Thursday, 28 March 2024

Login     |     Logout

Operation Vintage Pride

100_0781On September 25, 2010 Judy and I traveled down to Albert Lea, Minnesota to attend the 2nd annual “Operation Vintage Pride” vintage show. The weather was still a little damp with the aftermath of heavy rains that had cause serve flooding across Southeastern Minnesota in the week prior. The turnout was still fair considering the weather. Events of the day were the Swapmeet, Drag Races, and the Vintage Sled Show. There was a large silent auction under the main tent, which worked well. If you under tent bidding you got to stay dry!

Here are the results of the radar run. We had to make the track shorter (260 ft) but I believe everyone still had a good time.
1 Banger   Rampage..............37 mph  OMC         0-340       Trevor Wenthold...45 mph   Polaris
341-440   Dale Sloper...........48 mph   Rupp           441-up     Charlie Root..........51 mph   Speedway
The winners for the Three Amigo Race went to...  Rampage, Jake Weaver, and Tony Kildall on a 634 Moto Ski MS-18

I would like to thank all who showed this year and hope that next year we will have better weather. Remember: Think Snow Think Vintage. Thank You Rick Weaver and Rick Stockey

 Following is a list of the show winners sent in by Rick Stockey;

 Antique Class:

Original: Dan Danko  1963 Mathews Trail Maker

> Restored: Rich  Hacket  1967 Ski Doo

Vintage 1969 to 1972:

> Original: Stan Hankin  1971 Arctic Cat Lynx

> Restored: Denise Bronner 1972 Polaris ATX

Vintage 1973 to 1976:

> Original: Todd Kearney  1974 Johnson

> Restored: Mike Goodman 1975 Ski Doo RV 245

Vintage 1977 to 1982:

> Original: Todd Kearney 1980 Yamaha SRX

> Restored: Todd Kearney 1979 Yamaha SRX

Race Class:

> Original:  Mike Hannon 1977 and a half Ski Doo SS Blizard

> Restored: Mike Hannon 1983 Ski Doo Formula 250

Mini Sled:

> Carl Millestadt 1971 Sno Pony 340

Custom:

> Jim Haug 1977 RXL

BEST OF SHOW:

> Larry Ahler 1970 Moto Ski SM

Oldest Sled:

> Dan Danco: 1963 Trail Maker

Furthest Traveled:

> Rodger Hankin 250 MIles

Soldiers Pick:

> Dan Danco 1963 Trail Maker

Judges Pick

> Rodger Hankin 1965 Ski Doo Chalet

100_0781100_0770100_0763

All Arctic Cat Show

October 2, 2010 turned out to be a great day for the 1st Annual All Vintage Arctic Cat show at Country Cat in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. The air in the morning was brisk with a little white frost on the grass, but the skies were clear and things warmed up nice for Country Cat's Open House.All the judging was done by customer vote. The customers were very happy to take part in the voting and really seem to like the addition of the Vintage Cats. Speaking with Dave Wandershied after the show, he made it clear he wanted to do this again next year. The show will be the first Saturday of October 2011. Thank you, to all that went through the work to display your vintage Arctic Cats!

Overall People's Choice went to Jack Speckel of Watertown, Minnesota for his Montana piped Panther.

The gift certificates in the Trail class went to:

1st place $100.00 gift certificate                  Jack Speckel                                       Montana Piped Panther

2nd place $75.00 gift certificate                    Jack Speckel                                     1966 Arctic Cat

3rd place $50.00 gift certificate                   Clohe Marras                                      1972 Panther & Cutter

The Gift certificates in the Race class went to:

1st place $100.00 gift certificate                  Nancy Ische                                        793 Puma Mod

2nd place $75.00 gift certificate                    Tom Ische                                           1980 Sno Pro

3rd place $50.00 gift certificate                   Barina Ische                                        1976 Sno Pro

100_0782100_0784100_0785100_0787

Winter Knights 2010

11-20-10

The Winter Knight's Snow Show is the "kick off" for the Snowmobile Season.
Nestled in their own quarters the Vintage Snowmobiles of the Inland Northwest Club
hosted the Annual Vintage Display.

winter-knights-2010-banner-001winter-knights-2010-banner-001winter-knights-2010-026winter-knights-2010-003winter-knights-2010-005winter-knights-2010-006

winter-knights-2010-007winter-knights-2010-010winter-knights-2010-012winter-knights-2010-018winter-knights-2010-019winter-knights-2010-020

winter-knights-2010-023winter-knights-2010-025

 

 

Washington State Snowmobile Expo

11-28-10

 

The Pacific Northwest Vintage Snowmobile Club is a group of antique and vintage snowmobile enthusiasts from around the northwest. We sponsor shows, vintage rides, and have a website to promote antique and vintage snowmobile collecting http://www.thepnwvsc.com/.

