He didn’t know Fraser had raced the model vehicles for many years when younger, until a serious car crash — while on his way to an RC track in the Milwaukee area — led him to give up the sport in 2001.

But the interest remained. Then Fraser learned the area had a track, at a home not far from where he lived on M-95 north of Iron Mountain in Breitung Township.

So he got himself some new vehicles and began to race again — only to see that local track close within the year.

Without a track and no local vendor for parts needed to maintain the vehicles — most local RC enthusiasts were forced to go as far as Green Bay to buy supplies — Fraser decided to step up for his hobby.

ERIC CHRISMAN WATCHES as trucks clear a hill on the track in Breitung Township. The drivers can be seen controlling the vehicles by remote from the elevated stand. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

He began stocking RC vehicles, kits and parts at his Grow Maxx store. And earlier this spring, he opened what he claims is among the largest RC tracks either in Wisconsin or Michigan, carved out of the woods in the front yard of his home.

Now every Sunday is race day, drawing people from roughly a 3 1/2- to four-hours’ drive radius to compete, including Ironwood, Iron River, Marquette, Gladstone, Escanaba, even Green Bay and farther downstate in Wisconsin.

Originally, Fraser had intended to do a modest set-up, spending roughly $5,000. In the end, the project cost about $30,000, Fraser said, and includes an elevated drivers’ stand built over a commercial shipping crate strong enough to hold 100 people if needed, though he’s keeping numbers down now to maintain social distancing.

“RC is the original social-distancing sport,” Fraser said.

The track had about 90 entries July 12, Fraser said, though many who were at the track had multiple vehicles. The races all are on a dirt track outdoors, with families putting up canopies or working out of the backs of pickup trucks alongside the track and in Fraser’s yard.

A BUGGY GETS some serious air as it comes over a hill on the RC vehicle track in Breitung Township. In the background is Paul Raboin. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

The track can feature up to 14 different heats on Sundays, depending on the numbers that turn out to race. The early heats are against the clock, with staggered starts, to determine the order for the finals in which all take off when the flag drops.

Each car is equipped with a transponder that records lap times each time they pass underneath the start. People linger in the infields to put any vehicle that flips or goes off the track back into the race.

Racing is divided not just by type of vehicle but level of experience, with youth squaring off against adults in several cases.

Remote-controlled model racing is growing in popularity, said Frank Felster of Marquette, who has been in RC racing for 26 years and had his own track, Back Country RC Raceway, in Sands since 2012.

When he started, the sport had only two types of RC vehicles, two-wheel-drive stadium trucks and buggies, Felster said. While he still sticks with both of those , RC now can feature eight or more classes depending on the site.

BRANDON BRANAM OF Aurora, Wis., races remote-controlled vehicles with his son, Brandon Jr., age 4. The elder Branam says he’s been racing for about six years. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

All RC vehicles used to come as a kit the operator puts together, though today they also are available as pre-assembled “ready to race,” or RTC. They can be raced as stock — all the same vehicles — or modified.

But Felster says the key to RC racing is tuning not the engine but the wheels and springs, so the vehicle can dig in and grip the track rather than just slip and skitter across the surface.

“The challenge is setting up the suspension properly,” Felster said. Since the model has to be adjusted for each track, “it’s a skill” to prepare the vehicle before each race.

While he admits it can be an expensive hobby — a quick look online showed model kits ranging from under $200 to more than $1,400 — people of fairly modest means still can be competitive, Felster said.

Fraser agrees. Most of the RC vehicles he sells are in the $228 range, and replacement parts usually are cheap — $3 for a new wheel, $4 for a suspension arm, $20 for a motor. He said a $325 truck won the modified class Sunday.

Yet interest has been strong enough his business took in about $200,000 in RC-related sales. “This year, we can’t keep stuff in stock,” Fraser said.

In turn, he keeps the charge to run on the track low, at $5 a class, compared with some Wisconsin tracks that go as high as $20 for the first race and $10 each additional.

“We didn’t build the track for profit,” Fraser said.

Some of the RC drivers didn’t start until adults, others while very young. Four-year-old Brandon Branam Jr. of Aurora, Wis., already has two years of racing experience. His father, Brandon Sr., said his son has accompanied him to races since he still was in a stroller.

“He picked it up. He’s getting a lot better,” the older Branam said.

“I want to go fast,” said the younger Brandon, “and I like to jump.”

Both enjoy being able to spend a day together, father and son, among the other families. Most at the track had children and teens with them.

“It’s a good family sport,” Brandon Sr. said.