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SnowTime Awards Round Two

What is the place you most dream about riding a snowmobile? Do you fantasize about some distant location with mountains or deep snow? Is a traditional trail riding Mecca that you’ve read about in magazines on your “must-do” list? Are you a Midwesterner who dreams about visiting and riding in New England, or a New Englander who really wants to check Midwestern riding off of your bucket list? Don’t forget about Canadian destinations, both near and far. What about really far-away destinations – Alaska, Scandinavia, Iceland, even Russia?

We know, in a winter like this, you might just be dreaming of riding in your own local area again (?!), but pretend for a second that this is a normal winter, and you want to make plans for a true getaway: Where are you going to go?

Well at Snow Goer, we’re daring you to dream the dream, share your idea with us, and possibly win a prize from sponsor Hi Performance Engineering.

Head over to the SnowTime Awards Page and vote now!

World Champion, Then And Now

So I was sitting here in my office today, working on a story for another magazine our company produces in another market, but I couldn’t get a singular thought out of my head related to the yesterday’s new World Champion, as crowned at the 49th annual Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby. Somehow, I just knew that I had taken a photo of winner Nick Van Strydonk when he was a little kid, and printed it in Snow Week. But, we mainly took color slide and black-and-white film images back then, so finding it, I thought, would be next to impossible. Or at least I thought.
Then I had another thought: “Wait a second, I remember taking that shot — I was laying on the ice with that new handheld digital camera we had just got at the time — not the big honking SLR.” Within 2 minutes, I had the image up on my computer screen.
. So here it is — 10-year-old Nick Van Strydonk at the 38th annual Eagle River World Championship, leading the pack in a Kitty Cat race Sunday afternoon on the front stretch.

Van Strydonk Wins World Championship With Last Lap Pass

Just when it seemed the Eagle River World Championship snowmobile race couldn’t get any better, Nick Van Strydonk used a dramatic pass in the last corner to win his first title on the famed Derby Track in Eagle River, Wisconsin.  Van Strydonk beat 2010 World Champion Matt Schulz to the waving checkered flag by a ski length. The margin of victory was 0.025 second.

.     The late move by the 21-year-old from Tomahawk, Wisconsin, came in a 30-lap race that featured an incredible series of twists and turns. At various points during the race, it looked like any one of five drivers could win the race – for most of the event, those five ran within a half-straight of each other.

.     Crashes, red flags, restarts and changing track conditions had a major influence on the race, but in the end, Van Strydonk was the deserving winner and will have his name written into immortality when it’s engraved on the Snow Goer Cup.

An Ever-Changing Race

The 49^th annual Amsoil World Championship was held on a rough and grooved track under murky skies, with a slight mist in the air. Thousands of people watched in anticipation after the most competitive qualifying process in years – going in, there was no pre-race favorite; instead, most longtime observers agreed that seven of the 12 drivers who qualified for the final were virtually even.

.     On green, Schulz of nearby Wausau, Wisconsin, launched into the lead on his No. 38 Ski-Doo, with pole sitter Brandon Johnson of Greenbush, Minnesota, snapping at his heels on his Wahl Bros. Polaris. Right behind him was Van Strydonk – the fastest qualifier in time trials, and then Travis MacDonald and defending and four-time champ P.J. Wanderscheid.

.     Right away, Van Strydonk was coming – firing past Johnson the next lap and quickly closing on Schulz. By lap five Van Strydonk was within two sleds lengths, and he was trying different lines – clearly learning the track and searching for future spots to pass. By lap three Johnson was seriously fading and soon would not be a factor in the race.  At the back, 2008 and 2009 champ Brian Bewcyk pulled off the track after five laps.

.     When the race was red flagged for the mandatory pit stop at Lap 10, this is how the drivers sat: Schulz, Van Strydonk, MacDonald, Wanderscheid, two-time Champ Gary Moyle, Dustin Wahl, rookie Ryan Kniskern, Malcolm Chartier, Cardell Potter, a rapidly fading Johnson and his teammate Jordan Wahl, with Bewcyk out.

