Kody Kamm & Daniel Benham on Top in the Empire State

Matt Skubic Uncategorized

AMSOIL Championship Snocross Powered by Ram roared into the Empire State bringing a mixture of warm weather and snow flurries along with. Snowmobile enthusiasts from western New York arrived at Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in large numbers for Round 9 of the US Air Force Snocross National. As he has done many times in his young career, Kody Kamm dominated the Pro main event with another strong start and earning his second victory of the 2017-2018 season. While in the Pro Lite class, Daniel Benham extends his win streak to two. In doing so he also extends his points lead over the rest of the Pro Lite field. As the Worlds greatest Snocross racers aim high to be crowned champion at the end of the season, they must first race again tomorrow for Round 10 of the US Air Force Snocross National.

Pro Lite

Round 1

In the first heat of qualifying for the Pro Lite class at the US Air Force Snocross National, veteran of the sport Andy Lieders would jump out to the early race lead. Lieders would cross the finish line in first but would be passesd early by the points leader, Daniel Benham. Benham would run a near perfect race, take the heat race win and extending his points lead. Jacob Yurk would start the qualifier in third place but would have his eyes set on the second place rider of Lieders. Yurk would set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap and move into the second spot. Andy Lieders would round out the top three. Travis Kern would nail the holeshot in the second heat of Round 1 but Hunter Patenaude would duck to the inside and sweep by the leaders. Patenaude would start to gap the field led by the second place rider of Kern and the third place rider of Nisse Kjellstrom. The field would have to be smart in this race and watch for passing and jumping as the yellow flags were critical in heat two. Travis Kern would charge late in the race and try to steal a win, but would fall short to the AMSOIL Air Force rider of Patenaude. Kern would solidify the second spot while Kjellstrom was third. In the final heat of Round 1, Zak Mason and the reigning champion of Aki Pihlaha would cross the finish line bar-to-bar looking to grab the holeshot and the early lead. Kevin Wallenstein would be in third place but would take advantage of the leaders mistakes and move from third to first. Wallenstein would run away with the win giving him his first heat race win of the season. Fellow Ski-Doo rider Max Taillefer would run second and Round 7 winner, Cole Cottew in third. Early race leader Aki Pihlaja would cross the finish line in fourth.

Round 2

The second round of qualifying saw the Arctic Cat sleds win each of the three heats contested. In the first heat Hunter Patenaude would pick up where he left off and grab the early lead. Korbyn Anderson would cross the finish line for the opening lap in second and Andy Lieders, who has to start in the back row, third. In the beginning stages of the race Jacob Yurk would be on the move, going from fifth to second in just three laps. Yurk would feast his eyes on the leader Patenaude and would execute the pass in the US Air Force rhythm section. The following lap Patenaude would have an issue as get crossed the finish line taking him out of the race. Jacob Yurk would go on to win the race as Andy Lieders was second and Aki Pihlaja third. The Arctic Cat Sunoco Fuel rider of Nisse Kjellstrom would rocket his sled off of the starting and grab the holeshot. The Pro Lite rookie would not look back and lead the entire race flag-to-flag. Polaris riders, Oskar Norum and Zak Mason would battle for the second and third positions for the entire seven lap qualifier. Mason would get the edge on Norum and earn the second spot in the heat. Norum would finish the race in third giving the South Side Polaris team fans something to cheer about in their home state. The final qualifying race in Round 9 of the US Air Force Snocross National showcased the speed of Factory Arctic Cat riders Daniel Benham and Travis Kern. The duo would battle for nearly the entire heat. Kern was the rider who got the hole shot but his teammate would get the better of him late in the race. The top three went as followed: Daniel Benham, Travis Kern, Marcus Ogemar.

Final

As the Pro Lite competitors step to the line all eyes were set on points leader Daniel Benham. For the fifth time this season Benham was able to get the holeshot in the main event and lead the beginning stages of the race. With Benham out front, Nisse Kjellstrom and Jacob Yurk rounded out the top three. The second and third place riders found themselves going back and forth at the early parts of the race. Andy Lieders would be the top running Polaris in fourth while, AMSOIL Air Force rider, Hunter Patenaude, ran in the fifth position. Five laps into the race Jacob Yurk was able to get around second place Kjellstrom and start moving towards the leader Daniel Benham. While Yurk starts to close the gap on Benham, Aki Pihlaja starts charging from the middle of the field. Pihlaja started the race in the 8th position and at lap nine he moved past Patenaude into a top five spot. On lap ten, the lead is down to less then a second and Yurk is close to making his pass stick. While in the third position Nisse Kjellestrom has a mechanical taking him out of podium contention and the race entirely. As the race winded down the composure and speed of the points leader Benham was obviously to great for anyone to compete with, for the second race in a row. Daniel Benham would earn his second straight win while Jacob Yurk was second and reigning champion Aki Pihlaja third. Hunter Patenaude would finish his day off with a fourth and Cole Cottew rounded out the top five.

