As you may know, I don’t lack for hobbies. I have at least one for every season. During the spring, turkey hunting and fishing take up my every spare minute. Come summer, most of my free time is spent on the ATV trails near my home with my Polaris RZR or lake fishing for northern pike and bass. Fall is consumed by hunting, and winter is all about snowmobiling.
My snowmobiling hobby has taken on a life of its own. While I still love trail riding, I spend most weekends at the track. On a weekly basis, I travel with T&N Racing across the Upper Midwest and Canada racing with the ORA (Oval Racers Alliance), USSA Pro Star Series, EPT (Eastern Pro Tour), and CPTC (Canadian Power Toboggan Championships). Last season, we logged over 9,000 miles traveling to and from the track alone.
T&N Racing is a family based team out of Tomahawk, WI. It was started by Alan Van Strydonk who has always had a passion for racing and has been in the power sport business all his life (Erv’s Sales and Service).
T&N Racing is starting its 5th year in the professional ranks and races on ice ovals with a custom built Champ 440 snowmobile. Our typical track size is a half mile, and the Champ 440 is the world championship class sled. They are 100% hand built with a custom chassis and highly modified motors. The motors are 440cc and produce about 120-130 horsepower. Our team builds our own chassis from the ground up. It’s a year round project, and the development process is never ending.
I have an interesting role on the team. I am the Technical Advisor, and I also help with public relations and sponsorships. You might be thinking… “How technical can this really be?” Well, ironically, it’s a lot more technical than most guess. We track all kinds of dynamics, like shock travel, belt slippage, engine rpm and temps, GPS positioning on the track, and track times just to name a few.
The season starts in just a few weeks, so we’re focused on finishing touches. We built a new sled, renewed sponsorships and found new ones. One of our off season projects was updating our trailer. This process included new bearings and brakes for the trailer and a new “wrap” on the trailer. Some of you may have seen our Polaris trailer which was previously red. This year, we’ll have a new red, white, and blue “retro” paint scheme.
We’re excited to start our season. We ended our last season on a high note, and we’re confident that we’ll pick up where we left with all the off-season work we’ve done and our high expectations.
From a business perspective, we’re excited that in today’s tough economy we’re continuing to bring new sponsors on board. We’re excited to announce that 509, Augie’s Collectables, Micro Belmont Engineering and FXR have joined the T&N family.
We’re even more excited that all of our previous sponsors are returning. They include: Polaris Industries, AMSOIL, ABC Computers, Advanced Compressor Technology, Nelson’s County Market, Walker Evans Racing, Erv’s Sales and Service, Timberland Chiropractic, Tripoli Propane, Stud Boy Traction Products, and DuWayne Kreager Insurance Center. I can’t tell you how important everyone’s help is to make this all possible. We truly appreciate the support.
I’ll post occasional updates on this blog to let you know how our season is going. For more immediate updates, follow T&N Racing on Facebook or visit the T&N Racing website.
Until then, we’ll stay focused on the details…and make sure every last bolt is tightened so that we’re ready to hit the ice when we arrive in Beausejour, Manitoba, the first weekend in December.
Tags: Ben Bolte, T&N Snowmobile Racing
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