After some great heat race action with Elias Ishoel(200) who came back strong with two 2nd place finishes,   James Johnstad(14) grabbed a clean sweep with two heat race wins and Montana Jess(765) had to come up through the LCQ to claim a spot on the starting line up in the Final.

The Pro Lite division has proven time and again that there are no absolutes, it is anyone’s game.  Out of the chute it is  Daniel Benham(221) who takes the Stud Boy Holeshot with James Johnstad(14) tight on his heels over the AMSOIL Finish Line.  Coming into the Polaris Turn on lap one, Kevin Wallenstein(122), Travis Kern(201) and Maxime Taillefer(144) all get tangled up going for the same line with Kern and Taillefer both going down, all riders are able to continue on.  The hard charging Elias Ishoel(200) sits in fourth place in pursuit of Montana Jess(765). With the battle for 2nd heating up half way through, it is James Johnstad(14), Montana Jess(765) and Elias Ishoel(200) all fighting bar-to-bar.  Jess makes the move over Johnstad in the FXR corner followed by Ishoel moving into third and quickly making a hard charge into 2nd over the Air Force Fly Away jump.

The young rider Ishoel is on a rail and makes a big aggressive pass in the FXR Turn to take the reins and move into the lead, but it is short lived as Ishoel gets out of shape through the back stretch and off the track, slides back onto the track behind Daniel Benham(221) and then goes down in the Ski-Doo Corner. Back up front it is Daniel Benham(221) followed by Montana Jess(765) and moving into third is Cole Cottew(21).  With only two laps to go and a two second lead, Benham is riding a clean race and takes it the AMSOIL Finish Line for the checkered flag followed by Montana Jess(765) and grabbing the third spot on the box is Cole Cottew(21).

Grab the edge of your seat and the hold on, because the cold Minnesota air is about to get a bit warmer as the Pro Open Heat races fire up the night.  Big action, big crashes and big air all packed into some great racing.  Kody Kamm(53) (riding injured) had a bad first night of the Pirtek National Snocross comes back with a 2nd and 1st place finish in the heats.  Tim Tremblay(11) throws down two 1st place finishes and Tucker Hibbert(68) goes for a wild ride in the 2nd Heat landing him a spot in the LCQ where he would take 1st and move onto the Final.

On the line, the riders wait for the green to go, when the flag drops, fifteen sleds into the turn, it is Petter Narsa(54) who gets the Stud Boy Holeshot and into the RAM Corner first followed by Hengtes Racing Teammate Kody Kamm(53) who takes over first in the FXR Turn.  Front row start, back row start, does it really matter if you are Tucker Hibbert(68), after the LCQ transfer, Hibbert settles into the back row on the start, out of the gate finds a good line slides in mid-pack on lap one.

While Kamm(53) is extending his lead over the field, Hibbert is making his move through the field and up to the 4th spot by lap three and setting his sights on Lincoln Lemieux(13). With the snow dust heavy in the air, the visibility for the riders gets less with each lap completed. Tucker is on the fast path and now in the battle for third, Lemieux tries to hold off Hibbert, but the T-Train makes quick work in the Ski-Doo Turn and takes over 3rd after starting from the back row.  Only two riders now in the way of another top spot on the Podium for Hibbert,  Kamm(53) and Narsa(54) continue to pilot the Hentges Racing Polaris sleds toward the checkers as the race approaches the mid point.

It is a six second difference between 3rd and 1st, Hibbert has some work to do as each lap gets marked in books and only 9 laps to go.  Hard into the FXR Turn, Hibbert squares up and makes the move on Narsa(54) and slides into 2nd, Narsa battles back over the Air Force Fly Away jump, but it is not enough to hold off Hibbert who still has a six second deficient to overcome now with only six laps to go. With only a few laps to the win, Kamm approaches the FXR Turn and gets into trouble landing a double on the edge of the track, goes off track and gets tossed over the bars hard ending the chances to take the win and tighten the points gap for first.

After a bad break for Kamm, Hibbert is able to capitalize and move into first and go onto to make it a sweep at the Pirtek Snocross National in Shakopee, MN.  Petter Narsa(54) grabs 2nd and holding onto 3rd is Lincoln Lemieux(13) on the AMSOIL/Air Force/Rockstar Ski-Doo. Patience, a little bit luck and a never give up tenacity, pay off for the T-Train.  “I got another win, I am blessed and super thankful for that. Kody Kamm, he had that race won, I wasn’t going to catch him, the only reason I won was maybe a little bit of patience or experience or something, Kody was riding really strong. You can’t count anyone out until the last lap, the last corner.” explained Tucker.