The Hex is Broken: Arctic Cat Wins Soo 500

Press Release –

TEAM ARCTIC WINS FIRST-EVER SOO 500 ENDURO

Cadarette Racing’s Troy Dewald and Jeff Leuenberger Overcome the Soo Hex

Thief River Falls, Minn. (Feb. 9, 2010) – It took a racer with a broken collarbone to finally knock the monkey off Team Arctic’s back at the Soo International 500 enduro in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

Piloting a 2010 Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600 while nursing a broken collarbone, Troy Dewald and his Cadarette Racing teammate Jeff Leuenberger broke the 42-year hex to finally put Arctic Cat atop the world’s most prestigious snowmobile enduro race.

“The Arctic Cat family of dealers, racers and race fans extends a huge high-five to Dewald, Leuenberger and the whole Cadarette racing team,” said Mike Kloety, Team Arctic Race Manager. “Aided by the never-say-die attitude of team owner Greg Cadarette, these two amazing racers overcame incredible adversity to win. The pride we feel toward them is immense.”

The greatest adversity wasn’t history, rather it was the crash sustained on Thursday while testing for the race. The result: Dewald’s broken right scapula and a seriously tweaked race sled just two days before the Soo 500, which put into doubt their ability to race let alone win for the second-consecutive year.

 “The pain was terrible and that made this win extra special,” said Dewald, who started from the pole position and raced an estimated 200 of the 500 laps. ““We came close to scrapping the program. To come back after that big crash makes this feel great.”

“The sled was all bent and the crew worked feverishly on it,” said Leuenberger. “Troy just said he would tough it out. I can’t believe he was able to ride as much as he rode.”