The Polaris racing blog and the ongoing chronicle of the amazing men and machines of the Polaris Professional Race Team from author Larry Preston.
1972 was not the most stellar year for the Starfire kids, but there was some extraordinary breakthroughs. Laverne Hagen, Doug and Stan Hayes began a
Gary Mathers was the Polaris race director from 1971 through 1975, bringing the race team into the professional era of snowmobile racing. After his time
Love this shot. Bob Eastman laying on the ground, in the snow and the dirt working on a sled! Jerry Bunke on the right looking
Dorothy Mercer loved the grueling, multi-day event that was the Winnipeg, Manitoba to St. Paul race. She finished in the top 5 in 1973, behind
The racing bug hit Polaris in a big way when company president Alan Hetteen started to participate. 1965 would be the year that Alan won
The Bunke family just keeps on winning! Jerry’s son Gabe, Gabe’s son Taylor and Spencer Kadlec are kicking butt and taking names as Bunke Racing.
Just one of Brad Huling’s extraordinary talents was the ability to tune his clutches without driving the machine. As seen in this 1977 photo, Brad
1971 was the year of the alcohol burners. Shortly before 1971, Greg Grahn figured out the magic formula of how much to drill out the
1979: With the tragic accident that claimed Jerry Bunke, Polaris corporate threw in the towel and decided they were done with professional oval racing as
In 2008 at a vintage snowmobile show in Waconia, Minnesota, Starfire kids Greg Hedlund and Bob Eastman couldn’t help themselves and had to fire Jim
Starfire Kids Midnight Blue Express is the unauthorized and previously untold true story of the people from Roseau, Minnesota and the machines they built to find fame and fortune in the brutal, challenging, and often very dangerous sport of snowmobile racing in the 1960s and 1970s.