.     During the pit stop, crew members had five minutes to wrench on the sleds. Belts were checked, carbides were changed and adjustments were made. As the five minute horn went off, most teams were set, with Schulz’s team being the last to strap down the hook after a late clutching change.

Going Green Again

The sleds were re-lined on the front straight away in the order they finished the first 10, and got ready for the final 20 laps. On green, the sleds had a fairly even launch and powered around the track. The first lap of green, Moyle looked to be on the move, powering past Wanderscheid. But then, on lap 11, third-place MacDonald had crash in turn three – he went up the bank and into the haybales at a high rate of speed, releasing the sled a few feet before the bales and going in hard face first. The crash made the previously loud and rowdy Derby scene eerily quiet, and MacDonald was soon taken off in an ambulance. No word was available on his condition as of this post.

.     After a long pause, the racers were brought back to the starting line and again lined up in order.  On green, Schulz launched hard, and everybody else except for Van Strydonk seemed to get a good launch, as he gave up his second spot to Wanderscheid. Moyle, meanwhile, was suddenly in a battle with Kniskern for fifth.

.     Wanderscheid suddenly was on the charge, chasing down Schulz and looking for a way to pass. With 15 laps left, he was just 0.25 second behind Schulz, with Van Strydonk back 0.495. Behind Van Strydonk, Moyle and Dustin Wahl were starting to make the high line work and were moving toward the front. After the race, both drivers said that they talked before the race and planned to work the same high line late in the race to work their way toward the front. Moyle fired past Van Strydonk and Wanderscheid in the same corner and was suddenly second and closing fast with 11 laps left.

.     Moyle and Dustin Wahl were clearly the fastest sleds on the track as the top five all ran within two seconds of one another, but deep in the pack, Dustin’s teammate Jordan Wahl crashed in turn one, bringing out the red flag. And that’s when everything changed again.

Sprint To The Finish

While course workers pieced back together the haybales in turn one, leader Schulz was parked alone in turn one, and waving his arms to his crew for help. Led by 1993 World Champion Al Fenhaus, they ran down the front stretch and circle the sled. It wouldn’t start. Fenhaus must have pulled the recoil 30 times before turning it over to another crew member. A UTV with a cart pulled up in the corner, ready to haul the race leader and his sled off the track. Then suddenly, it refired and Schulz was able to continue. He was fortunate that the crew in turn one took awhile to fix the wall.

.     Back on green, Schulz got a great restart and opened a small gap, but Moyle and Wanderscheid were right behind him. Van Strydonk was somewhat forgotten in fourth, with Dustin Wahl in fifth. But Moyle then began to struggle – the high line that had worked so well for him before the red flag was now suddenly filling with ice shavings, as other drivers moved higher on the track. He faded, but Wanderscheid charged along with Dustin Wahl, who moved to second and third, respectively. Van Strydonk was fourth, Moyle fifth.

.     Wanderscheid’s team was cheering on its racer, but with three laps left, the suddenly resurgent Van Strydonk charged into second and took off after the leader. Schulz took the white flag inches ahead of Van Strydonk, but held the point coming out of turn two. Down the backstretch they went, with Van Strydonk holding the throttle longer into three and diving low. They came out of the final turn side by side – sprinting toward the waving checkered flag and a place in history. Van Strydonk had the power and won by a ski length, his large T&N Racing crew erupted in celebration. Schulz was second, Dustin Wahl third, a mere .612 seconds back. Then came a late-charging Kniskern (-2.1), then the fading Wanderscheid (-2.573) and Moyle, now six seconds back.

Celebration In Victory Lane

Van Strydonk was elated after the race, tossing his goggles into the crowd while his crew laughed, cried, hugged and celebrated – it was true elation.

.     “I figured I had to hold it as long as he would or maybe just a bit longer” going into turn three, Van Strydonk said.

.      He also had been studying Schulz’s lines all weekend.

.      “I found a line that worked with two laps to go. [Schulz] was going high all weekend and washing out, so I went way low,” Van Strydonk said. And the sprint to the finish? “I knew it was going to be close – I wasn’t thinking anything, I just had tunnel vision” to the finish line.

.      Van Strydonk has been racing at the Derby for 17 years, starting on Kitty Cats when he was four years old. His T&N Racing team builds its own chassis and uses Larry Rugland Motorsports-modified Polaris engines.

