LIAN CLAIMS SECOND USXC WIN AT NAYTAHWAUSH

Story & Photos: Emily Wicklund

The USXC tour brought riders to Naytahwaush, Minnesota for the seventh round of the series. The abnormally warm temps made for a unique, slushy Le Mans-style race course on the lake. Original plans to plow the lake were abandoned after crews arrived and deemed it unfeasible.

In heat race four the Semi-Pro Improved and Sport 600 classes battled it out together. Boe Bunke who was entered in the Sport class, had the fastest time overall in the heat. Bunke was not entered in Semi-Pro Improved class but if he was he would have finished .200 seconds behind Gunner Arlaud who came in first.

The last race of day one was the Pro Open final. Arctic Cat riders David Brown and Wes Selby separated themselves from the rest of the field early on. After multiple DNFs, including Zach Herfindahl, only 11 of 17 riders finished the race.

Brown showed speed from the start and took home his first win as a Pro claiming victory in the Pro Open class this weekend. Wes Selby (Arctic Cat) took second and Travis Faust came in third on his Polaris earning his first Pro podium.

On Sunday, the Pro Stock sleds took on the course first with their three-lap qualifier. Polaris’s Travis Faust and Charles Revering were the first two sleds off the line. After three laps of battling, Chad Lian (Arctic Cat) came out on top as the top qualifier. Ross Erdman (Arctic Cat) came in second with Wes Selby in third.

The Semi-Pro class ran a four-lap heads up final which is unique for this class. Despite competition being tight all season in the semi-pro class, when USXC hits the ice, Gunner Arlaud (Arctic Cat) has been known to dominate. And this weekend was no exception.

Gunner Arlaud rounds a corner on his way to a win in Semi Pro Stock .

Cale Anseeuw finished the Semi Pro class in second after charging hard all weekend.

The Semi Pro Stock was an all- Arctic Cat podium with Arlaud in first, Ansseeuw in second, and Dylan Stevens in third.

In the Sport 600 class, Polaris riders Boe Bunke and Evan Peppel have been battling it out all year. This weekend Bunke finished first and Peppel took second. Cole Boyd took third which made it a Polaris podium sweep.

The last race of the day was the Pro Stock final. This class was ran according to the traditional timed racing format as opposed to the heads-up racing that we have typically seen at this event in the past . Number-one qualifier Chad Lian (Arctic Cat) was fast all weekend. This speed continued on into the final and Lian earned his second win of the season; eariler this season Lian won round one at Pine Lake.