Tucker Hibbert disappeared from the podium area on Sunday at the 23rd annual Amsoil Duluth National Snocross, causing some people in attendance to start looking around, wondering where he went.
Never fear. Just a short time later Hibbert came cruising up on his Arctic Cat, only this time, with his wife, Mandi, on the back.
Hibbert, of Pelican Rapids, Minn., is always quick to point out that it takes a team to win races, so it was Hibbert’s team that relished in his victory Sunday in the Pro Open final at Spirit Mountain. That team includes Mandi, who handles public relations and media requests.
“It’s crazy how hard my team works,” Tucker Hibbert said. “I have to thank them for everything, and I thank the fans for sticking around and cheering us on at the Duluth National.”
Hibbert, who rallied from a tough start to beat Kody Kamm in Saturday’s Pro Open final, earned his second straight Pro sweep at the Duluth National and fifth in the past seven years, kicking off the snowmobile racing season in style. He also won all his Pro qualifying heats over the weekend.
On Sunday, Polaris rider Kyle Pallin got the “holeshot,” leading the 15-snowmobile field through the starting line and up the backstretch.
“My sled had been ripping all weekend, so that makes my job easy when it gets me to the front right way,” Pallin said. “Our team has good chemistry. There is just something that clicks together, and we have that. You get something special. You get that little extra bit. It should be a great year.”
The modified snowmobiles came screaming back down the front stretch, and Hibbert started reeling Pallin in. Pallin got outside on Turn 2 of the second lap and Hibbert was able to pass him on the inside.
“I jumped a little too far and had to take the outside groove,” Pallin said. “I figured somebody was pretty close, just because it was so early in the race and we were all bunched together. Right when I did that, I saw Tucker and was like, “Oh, shoot.’ I came around the corner, and there he goes.’”
Hibbert was gone, never to be challenged again en route to the 97th national victory of his career, most all time. Fourteen of those have come at Duluth, including his first one as 16-year-old in 2000.
“When you have been racing here that long, I’d like to think that is an advantage,” Hibbert said.
Pallin held on for second on his Polaris while Lincoln Lemieux took third in his Ski-Doo.
Pallin, 23, has an “aw-shucks” personality about him and perhaps the biggest smile in the business. He is just one of a strong field of younger riders chasing a legend in Hibbert.
“I never gave up and I finished strong. Anytime you’re up on the podium, it’s a good feeling,” said Pallin, of Ironwood, Mich. “It’s hard catching up to Tucker. He makes it look so easy, but I’m always evaluating myself and what I could have done better. That’s all you can really do, and I believe if I can improve a little here and a little there, it can get me there.”
The only thing that could slow Hibbert on Sunday was snow dust kicked up by lap traffic on a frigid day where temps dipped to about 10. The course had a new twist this year with a jump in Turn 1. Riders could either take it or go around to the outside. Hibbert took the inside jump every time on Sunday.
“It was a little scary at times,” Hibbert said. “Once I got into lap traffic, visibility was really tough. You start riding by memory based on what the track was like the lap before, but that was tough because the track was changing so much. But it was good race, though. It’s awesome. I didn’t feel as strong coming into this race as last year, so we’re just going to try to build on it.”
Hibbert used his sweep at the Duluth National last year as the springboard to the most successful season in snocross history. He won 15 of 17 Pro Open finals on the Amsoil Championship Snocross circuit as well as his record seventh straight Winter X Games gold.
With 14,000 Twitter followers, Hibbert is about as close to a rock star as the sport has. Fans asked him for his hat, his goggles, anything, after the podium ceremony on Sunday.
“I love you, man!” one fan said.
Another fan wanted an autograph from Hibbert’s father, “Captain” Kirk Hibbert, himself a snocross legend and the racing team’s leader.
“That’s what my dad would want,” the fan said.
Tucker Hibbert quickly took his show over to the lodge, where he had a merchandise booth set up. He signed autographs and posed for pictures. Hibbert was asked about the most unusual request he ever got, and he said “this one right here,” as he signed a fan’s Ski-Doo jacket. Hibbert is, after all, the face of Arctic Cat racing.
“I don’t care,” the man said in so many words, having clearly enjoyed himself earlier at the races.
Sawyer Smith, a 6-year-old from Thunder Bay who already enjoys riding snowmobiles, was up next. He came to get his photo taken with the snocross king.
“Of course you can, buddy,” Hibbert said. “There are all kinds of fans, including little guys like this one here.”
TV COVERAGE
CBS Sports Network will carry a “Best of Duluth” segment after the NFL game on Dec. 7 (with a re-air at 7 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 11).
Amsoil Duluth National Round 1 highlights will air at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Dec. 14; Round 2 highlights will air at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Dec. 21.
-- Attendance at the Amsoil Duluth National Snocross consistently tops more than 30,000 over the three-day event.
While the final numbers for this year aren’t complete, Saturday’s snocross attracted a record crowd, according to Anna Tanski, president and CEO of Visit Duluth. Attendance dipped some on Sunday likely due to the cold weather.
