The I-500 was an annual American cross-country snowmobile race.[1] The race was a 3-day event covering 500 miles (170 miles a day) and was sanctioned by the USCC Racing Association (USCC).[2][3]
The first I-500 was race held in 1966, starting in Winnipeg, Manitoba and finished in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[4] The race later started at the Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, ran through the Red Lake Indian Reservation and finished back at the starting line. The I-500 was considered one of the most grueling events in snowmobile racing, along with the Iron Dog in Alaska. Ski-Doo racer Bryan Dyrdahl currently holds the Pro 600 record at the I-500 at 5 wins (2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009). Arctic Cat racer Justin Morken currently holds the record as the youngest racer to ever finish the I-500 (14 years, 16 days old in 2007). On April 18, 2009, USCC Racing president Pat Mach announced at the USCC year-end awards ceremony in the Arrowood resort in Alexandria, Minnesota, that the USCC plans to race the original I-500 from Winnipeg to St. Paul in 2012. That would be the 40th anniversary for the I-500.
References
edit- ^ "I-500 Cross-Country Snowmobile Race Winners". snowgoer.com. February 6, 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Winnipeg to St. Paul website". winnipegtostpaul.com. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "USCC Cross Country Snowmobile Racing Association". Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Words From The Original Cross-Country I-500 Winner, Herb Howe". snowgoer.com. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2022.