01.06.2008
2007 FIND OF THE YEAR... ALMOST.
We almost have the answer folks... out of a ton of possible candidates, we'll soon know who the judges crowned as the 2007 vintagesleds.com. Until then, here's a shot of the hardware the winners will be taking home!

IRONWOOD AND BEMIDJI RACE REPORTS
Mark Anderson won the Jim Adema memorial cup award. I spoke with Mark about it last night. He was grateful for the win, but it was somewhat bittersweet. "Jeff Pankratz was faster than me - he should have won". However, Bill Stull took a nasty trip into the bails during he race. It looked really bad for a bit, as he didn't move at all. Elvis made a trip to the hospital and unofficially, we hear he got 33 stitches and is out for the season. On the red flag, Pankratz headed into the pit to fix a broken ski tip. When he came out, they moved him into the back of the pack and restarted the race - giving Anderson the win. "I'll take it, a win is a win. But I think it was Pankratz that should have won" commented Anderson.

Finals are going on as I write this, and I got some very unofficial results via phone on the finals today. Sean Smith won a class, Jeff Pankratz won. We are waiting to hear more. I spoke with another racer who said it was "the best track I have ever been on". Sounds like a great event.

Up in Bemidji, Minnesota, a very enthusiastic town put on a good race on a local lake. No official results yet, but Mike Meagher won some classes on his Cats and Yamaha, and Johnny Schumacher won a bunch of classes on a screaming fast 340 Polaris - rumored to have been built by Burt Bassett and Leroy Lindblad themselves. I can tell you this - Shumacher won the 440 class on his 340 by over 1/2 a lap! Other winners included the Hilmersons, Kenny Kitzman, Jim Haug and Jim Lennox. All in all a good event, with good local support. I'd just like to thank everyone that got this going for a truly good time.

01.01.2008
YET ANOTHER RECORD - YOU RULE!
Traffic to the site in December was up a whopping 43% - and accounts for the bandwidth availability having been exceeded once again. There is also 33% more visitors than December of 2006. Total pages views in December of 2007 was 2.47 million pages. Yes, 2.47 million. It would seem there are a lot of new people getting into the hobby. Welcome! And thanks to everyone. 2008 is going to be great. From myself, Doc, Brandon, Jim, J.D., Brett and everyone else who helps keep this site plugging along - we wish you all the very best for the new year.

12.31.2007
RACING SEASON UNDERWAY - ROCK RAPIDS ROCKS!
The Rock Rapids Lyons group put on a good race with the help of SLEDS racing last weekend, first race of the PVR Vintage Snopro series. Winners included the Hilmerson's, the Smith's, Jim Haug and many more.

I'll just shut-up now and let the pictures do the talking. These photos were all taken by Brandon Johnson and are used by permission. Brandon is setting up a website where you can order print copies the site should be ready soon.

Holeshot on the 340 SnoPro Class.	Bill Stull and Nathan Westlund battle it out.
Note the squirrell attached to the hood.	Travis Hilmerson on one of the new Hilmerson sleds.
Concentration is the name of the game before the race starts.	Randy Cwikla watching the competitors.
Brad Hilmerson fending off the ice and snow dust.	Bill Stull showing fine form on the Rupps.
A near disaster: Note the SSR with a ski bending due to the snapped bolt on the radious rod. Half a lap later, he put a good size hole in the hay bales. The driver was luckily unharmed and plans to race again next weekend. Great to see an SSR in the hunt!
Jim Haug on his way to winning SnoPro 250.	Stock classes were fast and close.

12.27.2007
The Best Racer You've Probably Never Heard Of...
Submitted By Justin Clack

I’ve always wanted a 73 Yamaha SR643. About 5 months ago I found one up near the Canadian border in a small North Dakota town and decided I had to have it. It had been in storage for nearly 20 years without being used, but seemed to be in very good condition. I was curious about the sponsor lettering on the hood that read “Sioux Sporting Goods.” This led me to make a few calls around the state of North Dakota and I eventually contacted a man in Bismarck who told me “You have Norm Tietz’s sled and he still lives here in Bismarck.” A little more searching turned up a phone number for Norm, which I immediately called. It was a great moment when I finally got to talk to him.

I made arrangements to drive out to Bismarck and reunite him with his championship machine for some photos and hood signing. I was greeted by Norm in his front yard and he was very excited to see his old machine. (Little did I know that I had arrived to visit Norm on his 75th birthday!) He never mentioned it, but his daughter Nancy told me it was a great birthday present for him. After the picture taking he invited me in to look at some of his memorabilia and I had no idea what I had stumbled on to. Too many motorcycle and snowmobile racing trophies to count were all arranged in perfect order in the family room.

