Mancelona, Michigan
By Dominic Santina Contributing Writer
Photos are Courtesy of Northern Power Race Park
As winter approaches, Northern Power Race Park is turning their focus from summer events back to their traditional winter events. This year will mark the third year of the Michigan Snocross series being held at the park.
The park has invested over the last two seasons to create massive snocross tracks, considered the biggest regional tracks in the country. A strong winter last season only amplified that ability and created fantastic racing each weekend. That will continue this year, as they have purchased another snow groomer and another snow gun. This will allow the park to operate even more efficiently during grooming breaks and try different track designs with multiple groomers running. We started to see this in the second half of the season, as they began creating tracks resembling the national snocross circuit. The addition of another snow gun increases their snow-making capabilities, allowing them not to rely on natural snow.
Snocross
The park’s primary event over the previous couple of seasons has been their regional snocross series, Michigan Snocross. That will continue to be the focus this season, with 11 event dates on the calendar. The 2025-26 season will kick off the season on December 6 and 7 with the first two rounds of the snocross season.
That will lead to the return of the USA vs Canada Border Cup on January 3-4.
This event was exciting, and once again, riders from both countries will come together to battle for the right to take home the Border Cup trophy. Team USA will be looking to claim the trophy back from the inaugural winners, Team Canada. The event will count as the third and fourth points races of the Michigan Snocross season.
The season will continue with regular Michigan snocross rounds 5 and 6 on January 17 and 18. The park will be trying a new weekend event by splitting the seventh round of the series into a night and day event. The Pro classes will compete on Friday night under the lights on January 30, followed by the youth and amateur classes racing on the morning of January 31. NPRP will then switch the track over to a ditchbanger track that night.
The eighth round of the series will be held on Sunday, February 1 and will be hosted with a ditchbanger race the day before. The schedule will return to a two-race weekend format on February 28 – March 1 with rounds nine and 10. The season will conclude with a split race day on March 27 and 28. Once again, the pros will hit the track under the lights on Friday, March 27, while the youth and amateur will wrap up their championship in the morning on Saturday, March 28. The season will conclude with a banquet on the evening of Saturday, March 28.
While the snocross has been a big hit, another event is taking the park by storm and picking up momentum over the last couple of winters. What started as a few one-off events to fill the schedule at the park turned into a points series for the ditchbanger races last season. The series returns this year with some changes, additions and a bigger event schedule as well.
Ditchbangers
As the series grows, tweaks are made to the rulebook. Some of the biggest changes to the rules include limiting the classes in which REV and Firecat snowmobiles can compete for the upcoming season. After being allowed to compete in every class, the rules now permit those sleds to compete in the Modified, Vintage Snocross and 2004-2010 divisions of the series.
For the upcoming season, there are developmental rules in place as well. In the Beginner division, the top seven in the championship points at season’s end will be elevated to the Amateur series for the next year. In the Amateur division, a maximum of 900 points can be accumulated over three seasons. After accumulating over 900 points or competing in the division for over three years, you will be advanced to the Pro class. A year of competing is racing in four or more events.
While some changes have been made, a new division has also been added. As the Youth / Junior Ditchbanger division was added. This division is for riders between the ages of 8-13. They can compete on a stock 340/440 cc snowmobile manufactured in 2003 or before. The class was designed as an in-between class for a 200 rider and the older ditchbanger classes.
A new addition for the 2025 season will also be a team points championship. The top three teams that earn the most overall accumulated points through their qualifying races and final points will be recognized at the last race. To compete for the team championships, you must have a team name and roster submitted to the park before the first round of the series. The team must be comprised of five riders and each rider has to choose their primary series they are competing in. A rider is not allowed to switch points series during the season and you cannot substitute riders on your team.
The final change to the series is the addition of more races to the race schedule. The season will open on Saturday, December 20. The second round of the series will be on Friday, January 16. The third round will be under the lights following a morning of Snocross action at the park on Saturday, January 31. The fourth round will be a weekend doubleheader with snocross on Saturday, February 7. The fifth round will lead off a three-day weekend of racing at the park on Friday, February 27. The final round of the snocross season will be contested on Saturday, March 21.
Other Events
NPRP will also be featuring other standalone events this winter. The park will be hosting both Snocross and Ditchbanger practices on varying days and times. While also hosting a Free Youth Ride day on Saturday, February 7, from 9 to 11 am. The park will also be hosting an Arctic Blast Winterfest on January 10. Any information about the events mentioned above can be found at Northerpowerracepark.com •