The biggest “free-agent” in snocross racing this off-season is switching teams, leaving Team Arctic to join the Ski-Doo-focused Warnert Racing team in the Pro class on the ISOC Amsoil Championship Series.
The news of Daniel Benham Jr.’s shift from Arctic Cat to Ski-Doo was tucked into a press release titled “Ski-Doo X Team Reloads For 2019-2020 Season” that was sent to the media on the eve of the annual Haydays Grass Drags & Swap Meet, where the full race team will be formally announced on Saturday, September 7.
Benham, 21, of Deer River, Minnesota, slots into the spot on Team Warnert that was opened after Tim Tremblay announced his retirement in July.
In the wake of Tucker Hibbert’s retirement after the 2017-18 season, Benham was seen as one of Arctic Cat’s most important up-and-coming stars in snocross. He was a force in the Pro Lite class before moving up to Pro last year.
In his Pro rookie season in 2018-19, he was the sport’s most impressive rookie, earning a breakthrough victory in Round 10 at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and finishing in the top six in 13 of the season’s 17 finals – leading to a fifth place finish in season-ending points. He also closed the season incredibly strong, winning all six of his heat races at the season-finale event in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in March.
At Warnert, Benham will team Adam Renheim – the Swedish racer who finished directly in front of him in points.
Moreover, Benham also joins the brand that had the most dominant sled in snocross last year. There’s no telling how the coming season will work out, but based on last year’s results the arrow is definitely pointed up for both Ski-Doo and Benham – it seems like quite a match.
