Press Release –

Team Arctic Wins Eight Classes at USCC event

Two races into the 2008-09 United States Cross-Country (USCC) season, Team Arctic’s D.J. Ekre has made it perfectly clear he’s the guy to beat in the Pro Open class, this time winning at the Grafton Equipment 100 in Grafton, ND. But his teammate Brian Dick has also made it clear that it’s going to be a battle, finishing less than one second behind in a dramatic two-lap battle.

Dan Ebert of Lake Shore, Minn., finished a close fourth with Ryan Simons (Camrose, Alberta) in fifth, making it one of several Cat-dominated podiums during another stellar race that saw Team Arctic racers win eight classes and fill most of the podium positions.

The dominating performance in Pro Open set the stage for what looked like a repeat performance in the premier Pro 600 final. And for five of the six laps it played out as predicted, with Team Arctic’s Ryan Simons leading (based on time) while swapping fastest-lap honors with Ebert.

Heading into the sixth and final lap, Simons enjoyed an 11-second lead, but a deteriorating drive belt began to unravel, forcing Simons to reduce his speed in fast sections, which ultimately cost him the win, just five seconds out of first.

“I could tell that a cord was unwinding, so I babied it in as best I could,” said an understandably-dejected Simons. “Second place is better than blowing the belt completely and finishing back in the pack, so I’m satisfied with my decision.”

Ekre (Shevlin, Minn.) and Ebert finished fourth and fifth respectively, less than two minutes off the winning time.

In the other classes, Team Arctic racers delivered solid performances aboard their Sno Pro 600 race sleds. Jolene Bute of Alden, Minn., returned to her winning ways in Pro Women.

For the second time in as many races, Spencer Fett of Frazee, Minn., nailed a strong second place in Semi Pro ranks, this time in the Improved class.

Adam Brandt edged out Erik Bute for top honors in the Amateur Improved class, with Mark Arneson and Stuart Brandt taking fourth and fifth, producing for a very green podium. Brandt, of Moorhead, Minn., did it again in the Amateur 600 class, this time ahead of Team Arctic’s Cody Matthews and Bute again for a class sweep.

Cole Lian and Adam Mach battled hard in the Juniors 10-13 class, with Lian (Thief River Falls, Minn.) taking the win by just eight seconds. Cole Davidson finished in third, making it yet another Team Arctic sweep. In the Junior 14-17 class, Stuart Brandt (Moorhead, Minn.) took the win by just one-hundredth of a second. And Garet Grzadzielewski won both 120 Class events.

“Winning eight classes, including the Pro Open, made Grafton another great event for our racers and teams,” said Team Arctic Race Manager, Mike Kloety. “The Sno Pro 600 continues to prove it’s one of our World’s Fastest Snowmobiles, as well as the most capable in the gnarly rough and bumps that define USCC terrain racing.

“Our racers, teams and sleds are poised to perform extremely well at the Red Lake I-500, the next race on the USCC schedule held Jan. 16-18 in Thief River Falls. Right now mechanical talents like Corey Berberich, Brian “Hector” Olson, Steve Houle of Speedwerx, Brian Dick and Russ Ebert are working extra-hard to make sure all riders have the best set-ups for the I-500, and I know we’ll be ready.”

About Arctic Cat – Arctic Cat Inc., based in Thief River Falls, Minn., designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles under the Arctic Cat® brand name, as well as related parts, garments and accessories. Its common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol “ACAT.” More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available on the Internet at www.arcticcat.com

The Indianapolis Star

Winter officially arrived with Sunday’s solstice. But for many Americans, autumn 2008’s final days already feel like deepest, coldest January.

New Englanders still lack electricity after a Dec. 11 ice storm snapped power lines. Up to 8 inches of snow struck New Orleans and southern Louisiana that day and didn’t melt for 48 hours in some neighborhoods.

In Southern California last Wednesday, a half-inch of snow brightened Malibu’s hills while a half-foot barricaded highways and marooned commuters in desert towns east of Los Angeles. Three inches of the white stuff shuttered Las Vegas’ McCarren Airport that day and dusted the Strip’s hotels and casinos.

What are the odds of that?

Actually, the odds are rising that snow, ice and cold will grow increasingly common. As serious scientists repeatedly explain, global cooling is here. It is chilling temperatures and so-called “global warming.”

