The World Championship Snowmobile Derby is the World championship

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

race. It is held at the World Championship Derby Complex, formerly known as the Eagle River Derby Track, along

U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...

Eagle River, Wisconsin Eagle River is a city in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Vilas County. Because of the many lakes in the area, the city is a popular vacation and retirement destinat ...

on the third weekend in January. Eagle River is known as the "Snowmobile Capital of the World" because it hosts the Derby. Eagle River is located in the same

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Sayner, Wisconsin Sayner is a census-designated place in the Town of Plum Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located at the intersection of Highway 155 and County N, about 15 miles northwest of Eagle River. As of the 2010 census, its populati ...

, the place that Carl Eliason invented one of the first modern snowmobiles.

History

The first event was held in 1964. The event was founded by innkeeper John Alward, his wife Betty, and their friend Walter Goldsworthy.Snowmobiles Keep Coming Though the Ice Is Melting

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

; Joe Drape; January 15, 2006, Retrieved November 19, 2007 Alward's son Jake said "We had a couple of snowmobiles in the garage, and Dad figured more than a few other people did, too. He decided to have a rally." The event was a cross country race run on and around Dollar Lake. Many snowmobiles were unable to climb a small hill. The first winner was an eighth grade student named Stan Hayes, who won the marquee race in a 9

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

sled. The Alward's held the race at their inn in 1965 before passing it on to the Eagle River

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

. The Lions Club trademarked the term "World Championship Snowmobile Derby". The 1968 derby was broadcast on

ABC's Wide World of Sports ''ABC's Wide World of Sports'' is an American sports anthology television program that aired on ABC from April 29, 1961 to January 3, 1998, primarily on Saturday afternoons. Hosted by Jim McKay, with a succession of co-hosts beginning in 198 ...

. Numerous guests attended the event, including

Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of ...

Ray Nitschke Raymond Ernest Nitschke (December 29, 1936 – March 8, 1998) was a professional American football middle linebacker who spent his entire 15-year National Football League (NFL) career with the in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in , he was the a ...

and

Fuzzy Thurston Frederick Charles "Fuzzy" Thurston (December 29, 1933 – December 14, 2014) was an American football player who played offensive guard for the Baltimore Colts and the Green Bay Packers. Early years Born and raised in the small western Wisconsi ...

from the Super Bowl II

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

championship team. The track was reconfigured to a 0.5-mile high banked oval in 1974. Dick and Audrey Decker purchased the Derby Track from the Eagle River Lions Club in 1985 and they sold the property to their son, Chuck Decker, in 1989. In 2013, the World Championship Snowmobile Derby celebrated its 50th anniversary. The current event features 1400+ entrants racing

snocross Snocross (also snowcross) is a racing sport involving racing specialized high performance snowmobiles on natural or artificially-made tracks consisting of tight turns, banked corners, steep jumps and obstacles. Riders race at speed of up to 60 mil ...

or on the

oval track Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traff ...

in vintage and modern snowmobiles.World Championship Snowmobile Derby
travelwisconsin, Retrieved November 24, 2007 30,000 spectators frequently attend the event. The Eagle River Derby Track was sold from the previous owner Chuck Decker in August 2018 to a group of industry insiders lead by Tom Anderson, Russ Davis, Craig Marchbank and was renamed World Championship Derby Complex.

Qualifying

The riders with the sixteen fastest qualifying speeds during the Thursday night qualifying race in two heats on Friday night. The top five finishers in the two heats advance to a qualifying race. The top finisher in the ten competitor qualifying race starts on the pole position for the world championship feature on Sunday. The other nine competitors keep their seed for in a series of heat races, quarterfinals, semi-finals and consolation races to qualify for the Sunday world championship event.

Winners

Blaine Stephenson (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and P. J. Wanderscheid (2002, 2003, 2006, 2011) are the only riders to win four world championships. Stephenson is the only racer in history to have won four back-to-back World Championships. Two drivers won the championship three times

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various o ...

