BANGOR— Bangor’s Nelson Savage remembers when he and other members of the Bangor Jaycees would spend weeks preparing Bass Park in Bangor for the annual snowmobile races around the harness track oval in the 1960s and ’70s.

“Every winter, people would look forward to it. When they stopped, it left a void,” Savage said.

Competitive snowmobiling returned to Bass Park this weekend for the time in more than 30 years in a different form as the East Coast Snocross tour opened its nine-race schedule at the Paul Bunyan Invitational with racers maneuvering and soaring around a four-tenths of a mile course laden with bumps and jumps, including the highest jump, the table top jump at the finish line.

“This is a great idea. This is a little different but it’s just as exciting if not more exciting (than the oval racing),” Savage said.

An estimated crowd of 500 turned out for the races Sunday.

“I had seen (snocross) on TV but getting a chance to see it live is quite a thrill,” Bucksport’s Stephen Bowden said. “It’s incredible.”

Bowden particularly enjoyed seeing the snowsleds go airborne off the jumps.

Donny Elston of Bangor said it is “nice to see them use the facility” for a winter activity rather than having it sit idle.

He also noted it was good to “see a lot of young kids” attending the races.

“If they keep having it after after year, you’ll be able to build a pretty good following,” Elston noted.

Fans were able to warm up underneath the grandstand in the off-track-betting area where several vendors were selling their wares.

Deb Whitman of Hermon brought sons T.J. and Zacory and said it is the kind of activity “that keeps the kids entertained.

“It’s fast-paced,” she said. “It’s a good family activity and it’s not that expensive.”

It cost $20 per day for adults or $30 for a weekend pass. Children 7 and under were admitted free.

Avid snowmobiler and former four-time K and N Pro Series East auto race champ Andy Santerre and wife Sue, who now live in North Yarmouth, were among those in attendance on Sunday.

“It gets people out of the house,” Santerre said. “And one of the things I liked the best was watching the groomer.”

Santerre was referring to the vehicle that primes the course.

“I love watching the little kids race,” Sue Santerre said.

Chris King of Bradley pointed out that it is “good for the economy” as the racers and their families and friends spend money on hotels, food, fuel and other necessities.

Jim and Kathy Bouchard traveled from Fort Kent to watch their son, Sam, race and Pam Wiggin from Levant had the opportunity to see her 6-year-old grandson Carter compete. Her daughter, Shannon from Seal Cove, Carter’s aunt, noted that the event attracted people “from all over.”

“This has exceeded my expectations, Shannon Wiggin said.

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