The schedule for the upcoming national snocross season has finally been released, and it includes some interesting surprises plus a promise of good times ahead despite the pandemic and its effects on events.
The host ISOC circuit has been staging off-road truck and UTV racing all summer and fall, proving that it can produce safe events in the era of COVID-19. With that background, the circuit has developed a solid-looking 17-round snocross series again at eight locations — though the race sites and order in which they occur has changed rather notably.
Most attention grabbing is the fact that the race season will NOT open in Duluth, Minnesota, on Thanksgiving Weekend this year, and it won’t close in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, next March. Instead, a new event at ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minnesota, will get things rolling in early January, and the season will conclude in Michigan.
It should be an interesting season, as some top Pro Lite drivers are moving up, other drivers are switching teams and new race sleds abound.
Below is the full press release from the ISOC race circuit.
Major Schedule Shift For 2021 Race Season
ALBERTVILLE, MINN – With the Snocross season rapidly approaching amidst a worldwide pandemic, ISOC Racing has been working due-diligently towards the upcoming 2021 season. Series officials are now pleased to announce the series will return to action this coming January. The new schedule will see several changes to venues and dates, but with the promise of filling seventeen rounds of racing over eight weekends this winter.
For the first time in 28 years, the Amsoil Duluth National will not open up the Snocross season. Instead, the series will make its highly anticipated return to ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minn., on January 8-9, 2021. The venue has been a hub for snocross racing, hosting a slew of high-profile snowmobile events over the past several years, including an ISOC National in 2012.
The series will then shift South the following weekend, with its annual stop in Dubuque, Iowa, January 15-16. The track at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds has quickly become a fan-favorite, and in recent years the Iowa stop has become key in determining the final championship standings.
After a single weekend break, teams will head to the Dakotas for the “Dakota Swing.” The bull ring style racetrack in Deadwood, S.D., offers up some of the tightest racing the sport sees each year. From the tight oval track in Deadwood, racers will drive north to Fargo, N.D. for rounds seven and eight. Amsoil Championship Snocross will visit a new venue in West Fargo this season, moving its event to the Red River Fairgrounds.
The Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino in Salamanca, NY, will host two rounds of racing on February 19-20. The event has turned into a popular tour stop, as it enters its ninth year on the circuit, thanks in large part to the numerous snowmobile trails that lead to the front door of the resort.
Shakopee, Minn., has historically been the first event to ring in the New Year, and a popular mid-season stop for teams and fans. The large crowds that fill the horse racing venue will have to wait until March 5-6 to see their favorite racers fly around Canterbury Park this season.
The grand finale of the snocross season will not be scheduled for Lake Geneva, Wis., in 2021. The annual, three-day festivities will instead become the penultimate rounds of the Snocross season on March 19-21. Instead, Amsoil Championship Snocross will hold its final two days of racing March 26-27 in Grand Rapids, Mich. The series heads back to the Cannonsburg Ski Area, which would have become the home of the Michigan National event for the first time last season, but was cancelled due to the pandemic.
The on-going pandemic has caused interruptions in all facets of life, something the series, its sponsors, teams and venues have taken seriously. The schedule changes are a reflection of the needs of the racing community, and its host communities.
“As a series, we have a great responsibility to hosting world class events,” said Carl Schubitzke, ISOC president. “But we also have a responsibility to our racers and fans that goes beyond the racetrack. There were some difficult decisions and conversations, but we are fortunate to have great event partners that were open to new ideas. We feel great about the 2021 schedule and look forward to another full and exciting race season.”
The 2021 Amsoil Championship Snocross, powered by Ram, season will continue to air all 17 rounds on the CBS Sports Network, as well as via livestream at www.snocross.com.
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