Oval Racers Alliance wraps up season in Garrison, Minn.
March 5, 2010
The Oval Racers Alliance concluded their first season with an action packed weekend on Lake Mille Lacs in Garrison, Minnesota. Vintage and modern snowmobile racers and fans flocked to the event that took place February 27-28 with support from the Garisson commercial Club and the Blue Goose.
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Photo essay from Eagle River
January 22, 2010
We’ve posted a 31-photo slide show from last weekend’s Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby on our Photos page. Go to the top nav bar and click on photos to find these racing and behind-the-scenes images.
Matt Schulz Earns Historic World Championship
January 17, 2010
Schulz hoists the coveted Snow Goer Cup after winning the World Championship.
The Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby is always about history, but Matt Schulz’ victory Sunday at the famed Derby track truly was one for the ages.
By winning in dominating fashion with a green-to-checkered run, Wausau, Wisconsin’s Schulz became:
- The first Wisconsin driver since Dale Loritz in 1995 to keep the Snow Goer Cup in its own state.
- The first Polaris driver to win the World Championship since Steve Thorsen claimed the title in 1978.
- The second second-generation driver to win snowmobiling’s premier race – following his uncle and lead mechanic Al Fenhaus, the 1993 champion, much like Terry Wahl followed in the footsteps of his uncle Dave Wahl.
- The comeback racer of the year. A year ago, Schulz showed up at Eagle River wearing a halo – he broke his neck the previous weekend at the USSA oval race in Plymouth, Wisconsin, and was forced to watch the World Championship race – without turning his head.
Schulz was fast all weekend, claiming the fast time in Thursday’s trials and winning his heat and semi-final in Saturday’s qualifying. The only time he was beat on the track was in the Friday Night Thunder Program, when a clutching issues relegated him to second behind three-time champion PJ Wanderscheid.
Matt Schulz was flawless in the 25-lap final, and collected $20,000 for the effort.
Sunday, the roles were reversed. Schulz clutching was dialed in perfectly, as his Larry Rugland Motorsports-powered mod rocketed off the starting line and into turn one ahead of a star-studded field that included four ex-champions that had claimed a combined 10 world titles (Jacques Villeneuve 3; Wanderscheid 3; Gary Moyle 2; Brian Bewcyk, 2).
Wanderscheid settled into second, with the surprising Jason Lavallee claiming third for several laps. He was followed by an angry pack in the early going, with Dan Fenhaus on his heels, Malcolm Chartier in fourth and Dustin Wahl in fifth.
Deep in the pack, the two former champs who started in the back row after qualifying through Sunday’s last chance qualifier, Villeneuve and Moyle, tried to fight through traffic. By lap six in the 25-lap final, Villeneuve was up to seventh in the 12-lap field.
Front Row Is Set: Snow Goer’s Exclusive Odds On The World Championship!!
January 16, 2010
At Snow Week and later Snow Goer magazine, we’ve put together fictional odds for the World Championship race for many years. Here’s the text from this year’s Tip Sheet, based on results from Saturday’s qualifying. It tells you who made the final, our odds and a comment on each racer. Special notes: Two more racers will qualify for the final in a Sunday LCQ race: challengers include Gary Moyle, who burned down in a semi final; Nick VanStrydonk, who’s sled quit while leading; and Jacques Villeneuve, who came back from a first-lap tangle to run some of the fastest laps of the weekend, but fell short of qualifying by a couple of sled lengths. Enjoy:
THE LEAD:
Racers have been dreaming of this day all year. They’ve been honing their skills, tweaking their sleds and training for their moment to shine in this, the 47th running of the Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby. There are so many potential great stories here today, but only one racer will leave this event as the World Champion.
Wanderscheid Earns World Championship Pole In Friday Night Program
January 15, 2010
PJ Wanderscheid earned the pole position for Sunday's World Championship with a Sweet Sixteen victory Friday night.
Arctic Cat’s P.J. Wanderscheid started his pursuit to become the first four-time Eagle River World Champion in style, earning the pole position in a smooth and efficient Friday Night Thunder program at the famous Derby Track in northern Wisconsin.
Wanderscheid, age 26, led the World Snowmobile Headquarters-sponsored Sweet Sixteen Pole Position race from the opening green flag all the way to the checkered flag 16 laps later, besting a star-studded field of competitors all aiming for the World Championship title on Sunday. He was chased throughout the race by Nick VanStrydonk and Thursday’s time trial winner Matt Schulz – with Schulz undercutting VanStrydonk on the last lap to claim second. Malcolm Chartier took fourth, with three-time champ Jacques Villeneuve fifth and two-time champ Gary Moyle sixth.
Ultimately, only first place counted on Friday night – that person gets to skip Saturday’s multi-round qualifying process and transfers directly into Sunday front row pole position. Wanderscheid earned that honor in style, and put all of his competition on notice.
Eagle River Time Trials: Schulz On Top!
January 15, 2010
Matt Schulz, pictured here at Shakopee being chased by Dustin Wahl, earned the fast time in qualifying at Eagle River Thursday afternoon.
