Billow Racing

We made the cross to the Central division in the famous Mt.Snow ski resort to finish off the year. Mike went in with the plan to make some respectable finishes and have fun doing it. With around 25 entries in both divisions, consistency was going to get Mike into the finals. He took two fourths in his qualifiers for Sport 500, giving him the last spot on the front line for the final. What appered to be a good start quickly went bad when he got bunched up over the table top resulting in close to last position. With the track being as rough as it was Mike wasn't able to do much and finished 10th. In the Junior division Mike was right on in his qualifiers. With two 2nds Mike was qualified the best he has been all year with 3rd pick for the final. He was able to take the second position off the line and held it until the second lap, where he dropped back to 3rd. On the last lap a rider went down in front of Mike resulting in him going off as well. He was able to regain his composure and finish in 9th.

Mike has came a long way from the begining of the year. Towards the end of this season Mike really stepped up his game and started consistantly finishing in the top 5's. This being a learning year for all of us, we have had many great experiences and took alot away from our first season. We have met many friends and, we would like to thank all of those who have helped us through out the year. We would also like to thank all of our sponsors, Progressive Motorsports, Ace Homes, Kellog Karpet, Scott goggles, HMKsnowmobiling, Powermadd, and Woodys.

                      Mike gets a taste of the dirty work as he wrenches on his sled and checks everything over

 With bright blue skies and temps around 40, this was one of the most beautiful weekends we have had so far this year. On Saturday Mike went in with the goal to try to catch the top five in points. With a crash in his second qualifier we changed our mindset to try to hold onto his sixth in points. He raced conservatively in his final and finished 8th, which unofficialy gave him 6th in year end points. Sunday was Mikes day, with his sled dialed in, everything seemed to fall into place. In Junior 16-17 he took his first qualifier win, and a 3rd in his second qualifier. With his best qualifing position of the year he was able to assure himself a good spot on the line. He came off in 4th where he stayed for the first lap. On the second lap he powered around the outside burm and picked up the 3rd place position. He cruised the last lap and finished in 3rd(his best finish of the year!!!!). In Sport 500 he did decent in qualifing, with two 5th's. In his Sport final he took the holeshot and was 1st goin up the hill. In the top corner he was passed and dropped back to 2nd. He held off a stong charge by the two riders behind him until the last lap, where he was passed for 3rd over the table top, and then got passed for 4th when he bobbled in the corner going up the hill. He held onto a very respectable 4th to the checkered.

With this being the last WEST race, Mike finished it on Sunday with some of his best finishes of the year. We will end our season next weekend in MT Snow where Mike will se how he matches up against the Central Sport riders.

This weekend started out with some terrible weather, with mix from rain to sleet and some snow. Mike was really liking the track but luck didnt seem to be on his side in his Junior 16-17 qualifiers on Saturday. He finished 5th his 1st qualifier after having to work his way back into the crowd after being stuck behind a down rider in the first corner. His second qualifier he battled for 3rd most of the race until a racing incident occured between Mike and another rider right before the table top. After winning his LCQ he had 1st pick in the back row. He was able to pull a great start slicing his way up through the group of 15 riders to come out of the fist corner in 4th place.He had made his way to 2nd place until a suspension malfuntion droped him back finishing 4th.

Mike wasnt able to find a rythm on Sunday. He finished 5,7 in his Junior 16-17 qualifiers. In his final he got a decent start from the back row but went over the bars shortly after the fist corner.

This weekend was also Mikes first ever time racing Sport 500. He took a 2nd in his first qualifier on Saturday. In his 2nd qualifier Mike was running in 3rd when he crashed right before the last corner. He was able to hurry back to his sled and finished in 4th. In his final he finished 7th after nearly being pulled of his sled in the first corner.

With one race left on the RMR WEST circuit Mike sits in 6th place in the points standings, and 12 points back from 5th place. With the season almost over Mike will be gunning for contention to try to push himself into the top 5 overall points. He will be racing with NESRA for the next two weeks and will return to RMR in Findley Lake, NY for the last WEST race.

 This weeks race was hosted  by Perthshire, in Amsterdam, NY. where NESRA built a really fun track where Mike was able to really take charge. On Saturday Mike took 7 out of 8 holeshots, and won 6 out of 8 races. Sunday was another great day of racing, full of action and excitement. Mike swept the Junior class winning all qualifiers and his final. In the Sport 600 Mike battled tooth and nail with Josh Gessinger all day. In his qualifiers Mike won 1 out of 2 of his qualifers. In the final Mike took 2nd off the line. He held 2nd place for 8 laps where he began to make his charge on Josh Gessinger the first place rider. On the last lap Mike made the pass for first carrying the lead all the way to the checkered flag.

