As spring slowly transitions into summer, Memorial Day weekend is normally the first time of the year that gets people out in droves as the weather gets more tolerable.
For cities across Grays Harbor County, the goal is to attract people to their events while they seamlessly head to the coastline. For the city of Elma, Memorial Day weekend looks to be a bustling three-day stretch as it prepares for weekend races and a parade.
On Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29, Grays Harbor Raceway will be hosting its annual Timber Cup & Salute to Indy event in what is anticipated to be the raceway’s most popular competition of the year. The highlight of the event, which will be sponsored by Our Community Credit Union, will feature the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) 410 sprint cars as they determine who will be crowned “King of the West” champion. The races will also see IMCA modifieds, as well as WSS Wingless Sprints compete of the three-eighth mile clay oval track.
Bert Johnson, who is the general manager and the promoter of the raceway, says while he expects it to be a fun weekend of open wheel racing at the track, there is a possibility that weather may play a factor in what happens over the three-day weekend. He says contingency plans are in place no matter what ticket package people obtain online and in person.
“We will not rainout Saturday or Sunday’s events unless we feel that there is absolutely no way we can get it in,” Johnson posted on the Grays Harbor Raceway Facebook page. “If we rainout Saturday, that ticket will rollover into Monday. If we get Saturday’s event in and rainout Sunday’s event, the Sunday ticket will rollover to Monday.”
Johnson also went on to say that in the event of both days being rained out, people who purchased two-day online ticket passes will be refunded in three to five business days. If any of the race events are pushed to Monday, the races will start at 4 p.m.
While weather conditions will play heavily into the plans of the raceway, the plan as of now is that Sunday will feature a fireworks show, as well as a parade through the city of Elma called the Red, White and Blue Parade.
Jillanna Bickford, who serves as the director of the Elma Chamber of Commerce, says the parade is brand new to the city and was offered as an idea by the raceway.
“This is the first year that we’ll be hosting this type of parade. Bert (Johnson) from Grays Harbor Raceway came up with the idea to promote the races for the Memorial Day weekend since it’s the Timber Cup,” Bickford said.
The parade, which is designed as an opportunity for the community of Elma to come together and honor our fallen but not forgotten service members, will also feature special guests from the NARC Sprint car group and other racers while they are in Elma for the Timber Cup. According to Bickford, there are around 60 entries into the parade and 20 of them are from racers in the competition.
Tickets for the Timber Cup races on Saturday and Sunday are available online starting at $28 but can also be purchased the day of at the front gates. Gates will open at 4 p.m., while racing will start at 6 p.m.
As for the parade, people participating are required to arrive at noon at the Elma High School parking lot to receive their entry number and order of line up at the registration tent. The parade will start at 1 p.m. and is free to the public.
