The incredibly scenic and rugged course, set in beautiful Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada challenges snowmobile racers for more than 3000km/1800 miles with high-energy, gruelling racing action.

Cain’s Quest is a true northern adventure giving racers the experience of a lifetime and it is the longest racing challenge of its kind in the world, promising to keep race fans on the edge of their seats.

Competitors push their bodies and machines to the edge in a methodical race to the finish for a shot at the lucrative prize purse and once-in-a-lifetime stories when they return home. Teams of two begin the race pumped with adrenaline and an eye on the prize.

Some racers arrive at the starting line, with the “take no prisoners” attitude, but can quickly learn when the going gets tough, strategies need to shift direction in order to successful. Oftentimes, sportsmanship, a more deliberate pace and even getting some assistance from competing teams is required to make it through to the end.

The race runs day and night, guided by GPS and pure gut instinct to get teams from checkpoint to checkpoint and requires a solid strategy, top-gun riding skills, a tough, dependable snowmobile, a little luck and most importantly, the determination to persevere!

A GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

Cain’s Quest brings the race into the homes of race fans and snowmobile enthusiasts across the world. Each team is equipped with a satellite tracking unit which enables visitors to log onto the Cain’s Quest website and watch the race in near real time.

Not only is this an added safety feature for the teams, but it allows race followers to watch the race changing from moment to moment.

Teams will travel through a variety of topography, including deep snow, thick wooded areas, and wide-open frozen lakes. Teams must make it through each checkpoint and stop at mandatory layover points in various communities along the way.

Not everyone who starts the race will cross the finish line. Do you think you have what it takes?

CAIN’S QUEST 2026 registration opens soon!

For more information on this incredible race, visit CAINSQUEST.com

Teams include Scott Davis/Todd Palin and defending champ Eric Quam/Bradly Helwig

The eyes of the world are focused on the dynamic duo of Scott Davis and Todd Palin as they attempt to win the rugged Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile cross-country race from Wasilla to Fairbanks, Alaska, which began Sunday, Feb. 8.

After one day of racing the team is at the mandatory layover location of McGrath, roughly 372 miles into the race. They’re currently in third place overall.

The pair is racing on 2009 Arctic Cat F6 Sno Pro production snowmobiles. They are contending with defending champion Eric Quam and new partner Bradly Helwig (in fifth at the McGrath layover), as well as 2006 winners Dwayne Drake and Andy George (sixth in McGrath), all competing aboard Arctic Cat F6 machines.

Of the 35 Pro teams entered in this year’s race, 14 have chosen Arctic Cat. Arctic Cat snowmobiles have endured to win 10 of the 24 editions of this race.

Palin, the husband of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, has won the Iron Dog on four previous occasions, most recently in 2007 with current partner Scott Davis.

Davis is a legend of the Iron Dog, having conquered the event seven times, beginning with his first win in 1985. The two experienced a media whirlwind surrounding the race following the Governor’s nomination as the Vice President in John McCain’s 2008 Presidential campaign.

The Iron Dog course length is 1971 miles, starting in outside of Anchorage in Wasilla/Big Lake and heading northwest for 1,106 miles to the roughly half-way point in Nome on Feb. 11. From Nome the course heads east for the 865-mile run to the finish in Fairbanks on Feb. 11.

As the world’s longest snowmobile race, the Iron Dog is also one of the toughest as it traverses some of Alaska’s the most remote and rugged terrain while confronting harsh winter conditions.

The Iron Dog Pro Class consists of a team of two persons on two snowmobiles. The Pro Class teams are released at the race start in Big Lake at two minute intervals. Between Big Lake and Nome the teams are required to take three layovers at a minimum of 6 hours per location and 28 hours total.

Between Nome and Fairbanks they must take a minimum of two layovers at least 6 hours per location and 18 hours total before they reach Tanana. At Tanana the race teams are held to secure a mid-day finish on Saturday in Fairbanks.

You can follow the race and the location of each team via the Iron Dog Website at www.irondog.org.

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

Team Arctic Racers Win Seven Classes

It was just a matter of time before Ryan Simons foray into USCC cross-country competition would result in victory. On a gnarly 100-mile course in Ada, Minn., and with a pace that one competitor described as “wicked,” Simons scored the first cross-country victory of his career and his first Pro class victory of the season.

It was a fitting finale for a race that saw seven class victories by Team Arctic, including a sweep of the Pro classes.

“Our racers and teams continue to win and place at the top of their class,” said Team Arctic Race Manager, Mike Kloety. “To win seven classes, place five in the top-10 of the Pro 600 class and notch a majority of the podium positions proves strength and depth of our team.”

The highlight of the weekend came in Pro 600, where Simons attacked both laps of the 44-mile course, blasting ditch approaches at full-throttle and banging through the deep moguls with fury. His cumulative time of one hour, 25 minutes and thirty five seconds was more than a minute faster than teammate and second-place finisher D.J. Ekre.

Team Arctic strong men Brian Dick, Dan Ebert and Cory Davis finished seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.

Ekre continued his season-long winning streak in Pro Open, where once again Team Arctic racers filled five of the top-10. In what was his first ever cross-country race in Minnesota, snocrosser Cory Davis of Soldotna, Alaska, was on pace for a podium finish when he suffered a couple mechanical gremlins. He finished ninth, but his talent indicates better finishes for later this season.

“Cross-country racing is so valuable because every race day brings new challenges to man and machine,” said Kloety, “And our machine adapts well to everything our racers have pounded it through. Yet each race is an opportunity to improve our machines, and each week we get better than the last.”

Davis’ sister Carly was equally talented in the Women’s class. Racing on Ekre’s back-up sled, Carly put her snocross skills to work and won her first-ever cross-country race in convincing fashion.

Ekre’s borrowed Sno Pro 600 must have had some good black magic, because Chad Kyllo raced the same sled to an outstanding win in the Semi Pro Improved class.

Adam Brandt remains on top of the Amateur classes with wins in both Amateur 600 and Amateur Improved. And Adam Mach scored his big win in the Junior 10-13 class.

Arctic Cat’s effort in cross-country racing continues to improve the Sno Pro 600 race sled.

The next race on the USCC schedule is the Grand Cities 100 on Feb. 14, in Grand Forks, N.D.

For more information go to www.usccracing.com.