The arctic cold front predicted to muscle through Minnesota this week is coming too late to save the popular car races on Lake Phalen.
Organizers of this weekend’s races decided today to call off the Sunday night event after measuring the Phalen ice at 11.5 inches – or 6.5 inches shy of the minimum thickness needed to host the races.
“We can’t go out there with less than 18 inches,” said Steve Dunsworth, president of the Twin Cities Ice Racing Association.
Racers would need temperatures to stay below zero – as a high – throughout the week in order for Phalen to freeze deeply enough in time for the event, Dunsworth added.
The event would have coincided with the final weekend of the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The races traditionally attract crowds between 3,000 and 5,000 people.
Copyright 2007 Pioneer Press.