Levi LaVallee has been called a lot of things over the years: snowmobile racer, freestyler, stunt man, ambassasor and now even Snowmobile Hall of Famer. But through all that, he’s also clearly maintained a focus on fun!

Nowhere is that better exhibited than in the Levi Tri 5 event he hosts annually. It’s wild, it’s wacky, it’s colorful, it’s fun. It’s a costume show disguised as a race, or maybe it’s the other way around? On top of all of that, it’s highly charitable.

Below is the press release on the event that we received from Team LaVallee. We’ve posted a few of the photos they shared with us in the story, but to check out many more images from this colorful event, go to the Team Lavallee page.

The Most Fun Snowmobile Race Ever Is All Wrapped Up For 2024

And Best Of All, Big Dollars Were Raised For An Awesome Cause: Wings For Life

April 18, 2024 – Longville, Minnesota – The 2024 Levi Tri 5 is completed and the event is still a-buzz. A whole swarm of Bees, Mario Brothers, the crew from Baywatch, a Bull, Willy Wonka, Grease, Rockstar LaVallica, and the folks from Amish Gone Wild (amongst many others) showed up for “The Most Fun Snowmobile Race Ever!” 

Wait, what? Let us explain. Levi Tri 5 “The Most Fun Snowmobile Race Ever!” is a judged style racing event that Levi LaVallee created years ago at his LaVallee Compound and has now evolved into so much more. Now, individuals and teams can sign up to be a part of the Tri 5 as well as two other Sprint Class options. The racing will be judged on creativity, most fun and overall awesomeness. 

In 2022, Levi Tri 5 joined forces with Hill Fest/MESC and held both events at Mount Ski Gull in Nisswa, Minnesota. With anticipation for a huge crowd and previous year high registration numbers, it was time to switch locations to allow more space for this spectacle of an event.

Giants Ridge, in Biwabik, Minnesota was the home to the 2023 and now the 2024 Levi Tri 5. With registration packed full, it was time for “The Most Fun Snowmobile Race Ever!” to get underway. As the sleds rolled in, costumes were put on, and staging was set; the Guest Judges – snocross racer Raycer Frank, Sled-Head 24/7 Host Jeff Fischer, and Hayes Brake’s Jeremy Meyer – had some tough decisions to make! 

A beautiful, sunny day was set for the Saturday, April 13th event. The day consisted of 3 races (which each participant and/or team could sign up for all three). They were the Sprint 1 – 1995 and Older Class; Sprint 2 – 2000 and Older Class; and the grand finale, the Tri 5. The Sprint races were 20 minute plus 1 lap, and the Tri 5 was an intense 45 minute race before a grooming break, and finishing up with a final 30 minute race to cap it off!

Again, yes it’s a race, but it’s not necessarily about who crosses the finish line first. The judges paid attention to creativity, most fun, and overall awesomeness and those individuals/teams were the real winners. So, who brought home the awesome custom Tri 5 Medals (designed and created by ROX Speed FX)? Without further ado, here are your 2024 Levi Tri 5 results.

The Results

 Sprint 1 – 1995 and Older Class
First: #580 Brian Witham “The Bee”
Second: #302 Nova Witham “The Bull”
Third: #3 Jesse Pokszyk

Sprint 2 – 2000 and Older Class|
First: #107 Jeff Wunderlich “Ghost Busters”
Second: #TMNT Michael Barthel “Ninja Turtles”
Third: #7 Grayson Baxter

Tri 5
First: #M000 Michael Barthel, Jeff Wunderlich and Dan Kohl: “Baywatch”
Second: #14 Derek Craft, Kevin Kronfuss, Neal Beck, Brenten Simonson, Fletcher John: “Amish Gone Wild”
Third: #97 Team C&A Pro Skis: Leah Bauer, Zach Johnson aka Millennial Farmer, David Fischer, and Ryan Greenwaldt: “Mario Brothers”

 Woody’s STUD AWARD, presented by Woodys’ Traction: Kolton Krajcek “Ditch Pickle”

And the best part of all of this fun is, the Levi Tri 5 is all about raising money for an awesome cause, Wings for Life – Spinal Cord Research Foundation. And big dollars were raised! All proceeds from registration were donated to WFL. Plus, over $9,000 dollars was also raised from the Levi Tri 5 Online Auction, which was in collaboration with the Hunter Houle Memorial Foundation. And if that wasn’t enough, the Hunter Houle Memorial Foundation also generously presented a donation check to Wings for Life for $10,000! How awesome is that!? With the help from gracious sponsors (listed below), those dollars helped fund on-site expenses and will be used for preparation for next years Tri 5. Whew! That’s a lot of donations.

And here is the final tally… drum roll… over $34,000 is being donated to Wings for Life! WOW! Thank you to the participants, judges, announcers, volunteers, Giants Ridge, Hill Fest/MESC and our incredible sponsors who helped make the Levi Tri 5 possible and bring so much awareness and funds to a cause that is special to so many. 

THANK YOU TO THE LEVI TRI 5 SPONSORS!

Polaris, C&A Pro Skis, TDS Trucking, Polaris Lubricants, Dennis Kirk, ROX Speed FX,  Hunter Houle Memorial Foundation, Team LaVallee, Hill Fest / MESC