It’s been about a decade in the making but thanks to the efforts of a few community minded enthusiasts, the sport of snowmobile drag racing is making a comeback in a big way in this area.

On Sunday, February 12, 2023, racers and spectators gathered just north of Russell to watch the second annual Russell - Gambler Snowmobile drag races. About 100 snowmobile drag racers came together from provinces as far afield as Alberta and Ontario to battle for the best and fastest of their class. The Russell-Gambler Snowmobile Drag Races ran 15 different classes, resulting in 100 heats of high-speed snowmobile racing.

Garry Naherniak, Anthony Longclaws and Richard Shingoose had been organizing and operating snowmobile drag races for 10 years in Waywayseecappo First Nation, before Garry proceeded to bring the event to Russell. Naherniak hosted the first races in March of 2020 which were a huge success. Then, like so much else, the event had to come to a halt for a few years. Now Garry has once again brought the racing circuit back - this time with the help of the chief and council and the people of Gambler First Nation.

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