1. #221 Daniel Benham

2. #727 Jacob Yurk

3. #128 Aki Pihlaja

4. #208 Hunter Patenaude

5. #21 Cole Cottew

6. #58 Marcus Ogemar

7. #201 Travis Kern

8. #75 Martin Moland

9. #144 Max Taillefer

10. #17 Korbyn Anderson

11. #302 Viktor Herten

12. #114 Alexander Berglund

13. #27 Nisse Kjellstrom

14. #57 Andy Lieders

15. #122 Kevin Wallenstein

Pro

Round 1

In the opening qualifier for the premier class of AMSOIL Championship Snocross Powered by RAM, Corin Todd would nail the hole shot and pull ahead of the second place rider Kyle Pallin. Señor Smiley would run a great race and battle close with Todd but the Polaris rider of Todd would end up leading the entire race flag-to-flag. Kyle Pallin would cross the AMSOIL finish line in second and Tim Tremblay third. Tremblay is back to racing this weekend and had a great opening performance. Kody Kamm would have a mechanical issue in the first Round taking him out of contention for a top qualifying spot. The second heat of Round 1 featured an epic battle between Tucker Hibbert and Petter Narsa. Narsa would lead the beginning portions of the race before being challenged by the 10x champion. The two veteran Pros would go back and forth before Hibbert would get the best of Narsa and run away to victory. Narsa would still solidify the second spot while Ryan Springer crossed the finish line in third. This was a great ride for Ryan Springer and the entire Jimmy Johns racing team.

Round 2

The final round of qualifying was set to begin for the best Snocross athletes in the world. Tucker Hibbert and Johan Lidman would take their Arctic Cats to the front early while Kyle Pallin started the race in third. Hibbert and Lidman would go back and forth for nearly the entire ten lap feature but Hibbert was able to edge out his fellow Arctic Cat rider for the win. Lidman would come across in a close second while Pallin stayed a steady third. The last qualifying race for the Pro class was a statement ride by Kody Kamm. With Kamm having issues in the first round he needed a great second round to have a chance at making the front row of the final. Kamm would get out front early and not look back. The Pirtek Polaris was on rails and took the double checkered flags in Round 2. Ryan Springer would have another awesome heat race and finish second while points championship contender Logan Christian rounded out the top three.

Final

The moment the huge New York crowd has been waiting for, the Pro final. When the light went green it was Hentges racing teammates Kody Kamm and Petter Narsa holding down the top two spots. Polaris Privateer rider Corin Todd would have his best start of the season while he found himself in the third position. On lap five of the main event, Tim Tremblay moved past Corin Todd and Logan Christian to find himself in podium position. While the battles at the front of the field take place, Tucker Hibbert was having battles of his own for the 8th position after a poor start in the main event. The bad luck continued for Hibbert as on lap 10 had a throttle issue taking him out of the race. Pro points championship contender Logan Christian was having a great evening as well, being in the fourth position and searching to find ways to catch the third place rider of Tremblay. On lap 12, Kody Kamm separated himself by over four seconds over teammate Petter Narsa. Tim Tremblay still had a very solid night going as he started to reel in the second place rider. Tremblays teammate, Lincoln Lemieux, found himself in the eighth position, but with determination and smart line choices moved into the top five. With the laps winding down the field started to gap from one another and stay the same in running order. As the double checkered flags flew it was Kody Kamm winning his second race in 2018. His teammate Petter Narsa in second and Tim Tremblay in third. Logan Christian, running in fourth, had an off forcing him outside the top five. Lincoln Lemieux would cross the finish line in fourth and Adam Renheim in fifth.

1. # 1 Kody Kamm

2. #54 Petter Narsa 

3. #11 Tim Tremblay

4. #13 Lincoln Lemieux

5. #311 Adam Renheim

6. #43 Logan Christian

7. #52 Johan Lidman

8. #36 Corin Todd

9. #436 Travis Muller

10. #748 Mike Pilotte

11. #177 Jake Angove

12. #248 Brett Nastala 

13. #68 Tucker Hibbert

14. #541 Ryan Springer

15. #324 Kyle Pallin

Pro AM Women

The Pro AM Women’s class is sure a fan favorite, and tonight it definitely did not disappoint. Taven Woodie would jump out front early while points leader Megan Brodeur started to battle her way to the front. Brodeur would push hard the entire race to catch the leader but Woodies Sunoco Arctic Cat was too much to handle tonight. Taven Woodie would earn her second win of the season while Megan Brodeur, aboard her Ski-Doo, finished second and extended her points lead. The final spot on the podium was earned by the South Side Polaris rider of Emilia Dahlgren.

2017/2018 ISOC National Snocross Tour Schedule 

Duluth, MN // November 24-27, 2017

Jackson Hole, WY // December 8-9, 2017

Shakopee, MN // January 5-6, 2018

Deadwood, SD // January 19-20, 2018

Salamanca, NY // February 16-17, 2018

Mt. Pleasant, MI // February 23-24, 2018

Dubuque, IA // March 9-10, 2018

Lake Geneva, WI // March 16-17, 2018

About ISOC Racing

The International Series of Champions (ISOC) is the premier snowmobile race organization in North America, sanctioning AMSOIL Championship Snocross powered by RAM events in addition to affiliating with nine regional circuits. Visit www.snocross.com for more information, fan and racer memberships, schedule details and listings for 17 exclusive one-hour shows on CBS Sports Network. A live stream link during events is free to fans at www.snocross.com/livestream.