Heated suites jam-packed
for anniversary of event

Derby fans were treated to an exhibition by the 120th Field Artillery of the Wisconsin National Guard, as they fired a howitzer prior to the running of the 50th AMSOIL World Championship snowmobile race Sunday afternoon. —STAFF PHOTOS

In fact, the crowd was the biggest it’s been in recent memory, said track owner Chuck Decker.

“It was bigger than I’ve seen it in the last decade,” he said. “Saturday was big and Friday night was packed. We sold out of every single indoor seat there was. The buildings were overfilled. The corporate suites are supposed to seat 60, and most of them had 100 or 120 people in them.”

Professional and amateur racers from across the United States and Canada gathered to compete for a record purse of more than $150,000 in cash and prizes and the prestige of winning at Eagle River. The grand prize