WPSA returns to BIR as season nears conclusion
Event set Friday through Sunday
Each summer during the NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, professional drag racers known nationwide compete in a four-day event that attracts thousands of spectators.
On Friday through Sunday, BIR will once again host a high caliber of racers but these men and women will straddle 500-pound snowmobiles as they soar over 15-foot high jumps and race ski to ski around tight corners.
The World PowerSports Snowmobile National Tour, the BIR National, returns to BIR for its second to last round.
The list of racers include Goodridge's Tucker Hibbert on an Arctic Cat, WPSA's second-winningest pro and six-time ESPN Winter X Games medalist; Longville's Levi LaVallee on a Polaris, who won the Speed and Style and Freestyle events earlier this year in the ESPN Winter Games; and Robbie Malinowski, whose Pro Open win in last year's event aboard a Yamaha was the first for the four-stroke powered machine in snocross racing. He is racing a Ski-Doo this year.
Pillager's Mike Schultz soared over the finish line after winning the Pro Open final Dec. 30 in the WPSA Regional Minnesota State Series at Brainerd International Raceway. Schultz will be among the professional racers competing in the BIR National Friday through Sunday. Brainerd Dispatch/Clint Wood » Purchase reprints of this photo.
"It's probably the ultimate outdoor winter sport to watch," BIR general manager Scott Quick said. "With the combination of a very nice track (fans) are going to see big jumps, big air, with snowmobiles and head to head competition with these professional snowmobile racers.
"It is another one of those sports that we do at BIR where fans can get up close to the racers, the crews and the factory people."
Three weeks ago, WPSA used its snowmakers for five days to make the latest snow, Quick said.
"Its the most snow we've had out here for a snocross track," he said. "WPSA has done a fabulous job of putting it together."
Quick said the track has plenty of room to race and pass and has two long straightaways, a start/finish line tabletop jump and a whoops section.
If you go
Racing starts at 9:30 a.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. Saturday (the second Pro Stock final) and 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The second Pro Open on Sunday is the finale.
There are four finals on Friday: Semi Pro Stock, Pro Stock, Sport Stock and the second Semi Pro Stock.
There are two professional finals Saturday: The second Pro Stock and the first Pro Open, a Semi Pro Open final and seven amateur finals.
There are five finals Sunday: The 120cc, Pro Vets, Pro Women, Semi Pro Open and the Pro Open finale.
An Air Force flyover is scheduled at 11:45 a.m. Sunday.
Area professional racers include Pillager's Mike Schultz, Merrifield's Kyle Abrahamson and April Moritz of Emily.
Semi Pro area racers include Devin Bertoch of Baxter.
Amateur racers include Maxwell Nelson of Crosslake, Stephan May of Aitkin, Dylan Radtke of Brainerd and Jeremy Tulenchik of Pequot Lakes.
There will be plenty of action in the doubleheader, including two Pro Open and Pro Stock finals and two Semi Pro Open and Semi Pro Stock finals.
Hibbert, 23, is the defending Pro Stock champion. He won both Pro Stock finals at BIR last year. This was his first back-back event since his gold medal performance at ESPN's Winter X Games earlier this winter.
Although he missed round five of this season's national tour, he has the most pro wins of the season, with four Pro Super Stock victories and one Pro Open win.
Hibbert, who hasn't raced since the X Games, said Thursday at Brainerd Outdoor Sports that having a good start will be the key to defending his titles.
"Just focus on getting good starts," he said. "That's always key in racing, to get out front early, avoid snow dust and poor visibility and be able to put a little distance right away. That definitely helps towards the end of the race."
Lake Shore's Dan Ebert, on an Arctic Cat, knows a little about racing lines. He recently won both Semi Pro classes and finished seventh in the 15-lap Pro 600 finale of the United States Cross Country Racing Association's Hayward 300 last weekend.
Ebert has also nabbed several podium (first through third) finishes in the Semi Pro Stock and Semi Pro Open classes this season in WPSA's national and regional tours. He also is this event's Semi Pro Stock defending champion.
He said his secret to his success this season has been "awesome chemistry in the team."
Ebert's goal this weekend is being consistent because of the points chase. There is one national event left, the Nielsen Enterprises Grand Finale at Lake Geneva, Wis., March 14-16.
"Good qualifying rounds, and making the finals and running competitive in the finals," Ebert said of his intentions for this event. "I think I would be better off being consistent with seconds, thirds and fourths rather than a win and a (did not finish)."
Notes
Racing starts at 9:30 a.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. Saturday (the second Pro Stock final) and 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The second Pro Open on Sunday is the finale.
There are four finals on Friday: Semi Pro Stock, Pro Stock, Sport Stock and the second Semi Pro Stock.
There are two professional finals Saturday: The second Pro Stock and the first Pro Open, a Semi Pro Open final and seven amateur finals.
There are five finals Sunday: The 120cc, Pro Vets, Pro Women, Semi Pro Open and the Pro Open finale.
An Air Force flyover is scheduled at 11:45 a.m. Sunday.
Area professional racers include Pillager's Mike Schultz, Merrifield's Kyle Abrahamson and April Moritz of Emily.
Semi Pro area racers include Devin Bertoch of Baxter.
Amateur racers include Maxwell Nelson of Crosslake, Stephan May of Aitkin, Dylan Radtke of Brainerd and Jeremy Tulenchik of Pequot Lakes.
clint wood may be reached at clint.wood@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5869.