Carlson Motorsports Report: ISOC Michigan National

It was a challenging evening for Carlson Motorsports riders Johan Lidman and Andrew Carlson on the track. Yet in every other measure, it was an epic weekend for the team and the sport of snocross as the largest crowd of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series (ACSS) season gathered under the roof of the Pontiac Silverdome just outside of Detroit, Mich. for Round 7 action.

With the International Series of Champions staff working overtime the week building up to the Friday night event, a mountain of snow was produced, hauled, and manicured into a national caliber snocross track inside the mega-complex. The buzz surrounding the only indoor race on the tour was evident Friday early on, as local media including television, radio, and a stunning pictorial in the Detroit News pumped up the event.

Before green flag racing commenced, a huge Pro Pit Party had Lidman and Carlson, along with all of the ISOC national riders, signing autographs and posing for pictures for fans who happily waited in long lines that snaked amongst the haulers.

“We signed every piece of autograph stock we had in the truck,” says Andrew Carlson, who shook his hand to illustrate how many autographs he had penned.

The track proved to be extremely challenging for all the riders as heavy, wet snow and a tight opening turn placed the emphasis on holeshots and a bit of good luck. In Pro-Lite, Carlson was one of those riders who was forced to pay his dues in the turn-one bottleneck, shuffling him in to the last chance qualifier where he rode well but finished just outside of the final.

Lidman found himself battling in the LCQ as well, where he earned a back row start in the main event thanks to a strong run. Unfortunately a series of tangles, including the now infamous turn-one bottleneck, swallowed up Lidman as he was stuck behind a downed rider thereby dashing his hopes for a strong finish as he watched the lead pack drive away.

“It was a tough weekend for the team on the track,” says team manager Chris Carlson, “but it was an amazing weekend for the sport, ISOC, and our sponsors. This was one of the biggest crowds we have ever raced in front of, and the attention from the Detroit media was first rate. Snowmobiling is alive and well in Michigan and it sounds like New York is shaping up to be just as good.”

Carlson Motorsports will return to the track for the rescheduled Farmington, NY event Feb. 24-25.