World Championship Day: Here’s The Field, And The Odds!
January 22, 2012 by John Prusak
This is the year of parity in the ultra-exciting Champ 440 class. The World Champion will likely come from a group of seven racers who have all run incredibly well here on the famed Derby track – after time trials, heats, a Friday Night Thunder final, then more heats and semi finals on Saturday, it was still next to impossible on Saturday night to truly nail down a top one or two drivers.
. In fact, in all the years that Snow Goer has been making fictional odds on this World Championship race, we have never had such a difficult of a time placing the racers in order – we debated long into the night, and still aren’t satisfied with the result.
Dustin Wahl was undefeated in qualifying. Photo by Snow Goer.
. You’ve got three past champions in the race, including four-timer and defending champion PJ Wanderscheid, two-timer Gary Moyle and 2010 champion Matt Schulz – how can one bet against any of them? Yet the fastest laps turned on the track this week have been run by Nick Van Strydonk of nearby Tomahawk. Then, there’s the Wahl Bros team – Brandon Johnson won Friday night and is the poll sitter going into the final; Dustin Wahl was undefeated in qualifying on Saturday and looked fast and smooth; Champ 440 rookie Jordyn Wahl was also a winner – and a survivor. He won his heat race, crashed while leading his semi-final, then pulled his sled out of the haybales and charged hard after the restart to earn a spot in the final.
. So the dilemma, allow us to give you an example: How do you put the fastest qualifier (Van Strydonk) behind the Wanderscheid, given the laps he’s been running this weekend; but how do you put Van Strydonk ahead of the defending champ? How do you place Moyle? In past years, he’s proven crafty enough to now show his hand on Saturday, yet he hasn’t looked dominant. How do you pick against Johnson, the polesitter, or Dustin Wahl, the undefeated driver? But what about Schulz and Chartier? Whoever you choose, we’re predicting another classic final at the sport’s most fabled event.
. In the fictional odd that we’re printing in the Snow Goer tip sheet at the track, here are the odds as we see them – but we’re honestly more unsure of these odds than we’ve ever been. It should be a great final. Two more drivers will qualify for the final today in a last chance qualifying race. Here are the finalists so far:
Nick Van Strydonk was running the fastest laps and definitely would win his first.
- Brandon Johnson, #22, from Greenbush, MN on a Polaris – The polesitter has been fast, smooth and strong; he has the equipment, but also a bum ankle. ODDS: 4-1
- Matt Schulz, #38, from Wausau, WI on a Ski-Doo — Switched to backup sled on Saturday after breaking a track bar in the Friday night program, but that backup sled is still super stout. Has the engine, and has won here before ODDS: 4:1
- Dustin Wahl, #74, from Greenbush, MN on a Polaris — Rolled through qualifying undefeated and looks tough to beat, but has struggled here before. Will he end the Wahls’ Derby jinx? ODDS: 5-1
- Gary Moyle, #66, from Houghton, MI on a Cat — 2-time past champ is cagey; he hasn’t looked impressive so far, but we’ve seen this movie before, and it ended with him holding the Snow Goer Cup above his head. Is he waiting in the weeds for the W.C. – Odds: 5-1
- PJ Wanderscheid, #28, from Sauk Centre, MN on a Cat – How can anybody in their right mind bet against the sport’s only four-time World Champ? Well, he just hasn’t been that impressive here this weekend. Don’t count him out, though, because he shines in long races. – ODDS: 6-1
- Nick Van Strydonk, #13, from Tohahawk, WI on a Polaris – All Nick has done all weekend is look impressive. He was the fast qualifier on Thursday, he was the hardest charger on Friday; he was super strong on Saturday. The only thing keeping him from being our No. 1 pick is his relative inexperience in long races compared to those named above him. ODDS: 7-1
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Two-time champ Gary Moyle is waiting in the weeds; will he have more to show today?
Malcolm Chartier, #33 from Marine City, MI on a Ski-Doo – He can in with huge expectations, but the team just hasn’t been terribly competitive so far this weekend. Unless they find some speed overnight, they are going to need some help to win. ODDS: 8-1
- Cardell Potter, #58 from Camp Douglas, WI on a Ski-Doo — Has major power and runs strong; only down this far due to inexperience. ODDS: 10-1
- Jordan Wahl, #747 from Greenbush, MN on a Polaris — Young rookie has great equipment, but inexperienced in long races. We definitely can envision a World Championship in his future, but this field is too strong and experience to expect on this year. ODDS: 12-1
- Travis MacDonald, #8 from Gonor, MB on a Ski-Doo – He comes from championship-earning family, as his father was behind Brian Bewcyk’s success, but Travis is only 18 years old and, like Cardell and Jordan, falls to the bottom of the odds only due to inexperience. ODDS: 12-1
Last 5 posts by John Prusak
- SnowTime Awards Round Two - February 2nd, 2012
- World Champion, Then And Now - January 23rd, 2012
- Van Strydonk Wins World Championship With Last Lap Pass - January 22nd, 2012
- Outlaw 600s, Pro Open Snocross Dazzle The Derby - January 21st, 2012
- Johnson Wins Friday Night TLR: Earns Poll For World Championship - January 20th, 2012
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