It’s hard to decide which is more impressive: the high speeds that drag boats can reach on the water or the high costs of competing in the sport.

Al Zemke, a drag-boat racer from Bend, estimates that the cost of fielding a team is about $20,000 per year. And that’s after the estimated $50,000 expense of a boat, an engine, an enclosed trailer and a tow vehicle.

So it’s no wonder, in a slumping economy, that the number of drag-boat racers in the Northwest has declined in recent years. Still, the 13th High Desert Showdown is scheduled for Sept. 11-12 at Haystack Reservoir near Culver.

“We’ll have a low boat count just because of the economy,” says Redmond’s Andy Haavisto, vice president of the Columbia Drag Boat Association (CDBA).

“We’ll be pulling a rabbit out of a hat just to put on a show.”

But the show will go on at Haystack, where some racers figure to reach speeds of 170 mph.

The High Desert Showdown is one of five races staged by the CDBA each year in Oregon. Three of them take place at Dexter Reservoir in Lowell, near Eugene. The 2010 World Finals of drag-boat racing are set for Nov. 4-7 in Chandler, Ariz.

Anyone with any type of boat is invited to compete next weekend at Haystack, and entry is free for first-time racers. Entry fees otherwise range from $100 to $150. Organizers say about 25 boats are expected to race, with drivers coming from Oregon, Washington, California and British Columbia.

Timed qualifying with one boat on the course at a time will be held Saturday, Sept. 11, starting at 9 a.m. Head-to-head races will take place on Sunday, Sept. 12, also starting at 9 a.m.

Just like cars racing on a drag strip, the boats at Haystack will race side by side over a quarter-mile stretch of the reservoir.

Racing classes range from 7-second Pro Modified to the 12-second and slower River Racer. Drivers try to race the quarter-mile as close as they can to their allotted time. If they go faster than that time, they lose.

Qualifying on Sept. 11 will determine the race classes, and boats will race head to head on Sept. 12 until eliminated.

“I love the thrill of the acceleration and the sound of the motors, and every venue is different,” says Zemke, 68, who has been racing since the late 1970s.

Back then, Zemke and friends would race on other Central Oregon waters such as Prineville Reservoir and Lake Billy Chinook, but usually not in any structured competition.

“In those days there weren’t too many organized races — it was like street racing,” Zemke recalls.

Zemke races a 1977 Dominator, which he bought new in 1977 and sold in 1983 to a Prineville resident. After a long stint living in Southern California, Zemke moved back to Central Oregon in the early 1990s and bought the boat back from the same Prineville man in 2006.

“I restored the boat completely and I race it now, and it’s still working,” says Zemke, who last year was champion of the CDBA’s 11-second class.

Zemke, a real estate investor, says he continues to race because of the camaraderie he enjoys with other racers and spectators.

“It’s still a gentlemen’s sport,” he says. “We don’t race for a lot of money. No money this year, just trophies and bragging rights. We help each other out (with gear and tools). We’re just a bunch of old American hot rodders. These engines just happen to be in boats.”

Both Zemke and Haavisto have raced several times at the annual World Finals in Arizona.

Haavisto has been racing for eight years; in 2009 he claimed the CDBA championship in the 9-second class.

Drag-boat racing is a dangerous sport, and crashes, injuries and even fatalities are not uncommon.

“We have lost several drivers,” Haavisto says of the sport. “We lost another driver about three weeks ago in Oklahoma.”

On Aug. 8, a world champion drag-boat racer from Michigan was killed when his boat crashed during the Mid-America Summer Nationals in Oklahoma.

The driver was a Top Fuel Hydro racer, a class in which boats can reach speeds of 240 mph, about 70 mph faster than the fastest boats expected at the High Desert Showdown.

Haavisto, who says he has raced as fast as 131 mph in a quarter-mile event, explains that he tries not to think of the risk factor when racing.

“It never really crosses my mind,” he says. “You want to win your round, and make your pass with the least amount of mistakes as possible.”

Rescue personnel are on-site at all CDBA races, including divers in the water and an ambulance on the boat ramp.

Wind can often be a factor at Haystack, Haavisto says. Races are sometimes postponed or canceled when the wind becomes strong because it can make the water extremely rough and potentially flip the light boats over during a race.

“It’s very dangerous when the water gets rough,” Haavisto says. “That’s why we really rely on our safety people.”

Boats of Thunder

What: Drag Boat Show-n-Shine

When: Friday, Sept. 10, 2-6 p.m.

Where: Pump House Bar & Grill, Terrebonne

Cost: Free

High Desert Showdown

What: Columbia Drag Boat Association races

When: Saturday, Sept. 11, and Sunday, Sept. 12, starting at 9 a.m. each day

Where: Haystack Reservoir near Culver

Cost: Admission for spectators is $10 on Saturday, $12 on Sunday, or $20 for a weekend pass; $2-off coupons available at Bi-Mart; parking is $3 per day or $5 for the weekend

Contact: www.cdbaracing.com or 541-923-2323