The snowmobiling event that has long deemed itself “the unofficial start to winter” is now just days away, and despite a hot and steamy forecast, the 47th annual Haydays Grass Drags & Swap Meet is setting up to be a huge event – both in terms of attendance and buzz, but also in terms of actual newsworthy information for snowmobilers.
3 New Snowmobiles
The snowmobile manufacturers always make news at Haydays, and this year will be no exception.
At the top of the list, Arctic Cat is promising to unveil two new snowmobiles on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. It’s a safe bet that one of them will be the race sled for this coming winter, but what about the other? Snow Goer Managing Editor Andy Swanson started some speculation here on snowgoer.com last week – will it be true?
Ski-Doo also has plans to release details on its 2014 MX Z race snowmobile over the weekend – whether the actual sled will be on display for fans to see and feel has yet to be announced.
Team Yellow also has a whole new semi to show off, called the Riding Gear & Accessories Knowledge Center. It’s a showroom for the brand’s 2014 gear and accessories, with interactive displays and technical specialists to showcase the product.
Neither Polaris nor Yamaha has announced in advance any product or display breakthroughs to show off, but each brand always has a lot going on at this event.
Ski-Doo, Polaris and Arctic Cat also all have autograph sessions planned with their race teams. Ski-Doo X Team members start the process from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday; Team Arctic racers will be signing from 1 to 2:30 on Saturday, overlapping with Polaris from 1 to 2 p.m.
Aftermarket News At Haydays
There will be a lot of action outside of the factory tents, however. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ve heard about so far:
- Fox Shox has plans to show off its The FLOAT 3 product line-up including the FLOAT 3, FLOAT 3 EVOL, FLOAT 3 EVOL R, and FLOAT 3 EVOL RC2.
- Ski maker Sly Dog says it will unveil a “new hound” at Haydays this year, presumably a new ski.
- Another ski maker, C&A Pro, says it has a new technical mountain ski to exhibit.
- Big power maker Bully Dog says it has a new Power Sports Tuner.
- Straightline Performance has been teasing its Facebook fans with a partially covered Yamaha SR and saying it has products that must be seen at its booth this year.
- The International Series of Champions (ISOC) race circuit says it is going to broadcast “Live” from its booth at Haydays via ISOCracing.com from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, with racer interviews and such.
- Clothing maker FXR has its own autograph session planned for its cadre of racers.
One More Thing!
And, just when you thought your head was going to explode with things to see at Haydays, we have one more, and it’s a doozy. Stop by the Snow Goer booth for great prices on magazine subscriptions, plus you can enter a free drawing to win a large canvass-mounted snowmobiling photo.
See our booth near the finish line of the grass drag strip.
