Wednesday Wrap-up

Rookie Roundup Postponed Until Thursday Morning

The Rookie Roundup is designed to give International 500 Snowmobile Race officials a chance to see if newcomers to the race can handle the high speeds and banked turns of North America’s only mile-long oval snowmobile track, while giving racers the chance to get out and see first real test of I-500 pack racing. Instead, nobody saw anything.

With temperatures dropping to 17 degrees and freezing rain being Mother Nature’s latest precipitation of choice, race officials stopped the roundup after just one green flag lap. Jim Talentino, who sits on the race committee, said when he was standing on the track to guide the racers he signaled for a thumbs up or down on how their visors were. Just one of the 23 racers could see, he said.

“They got to see the other side of it,” Race Director Billy Cryderman said. “It was bad out there. Even if I didn’t call it, Schummy (pace sled driver Dan Schumberger) said he was bringing them in. He wasn’t going to let them out there like that.”

They will try again Thursday at 10 a.m. During the roundup, race officials will judge if the racers can handle Saturday’s race while the teams watch their new drivers closely and take notes. “We have a strict guideline as to who gets to race,” Cryderman said. “I want the veterans to feel safe with the guys around them, and the officials have to feel safe. “Our group can tell them at any time that they can’t race on Saturday.”

Even if drivers have extensive snowmobile racing experience, they still have to go through the rookie program because of the unique nature and high speeds of the I-500. For example, Gary Moyle of Houghton, Mich., is a two-time champion at Eagle River, but still had to go through the rookie program last year, and this year is struggling to make the field. “This is a race all of its own,” Cryderman said. “It’s all different out there.”

Day 2 (I-500 Qualifying)

Place No. Driver Hometown Team Sled Time Speed
1 12 Grant Vermeersch Unionville, Mich. Countryside Motorsports Yamaha 40.593 88.69
2 11 John Bosek Garfield, Minn. Wuppett Wace Team Polaris 39.920 90.18
3 21 Troy DeWald AuGres, Mich. Cadarette Collision Arctic Cat 40.784 88.27
4 20 Josh Ware Sault Ste. Marie R&R Racing Polaris 40.831 88.17
5 19 Cody Badour Farwell, Mich. Tommie Bauer Racing Arctic Cat 41.431 86.89
6 3 Corey Davidson Holt, Minn. XLT Engineering/Woody's Polaris 41.768 86.19
7 32 Larry Young Jr. Sault Ste. Marie Piche Performance Polaris 41.898 85.92
8 311 Ross Erdman Fargo, N.D. Yamaha Racing Yamaha 41.997 85.72
9 85 Kris Eichenberg Reed City, Mich. Eichenberg Racing Yamaha 42.064 85.58
10 10 Cam Vermeersch Unionville, Mich. Countryside Motorsports Yamaha 42.067 85.58
11 35 Scott Odom Traverse City, Mich. Team Torture Ski-Doo 42.329 85.05
12 74 Gabe Bunke Brownstown, Minn. Bunke Racing Polaris 42.470 84.77
13 22 Joe Burch Mt. Pleasant, Mich. Beard Motorsports Polaris 42.523 84.66
14 2 Joel Diamond Lapeer, Mich. Team Blu Polaris 42.535 84.64
15 131 Mike Babcock Rudyard, Mich. 131 Racing Polaris 42.687 84.33
16 18 Dale Dunn Jr. Cedarville, Mich. Dunn Racing Ski-Doo 42.725 84.26
17 537 Ryan Faust Rubicon, Wis. Bunke Racing 2 Polaris 42.756 84.20
18 29 Jeff Leuenberger Freeland, Mich. DL Racing Ski-Doo 42.801 84.11
19 14 Chad Dyrdahl Bagley, Minn. Bouchard Racing Polaris 43.001 83.72
20 67 Bill Wilkes Alpena, Mich. Hoos Racing Polaris 43.046 83.63
21 16 Shane Felegy North Branch, Minn. Russell Racing Polaris 43.068 83.59
22 1 Rod Bell Akron, Mich. Blue Team Racing Yamaha 43.205 83.32
23 8 Eric Zellar Germfask, Mich. Yovich Racing Polaris 43.587 82.59
24 5 Kevin Bouman Martin, Mich. LMB Speedshop Polaris 43.593 82.58
25 52 Ryan Simons Fertile, Minn. Christian Bros. Racing Arctic Cat 43.652 82.47
26 X1 Isaac Wolfgang Breckenridge, Mich. KingKat Racing Arctic Cat 43.678 82.42
27 9 Anthony Mayer Rudyard, Mich. Mayer Racing Polaris 43.683 82.41
28 407 Brian Anderson Newberry, Mich. Yovich Racing Polaris 43.695 82.39
29 17 John Ranta Cedarville, Mich. R&S Racing Arctic Cat 43.790 82.21
30 26 Lance Kalbfleisch Brown City, Mich. Top Secret Racing Arctic Cat 43.802 82.19
31 42 Andy Shoemaker Pinconning, Mich. Millenium Motorsports Polaris 43.805 82.18
32 51 Jon Giffel Essexville, Mich. R&R Racing Polaris 43.861 82.08
33 57 Josh Hubbard Dewitt, Mich. Felzke Farms Polaris 43.866 82.07
34 86 Jason Fountain DeTour, Mich. Team Traction Polaris 43.896 82.01
35 34 Jim Erickson Marquette, Mich. Kovar Racing Polaris 43.922 81.96
36 63 Antero Tarvudd Echo Bay, Ont. Eckert Racing Polaris 44.046 81.73
37 72 Karl Schwartz Freeland, Mich. Applebee's Racing Polaris 44.310 81.25
38 167 Darrell Howard Anchorage, Alaska Mohan Racing Arctic Cat 44.399 81.08
*Note: The lead driver is listed as the driver, even if a co-driver drove during qualifying

