December 9, 2003

Park X in Hill City, MN was the next stop for us on our schedule which took place this past weekend.  This was a non-points race but an X-Games qualifier.  Mike Schultz ran in both Pro classes while Bobby LePage ran in both Semi-Pro classes.

In the X-Games qualifiers, both Mike and Bobby were in the same heat in round one.  The start was a drag race into a very tight turn leading you down the front straightaway over the finish line jump.  Many races were lost on the start if you got tangled up with a bunch of sleds battling in that first tight turn.  With Mike and Bobby on the line for round one, all seven sleds flew into that first turn and many got into one another but Mike managed to sneak by on the inside of the turn and come out first down the front straight with Bobby right behind Mike.  After one lap it was Schultz in first and LePage in 2^nd followed by Johnny Mold, Kurtis Crapo, Shane St. John, Jesse Johnson and Steve Strandlund, Jr.  Mike continued his lead through three laps when on lap four Mold got by Schultz but on the last turn going to the finish line Schultz made a great inside move on Mold to get by him and took the lead back and took the win in round one.  Bobby LePage battled with Mold and Crapo but rode very well to finish in 3^rd place in round one.

In round two both Mike and Bobby were pinched off in that first turn on the start putting them way back in the pack.  After one lap Schultz moved into 5^th and LePage into 6^th.  LePage kept challenging Schultz to try to take over 5^th.  After four laps the finish was Schultz in 5^th and LePage in 6^th.   Round three saw one heat of six get off before they called racing due to darkness.  LePage was in that first heat.  Bobby got a terrible start and was in the back of the pack all the way through the race.  He finished in 7^th in round three.  Mike Schultz ran his round three on Sunday.  Mike got another decent start and was able to slot into 2^nd behind Carl Kuster.  After four laps the order didn’t change much with Kuster finishing in 1^st and Schultz in 2^nd. 

After a short time the LCQ was posted and Mike was the first qualifier in the LCQ almost making the final directly.  The LCQ went to the line and Mike had a bad start but there was a huge pile up on the hill where Mike managed to sneak by and he slotted into 2^nd behind Kurtis Crapo with Aaron Christensen behind Schultz.  After six laps and at the checkered flag it was Crapo in 1^st, Schultz in 2^nd, Christensen in 3^rd, Jonny Hentges in 4^th and Chris Kafka in 5^th.  All five would go to the back row of the final. 

The qualifying order in the X-Games Qualifier final was #47c Carl Kuster, #40 Kent Ipsen, #28 Justin Tate, #525 Dany Ekre, #44 TJ Gulla, #280 Johnny Mold, #3 Shaun Crapo, #781 Robbie Malinoski, #90 Brad Pitlik, #58 Matt Judnick, #9 Kurtis Crapo, #465 Mike Schultz, #10 Aaron Christensen, #115 Jonny Hentges, #991 Chris Kafka.  The green flag went up and all 15 sleds flew off the start line and into that first turn.  Most came through unscathed with Pitlik getting the holeshot and lead followed by Gulla and Tate behind Gulla.  Schultz was 8^th on the start.  Gulla took over the lead on lap four with Tate behind him and Malinoski behind Tate.  Schultz was back to 9^th.  Malinoski was black flagged and pulled over for an unbuckled helmet so that put Judnick up to 3^rd.  On lap seven Shaun Crapo moved up to 3^rd from a 7^th place start.  At the finish it was #44 TJ Gulla in 1^st, #28 Justin Tate in 2^nd and #3 Shaun Crapo in 3^rd.  Only three go on to the Winter X-Games in Aspen and those were the three.  Mike finished a respectable 7^th. 

In Semi Pro Open Round One Bobby LePage had a pretty good start was 2^nd out of the first turn.  He stayed in 2^nd through two laps.  On lap three Bobby came off coming into the first turn putting him in the back.  He finished 7^th.  In round two LePage was 4^th on the start.  He challenged for 3^rd and took over 3^rd from Engelstad.  He tried really hard to get by Jesse Johnson who was the 2^nd place sled but at the checkered it was LePage finishing in 3^rd.  Round three saw LePage finishing in 4^th place.  Even with 14 points, Bobby made the LCQ.  However, there were mechanical problems that caused Bobby to miss the LCQ so he was done for the day.

