TURNER – More than 2,500 spectators spent Saturday afternoon watching single-cylinder classics vie for first place as they sputtered around the grand prix race track.

The 9th Annual One Lunger 100 Vintage Snowmobile Race off Route 117 in Turner took place under sunny skies, the temperature a balmy – for February in Maine – 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

Organized by the Turner Ridge Runners, a 30-year-old snowmobile club that maintains the area’s trails, the event is the primary source of income to finance their duties, such as trail grooming.

The parking lot was overflowing with automobiles and snowmobiles alike, and traffic slowed on the usually busy route as riders coming to watch the event continued back and forth on the trails.

“It’s pretty much like a national holiday here in Turner,” said Katreana Cloutier, a student at Leavitt Area High School who came to support friends competing in the races.

Ninety participants from as far away as Pennsylvania competed for the trophy – the only stipulation being each rider drove a snowmobile from 1973 or older. The day was broken into several races, including qualifiers, the all-female Powder-Puff race, kids’ race, main event and twin-cylinder race.

“This is what we call the Daytona of one-lungers,” said Russ Gilbert, pit boss and member of the Ridge Runners. “We started it on a whim and it’s grown into a huge event. We’ve even had ESPN and NESN here.”

The decision to race vintage snow machines stemmed from the safety of the older ones. With top speeds averaging 45 to 50 mph, there’s less chance for injury. The older sleds are also considered more affordable to fix and maintain than the newer versions.

Scanning the rows of parked sleds waiting to compete, it was hard for an untrained eye to differentiate the varying years. Soliciting assistance from the experts (the “good old boys” ogling the machines), the consensus developed that Jeff Black’s 1968 Moto-Ski Zephyr was the oldest snowmobile racing in the event.

The Zephyr’s impeccable cosmetics turned heads with its orange body and white, up-turned stripe. For a 41-year-old sled – if not for the retro body shape – it wouldn’t have looked a day over, well, 20?

“You should have seen it when I first got the thing,” Black said. “It was a basket case. There were holes all through it and mice living in the engine.”

Black was both elated and dismayed at the thought of having to fix up the old Moto-Ski. He enlisted the help of his son and the duo began the process of tearing the machine apart and replacing pieces one by one.

“It’s basically been completely rebuilt,” Black said. “It’s made of two different sleds. I just did a lot of work on the tunnel, sandblasted it all, painted it, a lot of Bondo in the hood.”

His main challenge was finding parts. Pawing through rock walls, fields, garages, going to bone yards and stripping abandoned machines in the back woods of Maine became a pastime. But it was word of mouth that proved effective.

“You know somebody that knows somebody that has a part, and there are definitely a lot of good contacts like that here,” he said.

Although Black was phased out in the second qualifying race when his snowmobile broke down, he remained positive.

“It was a blast,” he said. “We’re going to watch some racing and then head for home, but we’ll definitely be back next year.”