The Legends Car Club Charity Airport Drag races will be roaring down the tarmac at the Altona airport Aug. 17-18.
Alex Loewen, co-chair for the races and Legends Car Club president says, once again, 50 per cent of the weekend’s revenues generated will go to three charities: Genesis House, South Central Cancer Resource (SCCR), and the STARS Air Ambulance.
“Our club membership always votes on which charities this event will support. South Central Cancer Resource and Genesis House have been mainstays for many years. If you go back to the start of our Drive for Cancer, that event used to raise enough to cover their entire annual transport budget, and now, that’s just a drop in the bucket. Genesis House will be running a 50/50 event on both days of the races, and STARS will have a table there. We added STARS because of the impact it has had in our region in recent years. It’s a great organization to support, as well.”
This is the 20th year for the races, and the club has designed new T-shirts to commemorate that.
Loewen says of the 60 cars competing each day, most will be from Manitoba, including the communities of Altona, Winkler, Morden, Winnipeg, Steinbach, Niverville, Neepawa, and Brandon.
“It’s a provincewide event anticipated by many fans. We are one of three tracks in Manitoba, including Gimli and Rivers. So drag racing is a rare event in our province.”
This year, fans can once again anticipate the same variety of vehicles—everything from street legal vehicles and daily drivers to custom built drag cars.
Racers line up at the start line near the spectator stands and go head-to-head down the 1/8-mile track to the finish line.
As for the racing format, the racing starts on Saturday from about 10 a.m. until about 4 or 4:30 p.m. The current plan is Saturday’s time trial results will provide a good idea of which cars and racers should be in what class, and that will set-up Sunday’s bracket races for the different classes in the afternoon.
“At the end of the day, the winners of each class can choose one of our three chosen charities to donate their prize money to, in exchange for a tax receipt,” Loewen explains. “We started that last year, and we’ve decided to continue that way.”
In addition to the three main charities splitting half the revenues generated, a number of other non-profit groups are also participating over the weekend.
The primary food booth will once again be run by The Bunker youth ministry, the car club’s cold shack, where visitors can purchase cold drinks, snack items, and T-shirts, will be run by The Community Exchange, and parking and security is being overseen by 1613 Ministries.
Altona Rhineland Emergency Services, which provides medical and fire services if needed, will also receive a donation for its involvement.
Admission is $10 for anyone age 13 and up, $5 for kids six to 12 years old, and free for five and under.
“You can’t find any entertainment in the Pembina Valley for that price. And it’s all for a good cause,” Loewen says.
Last year’s races drew about 3,000 spectators and raised thousands for the three charities.
“Last year, STARS got just over $5,000, SCCR got $4,500 and Genesis House got around $4,000,” Loewen says. “In 2023, we gave away just over $48,000 through our Drive for Cancer and the drag races. That’s pretty incredible.”
Loewen credits the success of the event to the participants and fans, but also to all the hard work of their members and volunteers.
“We’re excited to host another great event. We hope to see you there.”
