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Willie Ewing
This past week, March 8-9, Skyport Lodge on Devil Track Lake was supposed to be the base camp for Willie Ewing’s attempt to break and set a new one-day long distance world record for snowmobiles.
Unfortunately, Ewing had to move the venue.
“Due to very large amounts of snow in Grand Marais this winter, we are unable to make a track, because of so much snow and slush on the lake, so we are having to move this event.”
Instead of Devil Track Lake, Ewing will travel to Lake of the Woods, and start from Sportsman’s Lounge in Baudette.
He is expected to make his try to set a new long-distance mark on March 13-14.
Last week Ewing stopped by the newspaper to talk about his record try and explain why he was after such a formidable mark.
Three years of meticulous planning has gone into the attempt to break the current 24-hour distance record of 1,906 miles set ten years ago by a Canadian snowmobiler, Ewing said.
And why go after this longstanding record?
Ewing said he is using his ride to raise funds for kids to go to summer bible camp in the Grand Rapids, Minnesota area.
“One hundred percent of what I raise will go to the camp to help pay for underprivilege kids who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend the camp,” Ewing said. “We have chosen Living World Bible Camp because of their efforts to give every child the opportunity to attend, regardless of their financial situation.”
Willie’s daughter attends the camp and his wife volunteers there.
Ewing will make a run at 2,000 miles in 24 hours on his 2022 Arctic Cat Turbo 4-Stroke Thundercat. He will have a team helping him, but this is a guy who knows his way around snowmobiles, and engines, in general.
At age 16, Ewing was a trained and certified snowmobile technician. He has worked in the field ever since. For six years he was a professional ATV and pro snow cross racer, running his own set-ups and tuning his machines. The last ten years he has owned and operated the Shock Shop in Becker, Minnesota.
As a hobby Willie has built and flown nine different aircraft, one of which was a high-performance stunt plane. For his record long-distance attempt Ewing said he will use his knowledge of snowmobiles and aircraft to set-up and race his snowmobile as fast, safe, and reliable as possible.
Besides some sponsorships, Ewing is paying for this record attempt out if his own pocket. He has received some pledges but is hoping more people can contribute to this effort. “I am hoping for pledges per mile,” he said, adding he wants to fill the scholarship fund at the Living World Bible Camp, “For many years to come.”
Who came up with this idea?
“The idea of this world record attempt was started by my late cousin (Darcy Ewing #6) a longtime professional snowmobiler, who lost his life way too early to a tragic accident (non-snowmobile related). This attempt will be made with a sticker honoring his life and lifelong career in the snowmobile industry,” said Ewing.
To set the record Ewing has to average just shy of 85 miles per hour. For 24 hours. That includes stops to fuel up, go to the bathroom, eat and drink.
Ewing has been involved with snowmobiles and snowmobile racing for over 30 years. He makes his living rebuilding damaged shocks for snowmobiles, and he said he has found quite a bit of business in Cook County.
Just in case his sled malfunctions, Ewing will bring two more snowmobiles and spare parts. During the record attempt he will be assisted by five professionals, “who have raced and completed the famous I-500 cross country (snowmobile) race,” he said.
All of the sleds will set up with radios so Ewing can communicate with his pit crew and track mechanics.
His pit crew will also be equipped with NASCAR quality fueling equipment so stops to gas up will be done expediently.
Planning for this record attempt has been extensive.
“We have been working on planning for three years. We didn’t want to overlook any minor details that could be a potential setback,” he said, adding the goal is to set the milage record so high “to where nobody will ever even want to attempt the record again.”
At the same time, he explained he didn’t want to run his sled too hard, to the point of mechanical failures.
If you would like to donate to this bible camp fundraiser you can find out more by going to the website 1day4kids.com.
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