Norm and I drove to see some of his relatives around Bismarck so they could see his old racer in my trailer. He was thrilled to tell stories of the early days of racing around the Midwest. The following historical photos are from Norm’s photo album from back in the early 70’s. There are hundreds of photos that make up a real historic treasure. Norm is proud of the fact that he was nearly 40 years old when he won his season points championship in the NDSA. He competed against racers that were far younger than him. Some of the names like Mike and Lynn Trapp, Bob Eastman, Jim Bernat, Leroy Lindblad, Yvon Duhamel and many more occupy space in the photo album that Norm let me borrow. I hope everyone will enjoy this small sample of photos as much as I do!

Norm and his Olympia Beer sponsored Season points championship trophy and his “Sportsman of the Year.’ Trophy. (1973)	Norm reunited with his SR 643 championship sled in November of 2007 at his home in Bismarck, ND. (Norms 75th birthday!)
Norm talking with Bob Eastman (620), Greg Grahn (right side) and Jim Bernat or Wesley Pesek (part of helmet visible only)	The Trapp brothers and the Yamaha race trailer.
Norm talking with the Mike and Lynn Trapp. Norm remembers them as being gentlemen, great sportsmen and competitors.	Norm, his partner and his son with the sleds, trophies and motor home. (1972)
Norm and some hardware. (1972)	Dwayne Eck (Ski Doo), Norman Tietz (Yamaha 433), Jim Bernat (Polaris 2+1), (Unknown EXT without driver.) Larry Burkel (Polaris 2+1) and in the background partially hidden behind Norm is another Polaris driver with the name “Bob” on his helmet.

12.26.2007
JIM ADEMA MEMORIAL CUP AT IRONWOOD
The PVR SnoPro series race in Ironwood, Michigan will feature this over 2' high trophy to the winner of the the Super-Mod 440 F/A class. Jim Adema is remembered as a true legend in snowmobile racing. Running his Thunderjets and over-sized parka, Jim was a one-man show that often dominated.

FIRST LONG RIDE
We got even more snow here in the midwest over the last week, and during the Christmas break, I got to go play in all the white fluffy new stuff. It was perfect weather for a vintage ride. The trails were open and there was hardly any other sleds on them. Ahhhhhh. The great thing about vintage riding is all the people on the late model sleds have to look at you and give you a big "thumbs up" as you go by. Even Snowtechmagazine's Kevin Bielke stopped one of our riders just to remind him to "go fast, turn left and look cool".

One minor disappointment in that my sled I cleaned up for this years Live On Skis event is actually slower than the 1972 500cc TX I had for last years ride. Oh well, I still have some time to fix that.

We hope to see as many people as possible for Live On Skis this year. We have a special guest from the Make-a-Wish foundation in Forrest Hess. He'll be riding with his family, and many of the vintagesleds.com readers have gotten together and put together a "dream list" of sleds for Forrest to take for a spin.

Early reports from International Falls, Minnesota, indicate a nice snow base and plenty of fresh new snow already - meaning the riding could be the best it has ever been, in a place where the riding is already great.

Rock Rapids Racing from 2007. Photo from the VSCA.

SNOPRO SERIES STARTS IN ROCK RAPIDS THIS WEEKEND!
The kick off to the 2008 PVR SnoPro series gets started this weekend at the facilities in Rock Rapids Iowa. Complete with a nice, big grand stand.

The races are this Saturday, the 29th. Practice laps from 9:00 AM until 11:00, drivers meeting at 11:30, races will start at noon. Expect to see some of the best of the best in vintage racing - many of whom will move on to Ironwood and Eagle River in the following weeks.

Vintagesleds.com, Thee Snowmobile Hall of Fame & Pro Vintage Racing wish the best of luck to all the drivers competing to become this years SnoPro Champion, with honors to be handed out at the St. Germain vintage show on May 25th. Be safe guys, have a good time, and put on a great show - just like you always do!

12.21.2007
THE ORGINAL CAT SNOPRO MACHINES - HOW TO ID THE REAL THING!(PART III)

Charlie Lofton on his way to winning the 650 SnoPro class in Alpina Michigan.

So now you have some background on these machines and who drove them, and a little of their "checkered history".

But how do you know if you've spotted a real one?

I have to say that I've been burned more than a few times on this website when people claimed they had a 'real' sled of some sort, only to find out later the thing was 100% clone or replica. Others have also been burned in this manner, and it is not pleasant for anyone - the burner or the "burnee".

Don't get me wrong - I am not opposed to clones in any way, shape or form. In fact, I applaud them and truly enjoy them when someone has done a great job on them. But when people try to pass them off as original, because, well, that's when a whole lot of people, (not just me!), get really, really, really angry.

