Racers, organizers and fans get ready for Wausau 525 competition - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports

The sound of snowmobilers ready for a race, filled the air as they prepared for a competitive weekend at the Wausau 525 track.   

"We're just going to come out and kind of start from ground zero again, make sure everything's ready to go, double check, triple check everything," said Racer, Nick Van Strydonk.

Nick Van Strydonk is a Tomahawk native and he's been racing all season. But he said he looks especially forward to this race.

"This is a race, kind of in memory of Flip Merwin, a Wausau native, kind of a friend of ours for a while," said Van Strydonk.

He, along with his crew, were getting everything into gear.

"We check the sled over, we got through all the nuts and bolts, clutches, carburetors," said Van Strydonk.

It's an exciting year for the track. Race organizers are opening a new heated building for racers and fans.

"For the last eight years we've worked out of a tent and that is extremely difficult for heat, snow, set-up," said Wausau 525 President, Ralph Merwin.

The new building is something they've all been looking forward to.

"The restrooms, the kitchens, the bar area, that's all new and I think that'll be a good improvement for the fans and the race teams," said Merwin.

Snowmobilers say the building is a reminder of just how important this sport is to Wisconsin.

"To be able to come out and race here, means a lot to the racers to have the Merwin family build a facility to suit our needs," said Van Strydonk.

As racers take on the track and fans get ready to cheer on their favorites.

The competition starts on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. and continues through Sunday afternoon.