I wonder if 1970 World Heavyweight Boxing champ Smokin' Joe Frazier is still a big fan of snowmobiling?
Perhaps someone should contact him and see if he still has his 1974 Arctic Cat El Tigre?
Maybe his foray into celebrity demonstrations in Syracuse, NY, was enough snowmobile experience for the brawny fighter?
If memory serves, there was a friendly celebrity race between Frazier and Team Arctic's Charlie Lofton. If I were Lofton, I would have let Joe win the sled race, in hopes that Joe would allow me to win any celebrity boxing matches I might have entered.
Anyway, I'm simply sharing these photos because they didn't make it into the 50th Arctic Cat book, yet I find them mildly interesting.
Comments (4):
Cortland McGraw says:
8/17/2011 8:15:00 AM
Was this this the last time the mainstream snowmobile media covered a U.S. sled race east of Michigan? (The once a season National Sno Cross and the long departed X Games excluded, of course.)
rick simula says:
8/19/2011 4:40:00 AM
i was at the one mile oval that day,it was kinda cool,and i agree charlie should have let him win although charlie played with him on the backstretch a few times ,syracuse is such a big track a racer gets lost on the straights,it was like trail riding wide open,my cousin blew up his 400 out there,and my 340 seemed to underpowered for such a huge track,the best part is most of the drivers got to meet joe that day in front of the granstand are,still very cool,rick simula,syracuse one mile oval
John Sandberg says:
8/19/2011 1:17:00 PM
Rick: Awesome that you were there! Thanks for sharing that fact.
Vince says:
8/22/2011 7:52:00 PM
Wow, I never knew Smokin Joe rode a sled, much less an Arctic on a track with Charlie Lofton. Thanks for finding that story.
