price of a new car by thousands of dollars. That will likely drive up used car prices as well, pushing down already weak demand even further. That may be bad for U.S. automakers, but it's a boon for an auto parts supplier like O'Reilly. A slump in vehicle purchasing means that people hang onto their existing cars for longer. And the longer you have a car, the more likely it is that something on it -- whether it's a headlight bulb or an automatic transmission -- will need to be replaced, and O'Reilly will be happy to sell it to you (or to your mechanic). Weak job numbers are an auto parts retailer's dream Meanwhile, recent Labor Department data indicates that the U.S. job market may be softening. In its latest report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that just 73,000 jobs were created in July, far fewer than many economists anticipated. The BLS also revised the previous two months' job numbers down significantly. That matches recent anecdotal evidence that hiring has substantially slowed. When people are unable to find a job -- or worried about hanging onto the one they have -- they're unlikely to make a major purchase like a new car, or even a used car. If hiring slows further or if the U.S. tips into a full-blown recession, many drivers may have no choice but to hang onto their existing vehicle, even if it's got problems. That may be bad for carmakers, but it's good for O'Reilly, which sells the parts needed to keep a clunker on the road. A high valuation is a stock buyer's nightmare One big concern for potential O'Reilly investors is how much its share price has risen. The company's trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 5.2 is already much higher than that of rivals Autozone (NYSE: AZO) or Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP), which sit at 3.6 and 0.4, respectively. Its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio has jumped to a multidecade high of 36.4, also well above that of its rivals. That said, given the company's solid track record and excellent prospects for further growth, its premium valuation makes sense. For O'Reilly's share price to double by 2030, it would need to increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 15% per year. That seems achievable. In the most recent quarter, diluted earnings per share were up 11% year over year, and management projected a 3% net increase in store count for the year. Add a few additional percentage points of sales growth from weakening auto sales and a softening labor market, and you could easily get a 15% CAGR for O'Reilly stock. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but even if O'Reilly falls short of a five-year double, it should still end up a long-term winner for investors. Do the experts think O'Reilly Automotive is a buy right now? The Motley Fool's expert analyst team, drawing on years of investing experience and deep analysis of thousands of stocks, leverages our proprietary Moneyball AI investing database to uncover top opportunities. They've just revealed their to buy now — did O'Reilly Automotive make the list? When our Stock Advisor analyst team has a stock recommendation, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is up 1,071% vs. just 185% for the S&P — that is beating the market by 886.18%!* Imagine if you were a Stock Advisor member when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $663,630!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,695!* The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 John Bromels has positions in O'Reilly Automotive. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Unstoppable Growth Stock That's On Track to Double by 2030 was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Monsoon moisture brings scattered rain chances over the next 24 hours
SALT LAKE CITY () — Happy Friday, Utah! Scattered clouds and showers will be on the uptick around the Beehive state for our Friday afternoon. The best concentration of shower activity will be for areas east of I-15. Gusty 'outflow' winds and very dry air will combine to lead to an elevated fire danger for most of northern and western Utah. High temperatures will warm into the mid 90s for the Wasatch Front, and highs will climb near 100 for SW Utah. Friday will hold the best chance for seeing pockets of heavier rainfall for areas south of I-70. We do have marginal risk for isolated flash flooding from our southern Utah recreating spots. Temperatures may begin to cool slightly back into the mid 90s across northern Utah, and near 100 for SW Utah through the upcoming weekend. The isolated storm chance will extend into our Saturday, but we should be mainly dry for our Sunday. The typical high pressure, heat dome rebuilds across Utah moving into next week. This will mean plenty of sunshine for most of the week along with temperatures warming back well above average. Highs will likely be around 100 for the Wasatch Front and 105+ again for SW Utah by late-next week. We'll keep you updated on the latest developments in our 4Warn forecast both on-air and online, we are Good4Utah! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
