Next time I grunt as I strain to get out of my chair I’ll probably feel a little foolish. I recently read an article about a 71-year-old man who was part of a team that finished what might be the toughest snowmobile race in the world – Alaska’s Iron Dog.

Gene Tharpe of Bradenton, Florida (yes, Florida!) flew up to Alaska to compete in the Trail Class. This class races from Big Lake (near Wasilla) and finishes up in Nome – over 1000 miles away!

The six-man team had a combined age of 339 years – an average of 56.5 years old. Tharpe was the oldest member of the team and the oldest rider to ever finish the race.

Our hats are off to you, Gene Tharpe.

Source

Spring Lake, Michigan youth Spencer Hassevoort is racing a rebuilt 1979 Yamaha 300 Enticer to help generate support for a local nonprofit prisoners advocacy group – Humanity for Prisoners.

Hassevoort, who is all of 12-years-old, is racing against adults in the Big Extreme Vintage Racing Association. He raised about $2,000 in pledges last year and he’s hoping for $3,000 this year.

The youngster has performed well, racking up wins and podiums against much older competition.

Source

The premiere snowmobile racing/freestyle event of the year, Winter X Games 14, has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look back and enjoy it all over again. Photographer Alfonse Palaima was in Colorado for the event and he provided us with a huge snowmobile photo gallery. Click here to check it out.

Team Arctic’s Tucker Hibbert has been a regular at the Winter X Games since he was a wee lad of 15. He took home his fourth consecutive Snocross gold this year. We’ve included a sampling of pictures from the race below the jump, but you’ll have to check out the full gallery to see it all.

We’ll also be adding shots from some of the other snowmobile events later in the week, so check back with us for more photo goodies form the Winter X Games 14.

Michigan snowmobilers have a new raceway in their own backyard. Infinity Raceway is located in Mancelona, Mich., which just west of Gaylord.

The facility held its first races on Saturday, Jan. 23. Snow drags are scheduled all winter, but Infinity Raceway will not be shutting down once the snow melts. Snowmobile shows and grass drags are scheduled throughout the summer months.

Infinity Raceway features four 25-foot wide racing lanes, accurate timing sytems, and LED scoreboards and displays.

For more information, visit InfinityRaceway.com

Where would we be without YouTube? The world’s favorite Internet video portal is a great place to watch a variety of snowmobile action, including highlights from the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series event in Sandy, Utah on Jan. 9.

We’ve actually got two videos for you. The first looks professionally done and features great snocross action from Rio Tinto Stadium. Besides confusing Polaris racer Ross Martin with Team Arctic’s Tucker Hibbert, it’s quality stuff. The footage is quite good and clearly comes from a trackside camera. Check it out after the jump.