Team AMSOIL Snocrossers Compete In Winter X-Games

Aspen, CO ~ Team AMSOIL competed in the Super Bowl of snocross and hillcross racing last weekend in the Colorado Rockies. Only an elite 32 athletes qualified for the snocross competition and 24 gained entrance into the hillcross field. Duluth, Minnesota native DJ Eckstrom and Justin Tate of Forest Lake, Minnesota joined an International field of racers on Buttermilk Mountain for the sixth year of the extreme sports competition.

There was no repeat of Eckstrom’s bronze medal heroics of last year. A mountain blizzard and frostbite temperatures created a truly miserable day for racers on Friday. Visibility was nearly zero for drivers as they negotiated a fast track and monstrous jumps. Eckstrom and Tate were forced to challenge each other in the last chance qualifier heat. Only Eckstrom moved on to the final. A poor start left Eckstrom back in the pack. He finished the day in ninth place. Tate was twelfth.

Horrible conditions greeted hillcross contestants on Sunday morning. Just like in snocross, Team AMSOIL went through the qualifying rounds unscathed. It was in Semi Final action where Tate encountered problems. The event favorite again had to go through the extra qualifying race and like in snocross he finished third and wouldn’t get to the big show. The weather began to clear in time for the final. Eckstrom got a great start, but simply didn’t have the horses in a race that isn’t his specialty. He finished in fifth place and his teammate in ninth.

The World Snowmobile Association resumes racing this weekend in Crandon, Wisconsin. Eckstrom and Tate are sitting fourth and fifth respectively in the Pro Stock standings. Eckstrom is currently eighth in the overall Pro Open standings.

News Contact:
Jeremy Meyer
AMSOIL Racing Coordinator
AMSOIL Building
Superior, WI 54880
(715) 392-7101 ext. 220
racing@amsoil.com

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