So what constitutes real? Well, that's a whole other subject we're not going to get to in depth with here. However, if you have any sled with 100% of it's original parts in tact, consider yourself extremely fortunate. If you have a real race sled with all it's original parts - wow. That almost never happens.

I think what most collectors agree on is that if you have the genuine article in a chassis - that is a bulkhead and a tunnel, or at the very least, a bulkhead (in particular if it is a unique model) then you at least have something real to work with. You then have a shot of finding the original parts for your real chassis. If you accomplish finding all the original parts for your rare race sled (and don't have to fabricate any) then first of all, thank your lucky stars and the dozens of people who will have helped you find and get any of those original parts. They won't be just laying around your local snowmobile dealership anymore.

More than likely with race sleds, however, you will not find any in tact, you'll find them missing motors, seats, hoods, skis, pipes or other parts. Even more likely, they were continually raced over the years, and whomever was racing it replaced parts with whatever they thought would give them the best advantage.

Sometimes they are very cleverly disguised and used for trail riding! Case in point: One of the rarest of Polaris race sleds disguised as a 77 TXL and trail ridden for years before it was found hiding - in plain sight. That's a story for another time.

Back to the Cats.

So - given the above criteria, how do we ID a real one? They have some common traits... and here they are, provided by collector Jerry McGee, with help from several other owners. Jerry has one of the original machines currently being restored.

Jerry McGee bought his 74 Cat SnoPro from a fellow named Kenny Skinner. Kenny had put the sled together, using an invader motor, a regular Z suspension, and a lot of other incorrect pieces. Through the last 4-5 years, (yes folks, you read that right!) Jerry has been painstakingly learning and searching for the correct parts. Through some lucky horse-trading, he came upon the motor and Andy Avelis helped him out with a suspension. Today, Jerry is only short the radiator and an expansion tank and some time to finish the project. The one drawback to the sled that has Jerry somewhat disappointed is that any reference to the original driver was completely gone, and efforts to gain any information from previous owners hasn't produced any leads.

I contacted Jerry for 'in-progress' shots, and he was happy to share these photos:

74 Cat SnoPro bulkhead. Note the round front axle - but a very 76 'Z' like belly pan.
Note the bulkhead axle is two stamped pieces welded together.	The skid frame is very unique on the 74. Like the bulkhead, individual stamped pieces are welded and riveted together.
Unique motor components include the water pump mounted to the recoil housing, and the duel plugged heads, with water inlets on the top of the heads.

The main unique identifier on a 74 Cat SnoPro is the bulkhead. This clever, unique design consisted of stamped component pieces that are welded together (and/or riveted) to form pretty light pieces that are still very strong. Being the first year Cat ran liquid cooled engines, they had to find a unique place to put the radiator - and a welded on front piece was created. I've gotten lots of mixed information on the tunnels. They are not like 73 EXT tunnels, but they aren't exactly like any production models. More than likely, they are the forerunner to the 1975 El Tiger or Z tunnels.

Much like the bulkhead, the suspension is very unique. Again, stamped pieces put together for strength, it was a very interesting design concept. As far as we know, most of the rear skids were cut, shortened and drilled part way through the season to try and save some weight. The tracks also under went a 'diet' part way through the year, and may have been outfitted with titanium or even aluminum cleats. The skis are zinc plated; they look chrome, but are not.

The motors have some definite identifying marks as well. First up, the water pump being mounted to the bell crank housing is completely unique to the 74 Cat SnoPro in the entire Cat catalog. It's a twin plug Kawasaki motor, with the coil studs mounted to the cylinders on top of the carbs.

Then there is that hood... I think you'd be hard pressed to pick a better looking hood on any sled, any where, in any time.

So that's the common traits that have been positively identified on the original 1974 Cat SnoPros. They all shared these traits - except one very, very special SnoPro. We'll take a look at that next.

Next: Odd Man Out. The Most Unique of the 74 Cat SnoPros.

12.18.2007
VINTAGE SNOPRO SERIES INFORMATION
Check the vintagesleds.com/racing page for information on the Vintage SnoPro series schedule, as well as the classes that will be run at the race in Ironwood Michigan. The series officially gets started on December 29th in Rock Rapids Iowa, then heads to Ironwood and Eagle River.

Here's a couple more sleds ready to run the series: Bill Stull's 250 and 340 Rupps. NICE!

250 Liquid Magnum	340 F/A Super-Mod

12.16.2007
GETTING SOME OF IT DONE...
I took my very first ride of the season yesterday. I got a different sled all cleaned up and ready to go for this years LIVE ON SKI'S, that will take place in International Falls, Minnesota, the weekend of February 16th 2008. After getting the rodent next cleaned out of the clutches, she purred like a kitten around the yard.

