We tend to throw out terms like ‘dominate’ a little too freely when we talk about racing. However, you won’t find many people who’d argue that Polaris didn’t thoroughly dominate the field at the grueling Soo I-500 enduro race that took place this past Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013.

The Gabe Bunke-led Bunke Racing 1 team won for the second year in a row and nine Polaris teams finished in the top 10. Polaris race teams finished first through seventh and took ninth and 10th places as well. Gabe Bunke teamed with Aaron Christensen and Spencer Kadlec for the victory, the team’s second straight Soo win and the fourth of Bunke’s career.

Bunke, a Polaris cross-country racing specialist, was also a successful team owner in the 2013 Soo race, which was shortened to 455 miles from the usual 500-mile distance on the 1-mile Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. ice oval. The Bunke Racing 2 team finished second with Ryan Faust and Travis Faust sharing driving duties. Finishing third was 131 Racing, with Bobby Menne (Bunke’s cross-country racing teammate), Mike Babcock and Ivan Hanson piloting a Polaris sled.

Tom Rager Sr. is a snowmobile racing legend and is stepping down from his post as Polaris Racing Manager. He chatted with the ISOC about his amazing career and what lies ahead for the sport.

ISOC: Take us back a bit, Tom, prior to starting with Polaris. What were some of your first experiences with snowmobiles?

Tom Rager Sr.: I saw and road my first snowmobile in 1967 in north east Nebraska. A good friend of mine had two old machines that we would race around a farm pond until they would break and then we would work on them for hours just to get them back out on the snow to race again. The first machine that I bought was a 1972 Suzuki that I bought to ride and race without any success. In 1974 I bought a 1973 Rupp 440 magnum that was a Factory mod at that point I started having a little success and thought this was pretty cool so in the fall of 1975 I bought a new 440 Merc Sno Twister and raced that in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. In the fall of 1978 I bought a new 1979 440 Ski doo Super Stocker and raced that for two years with some success.

The Polaris snowmobile racing paddock is going to look a lot different after this season as Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager Sr. is preparing to retire at season’s end.

Rager, who joined Polaris in August 2000 and has directed the racing program ever since, will be succeeded by his son, Tom Rager, Jr., who currently serves as Polaris Race Coordinator.

“It’s been a great career,” says the elder Rager. “I’ve watched my son grow and develop and he’s ready to take this thing on. He has worked hard.”

Rager Sr. joined Polaris after spending over 15 years with the Ski-Doo snowmobile racing program, including the final seven years as race manager.

Photos by Gary Walton

Polaris snocross racer Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) won one of two Pro finals at the ISOC Ironwood National and extended his early season streak to four straight podium finishes.

Martin won the Pro final on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Bessemer, Mich. and finished second on Sunday, which gave him two first and two seconds in the season’s four Pro finals. Martin left Ironwood with a 13-point lead in the Pro point standings (168-155).

Kody Kamm (Hentges Racing) won one of two Pro Lite finals at Ironwood, Justin Tate (Two-Eight Motorsports) won the Pro-Am Plus 30 final, and Jennifer Pare (JFP Racing) won the Pro-Am Women’s final. Tate and Pare lead the points races in their respective classes and Kamm is second in Pro Lite points.

(Photo courtesy Gary Walton/Action Graphics)

Polaris Terrain Domination was on full display at the ISOC snocross season opener in Duluth, Minn., where Polaris racers won one of the two Pro finals, earned three Pro podium spots and Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) won the first-ever AMSOIL Dominator, a head-to-head Friday night elimination competition among Pros worth $10,000 to the winner.

Martin also won the weekend’s second Pro final on Sunday, and was joined atop the podium by these Polaris racers who won class finals in Nov. 25-27 racing at Duluth: Justin Tate in Pro Am Plus 30; Jennifer Pare (JFP Racing) in Pro-Am Women; Kody Kamm (Hentges Racing) in Pro-Lite 2; and Mike Pilotte in both Sport 1 and Sport 2.

Pro Classes: Martin Cashes In; Polaris Racers Surge

The top 16 Pro racers went through four rounds of head-to-head competition on Friday night, Nov. 25 in the first-ever Dominator. They ran 2.5-lap races on the demanding Spirit Mountain snocross track under the lights in a battle for the $10,000 first prize. Martin won all four rounds to earn the season’s first big payday.