Was that Santa Claus, cruising Main in an SRCA hotrod Tuesday evening?
Could be. Mr. and Mrs. Claus are vacationing in Great Bend and will appear at the Barton County Fair every day for the remainder of the week. As for the hotrods, the Sunflower Rod and Custom Association has a cool display set up in Expo I, next to some miniature stock cars that fairgoers can race. More about that later.

A lot of work goes into setting up the fair exhibits, Wagner’s Carnival, concert stages and animal pens, so the Great Bend Expo Complex was a busy place on Tuesday. The Great Bend Tribune caught up with Mrs. Claus, who was admiring the “Just BeClaus” theme decorations in Expo II.
“Santa and I heard they were doing ‘Christmas’ at the Barton County Fair and decided to attend,” she said. “This will be an opportunity to find out what toys the boys and girls want, so our elves can make them in time for Christmas.”
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on the Free Stage in Expo II each night – Wednesday through Saturday – from 6-7 p.m., and they’ll be available for photos.

Stock car races
A new attraction this year inside Expo I is model stock car races. Paul Sutton with RORR-ing Entertainment said people of all ages can enter the races throughout the day, for $3 per race. The 1/10th scale racing system has a lap counter and is set up on a track layout reminiscent of the Bristol Motor Speedway, he said. The winner of each six-car race wins a souvenir checkered flag.
“We actually have people in the community who are sponsoring our cars,” Sutton said. As of Tuesday, sponsors were Xtreme Motorsports, Bass-X, SRCA Dragstrip and Cheyenne Trailer.