2010 August

Cat Builds Millionth Sled Since 1983

One million sleds. Say it while you chew on your pinky nail.

Thief River Falls, Mn (8/26/10) – Barreling down on its 50^th Anniversary (1962-2012), Arctic Cat has reached a special milestone since the company was brought back to life in 1983 as one of the leading snowmobile manufacturers. A 2011 Crossfire 800 LTD marks the 1,000,000^th snowmobile built since August of 1983.

Along the way Arctic Cat has set the industry standard with new innovative products, most of which have been copied by their competitors — all of which have made Arctic Cat one of the strongest brands in the recreational vehicle industry.

Arctic Cat CEO, Christopher Twomey stated, “This milestone is heartfelt in several ways; Industry-leading innovation is important, but its special knowing generations of Arctic Cat enthusiasts have enjoyed our products. These enthusiasts push us to innovate for future generations.”

To commemorate the occasion, the Crossfire 800 LTD made its way through the assembly line and over 1,100 employees signed their name while a group photo was taken after production. The Crossfire will be prominently displayed in the Factory lobby for all visitors to see and will be placed on several show tours throughout the season.

sledRacer.com’s Top 10 Cross-Country Racers Of All Time

Arrows and instinct (and sometimes trails of broken parts) guide a cross-country racer's way.

It is the ditches, forest roads, swamps, rivers, laketops and winding woods trails that bear witness to the greatness of cross-country racing. Even the most persistent fans of the genre, following the event wherever the course intersects or runs alongside public roads, catch only glimpses and short sections of the miles the riders put in. So how does one measure success in cross-country? We go by race results and what the racers themselves say about their peers and the events. This is exactly what sledRacer.com did when putting together its Top 10 Cross-Country Racers Of All Time. We talked to experts on the genre, experts who, many times, were there when history happened. Our panel included two-time I-500 winner Brian Nelson, USCC Cross-Country Snowmobile Racing Association president and former racer Pat Mach, former racer, Team Arctic Canada Race Manager and Blair Morgan Racing Team Manager Jamie Anseeuw, two-time I-500 class winner, former racer and Snow Goer Magazine Editor John Sandberg and sledRacer.com owner and I-500 racer Jim Urquhart.

Look Who’s On Ski-Doo

This spy shot showed up in our IN box this morning. Robbie's new ride looks good in black.

Filed Under: Snowmobile racing News Tagged With: amsoil, isoc racing, robbie malinoski, scheuring speed sports, ski-doo, snocross

USCC Signs Title Sponsor

Minto, ND, August 16, 2010 – The United States Cross-Country Snowmobile Racing Association (USCC) has signed the National Guard as its title sponsor for the 2010-2011 race season. The USCC circuit will be known as “The USCC National Guard Cross-Country Snowmobile Championship.”

“We are excited to partner with The National Guard for the 2010-2011 snowmobile racing season,” said USCC Sponsorship Director Noel Schanilec. “This partnership will help continue the remarkable momentum the USCC has kept for almost a decade and will put the National Guard name in front of millions of snowmobile racing enthusiasts.”

The oldest of the United States’ Armed Forces, the National Guard has stood ready to protect the country for nearly 374 years and operates in all 50 states, three territories (Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia.

Read the rest here:

http://www.usccracing.com/news_2010/081610_USCC_Inks_National_Guard_As_Title_Sponsor.php

Filed Under: Snowmobile racing News Tagged With: cross-country snowmobile racing, I-500, snowmobile racing, USCC

One Bad 120

Dean and Sara Larson get ready for the 120 Open class at the USCC Grand Cities 100.

For the past few years Larson Racing’s Sara Larson has piloted one of the baddest 120 mods on the planet. Custom-built by Dean Larson, Jonn Olson and Arne Rantanen, the sled is a jewel that hides many unique build secrets. Since Sara’s moving up to a Sno Pro 500 in the Junior class this year, Dean felt it was time to let people know what’s inside the sled that propelled Sara to a pantload of wins and points championships (including five of seven race wins and a points championship last season) on the USCC cross-country circuit. That’s right, this is no snocross mod, it’s built for terrain. Follow along as sledRacer schools you on what makes up a winning 120 mod.

Cory Davis Injures Foot

Cory Davis had a breakout Pro season last year on the No. 160 Cat.

Cory Davis injured his foot riding moto the other day. Here’s an update his girlfriend Alyssa posted on cory-davis.com:

“Here’s a little update for everyone. Thursday night Cory was riding bikes and injured his foot really bad. He was rushed to CPGH where they tried to reset his foot because it was so far out of alinement. After that they felt it was out of their hands and would feel more comfortable with the doctors here in anchorage. He’s been here since Saturday morning. The doctors here are most concerned with his fracture blisters and soft tissue healing correctly with no infections. He had surgery on it last night where they were limited to putting only a few of the broken bones back into place. The doctors were ecstatic with the outcome and now it’s just a waiting game for the skin to heal healthy. Cory wanted me to thank everyone for all of the calls, texts, and facebook messages. He’s sorry he hasn’t gotten back to anyone, but it’s difficult being on the pain meds and dealing with the stress of this. He does recognize all of your concerns and deeply appreciates it. Thanks for all of your support.” -Alyssa

For more info on Cory check out www.cory-davis.com

Filed Under: Snowmobile racing News

sledRacer.com Interview: Jeff Goodwin

Jeff Goodwin

When Jeff Goodwin took over Ski-Doo’s race program as North American Ski-Doo Race Manager a little over a year ago he was almost immediately faced with a huge budget cut. He was faced with maintaining a program that was perhaps the most successful of the past decade with a fraction of the cash it used to have. Add to that the fact that Ski-Doo went winless in the Pro class on the National snocross circuit the year before and you have some serious odds stacked against the team. Or maybe not. Goodwin proceeded to not only make do with a tiny budget, but he quarterbacked the team to a Pro Stock National snocross points championship, it’s first Pro National title since Steve Martin won the Pro Open points in 2005. Read on as we find out what Goodwin thinks about the state of snowmobile racing, where Ski-Doo racing is headed and what the hardest part of his job is.

Frigon Named USCC East Race Coordinator

Minto, ND, August 4, 2010 – Veteran racer Erik Frigon of Pownal, Maine, has been named Race Coordinator for the USCC East series. Frigon will be the key man for the East coast branch of the USCC and will be handling many of the duties for the USCC East, including scheduling and race-day activities.

“We are excited to have Erik onboard with us this season,” said USCC President Pat Mach. “He was instrumental in putting together our Greenville 100 race last season and he has been working with us in various capacities for nearly a year. The USCC East is in very good hands with Erik.”

Dates and race locations are currently being locked in for the 2010 -2011 USCC East schedule. Heading into its second year, the USCC East will feature an expanded schedule for the coming season that will include several new race venues along with the return of the Munising 300 East-West shootout race to be held in late February.

USCC East information will be posted on www.usccracing.com as it becomes available. Racers or others interested in more information regarding USCC East can contact Erik Frigon via e-mail: erik@usccracing.com.

Filed Under: Snowmobile racing News Tagged With: cross-country, snowmobile, snowmobile racing, USCC, USCC I-500