Watch the video below to see Mike in action

This weeks race was at CNY Powersports where RMR was able to put together a great track which was super technical. With the start of the second half of the season and his eye on a top five overall finish in points for the season, Mike new he would have to pick it up to make make up for mishaps earlier in the year. With that in mind Mike was able to accomplish his best overall weekend this year! Although this weekend finished great it didn't begin with a smooth start. Saturday morning Mike sprained his wrist in practice trying feel out the track. He went into his first qualifiers trying to get his groove back and placed 3rd, and 2nd. He went into the final qualified 4th (his best yet), Assured a descent spot on the line he was able come out of the first corner in 4th place. He held his position all the way to the checkered flag taking his best finish of the year.

Sunday Mike kept consistant with a 2nd, and a 5th in his qualifying rounds. His final kicked off to a rough start plenty of congestion going into the first corner. He was able to slice his way through the group of 14 racers and come out of the mess in 4th place. On the second lap he was past by Joey Stock, and dropped back to 5th place. He was able to hold off a strong charge by Clinton Ballou to hold on to the 5th place spot, to finish off a great weekend.

Saturday and Sunday were both great days of racing for Mike. He competed in both Sport 600 and Junior 16-17. Mike went undefeated in all three of his qualifiers for Sport 600, and won one of his Junior 16-17 qualifiers. In his Sport 600 final, Mike fought a great race with Josh Gessinger, and Christian Thrane. At the end of the 6 lap race Mike finished in 2nd, behind Josh Gessinger. In his Junior 16-17 final he finished 2nd as well.

Mike has 2 weeks off to rest and prep his sled before he returns to the RMR circuit in Cortland, NY.

Saturday was a great day of racing fun and excitement. With plenty of man made snow NESRA was able to put togher a pretty long track. In qualifying Mike had a 2nd, and a 3rd in Junior 16-17, and a 1st, and 2nd in Sport 440. In the final of the Junior 16-17 Mike came out of the hole in 3rd and stayed there most of the race. In the last corner he tried to make the move for 2nd and rolled it, resulting in a 4th place finish. He went into the Sport 440 final with problems with his sled. Another bad start put him in 3rd going into the first corner, where he battled for second the whole race and finished with a 3rd. Great day of racing, and a special thanks to all the people from NESRA for putting on a great race.

This weekend was interesting to say the least  for Mike at Pit-X. He started out with what appeared to be a weekend ending crash. Not knowing if he was severly hurt or not, Mike opted to sit out the second round and see how he felt by the time the LCQ rolled around. He entered the LCQ still a little shaken up but was able to qualify for the final. In the final he was able to pull out a 6th, raising the spirits for him and his family.

Consistancy would sum up Sundays showing for Mike. With two respectable qualifying spots at 4th, and 3rd, Mike was qualified 6th for the final. He started out the final toward the back of the pack, due to a poor start. With plenty of ground to make up Mike got right to work and managed to fight his way back up to another 6th place.

With constant work and improvement he is finally starting to get in the grove and hopes to charge into the podium in his races to come. For the next two weeks Mike will be racing in Hudson Falls, NY in the growing North East Snowmobile Racing Association, and encourages all to come and participate. Then he returns to RMR in Cortland, NY on February 16th.

Mike has continued his personal growth in snowcross with good qualifying heats to enter him into the finals for both Saturday and Sunday without having to go to an LCQ. However on Saturday while running fourth in the final he encountered a racing incident and was bumped off the track, putting him out of contention. On Sunday he experienced similar fate. While charging through the pack after a poor start, Mike got a little too aggressive in the bumps and took a header. If we can just keep Mike on his sled he'll be getting some respectable finishes. All in all Mike is learning and improving with each race and having a blast.

On Saturday Mike raced at Runway Park in NESRA. NESRA is a newer circuit run by Flint Stone, and was formed to make snocross racing more affordable. Mike held consistantly in the top three in his qualifiers for both Junior 16-17, and Sport 440. In the finals he took second in Junior 16-17, and a first in his Sport 440 final.

Mike had a great showing his first race of the year on Saturday. On his first qualifier he placed 5th. On his second Qualifier he was 3rd out of the holeshot and held that position all the way to the checkered flag. In Saturdays final he worked his way up to a well earned 6th.

On sunday Mike just couldnt seem to make things happen for him. In his first heat he held 4th for 2 laps and went over the bars trying to make a pass for 3rd. On his second heat he battled for 3rd most of the race, until he got bucked off on the last corner. he went into the LCQ pretty shaken up and wasn't able to summon the strength to make it into the final.

Although Mike is disapointed with his results on Sunday he is very pleased with his performance on Saturday, and is finally at ease with the anticipation of the first race. Mikes looks forward to a great first full season.