Going the distance: Enduro race comes to the fair

Published 10:19 pm Wednesday, August 11, 2021

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The engines were roaring, the mud was flying and the steel was colliding at the grandstand of the Mower County Fair Wednesday night.

The track was flooded with enduro racers that  weren’t necessarily looking to be the fastest car on the track. Instead, they were looking to last the longest.

One of those racers was Matthew Welch of Owatonna, who has competed in enduro races for seven years. He said the key to staying focused for 250 laps or two hours is to find a way to keep going.

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“You have to keep going,” Welch said. “Everyone always wonders how I’m the only one standing at the end.”

Welch is a third generation racer, who also races at Chateau Speedway in Lansing every once in a while. But he said the enduro races give him the best chance to make money. Although that doesn’t mean the races are easy.

“It’s actually tougher to do an enduro race,” Welch said. “You can’t just go fast and you have to actually learn how to drive.”

Welch said any driver is capable of winning an enduro race, depending on if they can keep the car going. Most races are held at county fairs and there is a strong camaraderie between drivers.

“We know most of them and it’s a lot of fun,” Welch said.