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.

Our rankings also take into account the three distinct eras of cross-country – the first era from 1966-1980, the second era from the late 1989 to 2001 and the present era of cross-country which is even now taking hold with new great racers emerging. During cross-country’s low years in the mid- to late-1980s when it suffered from low racer turnout, lack of industry support, lack of a race circuit and the absence of the I-500, noteworthy racers still braved the terrain whenever they could. Thus, great names like Lee Falck, Jay Sperry Jr. and Bruce Olson deserve mentioning because had they raced in a different era they could well be on this Top 10 list. Also, there are many great names who raced in the heyday of cross-country who aren’t on the list and one of them is Archie Simonson, a racer who officially gets our Top 10 Honorable Mention. Simonson won the I-500 in 1977 at the age of 18 and was a top racer for the Polaris team in the late 1970s and early 1980s aboard the dominant Indy IFS. With a keen riding ability and Polaris racing’s Pro-5 brain trust behind his efforts he was always a threat to win. With that, let’s move on to the Top 10 Cross-Country Racers Of All Time.

Three I-500 victories (including one at the height of the second era of cross country in 1997) put Corey Davidson in the Top 10.

10. Corey Davidson

One of the most dominant cross-country and enduro riders of the modern era, Corey Davidson has three I-500 wins to his credit (1997, 2003, 2005). A master of sled setup, Davidson’s 1997 ISOC I-500 win is noteworthy in that it came during a super-competitive time in cross-country racing. Having never had the benefit of a master mechanic to watch over his equipment, Davidson combines his sled prep ability with a super-smooth riding style which results in his making it look “easy.” With USCC and FANS points championships to go along with his I-500 wins, Davidson has also proved his consistency. But his strongest asset is the simple fact that he hates to lose.

This photo was taken as Dale Cormican crossed the finish line to take his second I-500 win in 1969.

9. Dale Cormican

The first two-time winner of the I-500, Dale Cormican was perhaps the first hero of cross-country racing as well. An amateur racer who worked for the highway department during the week, he used the dominant Arctic Cat Panther and its superior slide rail suspension to log his first I-500 win which was shortened due to lack of snow. Some called his first win a fluke even though he had a 23-minute lead when the ’68 race was called. The next year Cormican proved his win was no fluke as he crossed the finish line nearly an hour ahead of the second place finisher, a factory Polaris. Cormican found success not only because he was fortunate to be on a dominant machine but also because he had superior riding ability and a great engineering mind.

Todd Wolff raced Ski-Doos before racing Ski-Doos was cool. And he won. (photo: www.arcticinsider.com)

8. Todd Wolff

Daring to ride a Ski-Doo when Polaris and Arctic Cat were fighting for dominance atop the terrain racing heap, Todd Wolff’s career is noteworthy in that he found success on a machine that was never quite as good as those his competitors were riding. Benefiting from the skills of his mechanic Bob Coffin as well as his own precise riding ability, Wolff proved fast no matter what the condition. He reached his peak in the late 1990s just as he was making his exit from cross-country to snocross, winning a points championship and back-to-back I-500s in 1998 and 1999. A blue collar guy known for his humility, Wolff was as quick to talk about is competitor’s talents as he was to downplay his own. Like many of his generation he went on to find success in snocross, taking 11 National wins and placing himself in the top tier of that discipline as well. Todd is also part of the only brother tandem to win the I-500 with Lauren Wolff taking victory in 1988.

Gerard Karpik with his brother Dave - two great snwomobile minds. Back in the day Gerard's nickname was "king." 'Nuff said. (photo: CJ Ramstad archives/www.snowpod.com)

7. Gerard Karpik

Gerard Karpik actually quit racing before he found his greatest success. After winning Eagle’s Heartland, a pure woods race considered one of the toughest to conquer in the 1970s, he became a mechanic for fellow racer Ed Schubitzke in the Ski-Doo race shop. After convincing Gilles Perrault, the Ski-Doo race team manager at the time, that he was a better racer than mechanic (and he was a pretty darn good mechanic) Perrault gave him a choice: be a wrench for the race team and get a nice salary or join the team as a racer and get nothing. Karpik chose the latter. Though he never won the I-500, Karpik excelled nonetheless. He benefited from his own riding and mechanical skills along with being a part of a team of racers, mechanics and managers that gelled perfectly. In 1979 and 1980 Karpik dominated, winning two ICCSF points championships. On the way he won half the races he entered in an era when winning one race was an accomplishment. Karpik went on to become a pioneering suspension and snowmobile designer.

Brian Nelson at the start of the 1978 I-500. He won. (photo: CJ Ramstad archives/www.snowpod.com

6. Brian Nelson

The first rider to win the I-500 on two different brands and the only rider to win it on an “other” brand, Brian Nelson left nothing to chance when he went cross-country racing. Maybe the first rider to take his own physical and mental preparation as seriously as that of his machine, Nelson’s I-500 wins in 1976 and 1978 were both remarkable. The first came on a John Deere, a machine that gave up close to 100 pounds to the dominant Polaris. The second win came on an Arctic Cat which featured the first really effective use of shocks to handle the terrain at the extreme speeds cross-country racers ran. Nelson also benefited from having a great relationship with his mechanic, Hubert Fixsen, and his keen mechanical and engineering ability. The pair logged not only two I-500 wins but an ICCSF points championship during one of the most competitive eras in cross-country snowmobile racing.