One of our recent shows was at the Washington State Snowmobile Association's Expo and Swap Meet. Our group had a good representation of the many snowmobile manufactures that were common in the day. We had sleds from the still in production Ski-doo, Arctic Cat, and Yamaha, to odd ones Alouette, Evinrude, Skiroule, Harley Davidson, and Sno Jet, to "I did not know they sold snowmobiles" Montgomery Ward, Ski-Lark, Yukon King, Bolens, and Suzuki.

We asked the folks that were looking at our display to submit votes for their top three favorites for a People's Choice Award. We received over 800 votes from over 270. From their efforts two People's Choice show winners were selected. First Place was Troy Bergstresser of Spokane for his really popular and very blue 1970 Sno-Jet, and 2nd Place was Ed Buckner of Camas, Washington's dependable and really clean 1976 Arctic Cat Cheetah.

We also had a best of show award. The voting was performed by the participants from the club. The winners were 1st Place Ray Bergstresser for his original 1974 Skiroule RTW which has a rare Wankle Rotary motor. This sled had only 55 original miles on it! And, 2nd Place went to Stephen Burdick for his nicely restored 1976 Yamaha SRX 340.

But for us the most fun contest was for the free 1982 Yamaha ET340 that the club gave away to a kid between 12-15 years old. The lucky winner was Tye Kangas from Brush Prairie Washington. We understand that he was a very happy young man, he said in a thank you letter that he plans to share his prize with his five younger siblings, and three nieces. Now, if he is like me when I was a kid, sharing one snowmobile with siblings can be challenging!

We are gearing up for winter rides, and races. All of our events will be on our website The Pacific Northwest Vintage Snowmobile Club http://www.thepnwvsc.com/ along with pictures of our the vintage shows we had over the year, planned rides, upcoming events, links to other vintage snowmobile clubs, resources, and classified ads.

Ray Bergstresser

President Pacific Northwest Vintage Snowmobile Club

PNWVSC_Sign_02768_Ski_Doo_Side_011Bolens_Front_012Ray_Skiroule_RTW_Trophy_056Skiroule_RTW_Bolens_Olympic_053Skiroule_RT_Front_017

Yamaha_1st_Peoples_ChoiceEd_2nd_Peoples_ChoiceKangas_KidsYamaha_Race_Rear_036

 

2011 Hall of Fame inductees

St. Germain, WI...........The Board of Directors is proud to announce the 2011 Snowmobile Hall of Fame inductees. The honorees will be inducted Saturday evening, February 19, 2011 at the closing banquet of the RIDE WITH THE CHAMPS (RWTC) event. Again this year the RWTC is sponsored by Modine HotDawg Garage Heaters. It is the 6 year the Racine, Wisc manufacturer will be involved. Registration starts at 7:00 am at the Whitetail Inn, Hwy 70, St. Germain, WI

The RWTC includes the day-long trail ride which this year ads a 5th rider group of all women. Two other groups are late-model sleds and two are vintage sleds. One of the long rides is the famous Vintage Challenge, a 160 mile ride into the UP of Michigan for lunch and it has become the ride of the year in vintage circles. Those that complete the ride, receive a certificate at the banquet honoring their achievement.

The 2011 Inductees are T J Hasegawa of Yamaha from Hamamatsu, Japan the retired president and leader of the snowmobile division. Phil Mickelson of Duluth, MN the retired racer, race director and service manager for Ski-Doo and now an author and magazine technical contributor. Diane Miller of New Lothrop MI, retired racer, champion and more recently promoter of the famous A-1 vintage show and swap held every year on her Michigan grounds. Wayne Nicholsen, the Greenville, NY racer, champion and innovator that dominated stock and Formula III racing in the 70s and 80s.

The Induction Banquet is part of the $130 registration fee for the RWTC however, banquet tickets are available separately for $30. The evening festivities start with the Aaen Performance sponsored autograph session and cocktail time at 6:00 pm followed by the 7:00 dinner. For additional information regarding the RWTC and the Hall of Fame, please go to www.snowmobilehalloffame.com or call 715 542-4HOF.

d_miller_pic

Diane Miller

DATE OF INDUCTION: Feb. 19, 2011

CAREER SPAN: 1970 – Present

BRANDS REPRESENTED: Ski-Doo, Moto-Ski

AGE AT INDUCTION: 68

 Renowned for her pioneering exploits in Michigan oval and enduro racing in the 1970s, Diane Miller exemplified the determination and grace that defines great champions and honorable people. She began her racing career as a grass drag racer, transitioning to ovals and enduro in subsequent years. Frustrated by the lack of female competitors and the unwillingness of race organizations to allow her to compete against men, she lobbied and eventually convinced MISA to allow women to race in the men’s classes.Proving her quest was righteous, Miller became the first woman to race in the professional Sno Pro circuit in 1974. Competing against men, in 1975 she won three MISA class State Championships, the overall High Point Championship and was awarded Driver of the Year honors. In 1977 Miller made history once again as the first woman to qualify and compete in the Soo I-500 enduro. And her 20th place at the 1981 Soo I-500 solidified her reputation as one of the most successful woman racers of the era.Miller retired from competition in 1983, but her passion for the sport remained as strong as ever. In 1999 she launched the A-1 Swap Meet & Show in her hometown of New Lothrop, Mich., for vintage and antique snowmobiles, and created the A-1 Special Youth Achievement Award to encourage youth snowmobiling. She still supports the Flushing Frozen Forty snowmobile club, which she founded in the 1970.

