| Bulldozer Racing |
Welcome to the site!
My name is Gregg Childs, and this is the story of Bulldozer Racing.
I had my first taste of riding snowmobiles back in the winter of 1968/69. My dad rented a Bolens Diablo Rouge and took me and my two older brothers
out for an afternoon of riding at a local campground, not far from where we grew up. We were so young and small that all of four of us rode on the
benchlike seat at the same time. We all begged my dad to buy one because we all had so much fun that day. He decided against purchasing the
Bolens that year, but we could all tell that he too had caught the sledding bug.
My name is Gregg Childs, and this is the story of Bulldozer Racing.
I had my first taste of riding snowmobiles back in the winter of 1968/69. My dad rented a Bolens Diablo Rouge and took me and my two older brothers
out for an afternoon of riding at a local campground, not far from where we grew up. We were so young and small that all of four of us rode on the
benchlike seat at the same time. We all begged my dad to buy one because we all had so much fun that day. He decided against purchasing the
Bolens that year, but we could all tell that he too had caught the sledding bug.
 |  |  |  |  |  |
Championship Winning Performance Products
The following year, he set out to possibly purchase a used machine, which was easier to talk my mom
into . However, just like many other things that he bought, he ended up purchasing a new one- a 1970
Arctic Cat Panther. That thing was awesome with its shiny jet black hood with chrome decals,
blue-tinted windshield, chrome air vents and a leopard seat! This was back when Minnesota used to
get piles upon piles of snow. Our whole family enjoyed that first sled for over 5,000 miles of riding! Our
family has been hooked on the sport since that first sled, and we have been the proud owners of many,
many Arctic Cats.
In the mid to late 1970's, the drag racing bug bit, and I decided to try my hand at building and racing
sleds. With occasional, but very limited success during that first year, I promised myself that I would
learn everything that I could about what makes sleds work. Working off the tailgate of my 1971 Chevy
pick-up, my fingers were constantly frozen from taking clutches apart and jetting carbs, all in an effort
to increase my chances at a win; I was determined to get better at my new addiction.
By the early 1980's, my brothers and a some of my good friends joined me in my endeavor. This allowed
me much more time to hone my skills as a sled turner and builder. Back in those days, Modifieds were
the Kings. We successfully competed in both stock and modified classes throughout the
rest of the 1980's and into the mid to late 1990's. However, ice drag racing experienced a decline by the
early to mid 1990's, so we decided to hang it
up and move on to other things.i
As with any addiction, sled-building was always in the back of my mind. In early
1997, we decided to try our hand at grass racing. This started off
quite innocent with a new version of our old 1981 500cc El Tigre Ice Drag Pro
Stocker. Three years later, we followed that up with a new 1000cc Pro
Stocker. By now, my old-school ways of recording high RPM's and reading spark
plugs and pistons went the way of on-board diagnostic computers,
digital printed readouts, and crews of people working on the machines between
rounds. I stepped back and realized that this was no longer as fun
as it used to be, and as I looked around the pits, it was evident that things needed
to change. In 2004, I sold everything off and bid farewell to
professional grass racing.
My son, Turner, came along later in my life. He was born in 1999, and as he
grew, I noticed his desire to always be out in the shop with me. Even as a
little tyke, I would take him out there and put him in a playpen so that he could be
around what I was doing. He just loved it and to this day, he is still a
"Garage Rat."
1997, we decided to try our hand at grass racing. This started off
quite innocent with a new version of our old 1981 500cc El Tigre Ice Drag Pro
Stocker. Three years later, we followed that up with a new 1000cc Pro
Stocker. By now, my old-school ways of recording high RPM's and reading spark
plugs and pistons went the way of on-board diagnostic computers,
digital printed readouts, and crews of people working on the machines between
rounds. I stepped back and realized that this was no longer as fun
as it used to be, and as I looked around the pits, it was evident that things needed
to change. In 2004, I sold everything off and bid farewell to
professional grass racing.
My son, Turner, came along later in my life. He was born in 1999, and as he
grew, I noticed his desire to always be out in the shop with me. Even as a
little tyke, I would take him out there and put him in a playpen so that he could be
around what I was doing. He just loved it and to this day, he is still a
"Garage Rat."
Now back to my addiction. I've always had the Kitty Cat snowmobile around the shop.
Many years ago, a customer owed me some money, so I
traded and received enough parts to build one complete Kitty Cat sled; that was
Turner's first ride. I still have that sled to this day. He started riding
on the grass in the backyard at 2 1/2 years old, and he ran his first drag race at 3.
Things began to grow from there.
In the spring of 2004, I made some contacts with a couple of youth ice racing groups in
an effort to find out more about how and where these events
took place. I spoke with the (then) KPI President Randy Houle about the classes and
where the races were held. In March of 2004, I traveled to
Forest Lake, Minnesota as a spectator to watch Kids Pro Ice run their last race of the
season. Walking through the pits, I noticed quite a few
different classes of sleds that could be raced; it looked like something that I may want
to let Turner try. The following year, we gave it a shot and
have been hooked ever since.
Many years ago, a customer owed me some money, so I
traded and received enough parts to build one complete Kitty Cat sled; that was
Turner's first ride. I still have that sled to this day. He started riding
on the grass in the backyard at 2 1/2 years old, and he ran his first drag race at 3.
Things began to grow from there.
In the spring of 2004, I made some contacts with a couple of youth ice racing groups in
an effort to find out more about how and where these events
took place. I spoke with the (then) KPI President Randy Houle about the classes and
where the races were held. In March of 2004, I traveled to
Forest Lake, Minnesota as a spectator to watch Kids Pro Ice run their last race of the
season. Walking through the pits, I noticed quite a few
different classes of sleds that could be raced; it looked like something that I may want
to let Turner try. The following year, we gave it a shot and
have been hooked ever since.
| Having a deep passion for building and racing snowmobiles, I immediately took notice to the modified classes. They consisted of a newly formed 120 Champ Class along with the ever popular F-1 Modified Kitty. As I watched the Champ class run week after week, it was evident to me that the majority of the early Champ sleds needed some big changes in the chassis and handling departments. In the Spring of 2005, I decided to take a shot at building my own version. Throughout that long and seemingly endless summer that I spent in my garage drawing, designing, machining, and building--came the first prototype Bulldozer 120 Champ race sled. Our history continues... RACE 'EM OR CHASE 'EM |
