Daniel Bodin Wins X Games Gold In Freestyle Thursday Night

This year, Daniel Bodin didn’t talk a back seat to anybody on the opening day of the ESPN Winter X Games.

            The snowmobiler from Sweden has been a staple at the X Games the last four years, and each year he finished fourth in the Freestyle competition – definitely good enough to get attention and make the final, but always one position short of earning a medal and a spot on the podium.

            Riding in place of the popular Levi LaVallee, a former gold medalist who suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries when he crashed practicing for a jumping distance record, Bodin make the most of the opportunity and took home X Games Gold Thursday night in front of a record first-day crowd for the event, held again this year in Aspen, Colorado.  

            LaVallee is recovering from his injuries and unable to compete, but is was at Winter X to cheer on his friends and teammates, and Thursday he even announced along with fellow X Games gold medalist Chris Burandt over the national televison broadcast of the event. When it was over, LaVallee was like a proud papa.

            “After four years in fourth place, I think he would have been happy to just make it onto the podium. To go home with the gold, [I’m sure] he’s absolutely pumped,” LaVallee said.

            The competition started earlier in the day with qualifying runs which paired the field to the top eight riders. They were split into two rounds of heats for Thursday night’s live broadcast. The top two competitors in each set of heats would advance to the final.

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Hibbert Takes National Win No. 50 Saturday Night In Milwaukee

This just in, Tucker Hibbert is human – and he was actually beat at the snowy and windy Milwaukee National.

Tucker Hibbert took Pro win No. 50 in his career at Milwaukee

The problem, at least for the competition, is that Hibbert’s defeats came in heat races. When it was time to chase the cheese, Hibbert again schooled the field in both Pro Stock on Friday night and Pro Open on Sunday night.

            For Hibbert, the driver who swept every Pro weekend last year before leaving the circuit to chase his motocross dreams, it was another weekend sweep to start this season after doing the same thing last weekend in Duluth, Minnesota. It was win number 50 on the national snocross scene – between WPSA and ISOC – for Hibbert.

            Saturday night, Hibbert again scored a come behind victory. The holeshot and early lead was claimed by Brett Bender on the No. 19 Polaris of New York, Bender held the point for the first three laps in the 22 lap final before being passed in the air over the main tabletop jump by Hibbert. Hibbert again methodically pulled away on his Monster Energy Drink Arctic Cat, pulling away to a 9 second victory.

            On the podium, Hibbert said about the only problem he has was with the roost, reporting that one time he got a mouthful of snow when pulling up behind a sled he was about to lap that made it hard for him to breath. From the outside, though, nobody could tell, as Hibbert again looked close to perfect.

            Bender held second the rest of the race – fellow Polaris racer Ross Martin closed within .8 seconds a couple of times, but he never got close enough to truly challenge. Those two took the last two spots on the podium.

            “Right before the race I was telling my dad [hall of fame racer Tim Bender] and everybody [on his team] that if I just got through the first corner I’d be excited because it seems I haven’t got through that first corner yet this year,” said Bender, who had gotten tangled up with riders early in the other three finals this year.

            “As soon as [Hibbert] got by me, I though, OK, just calm down and try to stay with him and see what he’s doing,” Bender said. But Bender bobbled a couple times and allowed Hibbert out of his sights.  

            Hibbert, meanwhile, admitted being human on the podium, saying that sometimes he struggles to find the motivation to keep training for riding. But, between devine inspiration for the religious rider, a desire to not let his team down and the threat of competitors sneaking up on him, Hibbert continues to push to improve.

            “I’d like to say thanks to the fans, the whole team, and thanks to the guys on the podium for giving me the motivation to keep working hard,” Hibbert said.

            Robbie Malinoski (Pol) finished fourth, followed be Brett Tucotte (Doo), Cory Davis (Cat), Tim Tremblay (Doo), Emil Ohman (Doo), Dan Ebert (Cat) and Paul Bauerly (Doo). Crowd favorite Levi LaVallee struggled deep in the pack before coming off his ride with about five laps left.

            Earlier, Logan Christian claimed a very entertaining Semi-Pro Stock victory.

Hibbert’s Chase Of Perfection Continues In Milwaukee

If you like to watch perfection, keep your eyes on the ISOC racing series for the first half of this season. If you like to watch close finishes and various people winning? Well, it might be a long season.

        The Tucker Hibbert show continues Friday night at the Milwaukee Mile, where Hibbert again watched for a couple laps, then stormed away to an easy-looking victory in the Pro Super Stock final. It was the Goodrich, Minnesota, racer’s 49^th Pro victory on the national series, and it continued an upbeaten string that dates back a couple of years.

            Polaris racer Ross Martin actually gave Hibbert a decent challenge in a heat race, but when the money was on the line, local boy Martin could only hold back Hibbert for a couple of laps after grabbing the early lead. Six laps into the 22-lap final, Hibbert chose a different line on his Monster Energy Cat down the backstretch, swapped to the inside line in the far turn and then took a lead he’d never relinquish. Then, lap after lap, Hibbert pulled away, adding about a second each lap over the talented Martin.

            Martin held second for the rest of the event, but behind him, there was chaos, as drivers swapped positions, there was a small fire and racers battled for the final podium spot. Levi LaVallee held third for the first third of the race before fading to an eventual eighth place finish. Steve Taylor grabbed the third spot on his Ski-Doo at the midway point but he faded to fifth.

            Garth Kaufman, meanwhile, was going the other direction on his No. 48 Cat. He held eighth for several laps early, then started picking his way through the field. He claimed third with five laps left and held on. Robbie Malinoski started strong, faded in the middle, then came back to claim fourth on his Polaris. Tim Tremblay (Doo) was sixth behind Taylor, and second-best qualifier Emil Ohman overcame a first-lap tie-up with Brett Bender, among others, to work up to seventh ahead of LaVallee.

            More huge racing tomorrow, including the Pro Open final.

Judnick Motorsports Hentges Racing Working Together

Judnick Motorsports and Hentges Racing have always worked together as a phenomenal part of the Polaris Racing Team…this year they are taking it to a new level! They will remain two individual racing teams with their incredibly talented racer line-ups but will combine sled building, research and development via legendary snowmobile racer and mechanical expert…Tim Bender.

Bender will remain Hentges Racing Team Manager, in addition will work with both teams as the Technical Director building sleds for 2010 season. The combined research and data sharing will ensure that both Hentges Racing and Judnick Motorsports hit the track with the ultimate in sled performance.

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