Sioux Falls, S.D. ~ From Salamanca to Sioux Falls, AMSOIL Championship Snocross continued its full-speed sprint towards the end of an eventful season with the first of two full days of bar-to-bar action in Sioux Falls.

Freshly groomed trails have been few and far between this winter. However, the national snocross series continued its trend of finding every available flake to build out an exceptionally racy track at the W.H. Lyon Fairground. With temperatures in the 60s, it was an ongoing battle to keep it that way, but when the final checkered flag was waved, it held its form and offered up a fantastic night of racing.

Harr in Control of Pro Triple Crown

Emil Harr did not produce up to his standards two weeks ago in New York. He finished the weekend with a fourth overall but didn’t attack his starts as he had done all season. A trip back to South Dakota gave the points leader a perfect remedy as he returned to his winning ways.

Harr would sweep the night, thanks to near-perfect starts in all three AMSOIL Pro Triple Crown rounds. In the first round, Harr held a ski-length lead over a four-wide pack that looked for the lead position heading over the first finish line jump. He had pressure from Jacob Yurk, but Harr was from start to finish for the win.

In the second heat, Yurk and Jordan Lebel got out front, but Harr rode the edge and hit the big triples early and often on his way to his second win of the night. That set up a final-round showdown that hasn’t played well for the top qualifier over the past few rounds. But Harr was unbeatable on Friday night. He launched another holeshot in the third round and rode without incident, claiming the Triple Crown sweep and his third win of the season.

“I had a great day overall,” said Harr. “I had a good qualifying and was able to have a good start position and get good starts the whole day. I was able to find some good lines and was able to put it away.”

The runner-up spot could have gone a few different ways on Friday. Jordan Lebel was quick all day and finished 4-2-2 for second overall. The second-round finish played a significant role in the final two podium spots. Yurk, who finished second in the first round, was a half turn away from finishing second in round two when he hit a lapped rider just before the finish line, knocking him off the sled and down to fifth. That also put Lebel in second instead of third and moved Oskar Norum into third. Lebel would finish second in the final, with Yurk in fourth and Norum in fifth. Lebel’s eight points put him second overall, with Yurk and Norum tying at 11. Yurk’s better finishing spot in the final race gave him the tiebreaker over Norum for third overall.

Posti Posts First Pro Lite Win

It was all-out chaos early in the Pro Lite final, with Eric Downs and Topi Posti leading a charged-up field from the start.

With points leader Crayden Dillon pulling off the track after three laps, all eyes turned to the leaders. Posti and Downs were locked in on Friday night as they went back and forth over the first half of the final, but Posti found clean air and the lead. Posti first held off Downs, then a charged-up Kenny Mandryk, and finally a relentless push from Drew Freeland on the final lap that was settled in the final turn.

“I had a pretty good start and made a few passes on the first few laps,” said Posti. “Then, after 6-7 laps, I lost my brakes, but I’m so happy to be up here after every struggle we have had this season.”

Freeland’s push to the front was an almost unexpected ride. But Freeland put together his second straight podium finish with a second-half charge that brought him from outside the top five and into second.

Over the final few laps, Freeland had to get around Downs and Mandryk for the runner-up spot. Downs got back into podium position on the final lap after slipping back around Mandryk, who finished fourth.

Cottew Silences Pro Women Field 

The start increases in importance on a short track like the one in Sioux Falls. You get too far back, and there are fewer opportunities to play catch up. 

For Malene Cottew, it was a balancing act on Friday night. She was credited with a fifth-place start off the line, but once the first big right-handed turn was complete, she bounced up into second.

That put the points leader behind holeshot artist Inanna Hauger, who held the top spot and kept the five-time champ eating roost for the first four laps. That’s when Cottew found her rhythm and slipped past the race leader. Cottew would drive on to her ninth win of the season.

Hauger never let off the throttle and kept pace with Cottew as they slid around the small, slippery track. Hauger finished a few sled lengths behind Cottew in second for her third podium in the past four rounds of racing. Cerissa Blessum notched her fourth podium of the year in third.

FXR SPORT: It was a drag race off the start, led by Hayden Meyer and Kellen Chapuran. As the two pulled into the first 180-degree turn, Chapuran gained the advantage. The round five winner rode smoothly and fast, handling the inside line and lapping traffic without issues as he picked up the win.

Chapuran’s second win helped him tighten up to Brandon Nelson in the FXR Sport points race. Nelson, who finished eighth after starting outside the top ten, leads Chapuran by just four points heading into Saturday’s racing.

Zak Farmer used a good start to move into his final finishing position of second, his first podium of the season. Domenic Hegman moved around the track enough to get into the third and final podium spot with four laps left in the race.

SPORT LITE: The recent run of short tracks has been a boost to Sport Lite rider Lawrence Eeg. After missing the podium in the first four rounds, Eeg picked up two wins in Deadwood and two podiums in New York.

Eeg kept up the successful ride in Sioux Falls, grabbing the hole shot and navigating lapped traffic for his third win in the past five finals. Caiden Pflipsen also flipped his season toward the positive on the tighter tracks. The round seven winner overcame a sixth-place start to finish second. Points leader Trenton Hilmerson made a last-lap pass to finish third.

ROX SPEED FX STOCK 200: Koy Maruska has only raced in three events this winter but is stacking up successful runs with each round.

Maruska stood tall as he grabbed the holeshot of Friday night’s Rox Speed FX Stock 200 final. He was able to pull away from the pack that was forming behind him, driving to his first win of the season. That backs up a runner-up finish in Deadwood last month.

Sullivan Bergman swept the weekend in Shakopee in January, the only round he raced this season. He backed those wins up with a runner-up finish in Sioux Falls. And Henry Dillon found the final spot on the podium, finishing third in just his second race of the year.

TRANSITION 9-13: Lincoln Meyer became a first-time winner in the Transition 9-13 class by taking the victory on Friday.

Meyer led from start-to-finish and held off Jimmy Stanisich on the last lap for the greatly anticipated win. Stanisich started third behind Easton Kuhn and got around the second-place driver two laps into the final for his ninth straight podium. Kuhn earned his second podium of the year by finishing third. 

Stanisich unofficially took over the points lead from Tavin Knudson, who finished 14th in Friday’s final.

JUNIOR 14-15: Kamden Duffy took over the points lead in Junior 14-15 with his fifth win of the season on Friday.

Duffy and Colin Taggart went back-and-forth for the race lead throughout the mid-afternoon showdown, but Duffy secured the top spot with two laps remaining. Taggart would finish second in his first race since Deadwood three rounds ago. Wyatt Skogquist rode to his third straight podium by finishing in third, one spot ahead of his brother AJ Skogquist, who entered the day with the overall points lead.

TRANSITION 8-10: Tripp Knudson pushed hard on the throttle and came away with the Transition 8-19 win on Friday. 

Knudson grabbed the holeshot and never looked back, picking up his third win and fifth straight podium finish. Jack Gelinas and Kody Krantz are in a neck-and-neck battle to catch Knudson for the overall points lead. Krantz got the initial advantage over Gelinas, but Gelinas moved into the runner-up spot two laps later and drove to his best finish (second) since the opening round. Krantz finished a half-second back in third.

AMSOIL Championship Snocross returns to South Dakota with the Sioux Falls Snocross National, presented by Kwik Trip, on Saturday, March 2. The event will take place at the W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls.

For more information about the 2023-2024 AMSOIL Championship Snocross season, visit www.snocross.lab.b2tech.us. You can tune in all season long, live onwww.FloRacing.com. Event day schedules and tickets will become available in the coming months atsnocross.lab.b2tech.us.