Lake Nebagamon, Wisc. – February 23, 2015 – The AMSOIL Championship Snocross tour made it’s first-ever visit to Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago, Illinois where the team experienced mixed results that didn’t reflect the overall effort given during the weekend.

The purpose-built NHRA drag race facility at Route 66 is a crown jewel among racing complexes and made for a nearly perfect snocross stadium. Ample seating with great site lines, spacious pit lanes and corporate amenities, just down the road from the third largest market in the U.S. were a welcome addition to the ever-growing status of the national tour.

Coming into the weekend Ross Martin had been the most consistent racer in the Pro Open class. Throughout qualifying he looked more aggressive than ever and completely at home on the “Supercross” style track layout with several first and second place finishes.

In Friday night’s main even, Martin had made his way to third place Polaris rider Kyle Pallin where the two engaged in a heated battle. Martin had taken the position as they began the final lap, but a rare slip entering the back straight allowed Pallin to regain the spot and relegate Ross to fourth. “I just made a mistake,” said Martin. I was doubling coming out of the corner onto the straight and the line was getting cupped out from everyone pounding over it so as I went jump, the rear of the sled slid out of the groove and I just didn’t get enough drive. Kyle was able to get the inside line going into the last turn and just keep me to the outside where I couldn’t make any kind of a move.”

On Saturday Martin jumped out to the second spot in the main event, when another tricky section of the track derailed his podium run. After briefly rolling over and resuming the chase, a determined Martin was clearly the fastest rider on the track as he closed on the leaders. Unfortunately, just as he was about to move into striking distance, his AXALTA/Jack Link’s/AMSOIL machine had it’s clutch explode upon a big landing, ending his night.

James Johnstad had a solid weekend in the Pro Lite division earning two top five finishes. James had been on a bit of a slump coming into the weekend in which he has qualified well, but been either unlucky or inconsistent in the main events. Johnstad finished off the weekend with one of his best races in recent weeks, charging from a mid-pack start in the main event to finish on the podium in third.

The Pro Lite championship has been one of the most heavily contested in recent years and with two weekends remaining in the series, Johnstad is right in the thick of the battle.

This week the team will travel to central Michigan for the 2nd Annual Soaring Eagle RAM Trucks National in Mt. Pleasant on February 27-28.

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