The snowmobile collecting community seems to be blesssed with more than it's share of interesting personalities & individuals who seem to really enjoy  being in the company of their fellow enthusiasts almost more than they do the sleds themselves.

Russ Swenton is a New England collector that appears to embody this philososphy & I've been fortunate enought to get to know Russ over the past couple of years. It's not everyone who would show up at your event site at 5:30 on a Sunday morning in a cold , driving rain to help set up everything in case the weather improves later in the day.
( As anyone who attended our 2003 Maine Fall Classic knows..It did'nt !)

Russ gave me the pics below at the 2005 N.H.S.M.A. swap meet. I've got a couple of batches that I'll be posting over the next few days. The first group of photos are from the 1976 Sno Pro races in Syracuse , NY.

Enjoy !

Team Arctic hard at work.

The Polaris Sno Pro sleds for '76.

1976 Ski Doo Sno Pro's....

That sure looks like Chuck Rencurral of Kalamazoo fame leaning on the trailer in the background.

One of the ever present , nearly always dominant , Merc Sno Twisters.

The Manta team always drew a lot of attention in the paddock area.

Rare " under hood" shot of the '76 Team Arctic sleds.

Russ Swenton's vintage Sno Pro pics:

The Sequel

As you scroll down this page to the updates posted yesterday , a real treat awaits in the form of Russ Swenton's 1976 Syracuse , NY Sno Pro photos.

As promised , here are Russ' images from the 1978 Scarborough , Maine Sno Pro races.

Again , many thanks to Mr. Swenton for sharing his private stash of Sno Pro memories.

The racers from Roseau.

The late Jerry Bunke's 440 triple RXL

Rare shots of the Yamaha factory SSR's.

Between race conversaton amongst opposing team members.

"Mailboxes" all in a row.

Sure looks like it could " haul the mail" without a problem.

Team Abold always made the factory guys really work for it...

A few new additions from Russ!