Last winter was a disaster for the very expensive and brutally quick snowmobiles of the STM Powersports Snow Outlaws drag racing series, as the entire season was canceled for lack of ice and snow. But Wisconsin’s Rice Lake is frozen over, and the Snow Outlaws crew is building their 500-foot snow-packed racing surface as you read this for racing this weekend—January 31 to February 1.
Rice Lake is historically the quickest track in the sport, and the world’s quickest sleds are all set to be quicker than ever. Six (SIX!) screw-supercharged nitro sleds are set to flame n’ fly when the Outlaw sleds hit the lake. That’s double the number of two years ago in a class that saw the first such combination just three years ago. Nothing beats the smell of nitro in the crisp Wisco air and Rice Lake will see plenty of it, along with cold beers, burgers and fish fry at Moose Lodge #402.
The Hypersports-built “Eagle-1” sled—owned by Chad and Jenny Nyhus and ridden by Dominic Ernst—dominated 2023 and won the championship as a turbo/alcohol sled. But Eagle-1 is now supercharged and on nitro. Will the new combination come out of the trailer as strong as 2023? We’ll see.
Other new nitro sleds include “Sno-Twister,” owned and ridden by Matt Musselman and tuned by Jack Romine, and “John Deere,” owned by Justin Oertel and ridden by Austin Oertel.
Returning blown nitro sleds are the OG “Grinch” owned by Jeff Ratzlaff, ridden by Mike Allen and tuned by Howard Haack; “Hulk” owned by Larry Gibas, ridden by Alec Gibas, tuned by Blake Matney; and the “Kawasaki 1400” owned and ridden by Darryl Cuttell, tuned by Aaron Miller.
The Outlaw class will also have the still-competitive turbo entries. Remember, the reigning champ was a turbo. Some of these sleds are mixing in 30% nitro, as the class gets more and more explosive. You will NOT want to miss the Friday night session!
The turbocharged “Black Mamba” is owned and tuned by Aaron Casler and ridden by Ethan Erhardt. The sharp and clean Hogan Racing sled is ridden by R. Dustin and tuned by Adam Dubienczuk. Also expect upstate New York’s Mike Sweeney. Chris Connelly’s “Problem Solver” (tuned by Brad Walker & Jeremy Hannen) will not make the Rice Lake event but will race the remainder of the season.
The Pro Xtreme 55 class will see the likes of ’22 Weenie Roast winner Brian Sullivan and his ethanol-fueled, “John Deere” themed, Hypersports HRC-2. Brian’s brother Corey Sullivan (the defending season champ), ’22 Long Lake winner Casey Ausloos, “Farmall” owned by Chad Nyhus and ridden by Scott Kostman, Mike Sweeney Jr., Samantha Martin, Devin Kirane and more are all expected to race Rice Lake.
Pro Mod racers Kyle Shilts, Casey Rosenbrook, Tyler Stelton, Blake Saltzman, Cole Myers, Josh Bormann and more are all expected to run their evenly matched, competitive sleds.
There’s simply nothing better going on in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year than Snow Outlaws drag racing. Chad and Jenny Nyhus, and the whole Snow Outlaws staff and family can’t wait to fire up on Rice Lake this weekend. Whether you’re racing or watching, you will NOT want to miss this event!
Remember, Snow Outlaws races are always FREE for spectators! Friday qualifying is at 6:00pm, 7:00pm, and 8:00pm. Saturday’s eliminations start at noon with the finals running promptly at 4:00pm.
This story was originally published on January 31, 2025. 