.      “It was missing so bad – the last six or seven laps I had to keep blipping the throttle – I had to jack the throttle three or four times in the corners to keep it running,” Schulz said. “When it shut down after that red flag, I thought I was done – the motor was so tired, it just wouldn’t restart. Somehow they got it running again.”

.     He said he could sense somebody behind him, but was just trying to make it to the checkered.

.      “I was just trying to hang on, but then we got to the last lap and I thought I might have it,” Schulz said. “I guess it wasn’t meant to happen.”

.      Third place Dustin Wahl said he faced two challenges during the race. The first was his brakes. “I must have warped the rotor during that first [segment] or something, because it took about three laps for the brakes to really come in.” And then, when things were looking good and he was making his move, the red flag came out.

.      “I was really bummed with that last red – because of my brakes and also because it was Jordan up there,” he said. During the red flag, he assumes, other teams told their drivers about the high line that was working well for he and Moyle, and they told their drivers to move up, and that threw ice chunks in the line and made it not work as well.

.      Back in the pits, Moyle and his team were dejected.

.       “I think we would have had it without that last red flag,” Moyle said. “During that last yellow, I’m guessing that Schulz’s guys told him I was going to get past him high and to move up – a driver usually gets advice from his team during those red flags. Then my line got filled with [ice shavings] and after two or three laps I couldn’t run up there anymore. And that’s how I set up my sled – to run high.”

World Championship Day: Here’s The Field, And The Odds!

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.

.     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:

• 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
• 

  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

Outlaw 600s, Pro Open Snocross Dazzle The Derby

The Parts Unlimited Friday Night Thunder program at the Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby featured more than Champ racing: The new Outlaw 600 class put on an epic debut, top snocross racers in the world flew over the infield track and other close races were held into the night.

The Outlaw 600 class was the brainchild of master chassis builder John Hooper, and is in its first year on the ice. It’s a combination of a cockpit-style snowmobile and a go-kart, and they just look fun sitting still. They exceeded expectations on the track, however, with a great final that featured rubbing and a last-lap pass.

Former NASCAR racer and chassis builder Rich Bickle led the field on his No. 45 sled, but coming through the crowd and driving on the edge of control was Nick Dolezal, a former snowmobile racer who was competing in Gary Moyle’s Hooper-built sled.

Dolezal was driving his Outlaw like a World Of Outlaw sprint car, driving hard into the corners, pitching the big machine sideways and occasionally counter-steering through the turn. After taking the white flag, Dolezal went for broke with a full pitch, sliding right up into into Bickle through turns one and two. Dolezal then won the drag race down the backstretch and held the lead to the final. Bickle was second, with New Hampshire’s Tim Hibbard third.

“These things are a blast to drive, they’re pretty wild,” Dolezal said. “I’m starting to figure them out,” he added later, noting that he finished third in his first chance with the sled last weekend and now won the Friday night program. How long will he get to drive Moyle’s sled? “Well, we agreed to a two-race deal, but we’ll see.” He looked pretty comfortable in there — Moyle might have to drag him out of it!

Bickle was equally enthusiastic after the race, but said he teased Dolezal about leaning on him with that last-lap pass. “I guess he thought six skis were better than three,” Bickle said in reference to the Outlaw sleds, which have a ski in the rear. He also teased himself. “I guess that’s not bad for a 51-year-old fat man.”

Malinoski Takes Pro Open

For the second year in a row, Robbie Malinoski claimed the Friday Night Thunder Pro Open final by besting Ross Martin, though this year’s final was quite a bit different than last year’s.

Malinoski, on the No. 4 Amsoil-sponsored Ski-Doo, got the lead early and ran away to an easy looking victory. Martin, on the other hand, got tied up in a first-lap mash-up in turn one and was running in about ninth on the first lap. Malinoski was solid up front, while Martin was hard-charging the rest of the field. After the race, Martin explained that he was mad after starting so deep in the field and was on a mission, “I was either going to pass a bunch of people or… ah… I don’t know what might have happened!” he said with a broad grin.