shof_inducteeTJ

Takehiko (TJ) Hasegawa

Date of Induction: Feb. 19, 2011

Career Span: 1959-2003

Age at Induction: 79

 When Yamaha entered the snowmobile business in 1967, the visionary who headed the project was TJ Hasegawa. A veteran of Yamaha’s Racing division, Hasegawa leveraged the company’s great engineering strength to develop products that exceeded customer expectations. The 1969 SL351 – the sport’s first snowmobile with oil injection – was the first of many leading designs that reflected his influence.At a time when hundreds of domestic snowmobile companies competed for customers, Hasegawa focused on developing lightweight and good-handling machines. This effort produced historic, back-to-back wins at the Eagle River World’s Championship race in 1971 and 1972, despite campaigning a smaller displacement engine than the competition.Hasegawa’s policy for development was, “Always think of customer’s needs and develop the products to exceed their expectations.” The result was snowmobiles like the famed SL, GP , GPX , SRX, SSR and Enticer series. Hasegawa was equally intent to deliver improved safety within the sport via the support of the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee and through cooperation and membership in International Snowmobile Industry Association. After 10 years of snowmobile brand development and growth, Hasegawa moved to other groups within Yamaha and, in 1994, became the CEO and President of Yamaha Motor Company LTD, worldwide.

Nichelson

Wayne Nicholsen

DATE OF INDUCTION: Feb. 19, 2011

CAREER SPAN: 1969-2000

BRANDS REPRESENTED: Ski-Doo

AGE AT INDUCTION: 59

An icon of oval racing for three decades, Wayne Nicholsen of Greenville, NY, combined an unwavering work ethic, athletic prowess and passion for excellence to become one of the most successful oval racers of his era. Renowned for his focus on the big-sled Stock and Formula III classes, Nicholsen captured dozens of class championship titles in USSA, OSRF, CCMQ, PRO and WSRF, in addition to victories in five Eagle River World Championships.

Credited for helping Ski-Doo refocus its efforts toward Stock class competition in the early 1980s, Nicholsen was a dedicated ambassador for his longtime sponsor and for the entire sport of snowmobile racing. In the ultra-competitive environment that typifies racing, Nicholsen rose above trivial rivalries with his pleasant, thoughtful demeanor to earn the respect of his fellow competitors. Well-spoken and helpful to aspiring racers, Nicholsen's impact on the sport extended far beyond his innumerable successes.

Nicholsen notched several legendary single-event performances, including his "perfect weekend" at Ironwood, Mich., in 1986, during which he won every heat and final in three Stock classes, in addition to winning every Stock class at the 1985 World Series of Ovals in Owen Sound, Ontario. Yet despite his hundreds of oval race wins and class titles throughout North America, in nearly every circuit, Nicholsen credits his two (1980 & '81) Jim Adema Memorial Awards and USSA Sportsmanship Award – voted on by fellow racers – as his most significant career accomplishments.

mickelson1

Phil Mickelson

DATE OF INDUCTION: Feb. 19, 2011

CAREER SPAN: 1968 – Present

BRANDS REPRESENTED: Ski-Doo

AGE AT INDUCTION: 65

As a racer, engineer and writer, Phil Mickelson's contributions to the sport of snowmobiling, and to Ski-Doo specifically, are the stuff of legend. Mickelson parlayed his penchant for finding horsepower into a job on the Halvorson Equipment race team in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where his alcohol-burning Rotax engines helped propel Steve Ave, Ed Schubitzke, Doug Hayes and Stan Hayes to countless victories, making the regional Ski-Doo distributor a "giant beater" against the factories. Mickelson's highly-modified Rotax engines caught the attention of the factory, and would greatly influence later production engines.

Beginning in the mid-1970s and continuing into the early 1990s, Mickelson was the service manager first for Halvorson, then for Bombardier. He was the acting U.S. race manager for Bombardier, presented all technical and set-up information to racers and dealers, and was instrumental in creating the record-breaking Ski-Doo cross-country race team that included Gerard Karpik and Stan Hayes.

With a unique ability to explain engineering complexities in a style that was understandable and engaging, Mickelson transitioned to become the technical editor at Snow Goer magazine in the early 1990s, and wrote two books chronicling Ski-Doo's rich history and racing success. His love of engines and history are also evident in his prized collection of Rotax engines. He continues to write about snowmobiles from his home in Duluth, Minnesota.

 

Search