The Bonnyville Gear Grabbers were supposed to light up the runway earlier this summer.

Then the rain showed up.

And not the nice little “the lawn needed it” kind of rain. I’m talking about the kind of rain that turns every outdoor event organizer into an unpaid meteorologist who checks six different weather apps and believes whichever one has the fewest clouds.

The Gear Grabbers had to postpone their race weekend, but the engines haven’t gone quiet. The club is ready to try again from August 21 to 23 at the Bonnyville Regional Airport.

I caught up with the club’s new president, Greg Sawchuk, to find out what’s coming.

“Oh, it’s looking great,” Greg said. “I think the weather’s going to cooperate, and so we’re going to push ahead. It’s going to be a loud, smoky, great day.”

I appreciate the optimism.

At this point, somebody has to speak nicely to Alberta’s weather and hope it responds to positive reinforcement.

Big horsepower is still coming

The rescheduled weekend hasn’t lost its headline attractions.

Greg said the featured team is still coming with a Top Fuel car, a funny car and a two-seat dragster.

This won’t be one of those events where you stand half a kilometre away, squint toward the runway and pretend you know which vehicle is racing.

The Gear Grabbers give spectators access to the pits, allowing them to see the race cars and teams up close.

“The whole drag racing thing is a little bit different because people get to walk right into the pits,” Greg said. “They get to see race cars up close.”

Once the racing begins, fans won’t have any trouble knowing where the action is.

“You are very close to the action,” Greg said. “You’ll hear it, you’ll smell it, you’ll see it. It’s pretty amazing.”

If you’ve never experienced drag racing from that close, you don’t simply hear the engines. You feel them in places you didn’t know could hear.

Friday night starts with a Show and Shine

Race weekend begins Friday, August 21 with a casual Meet and Greet and Mini Show and Shine from 5 to 8 p.m.

The event is open to racers and anyone else proud of their ride. You don’t have to compete Saturday or Sunday to participate.

“The cool thing is that you’ve got race cars that are interspersed with all the show cars,” Greg said. “The feature team will be there as well.”

Greg recalled young visitors getting the opportunity to sit inside the funny car during last year’s event.

For a kid who loves cars, that’s about as good as it gets.

For the parents, it also begins the long drive home while hearing, “Dad, can we buy one?”

Good luck with that.

An optional cruise will follow Friday’s Show and Shine.

Two days of racing

The real noise begins Saturday, August 22 and continues Sunday, August 23.

Registration runs from 7 to 9:45 a.m. each day. Drivers meet at 10 a.m. before time trials begin at 10:30 a.m.

The weekend features eighth-mile bracket racing and grudge racing. First-time racers, amateurs and experienced competitors are all encouraged to participate.

That’s one of the best things about the Gear Grabbers’ events. You don’t need a professional race team, a trailer worth more than your house and a crew wearing matching shirts.

If you have a safe vehicle, a helmet and the nerve to line up, there’s a place for you.

Public admission is $10 per person, with children 12 and younger getting in free. Racer registration is $60 per day. Official Gear Grabbers race details

It takes the whole community

Volunteers organize the race weekend, and Greg said the community support behind it is enormous.

When I asked him to thank the people who helped make it happen, he wisely avoided naming names.

Not because he didn’t appreciate them. The list was simply too long, and forgetting one sponsor is how you accidentally create a second full-time job for yourself.

“The community supports our event hugely,” Greg said. “The big sponsors that we’ve had with us since the beginning — the list is long.”

The support comes from businesses and community members of every size.

“It takes everything from the little guy to the big guy to make the event a success,” Greg said.

That support became even more important after the original weekend was washed out. Postponing an event means reorganizing volunteers, sponsors, racers, equipment and about 400 other things nobody notices until they don’t happen.

The Gear Grabbers have done the work. The feature cars are still coming. The runway is waiting.

Now all we need is for the rain to find somewhere else to hang out for three days.

Greg says it’s going to be a loud, smoky, great weekend.

I’m choosing to believe him.