Hillclimb, Hillcross, Snow Drags & More In Michigan's U.P.

Snowmobile Drag and Hillcross Racers from throughout the Midwest took in the final Mid America Snow and Terrain Expert Racers (MASTERS) Races of the year last weekend. It was the Ojibwa Casino Snow Drag Championships and Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau Hillcross at Marquette Mountain, of Marquette, Michigan. While the Uphill Snow Drags is the longest running event of the MASTERS Circuit, it was on Sunday that the MASTERS brought Snowmobile Hillcross back to the Upper Peninsula.

While the racer that earned the right to be the circuit’s number one driver changed, the race team that had that honor did not. Louie Goldbach of Iron River, Michigan, not only won the Top Gun feature, but also took the 2014 Top Gun class championship away from fellow Goldbach Race Team member Chris Nordang. Nordang did make it to the Top Gun final, taking a third. Second Place went to Chris’s son, Alex.

snowmobile hillcross
Snowmobile hillcross racing is back in play in the Upper Midwest.

Two racers went on to win 3 class championships. Jerry Buschell of Lake Linden, Michigan, won the Pro Open Mod, Pro Mod 800 and Pro Mod 700 point titles. Buschell won the Pro Open Mod Feature when Goldbach had a lane infraction. Buschell kept his 3 year undefeated streak in the Pro Mod 700 class going by winning that feature.

The other driver that went on to capture 3 Class Championships was Shay Thompson of Gwinn, Michigan. He is known in the circuit as “Mr. Snowmobile” for not only dominating in the Snow Drag portion of the Ojibwa Casino Series, but also winning multiple Hillclimb classes and placing in the top tier in the Hillcross venue. In the Ojibwa Casino Snow Drag Series, Thompson won the Pro Mod 600, Race Stock 800 and Trail Stock 800 classes. At the final Snow Drag of the season at Marquette Mountain, Thompson won the Race Stock Open class in a close race with Lower Michigan’s Mark Zumbaugh of Boyne Falls, and Nick Stilson of Howell, Michigan.

With a large contingent of drivers from Lower Michigan competing at the Snow Drags, in addition to a strong turnout of drivers from the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, Saturday’s Uphill Drags was one of the biggest in the circuit’s 19-year history.

“The Marquette Mountain event draws a large turnout of drivers every April, but this year we drew even more than expected,” commented MASTERS Racing Circuit President Skip Schulz. “By turning this event into a two-day event and bringing Hillcross back to the Upper Peninsula, this event will grow even more in years to come,” stated Schulz.

Hillcross is a mix between an uphill drag and a snocross. It has drivers racing side by side up the hill, with numerous jumps that propel the racers high into the air while going at high speeds. Hillcross grew in popularity as a former ESPN X Games competition, and has a solid base in Minnesota. The MASTERS looks at expanding into sanctioning more Hillcross events in the winter of 2015.

snowmobile racing Marquette
Louie Goldbach earned Top Gun honors at the races in Marquette.

The racer that swept the majority of the Hillcross classes was Ramsey, Minnesota’s, Brennan Plaisted. Plaisted won 4 of the 6 classes. It was a Montreal, Wisconsin, 14 year old and a Skandia, Michigan, woman that took the other 2 classes. Winning the Race Stock Open Class was Ironwood area’s Jordan Wolfe, and winning the Race Stock 600 class was the popular Upper Peninsula racer Victoria Hawley.

Just as was the case for the Snow Drags, drivers from all over came to compete in the Hillcross. One of the top Hillcrossers, Matt Beaton, made the trek to Marquette, Michigan, from Fargo, North Dakota.

“Even though the top Snow Drag and Hillcrossers came from all over to Marquette Mountain, the Upper Peninsula drivers still did well,” commented Schulz.

The only class in the Ojibwa Casino Snow Drag Championships that was not won by an Upper Peninsula driver was in the Trail Stock 600 class, which was won by Merrill, Wisconsin’s Jason Kleinschmidt on a Yamaha. Upper Peninsula drivers to win their respective class included Goldbach in Top Gun, Buschell in Pro Open Mod and Pro Mod 700, CJ Nordang in Pro Mod 800, Thompson in race Stock Open and Trail Stock 800, Adam Hawkins of Ontonagon in Race Stock 600, and Victoria Hawley in Pro Mod 500.

