What do you get when the grandson of Porsche’s founder, an influential U.S. land developer, and many of the world’s top automotive enthusiasts get together to party? The FAT Ice Race 2026 Big Sky.
More of a party than a serious race, the event is definitely centered on motorsports. Racing extremely valuable, and in many cases very important, automobiles on ice is the centerpiece of the event. But I think all in attendance can agree that it’s more about the people, with about 2,000 people on site this year.
This year, Mother Nature made it very hard on organizers and cars alike. The track would freeze overnight, but each morning the intense sun and mid-40s temperatures would soften things up quickly.
What that meant for competitors is a quickly deteriorating track with massive holes and ruts, while the berms were jagged blocks of crusty ice ready to leave claw marks on anything that got close, which more than a few cars experienced.
Pretentious?
When I told some friends I’d be attending the FAT Ice race, many scoffed at how pretentious the event is. While from the outside looking in, I could see their viewpoint, I went to the event trying to view it from a different angle.
I happen to know a few people who were racing this year, and all of them, with money or without large sums, are true driving enthusiasts. I knew, and now know, that they not only wanted to drive their special machines in a unique location and race format, but also allow others access to seeing such machines in action.
While wealth was on full display in all the ways, I never saw flaunting that wealth as a primary driver for any of the people I interacted with at the event. From my discussions, it really was about enjoying the high-end automotive culture while getting to party with friends in a beautiful location.
I see concourse-style events as much more pretentious than the FAT Ice Race. Most of the vehicles, no matter the value, were driven hard on track versus just looking pretty in the paddock.
Racing Action
Is there serious racing at FAT Ice? Kinda.
There are, for sure, quite a few people there who have worked hard to bring a properly set-up and very fast car to the party and kept dialing them in throughout the event to find performance. But, in the end, race classes were pretty wide-ranging in entrants, and most drivers were there to have fun rather than win a trophy.
The Classic (pre-1980 and 2WD) class ranged from a VW Baja Bug to a 1960 Ferrari 250 SWB. Race & Rallye 2WD class ranged from Legend Cars to a Lancia Kimera EVO37. In the Race & Rallye 4WD class, you saw everything from a near-stock Rivian R1S to the fully custom Ford Bronco RTR called “El Bandito.”
The Sports Car class saw a Pagani Huayra BC, Bentley Continental GT, and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. In total, there were about 53 cars racing.
There really were so many cool cars that its very hard to call out highlights. But, the ones that made the most sounds and went the fastest were likely what got the crowd the most excited. The 1,000-horsepower El Bandito did all those things, and won overall with the fastest time.
Ryan Tuerck’s Celica rally/drift build got second overall and made incredible noises.
Anderson Tate was likely the most full-send driver on course, in his boss’s (Supercar Ron) twin-turbo Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato.
While a variety of interesting vehicles on track is amazing for spectators and a hallmark of the event, this year’s event might have taken that a bit far. It was very odd to see inexpensive Legend Cars out there going faster than multi-million-dollar performance machines and WRC rally cars.
And, I know that most competitors weren’t stoked on the massive tires and high-horsepower trophy trucks and Ultra4 vehicles destroying the track surface in short order — but spectators loved them.
Show Laps
Between race sessions, there were show laps by some very impressive vehicles, most of which were still driven in a very spirited fashion.
My favorite was likely Christopher Polvoorde’s luxury pre-runner — basically a trophy truck with doors. But that’s likely a biased opinion, as I got a ride-along on track in this beast. A big thanks to Optima for the opportunity.
Other cool show runs included a small fleet of unique Meyers Manx, from rotary engines to tracked with skis. The Scarbo SVRover and LFG Meyers Manx were likely the most interesting vehicles on track, and both were very fast.
But, watching the Singer DLS Turbo, with Chris Harris behind the wheel, and the RUF CTR Anniversary (a modern Yellowbird) slide around the track at speed was also a sight to behold.
Fur & Hats
The unofficial outfit for the 2026 FAT Ice Race was some combination of fur and cowboy hats. I’ve never in my life seen so much fur clothing, and the variety was impressive as well.
The cowboy hats theme wasn’t all that unexpected, as Big Sky, Mont., has a thing for cowboy culture.
Tastebuds & Bubbly
And yes, of course, they had shrimp cocktail and unlimited champagne, at least in the VIP area. There was also lots of other tasty food and libations for VIPs, and a few bars and food trucks for other attendees.
While there was plenty of social drinking going on, I didn’t see a single person acting like a drunk. I think that’s a first for me, as I’ve seen very drunk behavior at motorsports gatherings ranging from Flat Track to Formula 1, and we won’t even talk about NASCAR.
Celebrities
One really cool thing about FAT Ice is having such up close and easy access to a wide range of interesting people.
Automotive icons in attendance included: Lia Block, Lucy Block, Emila Hartford, Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, Brian Scotto, Richard Tuthill, Estonia Ruf, Patrick Long, James Pumphrey, Chris Harris, Matt Farah, Christopher Palvortie, Brad Lovell, Supercar Ron, and countless others.
Musician Don Toliver seemed to be the highest-profile celebrity in attendance. But the person who had the most positive energy and was truly stoked to talk to everyone was skydive/basejump athlete Miles Dasher.
And we can’t forget event founder Ferdi Porsche, who hosted this gathering and showed off some very impressive driving skills on track.
Brand Activations
Of course, there were a number of big brands doing official activations at the event. Companies like Nissan, Bentley, Mobil1, Porsche, Singer, and others.
The most interesting was likely Nike’s ACG Man vs. Machine, where running athlete Liam Meirow raced the Manx LFG, with Nike’s VP of Concepts Serifcan Ozcan behind the wheel, on track. For sure, just a publicity stunt, it was good fun and made for some good video.
Rivian also had a big presence at the event, launching its RAD division. It even raced a pretty stock R1S quad-motor, with just a race seat, five-point harness, and studded Pirelli tires added. It was only a few seconds off the custom El Bandito and Tuerck Celica builds, which is very impressive!
FAT Ice Race Past & Future
While this event started decades ago in Europe, it was revived a few years ago in Europe, and a U.S. version happened in Aspen in 2024; the 2026 Big Sky FAT Ice Race elevated the event on this side of the pond. The Big Sky location was also a hit with most involved, as it was stunningly beautiful and offered the high-end amenities that attendees expect.
Will FAT Ice happen in the U.S. again? I think so. Will it find its permanent home in Big Sky? I think that’s likely.
Will you check it out next year? I want to go back. But, do note that tickets this year ran about $500 for a 2-day general admission ticket and at least three times that for VIP access.
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