Once that was ready, Jim Haug and I got the final touches on the race sleds so they are all ready for test-n-tune, assuming we can find some ice next weekend. After we got everything buttoned down and cleaned off, they looked so nice I had to drag them out for a little photo session.

In the back, the 250, in the middle a 340 (both 77 clone leaf spring SnoPros), in the front, The Elmer Special RXL with a slightly updated hood.

The business end of things.

Driver Jim Haug.

12.11.2007
EARLY SNOW, EARLY CRAZY VINTAGE FUN
With a quick snowfall this early in the year here in the Midwest, vintage snowmobile activity is nearing it's winter frantic rate already. Take this first photo: Greg Lahr (aka 'Sprocket' on the Bull Sessions) didn't have a plow for his truck. No problem, he just welded up one to put on his Johnson. I'm not kidding. Here's the photo:

I doubt this accessry is available for any other brand - is it?

Elsewhere, Bull Session members got together last weekend for a bit of an impromptu show, ride and BS session at 71TXman's home here in Minnesota. From all accounts, the event was a very good time, with some very nice sleds showing up. You can read more, see more photos and discuss the event in the Bull Sessions. Here's a small sample of the photos from the event:

FIND OF THE YEAR
Is it my imagination or is most of my news for this site now coming off the Bull Sessions? Works for me! Anyway, the contenders are lining up for the second annual "Find of the year" contest. The rules are, well, not all that much. It's just three judges (picked from the Bull Sessions - Trucker (las years winner), Sno Bear and the Clackinator) who will review the sleds that have been found in 2007 and pick an overall winner for Find of the year. Bribing the judges is not only okay, it's encouraged. Trophies will be given for the top 5 places, Plus our old friend Rude Dog will throw in two fresh Maine Lobsters!

You can still enter up until midnight, December 31st - so hurry! Here's a list of contenders:
*1979 TXL
*1975 Colt SS 340
*1973 Moto Ski F 440
*1975 TX
*1973 Yamaha SR 433
* 1972 340 Thunderjet
*1979 TX 340
*1971 TX 436
*1975 Yamaha GPX 433
*1972 Chaparral Firebird SS
*1980 Yamaha Exciter
*1972 292 SnoJet
*1972 Ski-Doo TNT
*1972 650 Polaris
*1975 250 Z
*1969 Mustang
*1982 Yamaha SRX
*292 El Tigre
*1970 TX Playmate Racer
*1978 Yamaha SSR
*1977 Yamaha SRX
......You get the picture. This is just a partial list. Read about all the candidates and throw in your choice on the Bull Sessions!

12.10.2007
JOHNSON, RIED, DUSTIN WAHL STRIKE FIRST WINS OF SEASON
Early reports from the season opener in Beausejour suggest a good outing, although many teams are struggling with new equipment. Gary Moyle, PJ Wandersheid and Terry Wahl all found themselves squashing bugs in the spiffy new machines.

In the vintage classes, Polaris driver Aaron Johnson walked away with the 340 and 440 leaf spring class, while Ski-Doo's Duncan Reid won convincingly over Ken Kitzman's Rotax powered Cat. Aaron Johnson won all four races he entered. Aaron sent an email this morning that he feels he just got lucky in 440. "Rob Schultz had an extremely fast Yamaha, but he had a carb ice up or some other mechanical issue, and I was able to get around him for the win".

Brian Bewcyk led the Champ class over former vintage racer (now driving a in the big leagues for Wahl Brothers) for 10 laps, until Dustin Wahl got around both for the win.

Sounds like everyone had a great time! Here's a few photos sent in by Dale Neduzak.

12.07.2007
AN INCONVENIENT PAUSE IN GLOBAL WARMING
Al Gore is collecting his Nobel Peace Prize as you read this for his efforts to convince us the world is going to hell in a basket. All of us, of course are to blame, and if you listen to Al, we should all toss out our cars, trucks, snowmobiles and ATV's and walk everywhere - or take a bicycle. Maybe get a horse - except they also expel greenhouse gasses, so no, we have to walk everywhere.

Of course Al will take a private jet or limo everywhere he goes. He's much too important to the world to have to live by the same rules he would have us live under. However, I hear he did opt for public transportation on the way to the ceremony, to save the gas his limo would have taken up. That crazy Al, he just keeps on giving. What a guy.

But here in Minnesota it's cold. December cold. Typical Minnesota cold. And we have snow. About a foot or so around my neck of the woods. I'd say this weather is clearly putting a big question mark in his whole theory, but I'll leave that up to others to argue.

