The Edmonton Indy may have left town, but Alberta still has one racing event worth bragging about: the Winter Festival of Speed on Lac La Biche, 220 kilometres north of Edmonton — the largest sanctioned winter motoring event in Western Canada. Every March, more than 1,000 spectators attend the two-day event to watch tricked-out Volkswagens, Chevrolet Chevettes, motorcycles, quads and other vehicles race on an icy track.
“You’re pushing your car, and yourself, to the limit,” says six-time rubber-to-ice champion Danny Bracken, who got into the sport after watching a friend race. Even more impressive is that Bracken drives with one arm. “People think there’s not a whole lot I can do with one arm, but I proved them wrong,” he says. Head out to the lake Feb 28 to March 1 to watch Bracken race.
Tracy Hyatt 