Kody Kamm was the Pro Lite final winner.

Johnson Wins Friday Night TLR: Earns Poll For World Championship

Any fear that the drama of last year’s amazing Amsoil World Championship Snowmobile Derby final could not possibly be repeated may have been laid to rest Friday night, when a fast and tight Champ 440 final in the Friday Night Thunder program reflected in the incredible parity at the very top of the oval racing world.
.     With the mercury dipping to double digits below zero Fahrenheit, racers in a dozen classes put on a great show for the sizable crowd that circled the famed banked oval at Eagle River, Wisconsin. Despite a heavy layer of hanging snowdust and rough tracks – both on the iced oval and the infield snocross course – racing was safe, fast and fascinating.
.     The highlight was the Champ 440 final – a combination of the Sweet Sixteen Pole Position race that has recently become a Derby tradition and, for the first time, a leg in the big-dollar TLR Cup season-long points battle. Time trials and heat races earlier in the weekend pared the crowd of 24 contestants down to 16; two heat races Friday night trimmed it down to a 10-sled final.
.     In the first heat, Wahl Brothers Racing teammates Brandon Johnson and Dustin Wahl finished first and second on their Polaris-powered mods, four-time and defending World Champion P.J. Wanderscheid was third on his Hooper-built Cat, some folks’ pre-event pick Malcolm Chartier was fourth on his Houle-built Ski-Doo and fast qualifier Nick Van Strydonk grabbed the final qualifying spot in fifth. Heat two saw 2010 World Champ Matt Schulz lead green-to-checkered on his Ski-Doo-powered mod, with two-time Champ Gary Moyle second, super-fast Derby Pro Champ rookies Ryan Kniskern and Jordyn Wahl third and fourth and 2008 and 2009 champion Brian Bewcyk fifth.
.     In the final, Schulz got off to another fast start and paced the field early, but Johnson was snapping at his taillight, followed by Kniskern, Moyle, Van Strydonk, Wanderscheid, Chartier, Dustin Wahl, Bewcyk and Jordan Wahl. Jordan Wahl only lasted a couple more laps before pulling to the inside of the track with an apparent mechanical problem.
.     Schulz maintained the lead through the mid point, but Johnson was never more than five sleds lengths back, maintaining constant pressure. The real mover in the crowd was Van Strydonk. He held off Wanderscheid, then chased down and passed Moyle, then set-up and whizzed past Kniskern. The top three were running so close you could throw a blanket over them, if you could find a way to throw a blanket over missiles traveling 100 mph, that is. The snowdust was incredible – and the windless night let it hang over the track.
.     At the halfway mark, Johnson moved to the point, gaining the advantage in turns three and four and then pulling away from Schulz on the front stretch. Two laps later, the hard-charging Van Strydonk knifed past Schulz and set sail after Johnson. Lap after lap, the two dueled, and Van Strydonk seemed destined to gain the spot as laps wore down. Just as he was running even with Johnson, with the white flag flying, though, Van Strydonk got moisture on his clutches, he said, and his belt started to slip. Johnson won by several sled lengths, but Van Strydonk definitely established himself as a racer to watch.
.     After the race, Johnson shared a little secret: He is running last year’s Wahl Brothers sled. He HAD a new sled earlier this season, but a major three-sled crash a couple weeks ago at another race turned that one into a pile of twisted aluminum.
.     “The Wahls got this one running really well, and this one’s got a little more ride [meaning suspension travel] in it,” Johnson said, “and it’s got a Larry Rugland Motorsports engine that’s real fast.”
.     Johnson’s victory gives him a major boost in the TLR Cup standings while also allowing him to earn the pole position in Sunday’s World Championship final here in Eagle River. That means Johnson gets to take off during Saturday’s other qualifying races, and he was very happy about that break. He’s got an injured foot from the aforementioned crash that destroyed his other sled.
.     Van Strydonk, of nearby Tomahawk, Wisconsin, was amped up after the final, but also bummed. “I was just trying to look for taillights,” he said of racing in the heavy snowdust. “Then my belt got wet and I didn’t think I’d be able to get off the track.”
.     Schulz finished third, with Kniskern a surprising fourth. Last year’s final main combatants – Moyle and Wanderscheid – finished fifth and sixth but were never a factor. Dustin Wahl claimed seventh.

