polaris racing news
Amsnow
Polaris snocross racers completed another great season on the WPSA race circuit by winning season points titles in Pro Open, Pro Women's Super Stock and both Semi-Pro classes, giving Polaris points titles in four of the five premier race classes this winter.
Season points champions include:
• Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) won Pro Open, where Polaris racers swept the top three spots in points. Martin has now won two Pro Open championships in a row after finishing second in his first season as a Pro. He was named "Pro Racer of the Year."
• Andrew Johnstad (Avalanche Racing) won points titles in Semi-Pro Open and Semi-Pro Super Stock. The Open title represented a great leap up in points, as he had finished seventh in the class last winter. He was named "Semi-Pro Racer of the Year."
• Kylie Abrahamson (Avalanche Racing) won her second-straight Pro Women's title in the newly renamed Pro Women's Super Sport class. She was named "Pro Woman Racer of the Year."
Others received WPSA awards as well. Shaun Crapo (Scheuring Speed Sports) was named "Most Improved Pro of the Year," Hentges Racing was named "Race Team of the Year" and Avalanche Racing received the 2007-2008 WPSA Sportsmanship Award.
Oval racing star
In oval racing news, 17-year-old Nick Van Strydonk has been named "Driver of the Year" for the USSA racing circuit, and the T&N Racing Team that he runs for was named USSA Family of the Year. Van Strydonk won season points titles in the Pro Champ 440, Pro Sprint 600 and the Semi-Pro Champ classes and was the overall high point driver of the season on the USSA circuit.
Van Strydonk is setting his sights on the World Championship at the Eagle River Snowmobile Derby; he qualified for the prestigious World Championship at the 2008 Derby, but finished 10th in his first try for the sport's oval racing Holy Grail. He got a taste at a young age, but he'll be back.
Van Strydonk competes on snowmobiles comprised of Wahl Bros. racing chassis powered by LRM-built Polaris Liberty engines. His sponsors include Polaris, River Valley State Bank, Advance Compressor Technologies, Woody's, LRM, Blue Marble Oil, Castle and Spy.