Some people seem destined to become big horsepower gurus. One prime example is Larry Audette, a self-taught machinist, engine builder and businessman who operates the renowned The Crank Shop performance center of Essex Junction, Vermont. For nearly 40 years, Audette has been the force behind some of the most successful racers and most powerful sleds in virtually every aspect of snowmobile racing. From drag racing to snocross, watercross to hillcross and beyond, engines from The Crank Shop have been breaking records and breaking competitors’ hearts for decades.

A former racer himself, Audette launched his business from his garage in 1987. He built his first three-cylinder rotary engine in 1988, and by 1989 his motors won 8 classes at the Canadian World Series of Drag Racing. Audette didn’t just build big horsepower, he innovated and pushed technological limits in many directions – causing him to win multiple ISR Engineering Awards throughout his storied career.