The SnowTime Tourism Awards Are Back

Where is the best trail riding destination in the snowbelt? Which trailside restaurant serves up the best grub? Which hotel or resort best serves the need of snowmobilers? Where is the best place to go powder riding?

These are important questions, indeed, and who better to answer them than the readers of Snow Goer magazine and the visitors to SnowGoer.com? With that in mind, Snow Goer is proudly bringing back the SnowTime Tourism Awards, sponsored by Hi Performance Engineering.

The SnowTime Awards date back to the early 1990s, when they were a staple in Snow Goer magazine. Then, the magazine used to mail out 2,000 ballots to a random cross-section of readers, who would name their favorites in a number of categories.

“We’re bringing the SnowTime Awards back to celebrate all that is great about snowmobiling,” said Snow Goer Editor John Prusak. “Snowmobiling is such a social sport – riders love to share their stories and talk about their favorite hotspots. Now, by utilizing our websites, more people can participate in the SnowTime Awards and truly select the best of the best. And, thanks to Hi Performance Engineering’s partnership, we even have a carrot to encourage voting.”

Randomly participants will be selected to win $25 gift certificates from Hi-Performance Engineering during each balloting period. Through the rest of January and February, categories for voting will appear each week to 10 days, with a new set of categories.

Starting today, readers and viewers can vote on the “Best Trail Riding Destination” and “Best Trailside Pitstop,” with a pitstop defined as a casual bar or restaurant with a friendly atmosphere and decent burgers, chicken fingers, pizzas or other inexpensive foods.

On January 23, the next round begins, with balloting in “Best Snowmobile Hotel or Resort” and “Best Powder Riding Destination.” Future categories include “Best Area For Nightlife,” “Your Dream Snowmobiling Destination,” “Best Trailside Restaurant (serves high-quality food)” and several more.

Click HERE to vote now, and keep checking back and voting in future categories. You’ll have your voice here in picking the sport’s best of the best, and you’ll have a new chance to win for each category in which you participate.

Hibbert Wins Thrilling Race In Front Of Huge Crowd

Twenty-four hours after a fabulous Pro Open final on a rough track at Shakopee, Minnesota’s Canterbury Park, the best snocross racers on the planet did it again – putting on a spectacular final in front of a huge crowd at the ISOC National sponsored by Traxxis and Jimmy John’s.

.       Weather that has been mega-depressing for snowmobilers in southern and central Minnesota proved to be excellent for snowmobile racing. Under a full moon on a perfectly clear night, the crowd exceeded promoters expectations both nights. Virtually every seat inside and outside of the horse racing track was filled, and hundreds if not thousands of additional fans crowded the standing area near the track.

.       After two rounds of qualifying heats and a last chance qualifying race, Saskatchewan-native Robbie Malinoski and Vermont-based TJ Gulla were the top qualifiers on their Scheuring Speed Sports Ski-Doo and Hentges Racing Polaris, respectively. The 15 who made the final (out of 25 entries) included six Ski-Doos, five Polaris sleds and four Arctic Cats.

.       On green for the 22-lap final, the black Amsoil-backed sleds of Malinoski and teammate Darrin Mees lurched into the lead, with Tucker Hibbert’s Cat and Tim Tremblay’s Ski-Doo hot on their heels, and points leader Ross Martin right behind them.

.       The first couple of laps, Malinoski pulled out to a 2.5 second lead, but there was a war behind him. Mees struggled to hold off Tremblay, while Hibbert was running fast and loose in fourth on his Monster Energy Arctic Cat. Then came the three Polaris of Martin, Gulla and Mike Bauer, with Logan Christian, Mathieu Morin and Bobby LePage rounding out the top 10.

.       By lap 4, Hibbert was on the move, literally flying past Tremblay at the starting line tabletop jump, then chasing down Mees and knifing past him with a block pass on lap 8. The winningest racer in modern snocross history spent the next five laps searching for lines while reeling in Malinowski. The two flew past flagman Bruce Mosher virtually tied on lap 15, but then Hibbert held the gas deep into turn one, doubling over a big hole that had gotten worn in by other riders and sailing into the lead.