According to the National Climatic Data Center, 2008 will be America’s coldest year since 1997, thanks to La Niña and precipitation in the central and eastern states. Solar quietude also may underlie global cooling. This year’s sunspots and solar radiation approach the minimum in the sun’s cycle, corresponding with lower Earth temperatures. This echoes Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Sallie Baliunas’ belief that solar variability, much more than CO2, sways global temperatures.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service reports that last summer was Anchorage’s third coldest on record. “Not since 1980 has there been a summer less reflective of global warming,” Craig Medred wrote in the Anchorage Daily News. Consequently, Alaska’s glaciers are thickening in the middle.

Across the equator, Brazil endured an especially cold September. Snow graced its southern provinces that month.

“Global warming is over, and global warming theory has failed. There is no evidence that CO2 drives world temperatures or any consequent climate change,” Imperial College London astrophysicist and long-range forecaster Piers Corbyn wrote British Members of Parliament on Oct. 28. “According to official data in every year since 1998, world temperatures have been colder than that year, yet CO2 has been rising rapidly.” That evening, as the House of Commons debated legislation on so-called “global-warming,” October snow fell in London for the first time since 1922.

These observations parallel those of five German researchers led by Professor Noel Keenlyside of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences. “Our results suggest that global surface temperature may not increase over the next decade,” they concluded in last May’s “Nature,” “as natural climate variations in the North Atlantic and tropical Pacific temporarily offset the projected anthropogenic (man-made) warming.” This “lull” should doom the 0.54 degree Fahrenheit average global temperature rise predicted by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Vatican of so-called “global warming.” Incidentally, the IPCC’s computer models factor in neither El Niño nor the Gulf Stream. Excluding such major climate variables would be like ESPN ignoring baseball and basketball.

So, is this all just propaganda concocted by Chevron-funded, right-wing, flat-Earthers? Ask Martin Hertzberg, a physical chemist and retired Navy meteorologist.

“As a scientist and lifelong liberal Democrat, I find the constant regurgitation of the anecdotal, fear-mongering clap-trap about human-caused global warming to be a disservice to science,” Hertzberg wrote in Sept. 26’s USA Today.

As global cooling becomes more widely recognized, Americans from Maine to Malibu should feel comfortable dreaming of a white Christmas.

Press Release –

Round 3 of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Set for Canterbury Park January 9-11; Top X-Games Snocross Racers and Freestyle Athletes to Compete

The top professional snocross racers on the planet, as well as the leading freestyle athletes anywhere will invade Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota for Round 3 of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series.

More than 15,000 fans are expected to witness the world’s best snowmobile riders compete side-by-side for more than $250,000 on a racetrack littered with huge jumps and insane terrain. Racers will fly more than 80-feet in excess of two-stories high as they negotiate a course laid out in front of the heated Canterbury Park venue.

Winter X Games Champions including Minnesota’s own Tucker Hibbert and Levi LaVallee as well as freestyle king Chris Burandt will be there, giving area fans one of the few opportunities of the year to see these incredible riders in person.

The weekend heats up fast Friday night at 7:00pm with a FREE Monster Energy Slednecks Invasion Tour freestyle showcase. The top freestyle athletes in the world including Chris Burandt and Paul Thacker will perform some of the most insane tricks ever seen on a snowmobile including a back-flip!

Riders will launch their snowmobiles from two freestyle ramps to a backdrop of infused rock and free swag for the fans. Joining them will be the biggest names in snocross racing for an evening of hospitality, autographs and family fun.

Competitive juices flow early Saturday morning with support class racing, culminating with the Main Event from 4:00pm to 7:30pm. This all-out showcase of the top Pro and Semi-Pro riders anywhere will be bar to bar non-stop action, with Pro and Semi-Pro finals running back to back.

During the action, the heated Canterbury Park facility will host displays from leading snowmobile manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers along with food and beverages. There’s also free snowmobile demo rides or the kids with a chance for one lucky participant to win a new Arctic Cat kids snowmobile.

Capping off the weekend will be Sunday support class racing, with local racers competing on a national track. Racing gets underway at 9:00am both Saturday and Sunday, but race fans will want to be sure they are in the stands 4:00pm Saturday for the Main Event.

Advance weekend passes are just $30 with kids 12 and under FREE! Visits www.isocracing.com for more information and tickets.