Elias Ishoel Dominates Duluth, Pockets 10 Grand
Elias Ishoel went undefeated in head-to-head racing on Friday night to claim the second $10,000 Dominator check of his career. Unfortunately, that would be the only action the stars of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross series would see during the weekend as a winter storm swept into the twin ports off of Lake Superior, dumping 23” of snow in less than 24 hours. After an attempt to get Saturday’s program in the books, the event was cancelled before any of the day’s finals could be started.
For Ishoel, the win signaled that he remains on track from his 2019 Championship season and the speed he has been showing at the practice tracks is legit. A large number of Pro and Pro Lite riders signed in for the Dominator qualifying process and after two rounds the field was pared down to 16 combatants who went head-to-head in single elimination rounds leading up to the final.
The top eight riders in points from last season were automatic bids into the final 16, but one surprise that emerged was 2019 Pro Lite Champ Hunter Patenaude, who posted the fastest overall time in qualifying. After the first round it quickly became apparent that the super teams, more specifically the Ski-Doo super teams, held the upper hand. Boss Racing, Scheuring Speed Sports and Warnert Racing all watched their pilots advance to the second round, with the Hentges Racing duo of Kody Kamm and Oskar Norum representing Polaris as the only other brand to move on.
While elimination racing may not always create the most exciting show, the Dominator has a history of producing good one-on-one drama and this year was no exception. There was plenty of bumping and block passing throughout elimination, however, Ishoel and 2019 World Champion Adam Renheim slid into the final round relatively unscathed. The Dominator features a unique main event in that a third rider is added to the mix based on a showdown between semi-final losers. In this case it was the tenacious Kamm who earned the spot, starting in a second row behind the undefeated riders.
Once elimination rounds get started, the program typically clicks off at a good pace. However, this was not the case as the three riders lined up for the final showdown. With a lot of yelling and arm waving taking place on the line, it became apparent something was up. Then front row starter Adam Renheim fired his sled and proceeded to make his way back up the hill to the pit area. Before fans had any inclination what was happening, Ishoel and Kamm, who had taken Renheim’s spot in the front row, were racing off the line and up the hill.
With just two and a half laps to sort it out, each rider took a turn in the lead before succumbing to a challenge from the other. Once Ishoel regained the point he pulled a slight gap and raced to his second Dominator win, carrying the momentum the Jimmy John’s team has a built over the past 12 months.
Kamm put in a valiant effort but was not at all happy with the outcome
As it turns out, Renheim, the 2019 Dominator Champ, was disqualified because his fuel failed to pass tech. All teams in the ACS series are required to run a spec Sunoco fuel which gets randomly tested after it has been mixed with the team’s oil of choice. Some teams will even volunteer to have their fuel tested, in the sled on race day, as a precautionary measure.
In this case, the Warnert team brought a fuel jug to the mechanics area behind the start line which raised a red flag with officials and prompted an immediate test. When both the fuel in the jug and in the sled’s tank failed, Renheim was pulled from the line. The fuel was then brought back to the tech trailer for chemical testing where it failed again. This is the third time the Warnert team has been penalized for illegal fuel since the spec rule went into effect two seasons ago, adding further insult to injury and Renheim’s potential chance at a Dominator repeat.
Brian Peterson used the inside line to get the holeshot on the Sport final
Leading up to the Dominator showdown, several amateur classes completed their first round of the season. The Sport class is one of the most competitive on the tour and long-time participant Brian Peterson picked up the first main event win of his career over Evan Christian and Jordan Lebel. All three riders also picked up heat race wins with Lebel sweeping his two qualifiers.
Raycer Frank
Other heat race winners included Kaden Woodie, Raycer Frank, Kyle Kuntsman and Eric Downs. The class featured a solid mix of brands with each picking up multiple heat race wins. In addition to his performance in the Sport class, Raycer Frank made quite an impression in Sport Lite sweeping his heats and winning the final over Emeric Legendre and Eli Epling.
Jordan Lebel
Kaden Woodie
Carson Alread made his return to the track after a serious injury at Canterbury Park in January. Alread had a scary crash while leading his Sport qualifier on Friday but bounced back to sweep his heats on Saturday.
Emeric Legendre on his way to a win in Junior 14-15
Junior 16-17 winner Hayden Meyer
Landon Giese getting in done in the 200 class
Zach Pattyn carrying the flag for Fly Racing and Arctic Cat with a Vet Pro win
This is the greeting race fans would have received Sunday morning, had they even been able to make to Spirit Mt.
