Shakopee, MN (January 29, 2017) – Widely viewed as the super bowl of snowmobile racing, the Winter X Games snocross features the best in the sport competing on a world stage. A win here makes you a household name. This year’s event, which took place January 26, featured a 30-lap final on a very non-typical X Games track. Short and rough, it rewarded fast starts and smart line choices. And it was Hentges Racing’s Petter Narsa who grabbed the lead in the final and never looked back.

The X Games track featured a downhill, off-camber hairpin start chute that claimed many riders due to crashes and, unlike most starting line layouts in snocross, it rewarded strategy over horsepower.

“This race was all about the start,” said Narsa. “I struggled in seeding and ended up with a no. 8 gate pick which put me way on the outside. Not a good spot! I got out of the first corner clean and then had to battle Adam Renheim a little before I got the lead on the first lap. Then I just rode my own lines and tried to be smooth. I was able to run away with it and win gold!”
Narsa is the first Swedish-born rider to win a gold medal in the snocross competition. He crossed the finish line nearly three full seconds ahead of the silver medal rider.

Narsa’s teammate Kody Kamm looked to be the race favorite after setting fastest lap time in qualifying. He got the holeshot in his qualifying heat but was bumped off his sled by another rider and, with the small track, was never able to get back in the mix and was eliminated.

“I felt great in practice and set fastest time, my Polaris was running great and things were looking really good,” said Kamm. “I was leading my qualifying heat and got hit by another rider. On an 18-second track once you get hit and knocked off your sled there’s no way to make up that time. It was really unfortunate.”

Next up for Hentges Racing is the U.S. Air Force Snocross National, February 3-4, in Salamanca, New York.

For more information on Hentges Racing visit www.hentgesracing.com.

Team Sponsors: Polaris, Pirtek Fluid Transfer Solutions, FXR, Monster Energy, AMSOIL, Woody’s Traction Control, Walker Evans Shocks, Apple Ford Shakopee, Royal Concrete Products, S.M. Hentges & Sons, Ergodyne, C&A Pro Skis, 139 Designs, Camoplast, NGK Spark Plugs, EVS