Durmont Wahl

Born in 1945 Durmont was the 3^rd child of Erling and Helen Wahl. Raised north of Greenbush, Durmont and his brothers experimented with their dad on various projects including sno-planes as well as farmed. In the mid 1960’s Durmont and brother Dennis got their early start in the snowmobile industry when they began working for Martin Johnson, a local subcontractor for Polaris whom welded suspensions for the company.

Durmont and Dennis both had Sno Jet’s which they raced where ever they could. Durmont’s big break with snowmobile racing came in 1970 when Dave Thompson of Team Arctic racing called and asked if Durmont would come work in the Arctic race department. Durmont jumped at the chance. Making the most of this opportunity, Durmont became a mainstay of the Arctic Race Department, specializing in engines and chassis. A key tuner and set-up master as part of the famous teams that produced Arctic Cat Hall of Fame champions like Charlie Lofton, Larry Coltom, Dave Thompson and Bob Elsner.  Durmont would stay with the original Team Arctic until they went out of business (temporarily) in August of 1981.

Durmont and younger brother Dave started a partnership in August of 1981 called Wahl Bros. Racing. At first they worked out of Durmont’s garage building their first Wahl Bros. Special that was for sale. They built suspensions and components for oval and drag racing. They did some motor work and built tracks, including replacement tracks for Certified Parts Corp (CPC) while Artic Cat was out of business.

Durmont and Dave continued to grow their business with Durmont primarily building sleds and acting as Crew Chief for Team Wahl Racing which includes famed drivers Dave, his son Terry, grandson Jordan and nephew Dustin as well as Brandon Johnson.

Today, Durmont continues to build race chassis that continue a long standing tradition of success in the industry. Durmont was inducted into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in 2005.

Dave Wahl #74

Born in 1959 Dave was the youngest of 5 children born to Erling and Helen Wahl. Raised north of Greenbush, Dave followed in the footsteps of older brothers Dennis and Durmont racing snowmobiles. At the age of 12, Dave raced the family’s 340cc single cylinder Arctic Panther. Dave later raced his brother-in-law’s 1974 295 S John Deere. He later raced a 1973 EXT 340 as well as several Arctic Cat factory 250 and 440Z racers before branching off into his highly successful series of racing specials.

The first ever Wahl race chassis was built at the Arctic Cat factory in Thief River Falls. Dave was attending the area vocational tech college for welding and in the evenings worked on the sled which was the original “straight axle” IFS front end design. The sled was powered with a big fin, free-air 440cc Arctic Z motor. After some testing and tuning the sled made its debut at the Super Seer opener in Grand Forks, ND. The only hood they had was from a 1974 John Deere. Coming to the line for the final the sled and its driver looked to be a long shot. Dave and his sled emerged victorious in the 440 Master Circuit SnoPro class. SnoTrack magazine would later report that Dave’s win was a “shocker”. Dave ran the same sled during the rest of the 78-79 season. For the following season Polaris racing legend Larry Rugland helped him mount a new liquid Rotax in the chassis. Dave qualified for the Word Championship in 1980 on his first try but was unable to finish the race due to a lost ski bolt. Dave went on to qualify for the famed World Championship race seventeen times!

In the 80’s Dave and Durmont continued to perfect their race chassis and won many races. In 1990, Dave won his first World Championship title on his Ski-Doo sponsored twin tracker. In 1996 Dave won his 2^nd World Championship and in 1997 his 3^rd. Dave continued to race through the 2000 season before retiring paving the way for nephew Terry and later his son Dustin to race for the team.

Dave continues to be an important resource in the snowmobile racing industry and is current president of the successful Wahl Bros. Racing enterprise. Dave was inducted into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in 2005.

Terry Wahl #47

In 1972, Terry was born the youngest son of Durmont and Dyann Wahl. In his younger years growing up in Thief River Falls, MN Terry enjoyed working on anything with an engine including demolition derby cars, bikes and sleds to name a few.

In 1991, Terry began his snowmobile racing career driving an Arctic Jag sled. Terry later raced a Mod 500 moving to a Ski-Doo Formula 1 twin tracker for Wahl Bros. Racing in 1993.

