Tough Breaks in Verona
Darrin Proves Meddle with Back Pack Charges

1•20•08 This weekend's race was a RMR West race held at the Pit-X facilty in Verona, NY. For our Pro and Semi Pro drivers, this was an official points race for the Central Division. Pit-X was being advertised at nearly a half-mile long. At times it seemed like 20 miles.

C.W. Sirjane scored 3 wins in qualifying on Saturday and was off to a great start in the Pro Stock final, taking the early lead. Chris was pressured by Dale Petrus, but was able to fend him off for over half the race, but gave up the lead with about 5 laps to go. C.W. and Petrus were snowflap to bumper til the end with both riders posting nearly perfect laps. A win would have been nice, but what a race they put on for the fans! Keith gave C.W. an excellent sled to ride all weekend.

The other story in the Pro Stock final was Darrin Mees' charge from the back to capture the third place podium finish. Darrin got tagged in the back by Danny Poirier as the group tried to funnel through the first turn at the start. Normal race contact, but unfortunate as Darrin was second-to-last after the first lap. While Chris and Petrus put on their show at the front, Darrin was charging hard through the field at an unbelieveable pace. After 12 hard laps, Darrin was able to slug out the third place finish. Rewarding, but disappointing to wonder what would have been if not for the lap one tangle. A great ride nonetheless!

In the Pro Open final, another lap one wreck gathered both C.W. and Darrin along with 3 other sleds. Darrin was able to get back into the fight quickly enough to make another hard charge, but ran out of laps and finished with a 4th place run. "Rhino" would be a fitting nickname for Darrin this weekend as his charges through the pack were impressive and drew many compliments from fellow racers and track officials. Many thanks to Scanner and the newest member of our hard working crew, Jordan Hodge for their work on Darrin's sleds.

In the Semi Pro finals, Nate Loschiavo scored his first podium finish of the season when he bagged the runner-up spot in the Semi Pro Open final. Nate also scored a respectable 5th place finish in the Semi Pro Stock final. Having an extra week to recover from his hard crash at Malone really helped as Nate was in the hunt all weekend.

Shaun St.Onge scored 6th and 4th place finishes in the Stock and Open finals respectively. Shaun continues to hold the the number 4 spot in the point standings in both classes and is getting ready for this weekend's Semi Pro Shootout race at Essex Junction.

Since there was no points race for Central Sport riders, Garret Mees tested the waters in the Semi Pro Stock class this weekend at Pit-X. Garret can ride with these guys, but ran into some bad luck and some hot Semi Pro racers. Garret will get his sights focused back on the Sport points chase this weekend at Essex Junction, VT.

Sara and Jordan took the weekend off as they didn't have a points race in Verona. They too will be loading their bullets this weekend in Vermont.

This weekend's race in Essex Junction will feature the 2nd Annual Semi Pro Shootout race. HMS will try retain the Go Big or Go Home title as Doug Decoigne scored the win last year in Schaghticoke. Teammate Darrin Mees was the number one qualifer there and put a nice chunk of change in his pocket as well. This year, the winner will score $2,500 plus the potential of a lot more.

Snocross is a tough sport on both racers and equipment. Sponsors like Scott Goggles, Scorpion helmets and HMK boots help to protect our riders; and Woody's, C&A Pro skis, Crank Shop, Powermadd, Camoplast and VForce reeds providing top notch components to keep the Ski-doo Rev XPs in peak performance, we truly have a great support team. Progressive Motorsports, New England Race Fuels, Mars Insurance, Wing, That's Great News, and Sledwraps.com all provide immeasurable support to our team effort.

Jeff and Colleen