Elk River, Minn. ~ One week after a rainout in Lake Geneva, racers and fans of AMSOIL Championship Snocross woke up to a welcomed blanket of freshly fallen snow in Elk River, Minn.

With more snow in the forecast, the season is set to end in a flurry of four rounds in two weeks. The first stop before the season finale in Duluth, Minn., is the home of snocross racing in the United States: ERX Motor Park. 

The main practice track and historical host of some of the sport’s best racing over the past decade, ERX mixed the overnight snow with a healthy base of man-made powder to offer up big air, side-by-side racing, and a showcase in stamina on Friday night.

Harr Works the Whisk at ERX 

With most of the Pro racers using ERX Motor Park as their home track, the comfort level that comes with thousands of practice laps and familiarity with the surroundings was evident on Friday night.

No one seemed quite at ease with his surroundings in the ERX opener as Emil Harr. The points leader found quick laps no matter the track conditions. He used an even mix of inside and outside lines to find his way to the front of the pack, including a third heat that had him buried in seventh off the start. 

It didn’t matter as Harr was first to the finish line in all three rounds of the Triple Crown, going 1-1-1 for his third straight Pro class win. Harr got out front early in each of the first two rounds and set a blistering pace to position himself for his fifth win of the season. In the third round, he started seventh but never panicked. He methodically worked his way into striking position, taking the lead on lap 16 and holding off several late challenges for the win.

“I had good starts the whole weekend,” said Harr. The other guys are running fast, but I was able to find some good lines, and my sled is running great. So yeah, it makes it easier, but I’m super happy with the first-place finish again.”

It came down to the final laps to round out the remaining podium positions. Jacob Yurk and Adam Peterson had a shot at the overall spot heading into the final, but they needed to finish strong and stay ahead of Harr.

Peterson came into the last contest with second and third finishes and grabbed the holeshot off the start. He would slide down the leaderboard a bit, finishing seventh. His 12 overall points were enough to put him in the second spot on the podium, his first trip to victory lane this season.

Yurk led the charge in the final round, staying ahead of the pack for the race’s first half before finishing fourth. His 3-8-4 finishing order moved him into third overall, his fifth straight Pro podium.

Dillon Wins From Back Row in Pro Lite

The ERX track this weekend will cover less real estate than past iterations for a Snocross national in Elk River. But the track was wide and deep and acted like a larger circuit. That made for great racing, with multiple lead changes and a final that featured a lot of adrenaline and effort being expended for the talented Pro Lite class.

Nick Lorenz looked to make his return to action a success. The round nine and ten winner suffered a tough crash in Sioux Falls, but the extra weekend off gave him time to heal and prepare for ERX. He looked ready for the opportunity in the Pro Lite final, grabbing the hole shot and setting a blistering pace. But this track tired the entire field, and Lorenz had to deal with time off his sled over the past three weeks and a hard-charging Crayden Dillon late in Friday’s final.

Dillon had a rough qualifying run and the points leader had to go through the LCQ to reach the final. He executed a smart, steady plan to get to the front. He started seventh from the back row and methodically worked his way through the field, catching the race leaders with three and a half minutes to go. He hit his marks with power and speed and returned to the podium’s top spot for the first time since he swept the weekend in Valcourt.

“We messed up the starts all day,” said Dillon. “In the final, we took it easy at the start and got out at about sixth. I just put my head down, found a good line, and didn’t follow anyone. I did everything that I told myself I would do coming into the final, and it worked out well.”

Adam Ashline got off to a great start and matched Lorenz’s commitment heading into the first turn. He settled into the runner-up spot for much of the race, briefly slipping to third when Dillon made his late charge. He would slip past Lorenz with four laps to go for a final finishing spot of second, his third podium of the season and first since Valcourt.

Lorenz, whose speed was unmatched for the majority of the final, credited fatigue with his late drop to third. But Lorenz has shown a great ability to string together successful weekends of racing this season and will be one of the favorites heading into Saturday. His third-place finish marked his fifth podium of the season.