The time trials for the Eagle River World Championship have wrapped up, and the man at the top of the list isn’t an ex-champion, but rather a young racer who has been lightning fast this year.
Matt Schulz of Wausau, Wisconsin, posted a 17.813 second qualifying time, besting a field that includes three multi-time champions and putting his Wahl-chassis up front in Saturday’s qualifying heat races.
Another young racer from Wisconsin’s Northwoods took the second spot. Nick VanStrydonk of nearby Tomahawk was two-hundreths behind Schulz, posting a 17.833 on his Polaris-powered mod.
Dustin Wahl (18.148) posted the third-fast time on his Wahl/Polaris combination. He’ll try again to be the third Wahl to earn a World Championship on Sunday. Malcolm Chartier (18.198) took fourth on his Houle-built, Ski-Doo powered Champ sled.
The first ex-champion in time trials was three-time winner Jacques Villeneuve (18.203), and he was followed closely by fellow three-timer PJ Wanderschied (18.203). Both are attempting to be the first to earn four titles at Eagle River.
The rest of the top 10 were Dan Fenhaus (18.337), Nick Lagoy (18.355), two-time defending champion Bryan Bewcyk (18.391) and Jay Ryden (18.406). Last week’s winner at the USSA race in Plymouth, Spencer Graff, timed in 11th.
Of the rest of the pack of 25 who took the flag for time trials, the most notable fact was that two-time champion Gary Moyle was way back in 14th place. He’s got a funky new chassis this year, and he may not have it figured out yet. That said, Moyle has done this before – timed in at mid-pack – and came back and won on Sunday.
Maybe it’s because Moyle knows time trials mean very little here. With the Derby’s unique qualifying process, which involve a couple rounds of heat races on Saturday, time trials means very little, other than the seating in those heat races. Still, Schulz showed incredible strength in gaining the fast time, and may have opened some eyes in the pits.
Check back all weekend for updates. Things really get rolling tomorrow, with the big Friday Night Thunder program, and we’ll be there, taking photos and giving you the inside scoop. Tell your friends!
Wahl Opens Season On Top
December 20, 2009
If you are a snowmobile racing fan within an easy drive of Minnesota’s Twin Cities, shame on you for missing a fabulous event.
The WSA Pro-Ice season opener December 19-20 at Shakopee, Minnesota’s Raceway Park was a really good racing event at a really cool facility. Sadly, it was missed by most, as only a small crowd was on hand to see some very exciting racing, particularly in the Champ 440 class.
Sixteen of the very best drivers in the Upper Midwest, including World Champions PJ Wanderscheid (2002, 2003, 2006), Gary Moyle (2005, 2007) and Bryan Bewcyk (2008, 2009) battled it out on the ice-covered blacktop racing track, but in the end the winner was a second-generation driver that many are expecting to be a future World Champion.
Dustin Wahl of the Greenbush, Minnesota-based Wahl Bros. Racing Team opened the season on top, first claiming the super-exciting 600 class Saturday afternoon and then the event-closing Champ 440 final Sunday afternoon in front of a fast field.
Wanderscheid got the holeshot and held the point for the first half of the race, but standing trackside it was obvious that it was only a matter of time before the talented Cat racer gave way to the faster Polaris-powered mod being driven by Wahl. Just past the halfway point, Wahl claimed the lead by driving under Wanderscheid on the front stretch, then he pulled away. Wanderscheid finished a solid second. Moyle was mired back in traffic on his new, tubular chassis machine, and Bewcyk didn’t make the 12-sled final.
Wahl’s victory was more dramatic Saturday, when he used a last-lap pass to slice past Mike Schultz for the victory.
After the race, Dustin’s father Dave Wahl reported that the sled the team was using was actually last year’s chassis. A new chassis has been completed, but “we thought this one was fast enough,” said the retired three-time champion. We guess so.
Check back with SnowGoerRacing.com later this week – we took a ton of photos and will upload a bunch from snowmobile oval racing, ATV racing on the same surface and, yes, even lawn mower racing. Stay tuned.
The ORA is Here to Stay, 2009-10 Schedule Released
October 19, 2009
The Oval Racers Alliance, otherwise known as ORA, has officially released their 2009-2010 race season schedule. In their inaugural season, the ORA will host three races featuring both modern and vintage snowmobiles.
Eagle River Snowmobiling Gets TV Coverage
June 23, 2009
The history of snowmobiling in the Midwestern hub of Eagle River was documented on the morning show of a Wausau, Wisconsin, television station on Wednesday, including footage of the Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby and the World Snowmobile Headquarters.
Hosts Susan Ramsett and Mikel Lauber were live from Eagle River on Wednesday, June 17, as a part of the station’s “Your Town” gimmick.
Fjerstad and Van Strydonk Fast at Friday Night Thunder
January 17, 2009
Besides the World Championship race on Sunday afternoon, Friday Night Thunder is arguably the high light of the Eagle River Snowmobile Derby. The evening started off with the Semi-Pro Champ class. Joey Fjerstad, of Minneapolis, Minn., got a great hole shot and established an early lead. Fast on his Polaris, it became clear the rest of the field would have to run hard to catch him.