If all goes according to plan, the Powell Municipal Airport will host not just one drag race this summer, but an entire series.

Drag racing recently became a part of the annual Wings ’N Wheels car and air show at the airport, but this year, “we’re going to expand,” said Mike Martin.

In addition to the Wings ’N Wheels event, Martin and other organizers hope to stage five other races throughout the summer; Powell City Council members signed off on the idea Monday night.

Similar drag races were being held at the Greybull airport, but Martin said it appears unlikely that the racers will be able to continue using that facility. With those racers displaced, “we were just looking to kind of pick up the slack and give them somewhere to go,” said Wings ’N Wheels organizer Tim Kindred.

Unlike the bigger Wings ’N Wheels event, the airport will remain open during the periodic drag races. Martin said they’ll have fewer cars on the runway at one time in case there’s a need to move for an incoming plane. He also said they’ll assign a group of people to safely “keep airplanes from landing on the cars, obviously” and submit a safety plan to the city.

Martin also told the council that he believes the Federal Aviation Administration is fine with races on the runway and said the cars won’t cause any damage.

The events in Greybull were canceled because the races damaged a layer of sealant that was coating the runway, Martin said, but the trouble stemmed from that particular sealant. Beyond some tire marks on the Powell airport’s asphalt, “there was nothing destructive from the last races that we had,” he said. “Everything turned out really nice.”

Wings ’N Wheels is also set to add some local bands to the two-day event. A promoter had proposed putting on a bigger concert, but organizers declined to go that route.

“We decided, ‘Well, every time we bring in $20,000 worth of stuff at the fair, [it] never makes any money,’” Martin said, referring to losses on the Park County Fair’s marquee concert. “So are we willing to stick our neck out for a $20,000 concert up there [at Wings ’N Wheels]? We are not.”

He mentioned that the group is already going into “unknown territory” by adding the five drag racing events, which have yet to be scheduled. As a result of the expansion, “we’re probably going to ask for a little bit more funding, like you did last year,” Martin said. In 2023, the council provided Park County Wings ’N Wheels LLC $10,000 to help stage the August event.

Softball tourney

In a separate action, the council agreed to waive $550 worth of fees for a charity softball tournament slated for this spring.

Proceeds from the April 27-28 Snowball Softball Tournament at Homesteader Park will go to the Cody nonprofit Celebrities for a Cause, which provides financial support to nonprofit groups. Organizer Ryan Brown “puts a lot of effort” into his fundraisers and “does a lot of good,” Councilman Steve Lensegrav said. The council unanimously voted to waive the fees for the park rental and a malt beverage permit.

Celebrities for a Cause is also set to host a beer festival at the Park County Fairgrounds on Aug. 17 to benefit the local organizations Crisis Intervention Services and Military Mobility. The festival will include a celebrity cornhole tournament, food trucks and music from El Wencho.

“That will draw people to Powell,” City Administrator Zack Thorington predicted, “so it might be a busy summer.”