I'm too busy enjoying the fact that the earth has turned white and I have to wear a heavy coat every where I go. Winter's here and the sleds are out in near full force - we are still waiting for the lakes to catch up, so a lot of trails are not open just yet.

And the vintage season gets started officially tomorrow.

Up in Beausejour Manitoba, the first race of the season gets started. Late model and vintage racers will be going head to head on the big oval. I wish I was on my way up there, but the schedule is a little hectic at the moment. All I know so far is the Wahl Brothers have a truly crazy new race sled, and Gary Moyle's new Arctic Cat's look outstanding.

In the vintage racing world, all I've heard so far is that Aaron Johnson may have his new 73 Starfire up there - if it got done in time. I've visited with the Smith Brothers - they've got 6 (yes 6) new race sleds up on stands in their new Minnesota shop, with last years Z's and EXT's all ready to rumble. It's going to be a huge display of Arctic race power where ever they go. Bill Stull's name comes up every time I talk to anyone at a performance shop - it will be interesting to see what he's up to. Last year's SnoPro winner Jay Sperry should have new sleds at Eagle River, and I hear he's built some sleds for others as well. Mark Anderson will race a few classes at Ironwood and Eagle River... always fun to see Mark out there.

One of our Bull Sessions members is on his way to Beausejour and promises photos - so check back on Monday.

Speaking of the schedule - I am officially booked every weekend from tomorrow until the weekend of March 8th with vintage sled events. It's crazy. I'm looking forward to everyone of them. I just hope the truck can keep up - she's in getting serviced as I write this, with more work being done to it over the weekend. Hopefully, the last of the work on the sleds that started way back last spring will be completed this weekend as well.

Then the fun begins. Testing, then racing in Rock Rapids Iowa on December 29th - the first race in the 2008 Vintage SnoPro series. After that, I'm at a race or a show every weekend. I hope I can catch up with as many of you as possible. Having Polaris the featured sled at Waconia is keeping me up at night. I can't sleep thinking about it. Rumor has it folks - and you read it here first - Bob Eastman will be bringing the Shooting Star, and Jim Bernat will be bringing his 1975 World's Championship 650cc PDC racer - probably thee most valuable vintage race sled in existence!

Have you noticed how much the 'mainstream' sled and even regular press has started talking about vintage sledding? She's picking up steam folks. This is just getting good. Last night I caught a special on a Minnesota channel about the Scorpion reunion last year. Virtually every magazine now has a vintage story or section. Radio talk shows are even mentioning us now on a regular basis.

On the website I got some fun surprises coming. You know, a lot of really great sleds are coming out of the wood work. A lot of you are building some really interesting custom sleds and putting together some really neat old riders. I want to see them all!

The next installment of my quest to identify and find the 74 Cat SnoPros is coming up early next week, there will be several more parts to the full story. After that, I will expose the 5 sleds I have been hunting down since I started this hobby. I've been very quiet about it now, because I didn't want to jinx it. I was down to just one sled that I could not find, when lo and behold - it showed up in my inbox one day from a total stranger. The puzzle pieces just fell together when I saw these photos - I found all five of the original sleds. Can't wait to tell you about it.

Grab your hats, get your boots on, dust off the camera and the video camera (this will be the year of vintagesled videos on YouTube!) and get out there and have a good time before Al Gore finds out!

12.03.2007
THE ORGINAL CAT SNOPRO MACHINES - WHERE ARE THEY NOW?(PART II)
So just where did these sleds go after the initial SnoPro season in 1974? How many were made? In what sizes? Who drove them? Well, let's see what we can piece together.

First, just how many did they make. Well, from looking at some videos and pictures, you get a pretty clear idea that that each driver was in at least two classes. Special sleds may have been built for Eagle River. Some would have been trashed before and during the season, from testing and accidents.

Stephen Knox (aka SKNOX on the Bull Sessions) runs a little website you may have visited called The Boss Cat Legacy. He's done a great job of archiving and keeping track of all kinds of information on vintage Arctic stuff, including keeping track of a lot of the 74 Cat SnoPro photos that have been posted here on vintagesleds.com over the years. Stephen did work at Artco in the early 1990's but it was the fact that he grew up in Cat country by Arctic engineer Paul Eggebraaten and very near to other Arctic legends like Denny Ray, Dale Cormican, Vern Ricard, as well as 69 World Champion Roger Janssen. All in all, a great place to grow up a Cat fan.

