2014 USXC Season Review

Planning eight events over three months is one thing, seeing them all come true is another. When the first green flag dropped at Pine Lake, near Gonvick, Minn., December 14, who knew racers would have the opportunity to compete throughout an entire season of racing action. Eight events, eight venues, and eight Minnesota cities. Truly special.

The recurring theme all winter was the brutal weather facing racers, crews, and fans, that is, until the final race of the year in Walker, Minn. No one in the United States seemed to be immune to harsh winter conditions in 2013-2014. As a result, it was hard to get anyone to feel sorry for USXC competitors. As always, though, the cross country racers endured below zero temps and storm laden driving conditions to and from the races to rock the courses at break-neck pace.

Through the lake races at Pine Lake and Detroit Lakes, it looked like Arctic Cat and Christian Brothers Racing had engineered the perfect beast. Zach Herfindahl, 17 going on 18, set a new pace, picking up for absent teammate, Ryan Simons in the Yamaha Pro Stock Class. Brian Dick (Cat) showed that he was nowhere collecting Social Security with an impressive come-from-the-back win in DL and a championship at the Seven Clans I-500. But, hold on a minute, the Willmar, Minn. race showed Ryan Faust’s prowess of going fast on a technical lake course, as he took the checkered flag and put Polaris on top for the first time in 2013-14. In the end Herfindahl came through and bested Aaron Christensen (Pol) for the Yamaha Pro Stock championship.

With new digs, Ross Erdman, making the switch back to Ski-Doo for 2014, looked a little out of sorts in the first few races, until Park Rapids, where he looked like the old Ross, tough but smooth, especially in the ditches. The Dohrn brothers, also making the jump to Ski-Doo, started to pick up the pace and figure things out as the season moved on in Semi-Pro and Amsoil Semi-Pro Improved.

One of the more interesting classes of 2014 proved to be the all-new Drift Racing Super Stock class. Pitting showroom grade, 600cc EFI iron head to head, this was truly the class everyday enthusiasts could hang their hats on. At first, Super Stock looked like a dog fight between two Arctic Cat competitors, Jon Arneson and Jon Koch. Once again, however, as the season progressed, things got interesting. By the Seven Clans I-500, enter: Sam Vandeputte and Nick Roehl, teammates and Ski-Doo pilots mixing things up a bit with a 1-2 finish. In the end, Arneson’s consistency and week-to-week effort was enough to grab the point championship in the inaugural season of Super Stock competition. Like Super Stock, the story of the season, in most classes, was highly contested point races. Ryan Trout (Cat) took the Polaris Expert 85 class by just 20 points and Garet Grzadzielewski (Cat) barely captured the C&A Pro Trail field with a 12-point lead.

The other big news of 2014, however, involved next season, as USXC Racing announced the 2015 running of the Winnipeg, Canada to Willmar, Minn. Seven Clans I-500. With over 500 miles of old-school competition, the 2015 I-500 will be a truly historic event. Four legs over four days, much of it covering the old 1970s I-500 route, as a whole new generation of racers will get to experience the king of cross country snowmobile races all over again.

The 2013-2014 USXC Season Point Champions

Yamaha Pro Stock: Zach Herfindahl (Cat) Speedwerx Pro Open: Aaron Christensen (Pol) Semi Pro: Jon Arneson (Cat) AMSOIL Semi Pro Improved: Dillan Dohrn (Doo) Drift Racing Super Stock: Jon Arneson (Cat) Polaris Expert 85: Ryan Trout (Cat) FOX Expert 85 Improved: John Langaas (Cat) Ski-Doo Masters 40+: Jon Arneson (Cat) Action Graphics Sport 600 Improved: Austin Reinertson (Pol) Red Lake Outdoors Legends 50+: Jim Sobeck (Doo) Carver Performance Sport 85: Hunter Houle (Cat) Woody’s Sport 600 Stock: Chase Nordstrom (Cat) C&A Pro Trail: Garet Grzadzielewski (Cat) FLY Racing Vintage: Peter Behm (Cat) Arctic Cat Vintage Legends 50+: Gerry Mattison (Cat) TEAM Industries Classic IFS 18-50: Tom Clement (Cat) On Snow Magazine Women’s: Jolene Bute (Cat) Seven Clans Casinos Junior 10-13: Tyler Brown (Cat) Mattracks Junior 14-17: Hunter Houle (Cat) Applied High Performance Products Junior Girls 14-17: Kelsey Pladson (Pol)