Gorgeous weather, fast sleds, fun swapping and a great time was had by all at US 131 Dragway in Martin, Michigan this weekend. This was the running of the 24th annual AmSnow Super Sled Shootout (presented by Aeroquip) and the third year that our partners, the Michigan Snowmobile Association, had their Snow Show and Swap Meet alongside the racing. Race Director Jamie Bellman again put on the top asphalt drag race in the country and sleds and people came from all over the country and Canada to test their metal on the asphalt track.
Saturday the sun shown and although the air was cool, the racing was hot! Todd Serra and the boys from Pro Stock Inc. got the big check of $2500 in the Kenneth Smith Trucking/Mott Motorsports Outlaw Shootout on Saturday. The big turbo (which makes more horsepower than my V-8 truck) is 100% custom from tip to tail. The boys from Pro Stock Inc. were also awarded the Best Appearing sled award by race director Jamie Bellman for their clean, cool, and fast looking ‘Diablo’ monikered matte black mod machine.
Paul Austin and the Bullet Racing crew traveled all the way to Michigan from Washington state to take part in this event, and they were justly rewarded with hardware. These guys won the highly competitive Pro Stock Shootout class. Their sleds have been some of the easiest to spot on the track as they are some of the brightest and most unique machines you will ever lay your eyes on.
For two years in a row Jamie Hitchcock of HorseHeads, N.Y. has won this class. His 2009 Arctic Cat Crossfire 1000R is certainly dialed in dead-on! Winning the index classes is not an easy thing to do as these have become increasingly competitive and to win you pretty much have to be spot on. Jamie’s sponsors included BCM Performance, Arctic Cat and Watkins Glen Auto Parts.
Darrick Graunke from Buffalo, Minn. on his Spare Parts Racing Ski-Doo took home $1500 in the Woody's Bracket Challenge. In talking with Darrick he said he has been inspired by many to get better on the track.
“I remember when I was just starting out in racing and after a few races Ron Bray told me to keep up the good work and I would be winning soon. It was kind of surreal because Ron was a huge name in the sport… and now we are friends and I parked right next to him in the pits, it’s great,”Darrick said.
Also on Saturday, Patty Stompanato from McHenry, Ill. won the Reaction Time Challenge with a .0004 light. Now that is fast! Her boyfriend (Butch Veltum) is a test rider for AmSnow so it looks like we might have some competition for test driving rights!
The CK chassied Ski-Doo of Chris Elder, of Syracuse, N.Y. won the Grand Rapids Powersports All Motor class. Jon Gleason from Mishawaka, Ind. was the winning driver. The 1500+cc naturally aspirated sled was crusing! Great job guys!
A birthday win happened for driver Tony Morabito in the Supreme Tool 1/8-mile Outlaw class. This is Tony’s second win at the Shootout, and nobody smiles more than this guy. Plus, the prank of the weekend was pulled in the final: the runner-up already had a broken motor, but everyone kept it a secret from Tony until he was all the way up to the line and ready to race… that’s when a team member broke the news that he had already won! Some good hearted high fives and a well-deserved victory lap for Tony ensued.
The Proline Performance 9.0 Index class was won by the legendary Brad Hulings from just up the road of the track in Rockford, Mich. This HRP Motorsports owned and sponsored sled is a 2004 Yamaha Warrior turbo with original carburetors and ignition. Brad said he used this machine to research and design Quad Cam clutches. Brad rode the machine himself and said it is the first snowmobile race he has won in 20+ years!
In the Sunday Hurricane Performance bracket Corbin Chapell from Coudersport, Penn. won with some great driving. This was his first real race he had ever entered and with help from guys like Billy Howard, he has a bright future. Corbin also won the Sunday Reaction Time Challenge and won himself a limited edition racing jacket provided by Woody's Traction Products and Jason Houle from Straightline Performance. The orange stock 800 E-TEC that Corbin was driving was the only one of its kind at this event and one of very few new stock machines.
Check out more photos and info in our December issue of AmSnow... and thanks again to everyone who came out and made this event possible. From sponsors to racers to fans to families (and even a few puppies) it was great to have everyone in attendance!