Longtime fan favorite Levi LaVallee announced Saturday that he is retiring from active participation in snocross racing, though don’t expect the popular 32-year-old to disappear from the radar anytime soon.
LaVallee, from Longville, Minnesota, said he will no longer compete in the ISOC Amsoil Championship Snocross series as a driver, though he’ll still be the owner of one of the most prominent Polaris racing teams on the circuit. Beyond that, LaVallee said he is still planning to compete in all snowmobile disciplines — including snocross — at X Games Aspen this winter.
The fun-loving daredevil has been around the snocross scene for 20 years, always aboard Polaris snowmobiles, and always with high-flying antics. He earned the nickname “Launching Levi” when he was still racing in the Juniors division, catching monstrous air and occasionally mixing in a trick or two, even in the middle of a race.
In more recent years, LaVallee has gained most of his notoriety for high-flying, risky fetes, including being the first to complete a double backflip on a snowmobile in a competition at the 2009 X Games, and setting a world record by jumping a snowmobile 412 feet over San Diego Bay on live TV on the Red Bull: New Year No Limits event on December 31, 2012. He has appeared on the Tonight Show, is a major darling of the Winter X Games and was even named No. 19 on the ESPN 50 Most Influential People In Action Sports list.
When he wasn’t flipping or setting records, though, he was snocross racing. He has fought many injuries over the years and hasn’t been very competitive the last couple of seasons, but he was the ISOC Pro Stock high points champion in 2009 and has been voted the Fan Favorite on the ISOC circuit for five consecutive seasons.
Below is a press release from LaVallee. ESPN’s X Game portal also has a well done story on the racer that includes many quotes and anecdotes. Click here to read it.
PRESS RELEASE: LaVallee Retires From Snocross Racing
Longville, MN (September 6, 2014) – Levi LaVallee officially announced his retirement from racing snocross today, at the 48th Annual Sno Barons’ Snowmobile Club Hay Days, in North Branch, Minnesota. LaVallee, who started racing at age 12 worked his way through the ranks and became Pro in 2002 at the age of 20. LaVallee continued his professional career of snocross racing and raced under
the Factory Polaris team for the last 12 years. With numerous podium finishes and wins, and being awarded “Fan Favorite” for 5 years in a row, the highlight of LaVallee’s professional snocross career would be earning the Pro Championship title in 2009.
“Ever since I was a little kid, it was my dream to be a professional snowmobile racer. I’ve had amazing support from my family, friends, fans, and sponsors over the years and know none of this was possible without them. Team LaVallee was formed five years ago with one thing in mind – still being able to stay in the industry I love, when I am done racing. Ultimately it was a very tough decision to step away from snocross, but I will still be out there competing in all of the snowmobile disciplines (including snocross) at the Winter X Games and passing down my experiences and knowledge to the riders on my team.” – Levi LaVallee (Co-Owner/Pro Snowmobiler, Team LaVallee)
LaVallee will now be concentrating his efforts into Pro Riders, Kyle Pallin, Jake Scott, and Andy Lieders. Helping mentor them with training and riding. In additional to running Team LaVallee, LaVallee will still be at every ISOC National event and plans to compete in all snowmobile disciplines at the Winter X Games. So don’t worry race fans, he will still be around . . . just keep your eyes open to see what he has next up his sleeve. Congratulations Levi for a successful and memorable snocross career and best of luck in your next chapter.