Canada is a nation filled with odd but delightful treasures — maple syrup drizzled on snow, butter tarts, and ice racing. And I honestly don’t think anything can top this incredible video of malaise-era ice racing in the 1980s is the epitome of all the best Canada has to offer.
The video is a Retro Review from MotorWeek, a series designed to take you back in time to remember — fondly or not — the cars of our past. While this video isn’t so much a proper car review as it is a short clip from an ice racing broadcast, it’s still a true gem:
Shot in 1989, MotorWeek correspondent Craig Singhaus took the film crew on an adventure up to Minden, Ontario to take part in what is perhaps the most delightful form of racing possible: Snow and ice racing. The rules were simple. Competitors just had to show up with a 10- to 15-year-old car that ran well enough to take out onto the race track. If you had that, you were golden.
And the racing itself is just delightful. As one of the competitors put it, “What else are you supposed to do with a ‘77 Chevette?” The answer appears to be drifting it around slippery corners and bonking into your competitors. Which is probably still the best possible use for a Chevette to this day.
Ice racing like this is still a thing in Canada. You can go more professional with the Canadian Automobile Sports Clubs, or you can take your beater out to that same Minden track featured in the video for vintage racing. If you’re a real Canadian, you’ve probably done something similar in some iced-over field, likely on the back of your snowmobile or with that shitty car your friend bought for a couple hundred bucks.