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Would you trust your wife to manage your business and still have a healthy marriage? Snocross icons, Tucker Hibbert and Levi LaVallee have, and it helps them jump the moguls of their careers without coming up short.
“If Kristen wasn’t right there with me through it all, I would be one lost puppy… I could go on and on about the many hats she wears, but to sum it up: I couldn’t do what I do without her,” Levi said.
Mandi Johnson-Hibbert and Kristen LaVallee manage payroll, scheduling, public relations, social media and much more. Add on making sure a hot-healthy meal is on the table in the race trailer, it leaves some of us to wonder, if Tucker and LaVallee are some kind of evil geniuses!
“Mandi is just as determined and driven as I am and that makes working together awesome. She handles so much for me and the team and I would not be where I am without her,” Tucker said.
Romance at the track
So how do you get your wife to become your business partner, manager, cook, personal trainer, etc.? Well, the husbands may hold all the trophies, but these women are NOT Stepford or trophy wives.
Tucker’s high school sweetheart, Mandi went to Minnesota State – Moorhead for broadcast journalism. After graduation, she transitioned into his full time manager. Shortly after she came on board, the two of them formed the Monster Energy Racing team. Her experiences growing up on a farm around snowmobiles and being next to the track at every race has even given her the ability to hear tech problems.
“I have to be outside so I can hear the sled. There is something about seeing it, feeling it and smelling it and being as close as you can get to it. At Clash of Nations this year in Sweden, Tucker was slowing down dramatically and I was able to tell he had a part broken in his skid frame just by being next to the track,” Mandi said.
These senses come from being at their husbands’ sides 24/7.
“I feel blessed to be able to go to all the events and appearances that I can. Working before for somebody else you didn’t get too many days off. With the races on Friday and Saturdays, I get to go to them now,” Kristen said.
Like Mandi, Kristen was no stranger to sleds before meeting Levi. Ten years ago they met at a snocross race in Grand Forks, S.D. Kristen was rooting for friends and met Levi at the autograph line. In 2009 Levi started his own team, and asked Kristen to become his manager and leave her advertising agency job.
Unglamorous side of snocross
These two are in the trenches, riding on long truck rides to different snow destinations. Mandi said she learned early from her mother-in-law to keep a bag packed just in case the first snowflake came early.
“That’s the way of our crazy life to be on the road all the time…It’s an adventure for us,” Kristen said.
Long drives do not afford many options for quality restaurant options. Team LaVallee mainly munches on Jimmy Johns and Chipotle on the road.
After racing, Tucker may be seen following his nose to the trailer. Mandi watches her husband race and heads back to cook for the entire team. Kristen prefers baking to cooking, but brownies are rarely consumed during training’s strict diet.
“Jake Scott ended up last year [deciding] if he made it on the podium...he could get cookies...It’s kind of like those rewards that are sitting there,” Kristen said.
Patience required
Mandi and Kristen combined have more than 20 years of experience in the snocross world. Both believe it’s crucial for rookie wives to realize their husband’s career comes first.
“It is a real tough pill to swallow when you’re young. You do need to realize that this is their shot and this is their one chance. They need to dedicate fully their time to make this happen,” Kristen said.
Mandi stressed racing is a full time job and it’s not glamorous. The 12- to 14-hour road trips and staying in less than glamorous locations can wear on new-comers.
Strategic track moves
In addition to patience, trusting that the racer is making right moves on the track keeps worrying to a minimum. Both husbands had serious injuries in racing.
“When he goes out on the track, he is one of the smarter racers out there. So I don’t worry about him making a move that could put him at risk,” Mandi said.
Interestingly, they have a difference of opinion on snocross versus freestyle. Kristen said when Levi races snocross he has all of the racers as variables to worry about, but when it’s freestyle it’s just Levi controlling his destiny.
Hibbert has stayed away from freestyle, and only attempted X-Games long jump once. Mandi said the thought of a sled going upside down and shutting off mid-air is hard to grasp. “Thankfully, there is not a bone in Tucker’s body that wants to do freestyle,” Mandi said.