Poirier, Belzile notch wins at Haystack for Rock Maple Racing
WILMINGTON, VT — Defending Pro division champions Danny Poirier and Simon Belzile charged back to the top of the podium Sunday, splitting the two Pro finals as Rock Maple Racing completed round two of the 2004-05 snocross season at Haystack at Mount Snow ski area. The full weekend of racing was presented in part by Woody’s traction and control products. Poirier, who won the Pro 600 and Open titles last year, claimed the Pro Stock 440 final over Matt Boron and Aaron Christensen.
Belzile rode the Western Slate Ski-doo to victory in the New England Dodge Dealers Pro Open final, while consistently-fast Matt Boron notched another runner-up finish and Christensen capped a strong weekend with his second third-place finish of the day. Belzile earns the first Pro division win for Vermont’s Harrison Motorsports, who campaigned a Semi-Pro team with Nick Kruger last year.
For the second time this season, Tyler Sedlmeier made a bold statement in Semi-Pro competition. After winning two finals right out of the box at Shawnee Peak, the Orchard Park, N.Y. native swept all three classes at Haystack, giving the XP-S/Advance Auto Parts group at Xtreme Racing reason to celebrate. Sedlmeier is continuing a tradition established by CW Sirjane a couple of years ago, and continued last season by Jeff Arsenault. And this week, Tyler’s younger brother Adam finished second in Semi-Pro 600. These boys have shown real talent in the early part of the season.
In the highly-competitive Sport ranks, Bradford, VT’s Evan Lochiavo rode his St. Jay Auto-sponsored Polaris to victory in the Open final. Evan, who’s older brother Nathan races in Semi-Pro, also finished third in Sport 500 and 600 to round out a positive weekend. Dana Fuller won the 500 final over Trevor Bouchard, while Geoff Lynch earned the 600 win with Tug Calderwood in tow.
The Lemieux family of St. Johnsbury, VT also had a good weekend of racing in their home state. Joseph won his second straight Plus 35 Masters final, having outraced Dean Stevens and Donald Laduc for the honor at Shawnee Peak. This week fellow Vermonter Robert Desrochers chased him across the line while Laduc claimed third. Joe’s daughter Steffanie won the Choko Pro Women final over Lisa Whalley and Hillary Hewitt, while little brother Lincoln finished third in the Junior 10-13 380 Fan class.
In other action on Sunday at Haystack, two Pro drivers earned the right to compete in the prestigious ESPN Winter X Games in a special qualifying race. Rookie Shawn Nutt, new Pro driver for Xtreme Racing, captured the win and will head to Aspen for the big show in late January. Also earning the right to compete in Aspen was Matt Boron, who continues to impress in 2004. Congratulations and good luck to the RMR racers who will compete at Winter X!
The weekend of racing at Haystack produced some excellent competition in all classes. With entries just under the 800 mark, there was no shortage of quality teams in the pit area. Other winners of note on Sunday include Bethany Brooks, of Littleton, N.H., who claimed the Women’s Stock 500 final; Amy Preble, of Hartland, Maine, who earned the Women’s Stock 600 crown; Tyler Hayes (part of the Harrison Motorsports fleet), who rode his WSI Ski-doo to a win in Junior 10-13 380 Fan; and Patrick Depaola, who won the Junior 10-13 600 Fan final. From Juniors to Women and Pro, there was plenty of side-by-side racing in round two at Haystack.
Other strong performances of note include that of Chris Chico, who rode to a strong third-place finish behind the Sedlmeier brothers in Semi-Pro 600; Brody Wilson, who finished second to Tyler Sedlmeier in Semi-Pro Open; and Derek Graham, who finished second to Evan Lochiavo in the Sport Open final. All fine performances from familiar names in the Rock Maple pit area.
The series will now take a break for the holidays and will return to action on Jan. 8-9 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Malone, New York. Malone will be an exciting meld of two regions, as the 2005 RMR West season opener combines with a RMR Central division event. To view results in all classes from Haystack, please visit our website at www.rockmaple.com. For more information on all the great Dodge motorsports series, visit www.newenglanddodge.com.
Official results:
Rock Maple Racing
Haystack at Mount Snow
Dec. 18-19, 2004
Woody’s Pro Stock 440:
1. Danny Poirier Valcourt, QC Ski-doo
2. Matt Boron Leverett, MA Ski-doo
3. Aaron Christensen Metiskow, AL, CA Polaris
New England Dodge Dealers Pro Open:
1. Simon Belzile Rock Forest, QC Ski-doo
2. Matt Boron Leverett, MA Ski-doo
3. Aaron Christensen Metiskow, AL, CA Polaris
Carlisle Semi-Pro Stock 440:
1. Tyler Sedlmeier Orchard Park, NY Ski-doo
2. Andy Ballou Grantham, NH Polaris
3. Justin Goulet Island Pond, VT Ski-doo
Kimpex Semi-Pro Stock 600:
1. Tyler Sedlmeier Orchard Park, NY Ski-doo
2. Adam Sedlmeier Orchard Park, NY Ski-doo
3. Chris Chico Chester, VT Polaris
Camoplast Semi-Pro Open:
1. Tyler Sedlmeier Orchard Park, NY Ski-doo
2. Brody Wilson Templeton, MA Arctic Cat
3. Dale Petrus Copenhagen, NY Polaris
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