Day 1 (I-500 Qualifying)

Place No. Driver Hometown Team Sled Time Speed
1 12 Grant Vermeersch Unionville, Mich. Countryside Motorsports Yamaha 40.593 88.69
2 11 John Bosek Alexandria, Minn. Wuppett Wace Team Polaris 40.666 88.53
NOTE: Top two positions are locked in. 
3 21 Troy DeWald AuGres, Mich. Cadarette Collision Arctic Cat 40.784 88.27
4 20 Josh Ware Sault Ste. Marie R&R Racing Polaris 40.831 88.17
5 19 Cody Badour Farwell, Mich. Tommie Bauer Racing Arctic Cat 41.645 86.44
6 3 Corey Davidson Holt, Minn. XLT Engineering/Woody's Polaris 41.768 86.19
7 32 Larry Young Sault Ste. Marie Piche Performance Polaris 41.898 85.92
8 311 Ross Erdman Fargo, N.D. Yamaha Racing Yamaha 41.997 85.72
9 10 Cam Vermeersch Unionville, Mich. Countryside Motorsports Yamaha 42.067 85.58
10 35 Scott Odom Traverse City, Mich. Team Torture Ski-Doo 42.329 85.05
11 74 Gabe Bunke Browerville, Minn. Bunke Racing Polaris 42.470 84.77
12 131 Mike Babcock Rudyard, Mich. 131 Racing Polaris 42.687 84.33
13 85 Kris Eichenberg Reed City, Mich. Eichenberg Racing Yamaha 42.736 84.24
14 537 Ryan Faust Horicon, Wis. Bunke Racing 2 Polaris 42.756 84.20
15 2 Joel Diamond Lapeer, Mich. Team Blu Polaris 42.764 84.18
16 29 Jeff Leuenberger Freeland, Mich. DL Racing Ski-Doo 42.801 84.11
17 22 Joe Burch Rosebush, Mich. Beard Motorsports Polaris 42.900 83.92
18 67 Bill Wilkes Alpena, Mich. Hoos Racing Polaris 43.046 83.63
19 16 Shane Felegy North Branch, Minn. Russell Racing Polaris 43.299 83.14
20 18 Dale Dunn Jr. Cedarville, Mich. Dunn Racing Ski-Doo 43.356 83.03
21 8 Eric Zellar Germfask, Mich. Yovich Racing Polaris 43.587 82.59
22 5 Kevin Bouman Martin, Mich. LMB Speedshop Polaris 43.593 82.58
23 407 Brian Anderson Newberry, Mich. Yovich Racing Polaris 43.695 82.39
24 17 John Ranta Cedarville, Mich. R&S Racing Arctic Cat 43.818 82.16
25 26 Lance Kalbfleisch Brown City, Mich. Top Secret Arctic Cat 43.840 82.12
26 51 Jon Giffel Essexville, Mich. R&R Racing Polaris 43.861 82.08
27 57 James Heiler DeWitt, Mich. Felzke Farms Polaris 43.866 82.07
28 86 Jason Fountain DeTour Village, Mich. Team Traction Polaris 43.896 82.01
29 63 Antero Tarvudd Echo Bay, Ont. Eckert Racing Polaris 44.046 81.73
30 42 Andy Shoemaker Pinconning, Mich. Millenium Motorsports Polaris 44.232 81.39
31 72 Karl Schwartz Freeland, Mich. Applebee's Racing Polaris 44.310 81.25
32 167 Darrell Howard Anchorage, Alaska Mohan Racing Arctic Cat 44.399 81.08
33 9 Anthony Mayer Rudyard, Mich. Mayer Racing Polaris 44.413 81.06
34 1 Rod Bell Akron, Mich. Blue Team Racing Yamaha 44.632 80.66
35 X1 Isaac Wolfgang Breckenridge, Mich. KingKat Racing Arctic Cat 44.854 80.26
36 73 Billy Skea Traverse City, Mich. Holeshot Motorsports Polaris 45.246 79.57
37 34 Jim Erickson Marquette, Mich. Kovar Racing Polaris 45.413 79.27
38 66 Gary Moyle Houghton, Mich. Moyle Racing Arctic Cat 46.564 77.31

