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!
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.
Van Strydonk Sets New Eagle River Record
January 20, 2009
Beau Van Strydonk, of Tomahawk, Wisconsin, set a new record at this year’s 46th Annual World Championship Snowmobile Derby. After winning five classes, Van Strydonk broke the previous held record of four class wins in a Derby weekend, coincidentally held by his cousin Nick Van Strydonk.