Hope you’re staying warm, race fans! Who’s sticking to their New Year’s resolutions? One of mine this year (as well as every year) is to include more braap in my life.
And, with the 2022 AMSOIL Championship Snocross season kicking off earlier this month, there certainly will be no shortage of it. Get a little preview from the preseason below.
COVID Comeback
The 2019-20 and 2021 seasons were rocked by not only a national pandemic, but also weather.
As you may remember, the 2019 opener in Duluth saw a snowstorm to rival the ages, which led to the postponement of two days of racing. With the first part of the 2020 schedule playing out, the last two events of the season were forced to be canceled due to the pandemic. The 2021 season started with high hopes, but worsening conditions forced venue changes and schedule shifts throughout the season.
2022 started on the right ski (get it?) with the Daytona of Snocross, the Pirtek Snocross National in Shakopee, Minn. The tour then headed to racer and team favorite, the Dubuque County Fairgrounds for the Theisen’s Snocross National.
The next stop was slated this upcoming weekend for another fan favorite, the U.S. Air Force National in Deadwood, S.D. But lack of both natural and man-made snow postponed the event until March 3-4, with the ERX National moving back a week to March 11-12.
Weather permitting, the remainder of the season will play out as scheduled, with a highly anticipated return out east to New York for the first time since 2020.
Here’s a look at the fully updated schedule:
New Team, Who Dis?
This season sees probably the biggest shift in teams/racers in my tenure here at AMSOIL. Here’s a breakdown of the breakups and shakeups:
- Logan Christian of Christian Brothers Racing moves from his family Arctic Cat* racing team to the Ski-Doo* of Scheuring Speed Sports of Team AMSOIL.
- Freshie team of All Finish Racing, including Daniel Benham and Jacob Yurk. The team also has the mechanic formerly know as the champ’s, Jayme Cheney.
- Cheney’s move away from Boss Racing led the champ himself, Elias Ishoel, to shift over to These Motorsports.
All of the above being said, Ishoel has shown he’s not going to give up his fourth title that easily. Team AMSOIL rider Hunter Patenaude also has made a strong first-season showing, sitting fourth in points even after an off in Shakopee that left him in the hospital. He hobbled into Dubuque to land on the podium Friday night.
New Livestream Home
New this season, FloSports will be the exclusive livestream home for all of the Snocross series, including the AMSOIL DOMINATOR.
Already the home of motorsports events like USAC, ARCA, NASCAR Whenlen, Chili Bowl and others, Flo subscribers will have access to both live and on-demand archives. Flo will also serve as the exclusive live streaming home for Snocross’ sister series, AMSOIL Championship Off-Road.
CBS Sports Network will continue to broadcast tape-delayed programing of all 16 rounds of racing this season, highlighting Pro, Pro-Lite, Pro Women and Pro Snowbike divisions.
Racing picks back up again in February with the All Finish Concrete National in Fargo, N.D. Be sure to subscribe to Flo to get all the racing action live. As for me, I’ll be keeping a close watch on this season to see what unfolds; stay tuned!
Until then, we’ll see you at the races!
