What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
The roar of engines across Eagle River’s famous ice oval means more than just noise. It’s the sound of snowmobile history coming alive.
For the fourth year running, Legend Laps has opened the doors — or rather, the track gates — at the World Championship Derby Complex to anyone who’s ever dreamed of racing on what many consider hallowed ice.
This isn’t just nostalgia on parade. It’s fundraising with a throttle.
Legend Laps unfolds as part of the “Ride with the Champs” weekend. Former racers and curious amateurs line up with vintage sleds and modern machines, all taking turns on the same half-mile oval that helped earn Eagle River its title as the Snowmobile Capital of the World.
“We brought this legend lap event out to try and promote snowmobile racing, give people a way to engage in the sport,” says organizer Mark Resch. He’s watching folks live out track fantasies while supporting something bigger.
Every dollar raised goes to the Snowmobile Hall of Fame up in St. Germain. That’s where the sport’s history gets preserved — trophies, stories, machines that wrote racing chapters decades ago.
Among this year’s sleds was one that carried weight beyond its horsepower. Tim Palubicki’s championship machine took to the ice, but Tim wasn’t riding it.
The Rhinelander native and Pro Vintage points champion was seriously injured in a drilling accident last year. Now paralyzed from the waist down, he watched from the sidelines as his father Todd took the controls for the first time.
“Been here for years and my son’s a racer, so I knew the track by watching him race,” Todd Palubicki explains. “But it’s a whole different game when you’re the driver.”
That drive wasn’t just about the throttle. It was about honoring a son, keeping his championship sled in motion, and showing up for the racing family that never forgets its own.
“The whole racing community is incredible, and I hope it stays that way where the newer stuff, and the vintage and everybody can work together to promote the sport itself.” — Todd Palubicki
The Derby Complex oval isn’t just any patch of ice. This track has roots stretching back to 1964, when the first race kicked off on Dollar Lake near the Chanticleer Inn.
John Alward started it all, looking to boost winter business when the Northwoods got quiet. What began as a local experiment grew into an internationally recognized championship that’s drawn 30,000-plus spectators in peak years.
The track moved to its current location by 1966, evolving from a sawdust-and-ice base to pure ice by 1985. These days it’s a high-banked half-mile oval with heated viewing suites, double fencing, and a natural amphitheater bowl that cradles the action.
“This is a very special track, it’s a driver’s track,” Resch notes. “If you’ve been on it and experienced it, it’s just a super fun place to race.”
Legend Laps strips away the competition and pressure. Nobody’s racing for points or prize money. Instead, you get:
Former champions show up alongside folks who’ve never twisted a racing throttle. Volunteers who’ve kept the Derby alive for decades share stories between runs.
It’s the kind of event that reminds you why snowmobiling matters up here. Not just as recreation, but as identity.
What struck observers this year wasn’t just the machines or the speed. It was how the snowmobile racing family rallied around one of their own.
Tim Palubicki’s story became the weekend’s emotional center. His championship sled back on the ice. His father experiencing the track from a racer’s perspective for the first time. The community making sure that neither man nor machine got left behind.
That’s the thread running through Legend Laps and the broader Derby weekend. Racing history here isn’t locked behind museum glass. It’s still moving, still growling, still teaching new riders what the veterans learned decades ago.
The Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain exists because people like Resch and the Legend Laps crew keep feeding it. Admission fees and sponsor support from events like this preserve artifacts, maintain exhibits, and keep the sport’s story accessible.
That matters in a region where Carl Eliason invented his snow toboggan back in the 1920s in nearby Sayner. Where innovation and winter survival merged into the machines we ride today.
Legend Laps proves the history isn’t just alive — it’s still accelerating. Former racers get back on the ice. Rookies discover what banked turns feel like at speed. Funds flow to preservation efforts that’ll educate the next generation of riders.
And somewhere in the mix, a father honors his son by keeping a championship sled moving forward, even when circumstances tried to stop it cold.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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