North Country Racing

March 22, 2004

The final race of the WSA Worldwide Championship series was this past weekend in Lake Geneva, WI at the Grand Geneva. This is a great facility for the grand finale. The track is by far the most challenging of the year with several elevation changes.

Coming into the last race of the season in the Semi-Pro Open class Mike Schultz was sitting in 3^rd in overall season points. He was only 8 points behind second place Jeff Gruhlke. Bobby LePage was sitting in 11^th place overall in Semi-Pro Open in his rookie season as a Semi-Pro. He was also sitting in 7^th place overall in Semi-Pro Stock.

In Semi-Pro Open qualifying at Lake Geneva Mike Schultz finished 1^st, 1^st and 2^nd putting him in the final as the #5 qualifier. Bobby had finished 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th in qualifying. Bobby LePage qualified through the LCQ which he won putting him in the back row of the final. Fifteen sleds waited for the green. On the launch it was Malinoski, Schultz, Sirjane and Muesegades up front with Malinoski settling into 1^st, Sirjane 2^nd, Schultz 3^rd and Muesegades in 4^th. After three laps Schultz blasted by Sirjane taking over 2^nd place. Meanwhile LePage who had slotted into 10^th on the start was charging through the pack to the front. By lap four he was up to 5^th place. He got by Hentges in 4^th place and began working over Sirjane for the 3^rd place spot. LePage actually got by Sirjane for 3^rd on lap seven but Sirjane got back by LePage on lap eight. At the checkers it was Malinoski, Schultz, Sirjane and LePage in 4^th. This 2^nd place finish for Mike locked up 2^nd place in the points race as well. LePage moved up to 10^th place in the points race in Semi-Pro Open. Not bad for a rookie Semi-Pro.

In Pro Stock Mike Schultz finished 5^th, 6^th and 4^th but he missed the LCQ by one point. In Semi-Pro Stock Bobby LePage finished 2^nd, 8^th and 4^th putting him into the LCQ with a provisional spot. After a so-so start he moved through traffic to get into the transfer position and made it to the back row of the final for Semi-Pro Stock. On the start LePage got a terrible start and couldn’t do much to make up time or positions throughout the race. He finished in 14^th place and held on to 7^th place overall in points for Semi-Pro Stock. Later we discovered he had a broken secondary clutch.

The season has come to an end which always brings a feeling of some relief and some sadness. We always hate to see it end. It’s been a long year with 17 race weekends and the team did very well. We appreciate all the support we get from Polaris, our generous sponsors and our fans. Thank you for another great year. Thank you to the team, Mike and Bobby, Terry, Joe and Mike our mechanics. We sincerely appreciate all of your efforts and hard work.

We look forward to next season already. Have a great Spring and Summer.

Kevin & Kathy Mayoros