STM Powersports Snow Outlaws Winter Nationals presented by Rice Lake Tourism
Moose Lodge 402, Rice Lake, Wisconsin, USA
January 31-February 1, 2025

Musselman Out-Muscles Snow Outlaws at Rice Lake

It’s hard to imagine that the pipes of the blown nitro and turbocharged alcohol sleds of the STM Powersports Snow Outlaws snowmobile drag racing series lain cold and quiet all last year, as the whole season was cancelled for lack of ice and snow. But those pipes heated up in a big way on the frozen surface of Wisconsin’s Rice Lake this year as the Winter Nationals fired off as smooth as a White Russian fresh out of the cocktail shaker.

Outlaw

Three years ago, the first Hypersports-built screw-supercharged nitro Outlaw sled hit Rice Lake’s 500 feet snow-packed racing surface. This time around, Jeff Ratzlaff’s OG “Grinch” was still the quickest sled in qualifying, posting a 3.62 at an early shut-off 115.19 mph, courtesy of tuner Howard Haack.

Rider Mike Allen took The Grinch all the way to the final to face the brand spankin’ new, similar (but improved) build owned and ridden by Matt Musselman.

Musselman’s “Sno-Twister” was straight and quick right off the trailer and raced past defending Outlaw champion Dominick Ernst and the “Eagle-1,” owned by Snow Outlaws chieftains Chad and Jenny Nyhus, in the very first round. Since the ’23 championship season, Eagle-1 was upgraded from turbo/alcohol to supercharged on nitro and produced the class’s top qualifying speed of 153.97. But sometimes performance sacrifices consistency, and Eagle-1 was one and done at this event after shedding a belt.

After taking out the turbocharged “Black Mamba” (owned and tuned by Aaron Casler and ridden by Ethan Erhardt) in the semi, Musselman found himself in the final against Allen and The Grinch.

Allen grabbed a clear advantage at the flash of starter Sam Shackleton’s light, but Musselman drove around when The Grinch had an electrical issue. “The ECU lost power,” reported Ratzlaff. “We found that the battery holder broke.”

And in the first race on his new sled—so new that the bodywork wasn’t yet fitted—Musselman was a winner. “I was very surprised at not only how consistent, but also how well it handled and how every change we made got it going faster and faster,” said Matt, whose naked sled was tuned by Glenn Hall and Jack Romine.

“We are striving to be the best every race we attend, which requires a certain flow in the trailer between rounds. Jack and I were on the same page all weekend and that continued to make our performance shine and teamwork above all else. And of course, a focused, disciplined and consistent driver.

“I want to thank Hypersports, Jack Romine, my wife and family and friends. Also Klim, Dove Fuels, Richardson Race Fuels, Big C Lumber, and all Snow Outlaw sponsors.”

Pro Xtreme 55

Pro Xtreme 55 saw the introduction of a sled whose performance may turn out to be as revolutionary as The Grinch on its debut. Ryan Santry’s Hypersports Screaming Yellow Apex Yamaha launched crowd-pleasing wheelies each round on his way to the win.

“Honestly, this new build is awesome,” said Santry. “We struggled a little but never gave up and it definitely paid off. I cannot wait to get some time with it, it is only going to get faster!”

Which is a frightening notion for the class—maybe. Brian Sullivan and his “John Deere” themed, Hypersports HRC-2 was looking for a fourth straight win and were holding their own against Santry in the semi…for a while.

“Well It was a damn close race!” said Sullivan. “At 100 foot I was ahead. At 425 feet we were dead even, and at the finish line he got be by 2 feet. He had more power than me.”

“So, this sled has been in the works for a few years,” said Santry. “Obviously last year—with no races—I didn’t get to debut it, but this is the first HRC-Apex platform from Hypersports, and it is beautiful piece. Just looking at it you can tell that Hypersports truly put thought and care into every piece of this chassis.

