The 2024 I-500 Snowmobile Endurance race is history with #74 Bunke Racing taking the green flag last Saturday.
The victory came in front of thousands of race fans.
Despite the mild conditions all week and race day, the track held up better than expected with the full 500 laps completed.
Dave Thomas, I-500 Board Member and Treasurer is happy with the turnout despite the not-so-favorable weather.
"Although Mother Nature wasn't very kind to us this year, it got cold enough two weeks to allow our volunteers to build a great track that held up to a full week of events and a full 500 laps for the I-500 race," Thomas said.
"We had a total of 6,265 in attendance (based on the number of I-500 buttons sold). It is the best year in recent history. The 50th anniversary race had more but back then we made race teams buy buttons for pit crews. We don't do that anymore," Thomas said.
That 6,285 is up from 5,930 last year and 5,614 in 2022.
Linda Hoath, Executive Director of the Sault Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said even though we lacked snow for snowmobile traffic, the overall impact on the local economy is tremendous.
"This was one of the best I-500's in years. A big thank you to volunteers, the I-500 board, and the fans who attended. It was amazing and so positive," Hoath said.
Even though the financial total economic impact is not complete yet, she believes it's far above previous years.
"In previous years, I-500 race week brought in close to $2 million dollars to the area," Hoath added.
