Story: Emily Wicklund, Photos: Aaron Kennedy
Cor Powersports made their way to Naytahwaush, Minnesota for round four of the 2021 campaign. Warm temperatures brought slushy conditions and open water for crew and teams to work with. After three rounds of racing action, there have been three different winners in the Pro Factory 600 class. The race course was set up as an ice race with a 9.3 mile lap. The course had a mix of several long straights along with technical sections.
The first race of the weekend was the two lap Pro Open and Semi Pro Improved qualifier. This determined the starting order for the heads up final later in the day. After two laps of racing Polaris’, Andy Wenzlaff was the top qualifier 0.506 seconds over Arctic Cat’s Zach Herfindahl in the Pro Open class. Polaris racers Alex Hetteen and Justin Tate made up the rest of the front row. In the Semi Pro Improved class Jon Arenson was the top qualifier with Abe Olson and Paul Brown behind all on Arctic Cats. Polaris racer Evan Peppel rounding out the front row.
Heats two through five consisted of the merged format class competing in three laps, both days. The biggest battle of the weekend was in the Junior 10-13 class between Arctic Cat’s Cooper Kangas and Polaris’ Blair Potucek. After day one, Potucek was on top in the class.
The sixth race of the day was the Semi Pro Improved heads up final. Three Arctic Cats and one Polaris lined up on the front row including two time Semi Pro Improved winner Paul Brown and one time winner Abe Olson. After six laps of racing action, Arctic Cat landed in the top two spots.
The last race of day one was the 10 lap Pro Open final. This race required racers to make a mandatory fuel stop before taking the white flag with filling a minimum of two gallons of fuel. Wenzlaff, Herfindahl, Tate, and Hetteen made up the front row for the heads up final. Six of the 18 sleds that started the final ended up scoring with a DNF. Wenzlaff was battling for the lead when he had a mechanical failure dealing with his clutch. Herfindahl and Feil had close battles in the closing laps of the race but Pro Open veteran, Zach Herfindahl edged out Feil for the win.
Day two was even warmer with water really becoming an obstacle on the racing surface. The first race of the day again was a qualifier but this time for the Pro Factory 600 and the Semi Pro Factory 600 classes. After two laps of qualifying, Gunner Arlaud clocked in the fastest on his Arctic Cat by over 13 seconds. Lining up next to him in the front row of the final would be Chad Lian, Zach Herfindahl, and Dylan Stevens; all on Arctic Cat. In the Semi Pro Factory 600 class, yesterdays Semi Pro Improved winner, Abe Olson was the top qualifier only by 1.873 seconds over the next sled. Paul Brown, Marshall Busse, and Evan Peppel would make up the remainder of the front row for the final.
The next few heats consisted of the merged format classes finishing up their weekend of racing. The close battle between Kangas and Potucek ended up Kangas edging out the win on day two giving him the overall best time by 13 seconds in the Junior 10-13 class.
The sixth race of the day was the Semi Pro Improved final. This race was a heads up start with six laps of racing, no fuel stop. First sleds off the line were Olson, Brown, Busse, and Peppel. This class always puts on a show, especially this season, with so many young up and coming stars putting everything out there to show their skills. From the drop of the green flag Brown lead most of the six lap race but came up just short for the victory.
The final race of the weekend was the 10 lap Pro Factory Stock 600 final. By this time there was a good amount of water on the course making conditions a big factor in the race. Arlaud, Lien, Herfindahl, and Stevens lined their Arctic Cat sleds in the front row to take the green flag first. Conditions were grueling with standing water everywhere but a few sleds were able to run a good race and stay up front. Top runners, Erdman and Lien were exchanging the lead back and forth with having to take the mandatory fuel stop with Herfindahl and Stevens close behind all on Cats. On the final lap, Herfindahl had a mechanical issue about 1/4 mile from finish and was forced to score as a DNF after running in a podium position.
