Alread Leads Final Charge with Weekend Sweep
Duluth, MN. (March 29, 2021)- What a way to finish the 2021 season for the Klim/Jack Links Polaris team. Three days of racing, two wins and one overall statement of team speed.
The 2021 national series headed back to Eagle River, Wis. and no team shined brighter than that of Judnick Motorsports. With points, positioning and momentum for next season on the line, all three riders showed up and performed at the highest level at the World Championship Derby Complex.
Leading the charge was Pro Lite rider Carson Alread. The rookie took control of the weekend on Friday night, finishing second in both of his heat races before putting in a dominant run in the final for his second win of the year.
On Saturday, Alread made it a weekend sweep. The first-year rider won both of his heat races and was a force in the final. Just like the night before, he used a first lap pass to gain the lead and never looked back. In doing so, Alread became the only three time winner in Pro Lite this year and the only rider too win back-to-back finals. When everything was calculated, Alread finished third overall thanks to five podiums and ten heat race wins.
Fellow Pro Lite rider Nick Lorenz also turned in an exceptional weekend of racing at the Derby Track. On Friday, the round 14 winner finished fourth in both of his heat races before winning the LCQ. That put Lorenz in the back row for the final, but it didn’t slow down the Polaris-backed rider. He put on a charge and worked his way through the crowd to finish fifth.
On Saturday, Lorenz was on point in his qualifiers, finishing second in both races. In the final, he came off the line in seventh and was able to work back through traffic to finish fourth, just missing a podium spot. Despite missing four rounds in the middle of the season due to injury, Lorenz’s success over the past two weekends vaulted him back into the top ten in the championship standings. He ended with two wins, three podiums and five heat race wins to finish ninth overall.
Harr Caps of Top Five Overall Season
The competition was intense in the Pro field all weekend long, with podium finishes coming down to fractions of a second both nights and Judnick Motorsports Pro rider Emil Harr was in squarley the mix.
On Friday night, Harr went 3-2 in his heat races before showing off his amazing ability to continuously attack for position throughout the race. After starting seventh, Harr went back-and-forth with several riders before hitting the top five with less than four laps to go. He would finish fifth on the night, but missed a podium by just .63 of a second.
On Saturday, Harr went 3-3 in the qualifying rounds before finishing sixth in the final despite starting ninth coming out of the first turn. Harr entered the weekend seventh in points, but a strong showing from the Swedish rider over the two days catapulted him into the top five in his first full year of racing in the United States.
Two Find the Dominator Podium
With the national points season wrapped up, Sunday’s focus turned to the winner-take-all $10,000 payday showdown between the Pro and Pro Lite classes. Historically, the Dominator has been a head-to-head match-up, but this year ISOC utilized a qualifying round and advanced all of the riders into one final race. The Pro Lites had a front row advantage with the Pro class in starting the back.
All three rides made the main event thanks to a pair of third place finishes by Alread and Lorenz in their qualifiers. Harr put in an impressive run in his heat race, finishing second. In the final, it was a no-holds-barred cage match that saw significant attrition. But once again, the Judnick Motorsports team scrapped their way towards the front of the field.
Despite a back row start, Harr would finish as the top pro on Sunday. He came through the first lap unscathed and sitting sixth. By lap five, he had moved into third and just two laps later was in second behind Pro Lite rider Adam Peterson. Harr continuously closed the gap on Peterson for the remainder of the race, but was unable to get around the leader, finishing second to the eventual winner.
Lorenz may have turned in one of the best runs of the season. The Pro Lite rider started ninth but came out of the scrum clean, put his head down, and charged through the field. By lap seven, he was just behind Harr in third and kept pace with his Pro teammate through the checkered flag.
Judnick Motorsports would like to thank everyone for a successful season that saw the team finish with a total five wins, eleven podiums and 19 heat race wins. The Klim/Jack Links Polaris looks forward to an off-season of training and development as it prepares for a championship run next season.
Team Sponsors: Polaris Racing, KLIM, Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, SSi Decals, ERX Motor Park, Walker Evans Racing, A.W. Oakes & Son, Kutzler Express, Stud Boy, Renton Coil Spring, C & A Pro, Jeff Foster Trucking, Hayes Racing, Camso, MBL, Rox Speed F/X, V-Force, Tekrider