“Some of this was due to the UP Drivers having raced at Marquette Mountain over the years. Now that the Lower Michigan drivers have made the trip, along with the Minnesota and Wisconsin drivers finding out about this event, my gut feeling is you’re going to see the UP drivers having a more difficult time winning in the next few years,” Schulz stated.

The MASTERS also saw an influx of Upper Peninsula drivers that raced for the first time this winter in Hillcross. That included Snow Drag Class Champion Adam Hawkins and fellow Ontonagon County racers Travis Houtari, Dylan Morris, Anthony Ernest. One Upper Peninsula Hillcrosser that is already making his name known in the circuit is Calumet’s Trevor Wood. Wood won his Hillcross class the week before at the Minnesota State Championships.

“Just as the UP Drivers do well in Snow Drags in our circuit, it is the Minnesota drivers that pretty much dominate in Hillcross. Where we are seeing parity in the MASTERS is in the Hillclimb series. Here we have winners coming from throughout the Midwest,” explained Schulz.

The MASTERS has also seen an increased interest amongst the 4-9 year olds competing in the 120cc class. This year the Circuit had over 10 children competing in the 120s.

The MASTERS/Ojibwa Casino Series included Snow Drags, Hillclimbs, Hillcross, and Uphill Drags throughout the Midwest. The MASTERS will begin working on their Winter of 2015 Schedule in the next few months.

“We’re going to work on adding Hillcross events, and possibly one more Hillclimb. We’ll continue to have the Upper Peninsula Snow Drag Championships in Ontonagon and the Marquette Mountain Uphill Drags, and possibly one more Snow Drag,” concluded Schulz.

Plaistdd snowmobile
Brennan Plaisted was the top dog in hillcross racing.

 

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Ojibwa Casino Snow Drag Championships Results

 

General Concrete TOP GUN: 1) Louie Goldbach, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo; 2) Alex Nordang, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo; 3) Chris Nordang, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo

Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau Pro Open Mod: 1) Jerry Buschell, Lake Linden, MI., Ski-Doo; 2) Louie Goldbach, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo; 3) Alex Nordang, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo

Pat’s Motorsports Polaris Pro Mod 800: 1) CJ Nordang, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo; 2) Jerry Buschell, Lake Linden, MI., Ski-Doo; 3) Louie Goldbach, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo

Pat’s Motorsports Yamaha Pro Mod 700: 1) Jerry Buschell, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo; 2) Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris; 3) Matt Lacosse, Champion, MI., Polaris

Holiday Inn of Marquette Pro Mod 600: 1) Jim Johnson, Skanee, MI., Polaris; 2) Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris; 3) Nick Stilson, Howell, MI., Arctic Cat

Holiday Inn of Marquette Pro Mod 500: 1) Victoria Hawley, Skandia, MI., Ski-Doo; 2) Jim Johnson, Skanee, MI., Polaris; 3) Monica Thomas, Lake Linden, MI., Arctic Cat

Ojibwa Casino of Marquette Race Stock Open: 1) Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris; 2) Mark Zumbaugh, Boyne Falls, MI., Polaris; 3) Nick Stilson, Howell, MI., Arctic Cat

Ojibwa Casino of Baraga Race Stock 600: 1) Adam Hawkins, Ontonagon, MI., Polaris; 2) Nick Stilson, Howell, MI., Arctic Cat; 3) Victoria Hawley, Skandia, MI., Ski-Doo

Marquette Powersports Trail Stock 800: 1) Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris; 2) Monte Logan, Lake Odessa, MI., Ski-Doo; 3) Kevin Parks, Kingsley, MI., Ski-Doo

Marquette Powersports Trail Stock 600: 1) Jason Kleinschmidt, Merrill, WI., Yamaha; 2) Jeff Moleski, Gaines, MI., Arctic Cat; 3) Matt Lacosse, Champion, MI.. Polaris