Cottew Holds of McCurdy for Third Straight

The pressure continues to come early and often on Malene Cottew as the rest of the Pro AM Women’s class is determined not to let the defending champion doesn’t run away and hide.

Inanna Hauger grabbed the holeshot with Cottew and Ava McCurdy in tow. Cottew was able to sneak around, but the tight track and speed from Hauger and McCurdy kept Cottew in their crosshairs.

A crash would knock Hauger out of the race, but McCurdy continued to pressure the points leader throughout the final. Cottew used a clean inside line for most of the race and crossed the finish line with her third straight win.

McCurdy was only a few sled lengths behind the race winner, finishing second and securing her first podium of the season. Cerissa Blessum finished third for the second straight race.

SNOW BIKE: The last time the Snowbike class held its dual-moto showdown in Shakopee, Minn., Yanick Boucher swept both motos and the weekend. He kept the high-speed racing at a winning level in Elk River on Friday night, winning both motos to take the overall.

Troy Horbaty couldn’t get around R.J. Marnoch in the first moto for the second spot, but he held off Marnoch in Moto 2 to finish 3-2 and second overall. Marnoch’s 2-3 moto finishes would place him third overall.

FXR SPORT: It was all Kenny Goike on Friday night as he led from start to finish for his second FXR Sport win of the season. 

Goike grabbed a tight hole shot, narrowly edging out Kellen Chapuran for the lead position. Chapuran locked down the second position on Friday night, finishing a few sled lengths behind Goike. Chapuran holds a narrow, three-point advantage in the championship standings over Cameron Cole, who finished third at the ERX opener.

SPORT LITE: Shade Meyer is now on the board with his first win of the year. Meyer found a way into the lead on lap three, getting around points leader Trenton Hilmerson, and never looked back.

Round nine winner Lawrence Eeg finished the night off in second, one spot ahead of the final podium spot finisher Deegan Johnson, who steadily moved through the field to earn his first podium of the season.

ROX SPEED FX STOCK 200: Henry Dillon has now raced three Rox Speed FX Stock 200 events with AMSOIL Championship Snocross this season. He has two podium finishes, including a win on Friday night.

Kody Krantz earned his third podium of the year, finishing .814 of a second behind Dillon for second. Koy Maruska backed up his win in Sioux Falls by ending the night third overall, less than a half-second behind Krantz at the line.

TRANSITION 9-13: Ryder Hayes made it a memorable night by winning his first Transition 9-13 final of the season. Hayes grabbed the lead off the start and never relinquished the spot as he drove to the win,

Points leader Jimmy Stanisich moved into the runner-up spot on lap two and stayed in second position through the checkered flag. Porter Jacklitch slotted into the third place spot on lap three and drove home to his first podium finish of the season.

JUNIOR 14-15: AJ Skogquist is the new points leader in the Junior 14-15 class, thanks to a big win on Friday night at ERX. Skogquist moved into a five-point lead over Kamden Duffy, who finished fourth in Friday’s final.

Colin Taggart backed up his win in Sioux Falls with a runner-up finish in Elk River. Cole Goike made his season debut on the Junior 14-15 podium, finishing third.

TRANSITION 8-10: Trip Knudson is on a nice winning streak as the Transition 8-10 points leader led from start-to-finish for his third straight win.

Beau Engel secured the runner-up position on lap three and kept pace with Knudson, picking up his third podium of the season. He held off Noah Gillis for the runner-up spot, with Gillis earning his second straight podium finish.

AMSOIL Championship Snocross returns to ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minn., on Saturday, March 23. 

For more information about the 2023-2024 AMSOIL Championship Snocross season, visit www.snocross.com. You can tune in all season long, live on www.FloRacing.com. Event day schedules and tickets will become available in the coming months at snocross.com.