(1980, 1982, 1986), and Dave Wahl (1990, 1996, 1997). The two time winners are Steve Ave (1966, 1968), Mike Trapp (1971, 1972), Steve Thorsen (1977, 1978), Brad Hulings (1981, 1983), Dale Loritz (1994, 1995), Mike Houle (1999, 2000), Gary Moyle (2005, 2007), Brian Bewcyk (2008, 2009), Matt Schulz (2010, 2016), and Nick VanStrydonk (2012, 2017). *2022 Jay Mittelstaedt (Polaris) *2021 Blaine Stephenson (Polaris) *2020 Blaine Stephenson (Polaris) *2019 Blaine Stephenson (Polaris) *2018 Blaine Stephenson (Polaris) *2017 Nick Van Strydonk (Polaris) *2016 Matt Schulz (Ski-Doo) *2015 Cardell Potter (Ski-Doo) *2014 Malcom Chartier(Ski-Doo) *2013 Malcom Chartier (50th anniversary)(Ski-Doo) *2012 Nick Van Strydonk (Polaris) *2011 P.J. Wanderscheid *2010 Matt Schulz *2009 Brian Bewcyk (Ski-Doo) *2008 Brian Bewcyk (Ski-Doo) *2007 Gary Moyle(Arctic Cat) *2006 P. J. WanderscheidWanderscheld wins Eagle River Derby
January 15, 2005, '' American Snowmobiler Magazine'', Retrieved November 20, 2007(Arctic Cat) *2005 Gary Moyle (Arctic Cat) *2004 Larry Day (Arctic Cat) *2003 P. J. Wanderscheid (Arctic Cat) *2002 P. J. Wanderscheid (Arctic Cat) *2001 Jeremy Johnston (Ski-Doo) *2000 Mike Houle (Ski-Doo) *1999 Mike Houle (Ski-Doo) *1998 Terry Wahl (Ski-Doo) *1997 Dave Wahl (Ski-Doo) *1996 Dave Wahl (Ski-Doo) *1995 Dale Loritz (Ski-Doo) *1994 Dale Loritz (Ski-Doo) *1993 Al Fenhaus (Ski-Doo) *1992 Gary Vessair (Ski-Doo) *1991 Greg Goodwin (Ski-Doo) *1990 Dave Wahl (Ski-Doo) *1989 Bruce Vessair (Ski-Doo) *1988 Bobby Donahue (Ski-Doo) *1987 Chuck Decker (Ski-Doo) *1986

(Ski-Doo) *1985 Michael Gingras (Ski-Doo) *1984 Jim Dimmerman (Arctic Cat) *1983 Brad Hulings (Ski-Doo) *1982

(Ski-Doo) *1981 Brad Hulings (Scorpion) *1980

(Ski-Doo) *1979 Bobby Elsner (Arctic Cat) *1978 Steve Thorsen (Polaris) *1977 Steve Thorsen (Polaris) *1976 Ed Schubitzke (Yamaha) *1975 Jim Bernat (Polaris) *1974

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances. An enthusiast of ...

(Alouette) *1973 Bob Eastman (Polaris) *1972 Mike Trapp (Yamaha) *1971 Mike Trapp (Yamaha) *1970

Yvon Duhamel Yvon Duhamel (October 17, 1939 – August 17, 2021) was a French Canadian professional motorcycle and snowmobile racer. A six-time winner of the White Trophy, the highest award in Canadian motorcycle racing, he was one of the most accomplished ...

(Ski-Doo) *1969 Roger Janssen (Arctic Cat) *1968 Steve Ave (Ski-Doo) *1967 Duane Frandsen (Ski-Doo) *1966 Steve Ave (Ski-doo) *1965 George Gensler (Evinrude) *1964 Stan Hayes (Polaris)

Winning Makes

*SKI-DOO 28 *POLARIS 11 *ARCTIC CAT 9 *YAMAHA 3 *ALOUETTE 1 *SCORPION 1 *EVINRUDE 1

Additional resources

*''Of Ice and Engines'' (book), chronicles the first 25 years of the Derby *''Decades of the Derby'' (video), chronicles the first 40 years of the Derby

References

External links

* {{coord, 45.932836, -89.256343, type:event_globe:earth_region:US-WI, display=title Motorsport venues in Wisconsin Snowmobile racing

Snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

Tourist attractions in Vilas County, Wisconsin Lions Clubs International