A motorsports journalism original, Jim Beilke’s contribution to the growth and history of snowmobiling is unmatched in the sport and industry. His popular Race & Rally Magazine, established in Jim’s hometown of Alexandria, Minnesota. In 1967 he published the first Race & Rally Yearbook and has remained a snowmobiling mainstay and the only snowmobile magazine to be published continuously under the same ownership since the 1960’s.

In addition to being a clever, incisive journalist and editor, Jim carved an unsurpassed reputation as a snowmobile photographer. His pictures of racing in the 1960’s and throughout the Sno Pro era of the 1970’s stand as the definitive record of this competition arena, and together with his finely crafted driver and team profiles published in the magazine, these photographs stand as a major contribution to the preservation of snowmobile racing history.

More than a magazine publisher, Jim was deeply involved in the sport as a rider, critic and promoter. In 1974, he established the famous Dayco Holiday Spectacular race that, along with its prestigious Hetteen Cup became second only to Eagle River in importance during the 1970’s. The race, which continued until 1985, was the site of the introduction of both the Snocross and Formula III Concept in 1980.