.       Hibbert immediately opened a second and a half lead, and he looked like he might pull away to an easy victory, as he had done so many times in the past, but Malinoski found his second wind. Soon he was all over Hibbert as they both battled through a mess of lapped traffic. With two laps left, the two were side-by-side in the air on the backstretch, and this time it was Malinoski who held the throttle deep into a turn, flying high on the berm and momentarily taking the lead. Hibbert answered just as quickly, however, banking the sled off a different berm toward the inside of turn three, tilting the sled at a 45-degree angle and staying on the gas. He emerged on the front stretch with a narrow lead that he built on the final lap into a 1.5-second victory.

.       Tremblay took a distant third, about 15 seconds behind the winner, with Martin fourth another six seconds back. Mees had faded to fifth, with Bauer sixth and the last sled on the lead lap. Zach Pattyn, Morin, Garth Kaufman and record jumper Levi LaVallee rounded out the top 10.

.       When asked over the P.A. after the race about his DNF in Friday’s final, Hibbert said, “Yeah, the jackshaft broke yesterday, but we’re not talking about yesterday, we’re talking about today.”

.       The race “was exciting for me, and I hope it was exciting for everybody else… It was a challenge for sure, I have to thank God for keeping me safe out there,” he concluded, later calling the racing conditions “pretty sketchy.”

.       The affable Malinoski said, “There are not too many people out there who can say they just about had Tucker Hibbert, but I just about had Tucker Hibbert. He raced me clean and got out front and it was a great race until the end.”

.       Talking about his late charge, Malinoski explained that he could go for broke when running second in lapped traffic. “I felt that was my only chance. With the traffic, Tucker had to pick and choose and I could just banzai through there.”

.       “That was a pretty good race. Tucker and Robbie were pretty fast and they just went away from me. I couldn’t find a rhythm” on the rough track, said the Foremost Insurance-backed Tremblay, who also admitted on the stand to getting engaged a week ago.

Kamm Sweeps Pro Lite

Kenosha, Wisconsin-native Kody Kamm made it a weekend sweep of the Pro Lite class with his victory Saturday night. He took the lead on the backstretch of lap 1 and stormed away to a 12-second victory on his Hentges Racing Polaris.  David Joanis ran relatively close for much of the race but he came off his sled with two laps left on the backstretch. That opened up second to the Jimmy John’s/Boss Racing’s Derek Ellis. For much of the race, a pack of five sleds ran together behind Ellis, but eventually Travis Muller pulled away from that crowd and ended up third. Canadian Dylan Hall and Alaskan Casey Boylan rounded out the top 5.

Notes:

* Malinoski was running a large spacer atop the spindle of his Ski-Doo’s front suspension. Asked after the race, team owner Steve Scheuring explained that the spacer created less roll in the front end, and somewhat reflected the spread of the A-arm on Arctic Cat’s race sled.

* New Year’s Eve stuntman Levi LaVallee won a heat race Saturday evening and got a HUGE ovation from the crowd, but his timing seemed a bit off in the final. It’s obvious his attention has been on the famed Red Bull jump the past couple months while all others at the track were focused on snocross. Still, for a first race back, a week after the death-defying jump, he fared pretty well.

* On the podium after winning Pro Lite, Kody Kamm said he hoped to race a mod sled in two weeks at the Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby, but immediately after the comment, Polaris Race Manager wasn’t terribly enthused about exposing his prized Semi-Pro/Pro Lite racer to something different in the middle of the season. “He would LIKE to be on a mod at Eagle Ruiver, but he won’t, I assure you that,” Rager said.

Tremblay Claims Entertaining ISOC Canterbury Snocross

In one of the most entertaining final races in years, Quebec’s Tim Tremblay overcame a dogfight with three other top competitors to win Friday night’s Pro Open final at the Traxxis-sponsored Canterbury National in Shakopee, Minnesota.

.       Before that, however, Tremblay’s main fight this week was with customs agents that almost prevented his appearance at the race – more on that later.