Winning Edge Magazine Junior: 1) Alex Carter, Marquette, MI., Ski-Doo; 2) Ethan Kostreva, Marquette, MI., Yamaha; 3) Madison Goodwin, Trout Creek, MI., Arctic Cat

Ojibwa Casino’s Mod 120cc: (All Champions) Jake Adams, Isanti, MN., Polaris; Keegan Boggetto, Bessemer, MI., Polaris; Scotty Goodwin, Trout Creek, MI., Arctic Cat; Nathan Lacosse, Champion, MI., Polaris

Ojibwa Casino’s Stock 120cc: (All Champions) Evan Hawley, Skandia, MI., Ski-Doo; Nathan Lacosse, Champion, MI., Polaris; Nolan Boggetto, Bessemer, MI., Polaris; Carter Lacosse, Champion, MI., Polaris; Jake Adams, Isanti, MN., Polaris; Emma Goldbach, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo; Keegan Boggetto, Bessemer, MI., Polaris

 

Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau Hillcross Results

 

Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau TOP DOG: 1) Brennan Plaisted, Ramsey, MN., Polaris; 2) Matt Beaton, Fargo, ND., Polaris; 3) Victoria Hawley, Skandia, MI., Ski-Doo

Pat’s Motorsports Yamaha Pro Open Mod: 1) Brennan Plaisted, Ramsey, MN., Polaris; 2) Brandon Derks, Ramsey, MN., Polaris; 3) Victoria Hawley, Skandia, MI., Ski-Doo

Holiday Inn of Marquette Pro Mod 800: 1) Brennan Plaisted, Ramsey, MN., Polaris; 2) Matt Beaton, Fargo, ND., Polaris; 3) Victoria Hawley, Skandia, MI., Ski-Doo

Pat’s Motorsports Polaris Pro Mod 600: 1) Brennan Plaisted, Ramsey, MN., Polaris; 2) Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris; 3) Matt Beaton, Fargo, ND., Polaris

Marquette Mountain Race Stock Open: 1) Jordan Wolfe, Montreal, WI., Polaris; 2) Matt Beaton, Fargo, ND., Polaris; 3) Brennan Plaisted, Ramsey, MN. Polaris

Ojibwa Casino’s Race Stock 600: 1) Victoria Hawley, Skandia, MI., Ski-Doo; 2) Brennan Plaisted, Ramsey, MN., Polaris; 3) Jordan Wolfe, Montreal, WI., Polaris

 

MASTERS/Ojibwa Casino’s Snow Drag Class Champions 2014

Ojibwa Casino TOP GUN (#1 Driver Honor): Louie Goldbach, Iron River, MI., Ski-Doo

Pat’s Motorsports Yamaha Pro Open Mod: Jerry Buschell, Lake Linden, MI., Ski-Doo

Winning Edge Magazine Pro Mod 800: Jerry Buschell, Lake Linden, MI., Ski-Doo

Marquette Powersports Pro Mod 700: Jerry Buschell, Lake Linden, MI., Ski-Doo

Lindwall Motors Pro Mod 600: Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris

Ontonagon County Economic Partnership Pro Mod 500: Matt Lacosse, Champion, MI., Ski-Doo

Pat’s Motorsports Polaris Race Stock Open: Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris

Sagola Sportsman Club Race Stock 600: Adam Hawkins, Ontonagon, MI., Polaris

Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau Trail Stock 800: Shay Thompson, Gwinn, MI., Polaris

Holiday Station Stores Trail Stock 600: Jason Kleinschmidt, Merrill, WI., Yamaha

 

 

One thought on “Hillclimb, Hillcross, Snow Drags & More In Michigan's U.P.

  • Avatar for David S Humphrey

    Will this article make the printed issue? And if so any idea which issue. I’m the Photogpher who took some of the pictures and would like to get copies of your magazine to use as tear off sheets for future assignments.

    Also check out my web site, I have a few hundred Snowmobile pictures from this last season. And if you need someone to cover some racing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan please feel free to contact me.

    Thank you
    David S Humphrey
    McMongo Photography
    david@mcmongo.com

    (906)250-9548

    Reply

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