Highlights From The 2023 Alaskan Car Launch Competition

What's more American than taking a bunch of old beater cars to the top of a cliff and launching them over? Nothing, that's what. And thanks to this beautiful Alaskan tradition, we get to see it in action. 

During the summer, the sun in Alaska hardly sets, making the classic "fireworks set against a night sky" 4th of July tradition harder to accomplish. So the folks from Glacier View Retreat near Matanuska Glacier in Wasilla put on a different kind of demolition.

Speaking to Car and Driver, the event organizer Arnie Hrncir claims that the car launch started back in 2003 when his wife hit a moose. After trying to fix the car, he instead decided to launch it off a cliff in 2005, and thus the tradition began. He calls it an "F Day," meaning "Freedom, faith, family, food, and fun."

The cars are launched either by railroad track or by sticking open the throttle the good old-fashioned way.

So next 4th of July, will you be watching the fireworks, or heading up to the greater Anchorage area like a real American? As one TikTok viewer commented,

"God Bless America."