SALAMANCA, N.Y. — AMSOIL Championship Snocross officials used every flake of available snow on the ground at the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino to make the tight, technical track racers tackled this past weekend at the U.S. Air Force Snocross National.
As day turned to night on Saturday, Mother Nature woke up from her mid-season slumber and added some big, flakey snow to the mix of the series’ man-made creation.
While it didn’t widen or lengthen the track in any meaningful way, it did add a different consistency to the circuit’s top layers while also bringing a visibility issue for competitors.
The on-track results were one for the history books with a repeat winner in Pro Lite, a return to the top in the Pro class and a few riders who cleaned house with weekend sweeps.
Daniel Benham found himself in familiar territory on Saturday night as he entered the final round of the Triple Crown with a pair of wins. It was the same situation he encountered on Friday night, but he gave ground to Jacob Yurk in the third leg and ended up second during the podium celebration.
Benham entered the final round 1-1 with a two-point lead over Francis Pelletier, who finished second in both rounds. Pelletier nailed the holeshot, but Benham slotted in right behind him in the first turn. They two would pull away from the field, and with Pelletier hitting all of his marks for the win, Benham settled into the runner-up spot, gaining enough points (four) to finish with the overall.
“I really love New York, and I’ve had good luck here,” said Benham. “It was a really special weekend for us, and yeah, I’ll remember this one for a while, and I hope we can keep it rolling.”
In the Pro Lite races, Nick Lorenz’s switch to Ski-Doo in the off-season took a few rounds to adjust to the new ride, but he found his rhythm in Salamanca. Lorenz, who picked up the win on Friday night, was on a rail on Saturday. He took advantage of another great start and bolted to the front.
The clean air didn’t last long, as once he got into lapped traffic, he had to find his way through the pack while also holding off a hard-charging Anson Scheele in a repeat battle from round eight. Despite several moments, the two riders were side-by-side, Lorenz was able to keep Scheele in the runner-up and pick up the weekend sweep.
“New York pays off again,” said Lorenz. “I’m looking forward to carrying the momentum through the rest of the year, and we can catch up to Crayden.”
The full race breakdowns can be found at snocross.com.
