Snowmobiling started for me in 1968. My father obtained an Arctic Cat franchise in S. Royalston, MA. Those Cats were beautiful! Black hoods, blue windshields, and those awesome leopard print seats! The first Cat that dad let me try was a 1969 246 Hirth. I rode it in the sandpit behind the dealership in late October. Yep, October. I can still remember guys driving by, hootin' and hollerin', wondering why I couldn't wait for snow.
We started racing Cats that same year. Dad bought a '69 372 Sachs Panther MOD from the race department at our local distributor (Rodco Inc. in Randolph, VT). We ran her in every class that we could, including junior and powder puff. The 372 Panther came to an end in a USSA 57 mile Cross-Country event in Sanbornton, NH. George Lowell from Rodco said that she had spit a ring and ruined the cylinder. She never ran the same after that.
A) 1969: Bryer Sport Motor Park. Dad ran the 372 Panther here in 1969 and 1970. This track is now th New Hampshire International Speedway, of Nascar fame. This pic is a postcard my mom bought while attending the race in '69.
B) 1970: Arctic Cat Training School, at Rodco in Randoph, VT. I'm 14 years old (the little guy in the middle), and I also attended the 1971, '72, and '73 EXT schools.
1970: This was the year of the EXTs and MODs! Yahoo!! We ran a 292 Hirth Panther MOD, a 340 Hirth Panther MOD, a 340 Panther EXT, and a 340 Puma MOD (which I still have). The amount of races won that year was incredible. In one race in Gardner, MA, dad, mom, and I came home with a total of 10 first place trophies for the one day event, covering drags, ovals, and cross-country.
My USSA racing career started in 1970 at a race in Springfield, MA. I raced in Junior 2 on a 303 Wankel Panther, no less (Glen M. would love this story, but I will save it for another time)!
C) 1970: Royalston Club races. This was one of our "barnyard" races. My mom and dad are all the way to the right, and I am on the far left. Cleaned house with a Panther 340 MOD and a Puma 292 MOD.
1971: This was the year of the EXT free-air and dad bought a 292. What a beautiful sled! We took it to our practice track as soon as it was uncrated and the skis were on it. However, we blew the motor the first night we raced it, not knowing much about the chrome problem Cat was having with the cylinders. We went through 8 cylinders and, most likely, as many pistons. At a race in Thompson, CT (Thompson Speedway) we even changed a complete top end in the staging lanes, between heats! What a nightmare...
After crashing hard at an ice oval in North Hampton, MA, dad passed the torch to me, in the latter part of the '71 season. He said the new ice tracks were getting too fast for him to handle. I ran USSA Men's division in 1972 on our new '72 EXT 250. I placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th a lot. USSA Men's racing was a lot more competitive than the "barnyard" and Junior races that I was used to. Guys like George Kluckey and Ray Riznik were the ones to beat and we ran neck 'n neck every weekend for the entire season.
D) 1973-74 USSA Driver Points Standings. I believe I placed 5th, in Stock C (340), earning gold bib #66 for the following season.
In 1973, I ran a '73 El Tigre that took me to 5th place in USSA's Eastern Division Stock C points standings. I was supposed to run that sled at Eagle River, WI, but the sled never made it. I had to run a borrowed Ski Doo 340 TNT instead. What a mistake!
E) 1975: Troy, NH, USSA Snowmobile Championships. Here I am, receiving the high point driver title for the weekend. I still have that trophy. I won Stock 1, Mod-Stock 1, and Mod 1.
F) 1975 Troy, NH. Race Director, Ted Winot, presents Rick Simula with the High Point Driver title.
I'm going to skip over the years 1974-76, because I rode Ski Doos and Mercs during that time...
I raced USSA until 1977, when New England split from the USSA and started their own division, which in my mind, was the downfall of the Eastern Division. In 1973 I won a USSA race at Cobleskill, NY where there was 35 sleds entered in Stock C alone, but barely that number showed up in total for the later New England division races. The New England division seemed to fade out after that.
G) 1986 USSA New England Division race at Skowhegan, ME. Daughter Christina ran Junior II and came in 3rd, with our 1975 Z 340 "Simula's Wildcat Express". Here is Christina in her heat lane with me, on the left, trying to give her some advice...
H) 1986, Skowhegan, ME. Rick, jr. trying to stay warm.
In 1986, we started racing agian in New England, mostly in Maine. Along with my daughter, Christina, and the rest of the clan, we did the best to compete with our 1975 340
El Tigre "Z", the "Wildcat Express".
In 1988, I crashed while drag racing in Northwood, NH, with a 340 Super Mod. At that point, my wife said it was time to quit... I still do have a dream of someday going to Eagle River again, to run in the 300 Pro Vintage class. I have been working on the wife for 2 years, but she is holding fast; and finding a 290 EXT to race hasn't been easy either! I am going to turn the big 50 next year, but that isn't too old to race, is it?
If you have never felt that first corner rush after the flagman drops the flag, you should try it at least once to see what I am talking about. They say my dad was a visionary, and looking at what snowmobiling has become, I would say he was. To see what the vintage fella's have done with their vintage Cats, making some better than new, he would be impressed to see what has been accomplished.
Thanks for your time.
Eagle River, 2005! (You just never know...)
Rick Simula
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