Welcome to the Smith Brothers Racing website! Steve, Sean, Mike and Adam invite you to browse around and learn a little about us and riding Arctic Cat snowmobiles.

2008 Vintage SnoPro Champion, Steve Smith

Our 2008 race season is completed. As a team we were able to finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th place overall in the Hall of Fame/PVR Vintage Sno-Pro Series. The twist is that Steve and Sean switched places, putting Steve in 1st and Sean now in 2nd in the final standings.

The Snowmobile Hall of Fame Classic Snowmobile Round-Up - sponsored by Arctic Cat is fast approaching for those of you who can't seem to quit thinking about snowmobiles.

Four years ago this was the event that got me going again into racing. I originally came down to St. Germain to check on my sled in the Hall of Fame that Steve and I put in when Larry Coltom was inducted in 1995. This was the first time i had returned and wanted to make sure my "baby" was being taken care of. Little did i know what effect seeing all of the beautifully restored old race sleds would have on me.

On top of that , I met Larry Preston for the very first time and we had such a good time visiting, we wound up having dinner with him and two other vintage fanatics Vance Elfring and his girlfriend Jill. Needless to say we had a great time telling old race stories (with a few drinks thrown in for good measure) that I knew I had made 3 new friends who loved snowmobiles as much as I did.

The next day,(Sunday) the show and swap meet were going on at the same time. I had never been to a snowmobile swap before, so to say the least, it blew me away to see all of the old sleds and parts for sale. The amount of people surprised me as well. There were tons of treasures to be had, (but remember I hadn't any clue yet that The Smith Boys would go racing again) and a field full of old sleds to look at.

I remember looking at Tim Bender's Formula 3 sled that had came down from Alaska and meeting the new owner Jon Bertolino. We talked about the machine as I was the last person to race the sled and he had a lot of questions about it and the 600 motor that was never raced. It was a 4 cylinder that had one cylinder taken off to meet the new rules change for Formula 3 the next year. It sounded crazy but that motor ran great and those two sleds showed me how good Tim Bender really was.

Another sled that caught my eye was Bill Stull's 3-D sled. that was the coolest looking Rupp I had ever seen. The race sleds drew me like a magnet and I will never forget the feelings that swept over me as I looked at Starfire's, Z's, Blizzard's, EXT's, SR's, SRX's, the IFS Sno-Pro's. I even saw a King Kat for the first time as there were only two that came to Alaska and I never got the chance to see those.

These were the sleds that brought it all back to me in my mind. I thought I had outgrown my addiction to snowmobile racing after being out of it for 14 years but I was wrong. The final straw was when one of the old race sleds was fired up and the open mod pipes were cackling. I know it sounds crazy but right then I knew I had to be a part of this again.

The rest of the day went by in a blur as I met Randy Springer at his display of beautiful Cats, Jeff Johnson and David Schark of Michigan at there table, Mike and Judy Meagher at the VSCA booth, talking sleds with them all. I can't thank Loren Anderson and the Snowmobile Hall of Fame enough for what they have done to keep the sport of racing snowmobiles alive for people that didn't have the chance to live and experience it. It is a never ending job that Loren and the Hall board do and they need all the help and support they can get. Loren and I have had the chance to get to know each other over the years and I feel lucky to be able to have a sled in and support the Hall of Fame. Its worth the trip to see it if you have never have been there before.

Another part of the show that is special is the Vintage Sno-Pro Series awards presentation. Mark Anderson was the first champion that year and the trophies were big! I have returned every year since that first year and and have been surprised with the displays every year.

This years event will be special for our team as my brother Steve is the 2008 Vintage Sno-Pro Series Champion with Sean in 2nd place and myself in 3rd place overall in the points standings. Adam finished 6th place in points to round out our team placements.

As important as this weekend's festivities are to Smith Brothers Racing I regret that we will be unable to attend it. We all work in construction and need to be home to work on paying off our credit cards as soon as possible. Another reason is Steve and Sean are commercial fishermen for salmon and the season opener is Monday, Memorial Day. There is no way we could be there for Sunday's events and make it back home to fish on Monday.

We all spent more than we should have last year, but anyone that races can say the same thing! No matter what, it is worth it to us. It is still to early in our construction season to have any idea if we will be able to race next year or not. There may be a chance to race at Ironwood and Eagle River, but we won't know until next October for sure.

I will be coming down to sell some of our excess race sleds and parts that we don't need in November and go from there. I can't seem to quit making plans for racing and thinking about some part or deal at the swaps. That's one of the downside to living up here so far away from the action, but this is home.

I would like to thank some of the people who have helped us along this journey:
Our mentor and friend Herb Yancy of New York, Roger Skime & John Tranby at Arctic Cat, Glenn Follett at Hi-Performance Engineering, John Rowland at Northern Crankshaft, Shawn Johnson, Nathan Housie, Jason Hruby, all of Thief River Falls,Mn., Darrell and John Schumaker, Rob Stoe, of Crookston,Mn., Dave, Mark, P.J. and Brian Wanderschied and families and all the crew at Country Cat in Sauk Centre, Mn., The Mussleman families and all the gang at Woody's / International Engineering in Hope, Mi., Larry Preston and the crew of Vintagesleds.com, Paul James of Ramsey, Mn., Rich Pederson of the Zedshed in New Richmond, Wi., Randy Springer of Wausau, Wi., Keith Badour of Challenger Performance in Glenwood City, Wi., Jeff and Penny Johnson of Mcbain,Mi., David and Mary Schark of Saginaw, Mi.,Dawn Cross of Dawn Cross Photography in Wi.

From all of us to you, Thank You for all of your help, advice and friendship! I don't think we could have accomplished and enjoyed all we have done the last 3 years without it. This is not the end but just a pitstop along the way. I can't predict what the future may bring, but I don't regret for a minute the time and money invested to spend it racing and being with the greatest people I know, snowmobilers. I am living proof that dreams can come true if you don't give up your dreams. Thanks for allowing us to share our adventure with all of you.

Pass on the spirit to as many people as you can and we hope to see you at the races!

--The Smiths

 

© 2006 Smith Brothers Racing. All rights reserved. Site by Podomani