Here's the numbers Stephen had:

1. Four or five 650cc machines were built
2. Five or six 440's were built
3. Five or six 340's were built

Larry Coltom lined up on one of his #33 machines, West Yellowstone, Montana, March of 1974. Photo from bosscatlegacy.com

That means there originally was somewhere around 14 were built, but the truth is, we don't have an exact number. Stephen confirms that after the first race, the team needed to lose some weight on the sleds to keep up with the lightweight Polaris and Yamaha sleds. At least two machines were destroyed in the process of trying to put them on a diet.

That means means we are down to around 12 machines, maybe less. However, more could have been destroyed. Other sources tell me that after 1974, the factory had a salvage sale to get rid of last year's race "junk", and likely a lot, if not all the sleds were sold - however, it is VERY doubtful that any got out completely in tact.

The old chassis were used to test ideas for 1975, and there is a good chance more were destroyed this way. If a chassis did get sold with a lot of their parts, there is a good chance that they were not the original parts. That is, during testing, for example, Coltom would grab a new motor and put it in Chassis A, throwing the old motor aside. To assist in his testing, he would put a seat on the machine from Chassis B, and handlebars from Chassis C. When he was done, the motor would get taken out, and Chassis A, (now containing Chassis B an Chassis C parts) was, at some time, sent to salvage for sale - without the motor and hood.

See how this gets really complicated to figure out?

So who drove what? Well, let's keep in mind what we learned in part one: Larry Coltom was #33, Charlie Lofton was #11 and Dave Thompson was #22. This is also VERY confusing... because most people associate the #22 with Larry Coltom - because in later years, that was his number. Not so in 1974. Keep that in mind. Also, we have Tom Marks driving as #44.

So in looking through the books and magazines, I'd say each driver ran two classes. This would make sense, because it would give each driver a chance to breathe between races. What I can tell is:
1. Thompson: 340 & 440
2. Coltom: 440 & 650
3. Lofton: 440 & 650
4. Marks: 340 & 650.

That's just 8 sleds folks. Now assume there was 3 or 4 for Eagle River, that would make 11 or 12, tops, and the sleds built for Eagle River were likely never sold. The reason? Larry Coltom himself once told me that the sleds made for Eagle River were light, they would have been too dangerous to allow anyone else to drive. They were so thin, he couldn't stand up on the running boards - they would bend!

So we are talking about a total of 8 sleds for sure, perhaps a couple of more that were spares - or never completed sleds the factory never raced. In any case, there was 8 complete ones near the end of the 1974 season, so lets go with that.

So now we know what we are looking for - sort of. Over the years, I've seen several sleds claimed to be a 74 Cat SnoPro, but they turned out to be modified 73 EXT's or even later model Z's with older hoods and parts grafted on. It wasn't until I met Andy Avelis that I started to get an idea of how to identify these unique sleds.

Next: How to identify the genuine article.

11.29.2007
THE 2008 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Drum roll please....

We interuppt this story of fabled Arctic Cat racers to bring you the following announcement:

The Board of Directors of the Snowmobile Hall of Fame (SHOF) and Museum are proud to announce the 2008 Inductees. Four distinguished honorees will be enshrined on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at the banquet held at the Whitetail Inn, Hwy 70 W, St. Germain, Wisconsin.

They are ANDY BAKER of Beausejour, Manitoba, CHRISTOPHER TWOMEY of Thief River Falls, MN, C. J. RAMSTAD (p) of Deephaven, MN and CLAYTON NUEMAN (p) of Coon Rapids, MN.

The Induction Banquet is the finale of an exciting weekend and is the concluding event for the 25th annual RIDE WITH THE CHAMPS by Modine HotDawg Garage Heaters. The RIDE is one of the SHOF's major fund raising events of the year. The RIDE begins at the Whitetail Inn at 7:30 am with registration and breakfast and ends with the autograph session and cocktail party at 6:00 pm with the banquet at 7:00 pm. Friday, February 8, 2008 will be the dedication of the RAMSTAD LIBRARY AND MEDIA CENTER at the SHOF's new expanded museum building. Watch the web site for detailed information about this event the day before the RIDE WITH THE CHAMPS. For more information, email the Hall of Fame.

Andy Baker	Christopher Twomey
CJ Ramstad	Clayton Nueman

Andy Baker
DATE OF INDUCTION: January 9, 2008
CAREER SPAN: 1966 –
BRANDS REPRESENTED: Polaris, Moto-Ski
AGE AT INDUCTION: 51
Beginning his snowmobile racing career in 1966 at age 10 in his hometown of Beausejour, Manitoba, Andy Baker immediately developed a love and dedication for the sport and its people. Baker’s respect and commitment to snowmobile oval racing produced two championship titles, presidency of the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships at Beausejour and annual devotion to the races made famous by his hometown.

