Snocross Title Tightens as Malinoski, Martin Win

Snocross Title Tightens as Malinoski, Martin Win

It's been a few years since Robbie Malinoski found himself in the heart of a championship chase this late into the season. But the AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports rider has asserted himself into the title talk as the second half of the season started last weekend in Farmington, N.Y.

The AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series event in Eastern New York had been rescheduled after a lack of snow. That gave Malinoski and Team AMSOIL a few more weeks to prepare for the two-days of racing and the extra time off included a non-ACSS event win the week before at the Ski Doo Grand Prix in Canada, which set the tone for New York.

For a chance to win the Pro Open title, Malinoski needs to pick up valuable points at the final four rounds on the two guys ahead of him, Tim Trembley and Ross Martin. Beating them outright helps, and some bad luck from the leading duo wouldn't hurt Malinoski's chances. On Friday in New York, he got both. He grabbed the lead from an inside starting position and never looked back for the wire-to-wire win, with Trembley in second. As for Martin, an early race tangle with another rider caused front end damage, resulting in a 15th place finish.

On Saturday, Martin turned the table on top of his Polaris/AMSOIL sled. The former series champion set the tone from the beginning of the final. Malinoski looked for a strong pace early, but Martin rode at an accelerated pace to take the win and close the gap on points leader Trembley. Malinoski pushed hard to keep pace, eventually finishing second with Trembley in third.

"I got out to a good start," said Malinoski. "But I'll tell you what, Ross just wanted it tonight a lot more than me - especially the first two laps. Hat's off to him. But I'm angry. Going to head home and working harder, look to get back on top of the podium in Fargo.'

The win by Martin closed on Trembley, but his misfourtune on Friday allowed Malinoski to get into the frey with three weekends and six races left on the schedule. Heading into this weekends event in Fargo, N.D., Malinoski sits just eight points behind Trembley and six behind Martin.

Meanwhile, Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports rookie Darrin Mees moved up a spot in the standings to fourth after a seventh and sixth place finish in New York.

Racing in Fargo starts on Friday and Saturday nights at 6:00 p.m. with Pro and Pro Lite finals each night. Sunday will feature a full day of vintage racing. You can watch the live stream of the event athttp://www.amsoilracing.com/. Also, the Farmington event will air on NBC Sports this Sunday at 5:00 p.m. EDT.