Scheele, Poirier and Blanshan Headline Snocross in Iowa
Team Arctic Snocross Racers Capture 13 podiums
Team Arctic snocross racers traveled to the Hawkeye state and flew high in the Pro Lite Class adding to the new winner list.
The National Snocross circuit went into weekend two at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds in Iowa for rounds 3 and 4. Racers battled warm weather, heavy snows and a rough, technical track proving a challenge for many teams.
The Pro Lite class has been one to watch. After four races, there have been four different winners, with each brand winning at least once. Arctic Cat added to that list of winners on Saturday.
Rewind to Friday and second year Pro Lite racer, Anson Scheele, wowed qualifying 3-3 and then showed his potential in the Final. Scheele’s Christian Brothers Racing Arctic Cat pulled through the first corner coming out cleanly in first place. Scheele stretched his lead over the field and maintained the position for 13 laps until going bar-to-bar with a challenger until the final flag in second place – his highest Pro Lite finish to date.
Scheele was all smiles on the podium saying, “I had a good day. Despite the battle at the end, this is my first time on the podium, so I really can’t complain.”
During Saturdays Pro Lite final, it was Theo Poirier from Woodies Racing leading the 15-rider field after lap six. Poirier went into the first corner in fifth, but charged hard and moved into second on lap two, then passing for first on lap seven. From there, Poirier didn’t look back finishing five seconds ahead for his first career Pro Lite win.
“The track Saturday was really rough,” said Poirier. “I got a good start, but found some really great lines. My ZR did the rest. It felt so fast.”
Adding to the new names topping the podium in Iowa, was Jacob Blanshan during Saturday’s Pro Am 30 Plus final. Blanshan brought all the thunder on his ZR passing into first on lap six for the win.
Team Arctic race manager, Mike Kloety said, “Arctic Cat snocross racers put the “Team” in Team Arctic this weekend. I’m proud of them. We saw young racers breaking through and reaching new milestones for themselves and Arctic Cat in several classes. That’s what makes racing exciting.”
Dubuque National Snocross Team Arctic Results
Pro Lite Friday
2. Anson Scheele
Sport Lite Friday
2. Kolton Krajicek
Pro Lite Saturday
1. Theo Poirie
Jr. 16-17 Saturday
3. Tanner Zierdan
Sport Lite Saturday
2. Kolton Krajicek
Pro Women Saturday
3. Taven Woodie
Pro Am Plus 30 Saturday
1. Jacob Blanshan
Stock 200 Saturday
2. Tristian Hinton
3. Trenton Peterson
Transition 8-10 Saturday
2. Owen Eide
3. Zach Miller
Transition 9-13 Saturday
3. Tanner Johnson
Junior Girls 9-13 Saturday
1. Kendall Rose
The Pro Lite class has been fun to watch. Nice job Team Arctic.
I think this has been the most exciting season to watch since Tucker left. Competition between all brands has been close with varying names on podiums. Ishoel has been fun to watch come from back of pack too. A trait also not seen (very often) since Tucker left. Hard to cheer for his brand though. Puke.
Miss seeing a Prototype sled going around the track like the old firecat. Always excited to see what’s in testing.
I haven’t been able to watch much of either of the two snocross races, but based on what I was able to watch- and race results- Polaris and Ski Doo seem to be the dominant force on the track. Assuming that to be true, do you think it’s because Polaris and Ski Doo are more willing to spend the dollars necessary to attract the best talent or is the Arctic Cat sled at a technical disadvantage relative to the Polaris and Ski Doo sleds? Parent company Textron is a far bigger company than Polaris or BRP (or Yamaha for that matter) so funding should not be an issue (unless Textron isn’t willing to invest the money required for Arctic Cat to be competitive both on the track and on the trail.
A Noni Moose – To answer your question, Polaris and SkiDoo are spending more in Snocross than AC. That said, the AC sleds are definitely not at a disadvantage, just outnumbered. The new SX pulls strong and handles as well, if not better, than SkiDoo and Polaris.
On the flip side, pay attention to Cross Country. Team Arctic racers are competing on a consumer ZR (R-XC) and took the top spots in Wisconsin during first round. IMO – Racers competing, and doing well on something I can buy means more to me in the purchase funnel.
Kale- thanks for the feedback. Good points all around, especially regarding XC sleds being more representative of what’s in the showroom.
Having said that, back in the 70’s & 80’s during oval racing’s haydays, the manufacturers spent tons of money in support of oval racing that arguably ran sleds bearing little semblance to what was being ridden on the trails but pushed the technological envelope. I think both types of racing improves the breed.
Kale… Can you comment on the where you feel racing falls in the balance between social influencers and ‘on track’ influencers (aka racers)? Do you think Instagram/ YouTube has take the place of, “what wins on Sunday, sells on Monday”? Or paid influencers vs paid racers…
Ryan – Truly a fantastic, thoughtful question. One that actually deserves more space than can be written here. Briefly, I don’t feel one “influencer” or outlet replaces another.
Marketing and Marketing communication is truly difficult now…there are so many sources to get information about a brand these days, and each source targets a different demographic.
Growing up (80/90s), I hung on every word of print pubs like Race&Rally (SnowTech), Id pick up brochures from every dealer, skip school to watch the I500 come through Duluth/Two Harbors (Shhhh! My parents still don’t know) or my Buddys and I would go to any local race we could. I felt lucky enough to catch a snowmobile race on tv. Marketing as an OEM then was relatively easy in those channels.
Fast forward and OEMs have websites, social media, racing, influencers, print, tv, brochures, dealer point of sale, and then there are the fingers falling off all of those to contend with.
A few weeks ago, I got an email from enthusiast asking if it was true Arctic Cat built Yamaha snowmobiles. True story. And this coming from a consumer claiming to be a lifelong snowmobiler. (sigh) Where is that person getting their info?
So, whats my point? We all look for info in different places now. Each of those sources help sell on Monday in some capacity.
Im thankful for the many readers supporting this site, and am equally appreciative of Arctic Cat and the rest of the advertisers supporting it too. Ill do my best to get you the info you want.
Team Arctic has always been dominate in XC racing pretty much since Day 1. In SX racing only a few names have made Team Arctic dominate: Morgan, Hibberts, Scheele, Pake, just to name a few. But Team Arctic (Textron) needs to sign more talented drivers in SX and hillclimb to be competitive. Look at how many former talented AC racers went to other brands in SX and are doing very well and some not well and some went back to AC. Logan Christian is now carrying the Team Arctic flag in the SX field. Team Arctic is seriously under represented in the SX arena.
Kale…
Thank you for addressing my question, honestly, after posting, I felt a sense of keyboarders regret. By no means do I take anything away from the racing community. Bluntly, they were/ are my influencers. And so was John when he was the chairperson for Insider.
With the above said I work in an industry where influencers are used and where influencers can make a significant income for themselves. There is an internal battle going on between the influencing culture and the professional culture for marketing spend; professional I mean people that complete on a relatively global platform. At times both sides of discredited each other. No one is prevailing at the moment.
I too hung posters/ SnowWeek centerfolds of my heroes growing up. Pake, Hibbert, Morgan, Sturgeon, Herzing, Day, in my room and in my locker. These individuals embodied a spirit I wanted to be attached to. Attending the Eagle River races this weekend (as I have for the last 20+), I hope there is always a place for race programs, race support, race culture, however there has to be a struggle inside to measure a return on spend.