The mud will be flying in Palo

For more than a year, mud has been the bane of folks in flood-ravaged Palo. Now it's time to play in it.

Come Saturday - rescheduled from Aug. 29 due to heavy rains the week before - mud racers of all sorts will fly through the 40-acre field east of Palo's rebuilt Mini Mart, kicking up man-made mud to the roar of ear-shattering engines.

Why, even during intermission, spectators can take to the muddy track, running the 200 feet from one end to the other in a “dash for cash.”

“Most people,” says organizer Rick Holmes, “just take their shoes off and run barefoot.”

Obviously, human runners can't approach the 2.16 seconds Rick's Wild Cherry VI professional mud racer takes to finish a race. But these foot races are a relief, not only from the thunderingly loud motorized racers but also from the tensions of cleaning up after the historic Flood of 2008.

“Sometimes,” Rick adds, “they slip and fall down. Sometimes a kid will pick a groove and just haul.”

While Rick, 50, of Cedar Rapids, admits he's a “mud nut,” he's never actually run on the track. He's been racing vehicles for 30 years; the last 17 on the professional National Mud Racing Organization (NMRO) circuit. Now a machine operator at Penford, Rick will compete in the U.S. Nationals next month in Indianapolis.

After being contacted by the Palo Jaycees, Rick thought it was a natural to have mud racers raise funds for flood relief. (Proceeds will help rebuild the Palo Community Center.)

“I reached out to my fellow pro races,” Rick says. “I called a bunch of them to see if they'd help me out.”

As many as a dozen could show up, racing for first place prize money up to $550 in the “paddle” (large tires with paddle-like lugs) class and $350 in the modified class. Racers in other classes, from pro stock to all terrain vehicles, are also invited to participate.

“We should have a good show,” Rick says. “They're excited in Palo. They've been driving up on golf carts to see me work on the track. They even ask if they can buy tickets in advance.”

Spectator tickets are $7 each or $10 to also look at the machinery in the pits.

On display and running will be Rick's sixth edition of his Wild Cherry. This one has a 526-cubic inch Keith Black made hemi engine producing 3,000 horsepower. It consumes six gallons of methanol on just one run, but topped out at 112 miles per hour in that third-best ever 2.16-second 200-foot run.

“I tell you, these people are going to be amazed at what they see,” Rick says.