PLAMONDON - Fans of mud racing will have plenty to cheer about as the annual Plamondon Mud Bogs come rumbling back over the July 12 weekend for three days of dirt-slinging, nonstop action.
Once again, this year, the Mud Bogs, which have been a staple of the community for decades, will see a variety of trucks and modified buggies roaring through the dirt track at the Plamondon Festival Centre grounds in a series of mud-splattered races. The weekend will also feature a demolition derby.
Jessica Routhier of the Plamondon and District Community Development Society (PDCDS), said the Mud Bogs is the biggest event of the year not only for the society, but the Plamondon community and the region as well.
Legacy in the mud
“It brings a lot of tourism to both Plamondon and Lac La Biche and has been going on for decades, so Mud Bogs has a long-standing legacy,” she told Lakeland This Week.
With drivers still signing up, organizers don’t have any final roster numbers yet. According to Routhier, those who do get behind the wheel this year to race in the dirty, crowd-pleasing spectacle that is sanctioned by the Canadian Mud Racing Organization (CMRO) will be competing in four distinct categories.
“We have four classes this year, they are Stock, Modified Stock, Super Stock, and Pro Modified,” she said, adding that each class has its own qualifications for vehicles, which can be found on the Plamondon Mud Bogs registration page.
Drivers who enter the pits to race in the 2024 Plamondon Mud Bogs will have a fantastic opportunity to bring home generous amounts of cash for their efforts. As Routhier explains, total payouts for all races and demo derby are about $23,000 total, with prizes being awarded to first, second, and third in each category.
The Mud Bogs, which came roaring back to life in 2023 following a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, always attract large crowds from near and far.
“We have three large sets of bleachers that are set up to watch the mud bogs with no risk of being hit by mud,” she said. “They are far enough away from the races to be safe from any flying mud.”
Last year, organizers hosted a contest leading up to the weekend of mud racing with the hopes of drawing more female drivers. The contest was for any woman who wanted to race behind the wheel of a custom-made mud-bog truck. This truck is one of several that was built by Clinton Ailsby, a mud bog enthusiast who passed away in 2009.
When the Lac La Biche Post newsroom spoke with Routhier a few weeks before the racing weekend, she said no female racers had yet signed up to enter the pits. She was expecting more to be on the list by race day.
“We will be having the contest to drive the Ailsby truck again this year to encourage more female drivers,” she stated.
The July 12 weekend in Plamondon will also include a pancake breakfast from 8-10 a.m. on Saturday morning, a children’s festival, a redneck rust and shine vehicle show, along with an two social nights that kicks off on Friday at 9 p.m. and a double-bandstand that starts at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday inside the Plamondon Festival Centre.
There won’t be a Mud Bog slow-pitch tournament, however, this year.
Last years race weekend drew between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators. Routhier hopes for another big turnout this year.
“We saw a lot of community members come out to enjoy the festivities as well as plenty of people coming out from all over the province,” she said.
