This is news as painful to write as it is for me to think about:

Pat Mach – husband, father, snowmobiler and President of the USCC cross-country race circuit – died yesterday as the result of a snowmobile accident.

I received the news this morning. What I’ve written above, is all I know at this point.

And before I can begin to fathom what this means on a widespread level, all I can do right now is pray for his wife Lisa and his son Adam.

Here's an excellent Public Television documentary about the origins of snowmobiling, with an emphasis on Minnesota, Arctic Cat, Polaris and Ski-Doo.

Click Here to watch Part 1 (roughly 27 minutes).

Click Here to watch Part 2 (26 minutes).

That's one heckuva storm that hit 2,000 miles of North America.

Click to see a larger image, and for the NOHRSC link.

Check out what I recently uncovered.

Anyone have a projector?

Click to see a couple more pix.

The Christian Bros. Racing team had a solid performance at X Games, with Cory Davis nailing a bronze medal in Speed & Style.

Click to read the team's press release.

(All Photos by Wayne Davis)

That's FIVE Gold Medals in a row (and six total) in 12 years of X Games racing for Tucker Hibbert!

Amazing.

What's the likelihood he'll win six more gold medals?

Click to read the Team Arctic press release.

Well, this site and others have been buzzing about the captured image here, of what appears to be a prototype sled.

Click to see it, and read a few thoughts.

The first-ever Vintage I-500 project is complete, culminating in the actual race last weekend.

Click to see some pix of our weekend.

(Most photos from Jim Urquhart at sledRacer.com. Thanks Jim!)

I'm not sure what THIS STORY says about Tyler Bryan, or about (some) snowmobilers.

Personally, I'm picturing him leaning off the side of the cab, pretending he's railing through a long, sweeping left-hander.

What was it like to win an unprecedented fourth Eagle River World’s Championship?

Click to read Team Arctic Champion P.J. Wanderscheid’s answer (and more).

Sales increased (mainly snowmobiles), profit rose and future guidance has been raised.

Conclusion: Good snowfall is the largest determining factor in snowmobile sales.

Click to read the report.

Want to know how to win the I-500?

Be capable of hitting ditch approaches in featureless, flat light at mach-3, just like Brian Dick and Ryan Simons display here at the 2011 USCC I-500.

Do this for 160 miles a day, without crashing, and you'll win.

The Winter 2011 edition of Pride Magazine is now posted at ArcticCat.com.

Click HERE to read it.

Here's the NOHRSC Snow Depth report for Tues., Jan. 25.

Click to see a larger image, and for the NOHRSC link.

Click to read the official Team Arctic press release from the USCC I-500.

15 wins in 18 classes is something to be dang proud of!

Team Arctic's Brian Dick won the USCC I-500 cross-country!

Dick led a Cat/Christian Bros. Racing sweep of the top-4 Pro 600 finishers.

Arctic Cat racers won 15 of 18 classes in the weather-shortened event.

Look here for more complete coverage later today.

Got a 2010 F, M, Crossfire, Z1, TZ1 or Bearcat?

There's a recall on the lower A-arms.

Click to read the CPSC release.

This photo was taken yesterday at the Varsity Theater in (Dinkytown) Minneapolis.

Any ideas what it's about?

This month's random photo selection is brought to you by our proud sponsors on the top and right side of this page. Do us a favor and click on them. It'll keep this highly-tuned engine running 8100 rpm strong!

And click to see more pix!

Team Arctic is VERY happy and proud of P.J. Wanderscheid for winning his fourth Eagle River World Championships.

Click to read Arctic Cat's press release about it, and the USCC cross-country race in Grand Forks, ND.

Note: Sorry, but the Derby track hasn't yet provided results that indicate what brand sleds the riders are on, so there are no results listed for the other classes in the release.