Snow Week Magazine named Terry the Rookie of the Year in 1994. Terry was successful on his Ski-doo Twin Track machine winning many races. In the 1995-96 season Terry and Dave won every race of the season. Terry achieved possibly the most prestigious award ever by winning the Boswell Super Sled $50,000 Bonus which could only be achieved by winning 3 out of 4 designated races that season. Terry won the 3^rd at the spring Beausejour race in 1996. Terry was also named in the Snow Week Top 10 that year.

Terry won his World Championship title in 1998 at the Eagle River Derby Track on a Ski-Doo Champ 440 sled.

Terry has made a name for himself at many famed race tracks. He currently holds the record for the most wins at the Canadian Power Toboggan Championship track in Beausejour, MB. Terry won that race seven times between the years 1995-2005. In 2013, Terry’s legendary number 47 was retired at the Grand Prix de Valcourt track. Terry has the honor of holding the record of winning the Valcourt race in Quebec 6 times!

Terry continued the long standing Wahl family tradition in snowmobile racing until his retirement in 2005. Today Terry and his family reside in Greenbush, MN and Terry continues to work at the family business as an integral engineer in the machine and race shop.

Dustin Wahl #74

At the young age of 15, at the spring of 2000 race in Beausejour, MB; Dustin’s dad Dave borrowed a Polaris XCF 440 sled from Andy Moyle for Dustin to give a try. Dustin won that race in the junior class and went on to race his own Polaris XCF 440 sled for Team Wahl in the fall of 2000.

Dustin continued to race his way up the ranks throughout the next couple of years. Dustin raced in the Pro Stock 440 & 600 classes through 2005 racking up numerous wins. In 2002, Dustin jumped on a Champ Lite sled and raced a couple of times before lack of participation in that class put him up in the Champ Pro class.

Dustin immediately found success in the Pro class. In 2007 alone he was named the Snow Week Racer of the Year, was the Millenium/V-Force Champion and WSA Points Champ. Dustin has also won the famed Grand Prix de Valcourt race 3 times on his Pro Champ sled. Dustin simultaneously raced a Formula 1 (600) Open sled winning the World Championship in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Dustin has qualified for the World Championship race 11 times.

Dustin has logged more time on the track than any other driver for Wahl Bros. Racing running multiple classes and sleds throughout his career winning more than 100 races! Dustin officially retired from racing in January of 2017. Dustin and his wife currently reside in Greenbush, MN.

Brandon Johnson #22

Brandon was born in 1985 and in 1992 at the young age of 7 began his racing career in the KC Pro circuit. Brandon raced a stock Arctic Kitty Cat and later a modified sled built by his dad Dale Johnson. Brandon went on to win the Eagle River Kitty Cat World Championship title in 1996. From 1997-99 Brandon ran the Junior Novice class on a Puma 340 in the KC Pro Circuit. From 2000-2004 he ran the SLEDS vintage circuit in northern Minnesota.

In November of 2004 Brandon joined the workforce for Wahl Bros. Racing. With Brandon’s snowmobile racing history he was a natural choice to jump on a Semi Pro Stock 440 sled in 2005 for Team Wahl. Brandon had several successful wins in the Semi Pro Stock classes over the next couple of years and in the spring of 2007 at the Beausejour races he raced a Wahl Pro Champ chassis for the first time.

In 2008, he was the Millenium/V-Force Champion, finished 4^th place at the Eagle River World Championships and was named Snow Week’s Rookie of the Year. Brandon went on to be a two time CPTC champ in 2010 and 2011, was a 3 time Wausau 525 Champion and in 2012 was the Sweet Sixteen winner at the Eagle River Derby. Brandon qualified for the World Championship 8 times in his career and retired from racing in 2015.

Brandon was the first non-Wahl namesake to have raced under the Team Wahl banner. Brandon is like family and continues to be a valuable employee at Wahl Bros. Racing handling special orders and answering many technical calls for our customers.

Jordan Wahl #747

At the age of 8, Jordan; son of Jeff and grandson of Durmont started competing in the KC Pro snowmobile circuit. Jordan found early success as two time KC Pro Points Champion and Eagle River KC Pro Winner in 20??. Jordan went on to race in the 380 Sprint class winning that World Championship title in 2009.

In the fall of 2009, Jordan started racing a Formula 500 sled. This highly popular class made its debut about that time.  Jordan dominated this class eventually winning the Formula 500 World Championship at Eagle River in 2011. For the next season Jordan would move to a Polaris Champ 440 in the Pro class. Jordan qualified for the World Championship race in his first attempt racing pro in 2012. Jordan would eventually qualify for 5 World Championship titles.