Competing with the help of (and alongside) his dad, Baker’s personal racing success began early and focused on regional events around Manitoba. While at the height of his career, Baker succeeded his father as the CPTC President in 1977 and 1978 while simultaneously racing with great success on an independent Moto-Ski distributor team. Baker won the Manitoba championship and wore the #1 bib for 1979 and 1980, before retiring from active competition that year. He has continued to help run the famed Beausejour races every year since and was instrumental in the features that have made the track famous for its speed and safety.

Extremely humble and quick to credit the amazing people of Beausejour for any personal recognition he’s received, Baker’s love of snowmobile racing is surpassed only by his appreciation and respect for the racers, crews and workers who comprise the world of snowmobile racing. A true friend to all in the sport, Baker and his family embody the spirit of dedication and comprise a significant portion of the great “backbone” of snowmobile racing.

Christopher Twomey
DATE OF INDUCTION: January 9, 2008
CAREER SPAN: 1983 –
BRANDS REPRESENTED: Arctic Cat
AGE AT INDUCTION: 59
A business tactician who guided the important business principles at Arctic Cat, Chris Twomey of Thief River Falls, Minn., led the company’s transition from humble reemergence to industry innovator by combining solid management with a work environment that fostered creativity and passion. As President and CEO of Arctic Cat beginning in 1986, Twomey guided the company through more than a decade of unprecedented growth and success.

A leader who clearly understood the importance of answering customers’ desires with progressive product development, Twomey’s close-to-the-customer approach was as natural as it was effective. He backed it up by focusing company resources towards its prized and dedicated engineering department to respond to customers’ expectations. Likewise, his belief that racing could shape the development of industry-leading snowmobiles fueled an unprecedented period of success and race-influenced product development, including the 1990 EXT Special and 1993 ZR series.

Twomey was certain of the need for industry solidarity, which is why he worked aggressively with other industry leaders to create the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association. His leadership and responsibility to the sport coupled with his understanding of land-use politics helped save snowmobile use in West Yellowstone National Park during a tumultuous period beginning in 2000. In a watershed moment, Twomey gave the go-ahead to unveil a prototype Arctic Cat powered by a four-stroke engine, which helped sway government officials to preserve snowmobile operation in the park.

C.J. Ramstad
DATE OF INDUCTION: January 9, 2008
CAREER SPAN: 1969 – 2007
AGE AT INDUCTION: Posthumous
The most influential and prolific writer and photographer in the sport’s history, Clifford John (C.J.) Ramstad set the standard for snowmobile journalism while a creating a historical record that will forever aid and reflect the industry. His tireless involvement at all levels of the sport, from land-use advocacy to club promotion and race history preservation, made him one of the most influential and recognizable figures in all of snowmobiling. 

Ramstad began his career in the snowmobile industry in 1969 as a copywriter for Arctic Cat. He later founded Snow Week magazine and would write for and/or edit nearly every snowmobile publication during his career, including Supertrax, Snowmobile, Snow Goer and Minnesota Snowmobiling. He wrote four books about the sport, including “The Collected Works of Pappy,” “Legend: Arctic Cat’s First Four Decades” and “Of Ice and Engines.” In 1983 Ramstad helped conceive and launch the Snowmobile Hall of Fame and served as an invaluable board member for 24 years. He helped introduce and promote the Jeep 500 in 1987, and was a behind-the-scenes force and mentor in innumerable snowmobile racing, industry and club activities during his nearly four decades in the sport.

A legend in every aspect, the Deephaven, Minn., resident embraced every aspect of the sport with excitement and purpose. His tragic death, along with his son J.J., in an automobile accident in May, 2007, at age 62 was a crushing blow to an industry and sport that was so completely influenced by his work. Yet his amazing legacy is a powerful reminder of his unbridled enthusiasm and passion for the sport and people he dearly loved.

Clayton Neuman
DATE OF INDUCTION: January 9, 2008
CAREER SPAN: 1972 – 2002
BRANDS REPRESENTED: Arctic Cat
AGE AT INDUCTION: Posthumous
A creative, innovative engineer from Coon Rapids, Minn., who epitomized the “independent” racer/tuner, Clayton Neuman began his storied career in snowmobile drag racing in 1972 and continued for more than 30 years. He was as passionate about drag racing as he was creative in his engineering approach, combining the two with great success at all levels, including the ISR World Series of Drags, MSDRA and events across North America.

Starting with a 1972 Puma, Neuman’s fascination with high-performance was borne on a 1972 Arctic Cat Puma, which was heavily modified and raced by his younger brother, Lloyd, beginning a long run of the family-based Neuman team. Always searching for higher performance, Clayton ran a series of more powerful machines before building his custom 1977 Z 250, which featured crankcase induction mounted on the front of the engine, revised port designs and other ideas of his own creation. Driven by his son Steve, this machine dominated the 250 Mod class for many years.

