![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
1971 Boss Cat I
Driver: Dale Cormican
|
|
The Boss Cat I was a Turbonnique powered sled said to have 1000HP and ran 125mph. It had a 800cc Kawasaki engine buried in the chassis, used to move it around in the pits and to get it moving off the line until the Turbonnique was engaged. It had the world record speed in 1971 of 126 mph. The Boss Cat I was at the Boonville, NY speed runs in '72 driven by Dale Cormican. After he fired up the 800cc motor to launch the sled, Dale nailed the throttle and the track started to spin a bit. The rocket booster fired and gave him a very quick launch for about 50 feet. Dale, then, backed off on the throttles to re-gain traction & then hit it again. The Boss Cat immediately exploded and caught on fire. A problem occurred due to the fact the throttle linkages for both engines were run together. (If the regular snowmobile engine loses traction and the rider backs off the throttle to re-gain control. He will also back off on the rocket engine because the linkages are hooked together. This in turn loads the rocket chamber with fuel and can cause a violent explosion, if given full throttle again.) That explosion could easily killed Dale. The Boss Cat had caught fire, but Dale had a protective fire suit on. The Arctic Enterprises crew went into action and grabbed him by the helmet & shoulders & started removing him from the seat. After they dragged Dale out of the cockpit, they took him over to a waiting station wagon for medical attention. Dale escaped with his life. The Boss Cat did not. A mock-up was built from the original mold. It was decaled and painted to look just like the original. It was then put on display at the Arctic Enterprises office, but was destroyed when the building burned to the ground in 1973. |
||
|
||
A large piece of the fiberglass body from the Boss Cat I salvaged from the explosion
Myron "Caesar" Kaiser of the Boss Cat Racing Team
|
|
|
Web design by Stephen Knox |
|