Smith Brothers Snowmobile Racing

Smith Brothers Racing - A Snowmobile Tradition Continues

The more I'm involved with vintage snowmobiling, the more I keep finding these really great stories from the people involved with the sport. The Smith Brothers are a fine example, this time from the south part of Alaska.

Smith Brothers Racing has been around since 1973. Steve Smith started racing as a freshman in high school aboard a Sears Sportster snowmobile in a 75 mile cross-country race sponsored by their local snowmobile club, the Mat-Su Motor Mushers. Steve didn't place, but won a sportsmanship trophy for helping a fellow racer who wrecked in the trees.

In 1976, the Mike and Steve went to Brandt's Lodge to watch the now historic "Alaskan Shakedown" race, where the factories would bring up the new iron and test it out. That year Arctic Cat brought out the new Z's. The bug was planted - they wanted those new Cats in the worst way. Mike ran his first cross country race in the winter of 1976. He won his class and placed second in the next race. A short time later, they bought their first 1976 250cc Z. In 1977 the brothers bought two used 1976 Cross Country Cats to race in Alaskan cross country events, with both Steve and Mike finishing in the top five respectively.

For 1978, the pair returned again to Brandt's Lodge to watch the new factory IFS sleds getting testing. The new Cat SnoPros were out in force, and it took one look for the brothers to fall in love with the sleek black machines. Only one obstacle was in the way: To buy one of the new machines, you had to have enough race experience - and the Smith Brothers had no oval experience at all at the time. Their answer to the problem? They got Yamaha to sell them a shiny new SSR. It wasn't the brand they wanted, but they knew they could gain the experience on them needed to be able to later buy a Cat SnoPro.

History will record that the Yamaha SSR was, well, not exactly Yamaha's finest moment. Watch any of the old race videos from 1978, and you'll see the sleek Yamahas sliding down the ice track side up more often then not. The Smith Brothers had much the same experience, Mike crashing first, then at a later race, Steve was leading when a strut broke just 100 yards from the finish line. Steve and the machine crossed the line and won the race in theory. It didn't count though, as race officals ruled Steve "not in control of his machine".

That was enought of that. The Smith Brothers from now on would stick to Arctic Cats.

During that off season, the pair met a man that changed their lives. Arctic Racing legend Herb Yancy. They struck up a frienship that has lasted to this day. Herb came out and visited the Smiths in Alaska for the entire month of October. Herb worked with them on the setup of the Z's, matching them to the setup that got the famous Team Abold more checkered flags then anyonein the East. Herb convinced them to buy to 77 440 Z's and help them dial in the Abold setup. To test them out, they hauled them to a grass drag and promptly won the stock 440 class, Herb won mod 440 and the mod open class.

To even qualify for the coveted Alaska Gold Bib, a driver must race Ovals, Drags, Cross Country and Enduros. By the end of the 1979 season, Steve had earned Gold Bib #17, Mike had earned Gold Bib #41. This qualified them in 1980 to buy that often dreamed of Arctic Cat Snopro.

In November of 1980, the pair was off to Thief River to attend the Cat Racing School. After a week of learning and testing on Arctic's test track, they were awarded a 1980 SnoPro. It would turn out to be there best year ever on the sled they long dreamed of racing. Mike would wind up with the #4 Alaska Gold Bib, and Steve, well, Steve would walk away with the #1 Alaska Gold Bib. It was a very good year indeed.

Over the summer, the pair bought one each of Bob Elsners and Jim Dimmerman's year old race sleds. For the 1981 season, they headed to Winnepeg Manitoba for the first race. Both SnoPros and a Z in tow. It looked a very promising winter for the pair in the lower 48 states, when a family emergency came up and the season had to be cut short right after the race in Alexandria Minnesota. Racing resumed in January, when the team promptly won Mod 1,2, 3 and Super Mod 2 & 3 at the first race.

At the second race in Soldotna, Alaska, Steve was in the Mod 3 final when his sled would not turn coming out of turn three. Steve crashed through the plank wall on the top of the track and flew 75 feet before landing on the frozen, jagged ice below. The machine came down on top of him. This was back when an ambulance was not required to be at every race, so first aid was in fact performed by his own brother Mike. He carefully loaded Steve onto one of the boards, and took him to a local hostpital. He had to be immediately taken by airplane to a larger hospital in Anchorage.

Mike made it to the hospital just before Steve went into surgery. A very long eight hours later, they were finally informed Steve would survive. He had broken most of the bones in his face, lost some teeth and broken his jaw bone. When the machine came down on him it literally pulverized his ankle to the point that no bone fragments bigger then a pencil were left. It would be months of surgerys and therapy, and 10 months on crutches before Steve could even attempt to walk again. But walk he did, eventually recovering from the accident enough to go on with life as he knew it.

Mike did not race any more that year, but in 1982 won two cross country races and one drag race. It would be 1984 before Steve decided that he wanted toprove to himself he could still do it, and got back on a race sled. He won two drag races and place 2nd in one Cross Country and 2nd in one Enduro race. The fire was still burning.

In 1985, they bought the new El Tigre AFS to race Cross Country, and Steve was the Class Two high point Champion for enduros at the end of the year. They sat out in 1986, but in 1987 returned to win again and again. 1988 was Steves big come back year. By becoming the High Point Champion in Mod 3 and Super Mod II on the oval, and and Class 4 Cross Country and runner up for high points in enduro, Steve was awarded his second Alaska Gold Bib. Mike followed right behind, earning the #2 Alaska Gold Bib. In 1989, the Smith Brothers steam roller keeps moving on. Steve earns the #2 bib, mike the number 4 bib. In 1990 Steve again finished #1 in points for the Alaska Division drivers.

Snowmobile racing is just part of the Smith Brothers involvment on the world of snowmobiles. They've worked on snowmobiles to make sure the famed Iditarod Dog Mushers race could be held safely. The pair acted on the sleds as "crossing gaurds" along Alaskas highways, to make sure the dog teams crossed safely. They also used the sleds to pound down drift that had developed overnight, threatening the race start to be delayed. Steve and Mike made short work of the drifts, and the race was started on time. Even the press had to comment on how the snowmobilers helped make the Iditrod a success.

In another instance, the team worked with the local officials to make trails in years when the high snow was making life a living hell for the moose population. An average of 40 moose a week were killed on train tracks, the only place they could walk. The team, along with plenty of help from the local snowmobile club cleared or made trails for the moose on over 100 miles of track. The club recieved the Yamaha Pride Award for Alaska that year for outstanding community involvment.

Racing continued for the brothers through 1994. Between 1991 and 1994, and they also became very active in the racing association by resurrecting the USSA Alaska Division. Unfortunatley, this started to consume them from racing. They also found the politics dissillusioning. By 1995 Steves son Sean had started racing as well and the last race was an enduro in 1999 run by Steve and Sean.

But racing had kind of taken a back seat during this time, and eventually the entries dropped so low in Alaska that they eventually just didn't have enough races to bother with.

Mike took his 1976 Arctic Cat and cleaned it up. Being one of the very few verifiable original Larry Coltom sleds in existance, Milke has loaned the sled to the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain Wisconsin, where it survives today.

Lately, the boys have been hearing about the explosion of the vintage snowmobiling in the lower 48, and they heard even more about all the vintage racing going on. You know what they say. You can take the boy away from the races, but you can't take the racer out of the boy. With the bug firmly stuck in them, the Smith Brothers are on the way down to the lower 48, starting with the first race of the year in Beasejour.