.       On an unseasonably warm and windy night, 15 top pros worked their way into the final after two rounds of heat, followed by a last chance qualifier for some competitors.

.      The top qualifier was Wisconsin-based Polaris racer Ross Martin, and the season points leader showed his strength right away after the green flag waved, jumping out to an early lead while many sleds traded paint behind him.

.       After an initial shuffle, Amsoil Schuering Speed Sports teammates Robbie Malinoski and Darren Mees slotted in at second and third, with Cat racers Dan Ebert and Tucker Hibbert fourth and fifth. Then came Mathieu Morin, Tremblay, Garth Kaufman, recent jump record setter Levi LaVallee and Mike Bauer.

.       Four laps into the race, Malinoski started pressuring Martin. The two traded paint a couple of times, with Malinoski running into the back of Martin on one lap, then Martin forcing Malinoski over the burm in the same turn four a lap later. The two ran probably 8 laps never more than 8 sled-lengths apart.

.       Meanwhile, the Cats that started up front had issues. Ebert’s sled shut down right in the middle of turn one in a rather precarious location. About four laps later, Hibbert’s sled shut down entering turn three, ending the night for the sport’s most successful and popular driver.

.       Soon, Martin and Malinoski found out they weren’t alone up front. Mees was running very strong laps behind them, but Tremblay was all over him trying to grab third. Up front, Martin suddenly seemed a bit out of control on his Polaris.

.      Malinoski seized the opportunity, diving to the inside coming out of turn four. He and Martin clacked body panels coming down the front stretch, but neither would make it to turn one with the lead. Instead, Mees dove beneath both of them, and Tremblay stuck his nose in as well. With just a handful of laps left, you could throw a blanket over the top four, and still have room for the family dog.

.       With now just seven laps left, Tremblay grabbed the point in turn four, putting a block move on Mees and sprinting away down the front stretch. Mees tried to keep pace, but it was no use – the big strong Canadian was on a mission and pulled away.

.       Mees locked into second and looked like a shoo-in for the podium, but then he crashed big on the tabletop jump as he took the white flag, he sled landing in a bad spot on the big side of the jump. That moved Malinoski back up into second, 8 seconds behind Tremblay, and Martin, who faded severely, held on for third, 11 second behind Malinoski. Mathieu Morin claimed fourth, followed by Kaufman. Mees was scored sixth, because he had lapped every other sled before he crashed. Brett Bender, Mike Bauer and Justin Broberg followed.

.       After the race, there was elation among the Warnert Racing team for which Tremblay rides. It turns out, it was a rough week. Tremblay had gone home for Christmas and, for whatever reason, had a big paperwork mixup at the border while trying to get back into the United States. For more than 48 hours, Tremblay was held up, finally getting clearance Friday morning, the day of the race.

.       Once at the track, his troubled continued. “It was a really tough day for me today,” Tremblay said. “I won the first [heat race], but then I crashed in the second one, then I went to the LCQ and I was mad at myself.” He made up for it in the final, starting in the second row but running away with the final on his Foremost-backed Ski-Doo.

.       Malinoski was a solid second, but he seemed just as excited to see his teammate Mees run so strong throughout most of the race. “I was so pumped for him,” Malinoski said before turning his attention to Tremblay. “Hats off to him, he was on a mission, I’m pumped for him and his team, and we’re excited for second.”

.       Martin didn’t show up for his podium interview at first. The points leader faded so badly at the end of the race that he saw several sleds pass him the last couple of laps, so he figured there was no way he was in the top three. However, most of the sleds that were going by had been lapped by Martin earlier in the race, so he locked down third.

.       The cause for his fade and his erratic driving: He lost his brakes about halfway through the race. “I was riding that thing like a cowboy,” Martin said with a wide grin. With his third, he’ll retain his points lead going into Saturday’s racing.

.       Earlier in the evening in Friday night’s Pro Lite final, Derek Ellis got the quick start on his Ski-Doo and pulled away to a somewhat comfortable lead up front, but there was chaos behind him. Travis Muller ran second for awhile but race officials ruled he jumped in a yellow-flag area and earned a black flag. Instead of pulling over right away, however, he continue for a lap, lost control of his sled and ended up crashing and also taking out Andy Lieders, who had worked his way up to third.