In 2013, Jordan was named USSA’s Driver of the Year. In addition he was 2^nd place in TLR circuit points and placed 2^nd at the Eagle River World Championship in 2013. In 2014, Jordan won the Wausau 525 TLR Cup Winner and finished 3^rd in the TLR Points Series!

Jordan’s retired from racing in 2018 and continues to work at Wahl Bros. Racing in our fabrication and welding department.

Blaine Stephenson #102

Blaine started racing Kitty Cats in 1999 when he was 3 years old. After racing in the youth clubs for many years Blaine moved to amateur oval in 2008 and began racing Jr. Novice and 380 Sprint on a Wahl trailing arm style chassis. After racing in the junior ranks for a few years Blaine began racing in the F-500 class in 2011 on a Wahl Bros. Racing prepped sled. That year Stephenson Racing won many races including the first of 3 in a row at Eagle River. Blaine continued to race the F-500 for the next 2 seasons winning at Eagle River 2012, 2013 & 2014, the Canadian Power Toboggan Championship in 2014 and many other notable events.

In 2015 Blaine graduated to the Champ 440 class on a WBR a-arm chassis with a Larry Rugland Polaris engine. That year was a learning curve for Blaine; he made all of the event finals he raced with the exception of the Eagle River World Championship. He received the TLR Cup Rookie of the Year award at the end of the season.

Blaine continued to advance in the Champ 440 class until a devastating crash that sidelined Blaine in 2017. Remarkably, in 2018 after a full recovery Blaine drove his sled to victory lane 3 times including his first World Championship win. By the end of the season Blaine had captured 2^nd in the TLR Cup Points and Stephenson Racing was named Team of the Year. These results caught the eye of Durmont and Dave whom Stephenson Racing always had close ties to. In the fall of 2018-19 Stephenson Racing and Wahl Bros. Racing joined forces and began a streak of dominance in the sport.

Together since 2018 Blaine and the team have won 24 races, 3 Pro-Star Cup Championships, 3 straight World Championships at Eagle River from 2019-2022, 2 CPTC Championships, a Grand Prix in Valcourt and a Bonnechere Cup in Eganville.  

Blaine resides in Hutchinson, MN with his wife Alexis and daughter Rory.

Tom Olson #39

In 1989, Tom Olson was born the youngest of Don and Linda Olson. In his younger years growing up in Waunakee, WI Tom enjoyed trail riding snowmobiles, playing on the lake in summer months, competitive hockey, and just about anything to stay active.

In 2005 Tom began his snowmobile racing career aboard a Vintage 1973 Arctic Cat EXT 340 vintage racing in Northern Wisconsin. He raced several years in the Vintage Circuits eventually moving to the Formula 500 and Factory Stock 600 classes. Tom’s major accomplishments include 2015 Eagle River Vintage Super Mod 340 Champ, 2016 Sport F500 World Champ, 2017 CPTC F500 & Super Mod 340 Winner, 2018 USSA F500 Points Champ and Grand Prix de Valcourt Winner to name a few.

With the retirement of Team Wahl drivers Dustin and Jordan we were looking for a rookie that might be interested in joining the Pro Champ class. Tom checked all the boxes with his experience, athletic abilities and demeanor. For the 2018-19 season Tom would drive his first year on a Pro Champ sled and was awarded USSA’s Driver of the Year.

Tom’s success continued with the addition of an FIII sled in the 2019-20 season, he won the 2020 Eagle River FIII Championship, Bonnechere Cup and was the Eagle River World Series winner in both the Pro Champ and FIII Classes.

In 2021, Tom secured Runner Up on this Pro Champ sled in the Eagle River World Championship final giving Team Wahl an impressive first and second place finish at this prestigious event. In addition, Tom won the 2023 Sprint World Cup in Pro Champ and in 2024 won the F3 final at the Grand Prix de Valcourt.

When Tom is not racing, he is a Development Project Manager for Wisconsin Dells, WI based Kalahari Resorts and Conventions. In the off-season Tom trains for and competes in ultra marathons, enjoys time on the local lake with his wife Judith, spends time with family and friends, and does just about anything to stay active.