January 21, 2019 at 1:53 p.m.
Stephenson goes back-to-back at Snowmobile Derby
Stephenson goes back-to-back at Snowmobile Derby
By Jacob Friede-
In an amazing feat, Blaine Stephenson, of Hutchinson, Minn., won the world snowmobile championship for the second straight year.
"It's unreal," said Stephenson, the back-to-back champ. "Just to win it once is a dream. To do it twice is more of an accomplishment. Twice in a row is more than I ever dreamed of and an awesome feeling."
Those good vibes came after 25 blistering laps of battle on the track that included three restarts. While Stevenson's body was up for the long race, the stops in the action rattled his patience a bit.
"Physically fit, I felt in pretty good shape. The track got torn apart pretty good. I knew the we had a little bit of lead so when it kept going red flag, red flag I was like 'oh my goodness, this just stinks,'" said Stephenson.
The race didn't make it through one lap before a major crash between turns 3 and 4 stalled the action. Then the race only made it another five laps before another crash. But from there the race went on for 16 straight laps before the final red flag.
With each stop in the action the field got thinner and thinner. And for the last nine laps it was a three- way battle between Stephenson, Tomahawk's Nick VanStrydonk, and Gunnar Sterne of West Chicago, Ill..
Stephenson maintained his lead the whole time but didn't feel in the clear until his ears, not his eyes, told him so.
"I got to the middle of the corner on turns three and four and I couldn't hear him so I was like we must've build some sort of lead up,"
He had built a safe lead, and while VanStrydonk and Sterne were not far behind, with the speed Stephenson was racing there was no way to catch him before he took the checkered flag.
"It was great day and a really good run. The restarts were a bummer. I wanted to see it go flag-to-flag when we got the lead," said Stephenson who wanted to keep his distance from VanStrydonk, but each re-start brought them closer and closer, giving VanStrydonk a shot. "Nicks's one tough customer."
But in the end he was a customer the two-time champion could handle. And winning at Eagle River is something that is very special to Stephenson even though he is from six hours away.
"Its always an honor to come to Eagle River. It's always the standout race track. As a kid you always knew who the world champion was," he said. "I know it's a big deal to everybody around here but being from a ways away it's maybe a little more of a sanctuary. It's a treat to come here."
VanStrydonk took second, followed by Sterne in third. Steven Marquis of Cookshire, Quebec took fourth and John Henke of Amherst Junction rounded out the top five.
Jacob Friede may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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