.       All of this carnage, plus his own hard-charging efforts, brought the No. 2 qualifier forward. Kody Kamm was in full charge mode on his Hentges Racing Polaris, trying different lines and slowing down for nothing. Soon, he was champing at Ellis’ snowflap. We don’t know if it was that pressure or just bad timing, but with a couple of laps left and Kamm right behind him, Ellis cased a couple of jumps in a row, went into turn three out of control and went over the snowbank and was separated from his ride.

.       That allowed Kamm to race away to an 8.8 second victory over LCQ qualifier David Joanis, and he was followed across the finish line by his teammate, best friend and wintertime housemate Joey Sagen.

Fresh Powder At Lake Gogebic

Better late than never? Well sure – any snowmobile ride is a great day spent outside, even if it happens a solid month after I had originally hoped to be riding.

.    On New Year’s Day, instead of sitting at our respective homes watching football , digesting food and grumbling about the mild weather close to Minneapolis, Associate Editor Tom Kaiser and I loaded up sleds, jumped in the truck and pointed it toward Michigan’s U.P. with two brand-spanking-new snowmobiles in the trailer. We experienced some of the worst winter driving conditions I’ve experienced in several years (including one extended stretch of white-out, near zero visibility, where we could feel rumble strips beneath the tires, but couldn’t tell if we were in the center or at either edge of the road). By the time we got to the homey cabin we rented on the western shores of Lake Gogebic, we were each both wired and tir

ed at the same time. Overnight, the wind continued to whip and snow continued to fall – I don’t know if the poorly insulated cabin ever got above 55 degrees.

.     Monday morning we were greeted by still powerful winds and what most folks would consider miserable weather. There was a lot of fresh snow, however, so there was no holding back.

.     We pulled our 2012 Polaris 600 Rush and Yamaha RS Vector out of the trailer and hit the trails, dropping south on weaving Trail 1, then transitioning on East 100 before catching one of my favorite trails on earth – No. 13 on the east side of Gogebic, and working our way north.

.     This was true “riding in a postcard” conditions. The trails were neon white with all of the fresh snow (maybe 8 new inches?) and every single branch and every tree held some of the powder as well. It seemed like life couldn’t get any better by the time we worked our way up to the north side of the lake for a late breakfast in Bergland with about 45 miles under our drive belts.

.     Soon we were proven wrong, however. Kaiser had never been to the Lake Of The Clouds lookout in the Porcupines, so I said, “Follow me, I know the way.” We quickly cleared the greater Bergland area and hooked up with Trail 102 for some of the best Upper Midwestern trail riding I’d done in awhile. The tracks indicated that just two sleds had beaten us to the fresh powder on this trail, which I’d say easily topped 10 inches. With attacked it with spirit, but rarely needed to use the brake. You see, the riders before us appeared to cut to the inside of every corner (which is scary – I’m glad we didn’t meet them!), but it left a lot of powder still on the trail on the outside of left turns. Letting the sled drift out there, snow literally came over the hood in many turns and notably slowed the sleds – it was a blast.

.     The groomer beat us to the high-speed, super-wide Trail 11, and we made fast time north. Snow started getting more thin as we got close to Lake Superior, however.

.     When the famed lake the Native Americans called Kitchi-Gummi came into focus, it was thrilling. Huge white-capped waves rose, fell and crashed on the shoreline while near hurricane-force winds tugged at our jackets. We took it in for a few minutes, then took the climb up to the always-spectacular Lake Of The Clouds overlook. With snow falling and low clouds, we couldn’t see as far as usual, but the big rocky cliffs were still beautiful, as were

t

he lake and river far below.

.     After fueling up in White Pine, we headed back toward  Gogebic. Back at the truck by mid afternoon, it was time to load up and head for home. In all, we burned 133 miles on each of the sleds, about 600 miles on the

tow vehicle and made it home 28 hours after we left. To non-enthusiasts, that may seem like a lot of hours in the truck for one day of riding, but it was worth every mile.

.     If you haven’t gotten out riding yet this year, take a serious look at a map and find the nearest snow – you’ll be happy you did.

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