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Amsnow
The Woody's Challenge
Bellman held onto the top qualifying position with a 9.093 second pass. Mike Knapp qualified second at 9.112. The third position was held by Kerry Shilts with his 9.302 second pass. James Cooper took the fourth seed on his HTG Polaris with a 9.354 ET. Mike Weston qualified fifth on his Arctic Cat with a 9.374 run. Kerry's brother, Kelly Shilts, captured the sixth slot on his D&D powered Cat. Ed Ensor came in as the seventh seed on his Ski-Doo. Darrin Weber was the low qualifier on his Forest Lake Motorsports Polaris with a 9.518 ET.
As the elimination rounds passed, Knapp and Bellman found themselves squared up at the final. Once again the snowmobiles led the championship round at the NHRA Nationals. Knapp pulled into the staging beams on the right side lane; Bellman on the left. As the lights went green, Bellman had the holeshot with a .516 reaction time. However, his track broke loose and he spun ever so slightly, giving Knapp the lead by the 60-foot sensor, 1.302 to 1.378. Knapp's Vmax-4 powered down the lane to a 9.044 second run at 142.37 mph, taking the championship from the two-time winner.
"This is a dream finally come true," said Mike's wife Elise. "He's been chasing this for four years and now he's got it. It's been all he works toward right after the ice season ends until it starts again. If he's not working, he's with the sled. It finally paid off."