Dan Ebert wins I-500 cross-country race

Story by Snowmobile.com Photos by Arctic Cat Jan. 19, 2010

Team Arctic tops 11 of 13 classes

In what many considered the toughest I-500 cross-country race in more than a decade, Team Arctic’s Dan Ebert combined solid preparation, raw speed and a dash of good luck to score the biggest win of his career. Ebert’s overall victory capped an emotional and wildly successful USCC I-500 for Team Arctic that included 11 of 13 class wins.

“This was the most brutal I-500 that I can remember, that simply to finish is a victory in itself,” says Mike Kloety, Team Arctic Race Manager. “For Dan to win it in his second attempt is outstanding, as was the complete domination of Arctic Cat in all but two of the classes.”

Never further back than fourth overall after the first of three legs, Ebert raced in his typical style: fast, consistent and cool-headed. When his Team Arctic teammate D.J. Ekre suffered a breakdown while leading on the third leg, Ebert took the lead and never looked back. Ryan Huston showed speed and resilience by taking third, with Cody Kallock, Chad Lian, Arne Rantanen and Brian Dick adding to Team Arctic’s lion-share of the top-10.

Dan Ebert races to victory in the grueling I-500.

The debut of the Sno Pro 500 in the event proved better than even the most optimistic expectations. In the Expert 85 class, Trevor John led an Arctic Cat sweep of the top-12, while Marty Feil led the top-nine finishers in Trophy 85 and Jeff Gruhlke leading the top-4 in Expert 85 Improved.

Other notable performances included Jolene Bute’s fifth career win in the Women’s class, and Cole Nymann’s rise to win the Semi Pro 600 class. With intent to better understand and improve the future of Arctic Cat production machines, Vice President of Engineering, Roger Skime, raced a Sno Pro 500 to fourth place in the Legends 50-Plus class while Arctic Cat Product Manager Joey Hallstrom finished fifth in the Expert 85 class aboard his Sno Pro 500.

“We’re proud of the wins, but we’re equally proud of the young and first-time racers who competed in the I-500,” said Kloety. “Combining what we learn about building better snowmobiles with what they learn about racing for 500 miles will produce future I-500 champions.”

The next race in the United States Cross-Country circuit is the Red Lake 200, Jan. 30-31, in Red Lake, Minn. Visit USCCRacing.co for more information.