| DALE CORMICAN | |
| DATE OF INDUCTION: | January 16, 1997 |
| CAREER SPAN: | 1966-1978 |
| COMPETITION TYPE: | Cross-Country, Oval |
| BRANDS RACED: | Artic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo, John Deere |
| AGE AT INDUCTION: | 52 |
 One of a handful of snowmobile racing originals who forged the profile of the sport in the very
early days, Dale Cormican began his competition career when the rider-over-tunnel formula was
just beginning to emerge. A successful competitor at local races in Minnesota, Cormican made
headlines across North America with consecutive wins in the heralded Winnipeg-to-St. Paul
International 500 cross-country in 1968 and 1969 aboard Arctic Cat Panthers.An innovator who displayed an intuitive feel for snowmobile performance, Cormican developed man engineering breakthroughs in the early 1970's including lightweight fabrication, rack steering and fuel injection. Teamed with late designer Denny Ray, Dale built and raced a turbine-powered snowmobile speed record vehicle called the Boss Cat that set several early records after a fiery explosion at a trial run in Boonville, New York, in 1970. Joining forces with John Deere in the mid-1970's, Cormican worked on the original Deere cross-country 340S model and the later Liquidator that won the International 500 in 1976 with Brian Nelson in the saddle and a smaller Deere model called the "Little John" that predicted direct-drive technology. Still active in the 1990's, Cormican continues to develop snowmobile designs like skis, suspensions and drive systems. |
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