Malinoski, Martin earn Pro wins at Eastern Snocross National

After a three-week delay, the green flag finally dropped on Friday for the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series’ running of the Vision Kia Eastern National at Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack. Ski-Doo’s Robbie Malinoski claimed victory, while Polaris pilot Ross Martin grabbed the checkers in Saturday’s Open Final.

ACSS Pro Open Friday Final

High wind warnings – with gusts above 50 mph – including local power outages and generally foul racing conditions greeted the AMSOIL Pro Open racers at Finger Lakes on Friday – but at least there was snow! And gutting out the 25-lap main event was Malinoski, who grabbed the lead from Stud Boy Holeshot winner Zach Pattyn (Ski-Doo), then held off a sizable charge by the new overall ACSS Pro Open points leader, Tim Tremblay (Polaris). Joining Malinoski and Tremblay on the podium, with his first Pro Open podium of the year, was Pattyn.

Robbie Malinoski fought through windy conditions to win Friday night’s Pro Open main event.

“Zach got a great start, ripped out there, was able to get him in the whoops,” says Malinoski. “Was pumped to get out front … thanks to Ski-Doo. Out runnin’! I could hear Tim back there, he’s relentless. Anytime you can stay out front of him is a good race. My Fox Shocks hooked up and I was able to float over all that stuff.”

Running up front with Malinoski early was Bobby LePage (Polaris) and Pattyn, with Tremblay starting mid-pack and Pro Open points leader Ross Martin (Polaris) event further back in ninth. As Tremblay charged, getting by Pattyn, LePage went off the track near the start line jump and Tremblay was quickly up to third. Malinoski, putting on a masterful ride, kept his three-second lead through the later stages of the race before Tremblay cut it down to a snow flap. But a corner pileup allowed Malinoski a couple more second cushion on Tremblay, which he enjoyed all the way through the checkers.

“I got pretty close to Robbie. He had a pretty good race,” says Tremblay. “Got into some lapped traffic, sometimes good for me, sometimes good for him. Then I got stuck there on lap four and ran out of time when I tried to catch him. My goggles were full of snow, didn’t want to crash, so I’m happy with second. Tomorrow I will have the red plate, so it’s awesome for that.”

Ross Martin didn’t finish the Pro Open main, ending up in 15th place.

ACSS Pro Open Saturday Final

After a DNF on Friday, Ross Martin rebounded with a win in Saturdays’ Pro Open main event.

While night two of 2011-’12 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series racing – the Vision Kia Eastern National at Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack – went to Polaris’ Ross Martin, Ski-Doo racer Tim Tremblay made quite a statement with his 14th-to-podium rush in the Pro Open main event – an effort stand-in race announcer Levi LaVallee called the “Best he’s ever seen.”

With Friday’s near hurricane-force winds subsiding, Saturday night ACSS at Finger Lakes featured stellar racing. In Pro Open Arctic Cat racer Cody Thomsen pulled the MONSTER Stud Boy Holeshot, leading the rest of the field by multiple sled lengths into the first turn. Hot on Thomsen’s tail was Polaris’ Ross Martin, followed closely by Friday night’s Pro Open winner Robbie Malinoski (Ski-Doo).

Patient and calculating, Martin – who won both of his qualifiers heading into the night’s Pro Open main – stalked Thomsen and set him up for a pass on lap 13, only to have Thomsen charge right back. But Martin would have none of it from the rookie Pro Open class Arctic Cat pilot, rushing back past Thomsen in Ski-Doo corner and quickly opening up a multi-second lead that he’d enjoy through the checkers.

“I knew he (Thomsen) was up there, it’s a long race, but I knew I had a long time to get it done,” says Martin. “Sat back, followed where he went – just didn’t want to get tangled at the beginning of the race. Lapped traffic was a tough thing tonight. Took a few chances here and there and it ended up working out.”

“I got out to a good start. But I’ll tell you what, Ross just wanted it tonight a lot more than me – especially the first two laps. Hat’s off to him,” says Malinoski. “But I’m angry. Going to head home and working harder, look to get back on top of the podium in Fargo.”

With one eye on the leaders, ACSS fans in-the-know kept another eye on Tremblay. The point leader after Friday’s second place finish, Tremblay wadded up in the first turn – then put on a valiant charge through the pack … eventually reaching the podium in third.

“Somebody went sideways in front of me, had no place to go. Crashed,” says Tremblay. “But I never gave up and I’m really happy about it. Heck of a race, bent up sled, really nice to be here tonight. Found a really good line in the whoop section and that helped.”

Tremblay leads Martin by two points, 339-337, with three races remaining on the 2011-’12 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series tour.

Sledhead 24/7 Pro Lite Friday Final

Kody Kamm blew past the field and never looked back in Friday’s Pro Lite final.

Polaris’ Kody Kamm, who qualified in an uncharacteristic ninth place, pulled the holeshot in the 24/7 Sledhead Pro Light Final and lead the 14-lap main wire-to-wire, holding off a mid-race charge from second place finisher and fellow Polaris racer, Cody Crapo. And rounding out the Pro Light podium at Finger Lakes on Friday was Derek Ellis (Ski-Doo).

“Just tried to get the holeshot, ride a good race and come out in front,” says Kamm. “Couldn’t see a thing once I got up to the lappers, but it was tough. The faster I go the smoother I am.”

Blasting off the line Kamm quickly opened up a three-second lead over Crapo and Ellis – just three laps into the contest. Doubling the rhythm section like nobody else down the back straight, Kamm would continue to open up on the rest of the field. But a slight bobble in a corner allowed Crapo to catch right up, cutting the three-plus second lead down to less than 1.5 seconds. But the race to the finish line wouldn’t quite materialize as a combination of Kamm’s speed and a slight sketch by Crapo would extend Kamm’s lead back to three seconds by the checkers.

“The snow was pretty darty, but a lot of it was usually me – I was darting all over the place,” says Crapo. “Holes were bigger than they looked from here. But the wind wasn’t too bad – they cut the finish line jump down, which helped.”

Sledhead 24/7 Pro Lite Saturday Final

Kamm and Derek Ellis put on a thrilling show in Saturday’s Pro Lite final.

The most thrilling finish of the weekend – which brought the Vision Kia Eastern National fans at Finger Lakes to their feet – was certainly Saturday’s Pro Lite final. Kamm was the man, again, trailing Ellis from lap 12 to the last turn of the 18th and final lap before blasting his way past Ellis for the win.

“Once we got caught up to the lappers – and got clear – I was able to catch him in the last corner there,” says Kamm. “Didn’t mean to hit him, but I did what I needed to do to win.”

Both Kamm and Ellis separated themselves from the rest of the pack at the start, with Kamm taking the early lead. Midway through the race the two got into some lapped traffic and Ellis was able to take advantage of the situation, getting past Kamm on lap 12 and holding the lead into the last lap.

“It was definitely an experience. First time this season I’ve been able to dice with Kamm. Caught him once we got into lappers, gave him a good hug inside,” says Ellis. “But in the end he wanted it a little more than me and I’ve got to hand it to him. Probably was a little more cautious than I needed to be, but I’ll take a second over a crash any day.”