In 1990 Clayton built an experimental 800cc, opposed four-cylinder engine that served as a test bed for new ideas and was raced with great success by the Neuman team. Along with brothers Lloyd, Gordon and Frank, he made the Neuman Race Team a household name in snowmobile drag racing, and one whose legacy is more than just winning races, but also a friendly, family-oriented approach and smart, clever sled building. Clayton learned of his induction just weeks before dying of cancer at age 73.

11.24.2007
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Looking at all your old snowmobile magazines, your old copy of Warriors of Winter and all 4 of the Race & Rally books, have you caught yourself wondering where in the heck are all these really neat old race sleds?

Well for me, it's been an obsession going on eight years now. In that time, one of the smartest things I did (among a pile of really dumb things I also did) was to go ahead and write about my adventures of hunting down one of my favorites - the 1977 Kawasaki SnoPro "Shark" sleds.

In searching for a lot of other machines, I have not been quite so forthcoming.

There are several reasons for this, number one being that there is only so much time in a day, a week, a month, a year - even eight years. In some cases, the people that do have some really rare stuff do NOT want it made public what they have. Another reason is not knowing for sure if something is the "real deal". I had to learn about them. It has been an on-going education, one I now know I will never graduate from. Every time I get arrogant and think I know something about these sleds, I prove myself wrong - or at least I find reason to question an earlier assumption.

I also didn't want to make a big deal out of some of these sleds until they were restored so we could enjoy them in their full glory. Of course, to restore a sled, and restore it accurately, is not a simple task - it can take years.

But lastly, I have to confess I didn't say anything about the whereabouts of certain sleds because I was trying to obtain them. I don't know if that was very fair, or even very nice of me, but frankly, I couldn't help myself! I plead insanity!

So, starting today, I'm going to just go ahead and spill the beans on what I know, and share the journey with everyone. I'm going to start with the year that got me hooked on all this stuff when I was a kid: 1974. I'm going to start with what i always though was the sexiest looking Arctic Cat sled ever made: The 1974 Arctic Cat SnoPros.

Enjoy the trip!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: THE ORGINAL CAT SNOPRO MACHINES (PART I)
I'll never forget that ad. First page, inside cover of the new Race & Rally. "What's tomorrow's Cat doing today? Winning Races." It took me a long time to turn the page and look at the rest of the magazine. There were the 3 drivers in the ad: Larry Coltom, #33, Charlie Lofton #11 and Dave Thompson, #22. There was some copy about the new engine, chassis and some of the components. But most important, there was 3 sleds in the photo, a 340 and 2 440 machines - and that hood. Mostly black with green 'flames" fading back into the black, They were low, wide and totally wicked looking.

I'm a Polaris guy. I make no bones about it. I bleed blue. But staring at that picture that day, I seriously wondered if the boys fro Roseau could pull it off - the early promo pictures of the Polaris SnoPro was not nearly as impressive. These sleds (and the new uniforms) looked amazing. As a consolation, I thought that if Polaris couldn't win, then I was always hoping it was Cat. In particular, these Cats.

As it turned out, The Starfire Kids from Roseau did dominate the first ever year of professional snowmobile racing. Yamaha did very well in the 440 class, but Polaris locked up 340 and 650. Stan Hayes wound up #1 in points with his 340 & 650 Polaris sleds. Larry Rugland nearly knocked him off that perch, missing it by just a few points. In third was Arctic's Larry Coltom. In fact, most of the year found Arctic and Polaris battling it out for the top spots.

What we have learned since is that the original Cat SnoPros turned out to be a good design - although a little too heavy when racing against the Polaris sleds (made almost entirely of lightweight magnesium) and the 3/4 scale Yamaha's made up of magnesium and titanium. So very early in the year, the Cat SnoPros went on a diet - in one video, they claim as much as 50 pounds were cut off each sled. They did this by removing any pieces that were not absolutely critical to the structure. The suspension (which were absolutely unique to this sled) were cut, shortened and drilled. The chassis had a lot of new holes drilled in them.

The net effect was that by the last race of the year, Team Arctic got the sleds dialed in just right, and walked away with a ton of trophies at the years last race.

So where did the sleds go after 1974? Well, since there are a finite number of these machines, lets first figure out a little more on the history of them: How many were there, in what sizes, who drove them and can we piece together the story of where they went after 1974? How do you identify one of these? How do you verify what parts are correct?

We'll tackle all these questions and many more when we reveal "Where are they now". Stay tuned.

Do you have information to share about the 74 Cat's? Please email me, or jump in on the Bull Sessions.