Historic Rockingham Park next stop for East Coast Snocross series,
Presented by Woody’s Traction & AMSOIL

CHESHIRE, Conn. (Feb. 11, 2011) – As the 2011 snowmobile racing season hits the home stretch, those chasing class titles are focused on the remaining events hoping for good hole-shots and podium finishes.

One venue that has always been a favorite among riders and race fans is next on the slate, and the action promises to be red-hot. A trip to bustling southern New Hampshire is in order, as East Coast Snocross (ECS) prepares for Round 6 on the 2011 schedule Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 26-27, at historic Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire.

Spectator gates will open at 10 a.m. each day, with racing getting under way promptly at 11 a.m. Admission is $15 per day for adults, or $25 for a two-day pass. Children age seven and under will be admitted free with a paying adult. Pit passes are available for an extra $10.

The Rock will offer special indoor seating for this event, providing fans with the ultimate racing experience. For just $25 per person, fans can enjoy the action from the Turf Club or The Clubhouse at tables that can seat two or four patrons. For those bothered by the cold, this allows them to watch in comfort as winter’s top athletes battle ski-to-ski on the challenging track.

This exciting weekend of winter-time motor sports entertainment will feature the inaugural ECS Challenge, a special non-points race with a $2,500 purse ($1,250 to win, $750 for second and $500 for third) that will showcase the top riders in Pro and Semi-Pro. Qualifying rounds for the ECS Challenge will take place Saturday, while the final is slated for Sunday.

The weekend will also feature points races for the top Pro and amateur snocross racers around the northeast (on a larger track than previous years), along with three shows (two on Saturday, one on Sunday) by the gravity-defying Rave-X Outer Limits Freestyle team. If you haven’t seen the guys from Rave-X hit the ramps and throw down the tricks, it’s time you did.

And for the first time this season, vintage racing will take place on a separate track while modern sleds fly around their track on more developed suspensions. For fans of those great sleds from the past, this is truly a not-to-miss spectacle. Vintage racing has a special appeal all its own.

Leading the charge into Salem are Pro riders Mathieu Morin and Danny Poirier. Morin, of Val-D’Or, QC, has been the man to beat this season and led Poirier in the points through the first three rounds of competition.

Poirier, of St. Theodore, QC, has only one victory this season yet has run up front in every final. Super-fast Matt Piche has also made his presence known here in the east, with a high-flying style and speed that has put him fourth in Stock points after the first three races.

Other ECS Pro riders to watch in Salem include rookie sensation Corin Todd, who claimed his first Pro Stock win at Ossipee in just his third event as a Pro; Lincoln Lemieux, another talented rookie with great speed and skills who is on the cusp of his first win; multi-time champion Jason Boron, of Leverett, MA, who is flying this year on his new Arctic Cat; New York natives Jason Stone (Central Square) and Michael George (Pine Plains); and Derek Elliott.

In the talent-laden Semi-Pro division, riders to watch include New Hampshire native Jake daSilva, recent winner Chris Ackerman from Vermont; Hayward, Wisconsin’s Jacob Muller; Lucas Brunelle of Quebec; New Jersey native Jesse James Bonaduce; New York riders Dale Petrus, Andrew Bailey, Joey Stock and Taylor Collins; Danny Graves and Nick Campbell.

East Coast Snocross, presented by Woody’s Traction and AMSOIL, is the new sanctioning body for snowmobile racing in the northeastern United States. ECS maintains a regional circuit intended to keep grass-roots snocross racing healthy in this part of the snowbelt, while also cultivating new talent for tomorrow’s factory-backed Pro teams.