Snowmobile Hall of Fame announces 2014 inductees

Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, WI. has announced this year's four inductees. 

They will be inducted at the annual fund raiser the Ride with the Champs, sponsored by Modine, Hot Dawg Heaters, on February 15, 2014 at 7 pm.

Former Polaris Team Racer, Don Omdahl will be inducted. Omdahl was one of the top drivers during the first heyday of snowmobile oval racing. Fresh out of high school in 1970, Omdahl landed a spot on the  Polaris factory team with Bob Eastman, Larry Rugland and Jim Bernat. Small, light and strong, Omdahl concentrated his expertise in the 250 and 340cc classes, where he found success at racetracks throughout the Sno Pro circuit. He captured wins at Eagle River, West Yellowstone and Beausejour. He scored a rare trio of class wins in Syracuse, NY, as well as a World Series title in Weedsport, NY. Omdahl’s natural talent proved successful in the rare occasions when he competed in cross-country, winning the Rhinelander Hodag event and posting several fast days in Winnipeg to St. Paul I-500. Some of Omdahl’s strongest and most memorable feats came just shy of the big win. He led the 1975 Eagle River World Championship final for 10 laps before succumbing to teammate Bernat and finishing second. And a remarkable 440X final in Alexandria, Minn., saw Omdahl go from first to nearly last after his throttle cable came unhooked. Undeterred, he remounted and charged back to finish fourth in a performance that thrilled a stadium filled with fans. After injuring his neck, Omdahl was forced to retire from competition in 1976.

Loren Anderson, former president of Snowmobile Hall of Fame will be inducted into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame this year. Undaunted by significant challenges along the way, Anderson cultivated his many local and industry connections, scraped together the necessary funding and poured his heart into every aspect of launching the SHOF in 1982, the first Ride in 1984 and the first museum in 1988 and settling into its current location in St. Germain, Wis., in 2008. Anderson entered the sport during its first wave of popularity in the mid-1960s. He founded the first snowmobile club in Williams Bay, Wis., and helped create the first snowmobile trail in the Bay. Anderson began competing in grass drag and oval competition. In 1972 he campaigned Ski-Doo Blizzards, which evolved into brand alliance for more than two decades and included roles as racer, team owner and communications manager for parent company Bombardier. Later, while working for the Governor of Wisconsin, Anderson was instrumental in averting negative legislation against snowmobile recreation on the nation’s public lands. He was a president of the Chamber of Commerce in Minocqua, Wis. International Snowmobile Racing named Anderson “Outstanding Contributor to the Sport of Snowmobiling” in 1998.  Anderson was the primary force that grew the SHOF and Ride With the Champs event into the world-class experiences we enjoy today. Not even the diagnosis of cancer in 1996 could deter the man from realizing his dream of honoring the sport’s heroes.

Race team owner, Ted Nielsen of Lake Villa, Ill., also, has bee nominated for induction. After falling in love with the emerging sport of snowmobiling in 1967, Nielsen launched his franchise as an Arctic Cat dealership in a converted gas station in 1969. He has garnered International Dealer of the Year as well as multiple state awards. Nielsen co-launched the Lakewood Sportswear brand of snowmobile outerwear in 1982, the first aftermarket brand of clothing targeted to the snowmobile industry. He was among a small group of individuals that financed the successful launch of Arctco prior to the company’s public offering, which brought back the Arctic Cat brand in 1983. Today the Nielsen Enterprises dealership sells all four snowmobile brands as well as six ATV, five motorcycle, three personal watercraft and two boat brands.  As team owner, Ted partnered with some of the sports greatest drivers: Jeff and Greg Goodwin, Brad Hulings, Bobby Donahue, Chuck and Allen Decker, Dale Loritz and Mike Campbell. His drivers and teams won at nearly every venue in North America, one of the most satisfying being the hard-fought victory at the 24 Hours of Eagle River in 1996. Nielsen won the World Championship in 1984 with Jim Dimmerman piloting the Nielsen Enterprises Phantom to victory.

The final inductee was Tom Rager Sr. He grew two profoundly successful race programs while exerting a lasting influence on the entire sport of snowmobile competition. His comprehensive, long-term approach as Race Manager for the Ski-Doo and Polaris race programs cultivated emerging talents who would become some of the most successful and decorated racers of the past two decades. Rager’s career with Ski-Doo began in 1978 as an oval racer from Nebraska competing in regional events before starting his own dealership. In 1985 he moved to northern Wisconsin, to be a district sales manager. He soon transitioned his skills to become Ski-Doo race coordinator, then North America Race Manager in 1988. There Rager combined a strategic vision with tactical acumen to retool a race program that had been primarily concentrated on Formula I twin-track oval machines into one that was stock sled-based and focused on all forms of racing. Within a handful of years, Rager’s efforts innumerable class wins and championships for Ski-Doo in all forms of racing, including drag, cross-country, snocross, hillclimb and oval.  For his second great act, Rager accepted the challenged to rebuild the Polaris race program beginning in 2000. Once again, Rager surrounded himself with excellent colleagues, and then hired key proven racers to achieve immediate success while simultaneously nurturing young and emerging talents. By the time Rager retired in 2012 Polaris had returned as a winning powerhouse in all venues and at every level, from Novice to Pro classes.

The Ride with the Champs day actually begins at 7 am for breakfast and then follows with trail riding and lunch throughout the day.  At the end of the day, at the Whitetail Inn, beginning at 6 pm with an autograph signing with our celebrities and dinner to follow.