On Sunday, Bobby ran in Semi-Pro Stock.  In round one Bobby had a great start and came out in 1^st out of the first turn.  He held his lead and was never really challenged and finished round one in 1^st place.  In round two LePage had another great start and again came out of turn one on the start in 1^st place.  He ran an awesome race and finished in 1^st place.  Round three was up just three races later and Bobby was up again.  However, he had a broken rear track shock and we tried to change it out in time for him to make it to his third round but after the two minute clock expired for him to get to the line, the skid change was not done and Bobby missed his third round.  He was looking really strong on Sunday and he will carry that momentum going into the next points race in Winnipeg this weekend.

Mike Schultz ran both Pro classes on Sunday.  In round one of Pro Stock Mike was 2^nd on the start and was pushed wide by Kuster and was put back to 5^th.  He remained in 5^th for the remainder of the race and finished in 5^th.  In round two of Pro Stock Mike came out 3^rd on the start and went back to 4^th on lap one.  Schultz was riding very aggressively and his determination to move to the front paid off big with a great pass right by #3 Shaun Crapo to take over 3^rd.  Then Schultz shoots by Thacker to take over 2^nd and finished round two in 2^nd place.  Round three was soon on the line and Mike didn’t get the best start.  He took 5^th in round three.  His 12 points put him directly into the Pro Stock final as the #7 qualifier.   The sleds lined up for the Pro stock final in qualifying order:  #3 Shaun Crapo, #90 Brad Pitlik, #28 Justin Tate, #44 TJ Gulla, #25 DJ Eckstrom., #327 Ryan Duncan, #465 Mike Schultz, #991 Chris Kafka, #10 Aaron Christensen, #280 Johnny Mold in the front row.  The back row of the final were #96 Carl Schubitzke, #99 Jesse Strege, #58 Matt Judnick, #47c Carl Kuster and #11 Paul Thacker.  On the start Gulla got a great holeshot and shot out into the lead with Crapo behind him followed by Tate.  Mike slotted into 6^th behind Eckstrom.  Mike held his 6^th place position until lap six when Judnick got by him.  At the checkered flag in Pro Stock it was #3 Shaun Crapo in 1^st, #44 TJ Gulla in 2^nd, #27c Carl Kuster in 3^rd, #25 DJ Eckstrom in 4^th, #28 Justin Tate in 5^th, #58 Matt Judnick in 6^th, #465 Mike Schultz in 7^th, #327 Ryan Duncan in 8^th, #991 Chris Kafka in 9^th and #10 Aaron Christensen in 10^th. 

In Pro Open round one Mike had another bad start and was last on lap one.  He moved up into 6^th and finished 6^th in round one.  In round two Mike again was jammed up on the start and slotted into 6^th.  Mike makes a great move by Duncan on the last turn on the last lap to finish in 4^th place.  In round three Mike found himself again piled up in that first turn on the start and was back in the pack.  At the checkered it was Schultz finishing in 8^th place.  Mike made the final and was in the back row for the start.  The Pro Open final was on the line.  When the green flag was waived Mike slotted into 10^th behind Shaun Crapo.  He moved up to 9^th at the halfway point still pursuing Crapo.  When Gulla ran into trouble on lap six Mike moved up to 8^th still chasing Crapo.  At the checkered flag for the finish of the Pro Open final it was #47c Carl Kuster in 1^st, #28 Justin Tate in 2^nd, #96 Carl Schubitzke in 3^rd, #58 Matt Judnick in 4^th, #25 DJ Eckstrom in 5^th, #327 Ryan Duncan in 6^th, #3 Shaun Crapo in 7^th, #465 Mike Schultz in 8^th, #44 TJ Gulla in 9^th and #6 Shane St. John in 10^th.

Even with some problems this weekend, it was a better weekend.  Having a Non-Points race at this time helped to get some good track time and work out some more kinks.  We look forward to next weekend at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

Thank you for supporting and sponsoring North Country Racing.

Kevin & Kathy Mayoros