No one could ride a ditch faster than Brad Pake. (photo: www.arcticinsider.com)

5. Brad Pake

Brad Pake had a natural gift to ride sleds. This gift, combined with a mindset that allowed him to go blazing fast through whatever stood in his way resulted in his status as the best cross-country rider in the world in 1995-1996. Pake also had a brilliant mechanic in his pit, Tom Herfindahl, and together they mastered machine setup to go along with Pake’s riding talent. The result was a dominant run in the mid-1990s, a fiercely competitive era in cross-country. Pake’s dominance resulted in back-to-back I-500 wins in 1995 and 1996 as well as a handful of noteworthy wins including the Ironman 250. Had he not switched his focus to snocross so early in his career he most certainly would have added to his list of cross-country accomplishments.

Tough as nails, Leroy Lindblad won two I-500s and pretty much everything else at some point between 1967 and 1974. (photo: www.snowmobilehalloffame.com)

4. Leroy Lindblad

Probably the most dominant rider to throw a leg over a sled in the early days of the first era of cross-country racing, Leroy Lindblad began his racing career in 1967. He went on to win a ton of major races of the time such as the Ironwood Olympus, South Dakota Governor’s Cup, Rhinelander Hodag, and the 1974 Soo I-500 enduro. But his biggest accomplishment was winning back-to-back Winnipeg to St. Paul I-500s in 1970 and 1971. Lindblad possessed a great mechanical mind and after helping develop the Polaris racing effort he took a job with Ski-Doo in 1975 to head up its racing efforts. Lindblad eventually came back to Polaris and worked for the race department until 1978 helping shape the TX, TX-L and Indy race sleds. Though praised for his riding and engineering abilities, Lindblad’s toughness was one of the driving factors in his racing success.

Jack Struthers did this a lot in the mid-1990s. (photo: www.arcticinsider.com)

3. Jack Struthers

Jack Struthers hailed from the mountains of Idaho but, unlike some other noteworthy Western riders, Struthers never relocated to the Midwest and chose to concentrate on the Rocky Mountain Cross-Country Racing Circuit. In fact, Struthers won a string of five points championships from 1990-1994 on that circuit. But his most noteworthy cross-country accomplishments came when he won the I-500 three times in 1991, 1992 and 1994. In a career that spanned 20 years (1976-1996), Struthers’ mastery of shock calibration combined with his exceptional riding talent and hard-nosed work ethic made him the man to beat in the early 1990s. Not to mention he was riding a Polaris, the top brand at the time. All these factors combined to make Struthers virtually unbeatable for a span of five years.

The only five-time I-500 winner (including 2004 when he won on a rented sled), Bryan Dyrdahl is a fierce competitor.

2. Bryan Dyrdahl

The only five-time I-500 winner (2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009) Bryan Dyrdahl is the king of the modern era of cross-country. Dyrdahl started racing when he was 7-years-old, rising from the ranks of a Kitty Cat rider to cross-country standout as well as snocross and enduro racer. Once a sure bet to either win or crash out, Dyrdahl evolved into a master of setting up his machine to suit his riding style. He also honed his ability to find a smooth, comfortable pace and as a result combined a high finishing percentage while riding faster through all types of terrain than any other racer. Perhaps his greatest strengths are his confidence in his setup, fitness, riding ability and his single-minded focus on winning the race. Though some would argue the modern era of cross-country doesn’t stack up to the days of yore, it’s a sure bet Dyrdahl would be successful no matter what era he raced.

Equally feared and respected by his contemporaries, Kirk Hibbert is perhaps the greatest terrain racer ever. (photo: www.arcticinsider.com)

1. Kirk Hibbert

Not only is Kirk Hibbert the greatest cross-country racer ever, he’s perhaps the greatest snowmobile racer ever. With five ISOC points championships and two I-500 wins (1990, 1993), he was the most dominant cross-country racer in snowmobiling for almost a decade. A native of Idaho whose career began when he was just 13, Hibbert chose to relocate to the Midwest after spending over a decade racing out West and making trips East to compete in races such as the Winnipeg to St. Paul I-500. Hibbert was nothing less than brilliant when it came to machine setup and development and worked as an engineer at Arctic Cat during the 1990s when he found his greatest success. Hibbert would share his setups and tips with his fellow racers then, after basically giving out his secrets, would go out and beat them with strategy and sheer ability. Possessing a keen, problem-solving mind and always willing to help other Team Arctic racers, it wasn’t uncommon for Hibbert to show up beside some amateur racer to lend a hand, often pulling whatever tool was needed from a pocket somewhere in his jacket. A legend even while he was still racing, he was the most-feared racer of his time and earned the utmost respect from his competitors both on and off the track.

sledRacer.com would like thank John “hand me my windshield” Sandberg, Pat “Mach 1″ Mach, Jamie “wanna race?” Anseeuw, Brian Nelson, Joel Mellenthin from MSPN, Loren Anderson at www.snowmobilehalloffame.com, www.arcticinsider.com, www.snowpod.com and USCC for their help in making this story happen.