Woody's Challenge Qualifying

Just 16 qualifying attempts were made for the Woody’s Challenge pro-am, to be held on Thursday at 7 p.m. Larry Young Jr. of the Brimley, Mich.-based Piche Performance No. 32 Polaris was the fastest racer at 87.63 mph. Kevin Bouman of Martin, Mich., driving the LMB Speedshop No.5 Polaris was second at 87.50 mph. There is another hour-long qualifying session Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Place No. Driver Hometown Team Sled Time Speed
1 32 Larry Young Jr. Sault Ste. Marie Piche Performance Polaris 41.082 87.63
2 5 Kevin Bouman Martin, Mich. LMB Speedshop Polaris 41.141 87.50
3 74 Gabe Bunke Browerville, Minn. Bunke Racing Polaris 42.035 85.64
4 311 Ross Erdman Fargo, N.D. Yamaha Racing Yamaha 42.102 85.51
5 132 Bryan Ball Sault Ste. Marie Piche Performance Polaris 42.180 85.35
6 10 Cam Vermeersch Unionville, Mich. Countryside Motorsports Yamaha 42.337 85.03
7 31 Aaron Mayer Rudyard, Mich Hunt Racing Polaris 43.003 83.72
8 20 Josh Ware Sault Ste. Marie R&R Racing Polaris 43.332 83.08
9 1 Rod Bell Akron, Mich. Blue Team Racing Yamaha 43.436 82.88
10 16 Shane Felegy North Branch, Minn. Russell Racing Polaris 43.681 82.42
11 9 Anthony Mayer Rudyard, Mich Mayer Racing Polaris 44.057 81.71
12 63 Antero Tarvudd Echo Bay, Ont. Eckert Racing Polaris 44.181 81.48
13 131 Mike Babcock Rudyard, Mich 131 Racing Polaris 44.453 80.98
14 72 Karl Schwartz Freeland, Mich. Applebee's Racing Polaris 45.810 78.59
15 86 Jason Fountain DeTour Village, Mich. Team Traction Polaris 50.755 70.93

Media Director: Peter Pietrangelo, news@i-500.com, 906-235-4893
Spokesperson: Ric Federau, 989-808-5266

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