“My previous sled was a Yamaha Viper chassis that I had modified to put my Yamaha Apex motor into. It worked, but there were always issues with balance—especially when we put big power into it. The powerplant is and always has been from my father—this has been his motor combination for years and makes serious power. Now I am just happy to have a state-of-the-art chassis that we can continue to work with to get that power down to the snow.”

“Pro-55 has to be a production-based engine,” noted Hypersports’ Craig Campton. “So the yellow sled utilizes an OEM block and head. The 4 cylinder Yamahas have been around snowmobile racing for 20 years, but we just started building them.”

Kyle Shilts worked his way through the field before falling to Santry in the final. “The final round for me was a bummer, as our clutch didn’t release when I let go of the button, so it didn’t take off right away,” said Shilts. “Split second or so and then it released and spun the track bad. I did see that Santry was heading towards the center of the track so I figured I better stay in it just in case he has to let off. Ended up he didn’t have to lift and won the race. We will fix our clutch issue and be ready for the next race!”

“As far as thanking people, first and foremost my wife and kids for sacrificing so that I can do what I love to do,” continued Santry. “As far as getting this sled together and working with me, the most exciting part is the two main people are my dad, Greg Santry, and Craig Campton, who is a great friend. Without them none of this is possible, and the fact that I get to do this alongside two people that are special to me is icing on the cake.

“That is not to take away from others that are key contributors, which include Glenn Hall, Chase Miller, Doug Olson, Gus Goede, Matt Lasota, and Jim Costa. Without the help of these people and many others this would not have been possible.

“And of course, without Chad and Jenny Nyhus, we would not have a place to race these machines. Thanks for all the time, money, and effort they put in to make it possible for all of us!”

Pro Mod

Kyle Baynes took the opening win in Pro Mod, beating Tyler Stelton in a one-video-frame redlight final.

“Heading into the weekend, we had no plans to race,” said Minnesota racer Baynes. “It wasn’t until Wednesday, January 29, that we made the last-minute decision to attend—but the sled was still in Wisconsin. Thankfully, Michael Griffin stepped in to transport it back, delivering it to us (in Minnesota) early Thursday morning.

“The sled was still set up for the grass season, so we had a lot of work ahead of us. Anthony Mini and I immediately got to work, swapping the track, suspension, drivers, and front-end components while making key chassis adjustments based on what we remembered from previous setups. With time working against us, we arrived late to Friday’s test session.

“We quickly weighed the sled and made our first pass—it was rough, to say the least. As the evening progressed, we fine-tuned the chassis and power levels, making steady improvements. By the third test pass, we weren’t setting records, but we saw promising signs that we were heading in the right direction.

“Going into Saturday’s first round, we made an aggressive setup adjustment—and it paid off. From there, consistency became our top priority. Through the second and third rounds, we stuck to small refinements and managed to stay competitive, winning several tight races along the way.

“The final round, however, had an unexpected ending. I faced off against Tyler Stelton, whose sled had been incredibly fast all day. Unfortunately, a razor-thin redlight gave me the win. That’s never the way you want to secure a victory, especially with such a close light. Credit to Tyler and his team—they handled it with great sportsmanship and will undoubtedly be a tough competitor moving forward.

“This was only our second time racing on snow, and it’s no easy surface to master. But we gained invaluable experience and can’t wait to be back. A huge ‘thank you’ to Anthony Mini for tuning, my fiancée Dana Bungert for all her coordination and support, Michael Griffin for transporting the sled and lending a hand at the race, the entire Hypersports crew for building an incredible machine and assisting throughout the weekend, and Clara, Benny, and Wyatt for all their help.”

Shutdown Area

The real heroes of this event were Chad Nyhus and his Snow Outlaws track building crew. With only two inches of snow to work with, they performed the miracle of hard work and sparing no expense to “refuse to lose” and build the Snow Outlaws racers an excellent track to finally get to race. An amazing feat that saw bare ice extending well out towards the lake’s horizon. A fully worn-out Nyhus earned a big debt of gratitude from everyone involved.

Next up for Snow Outlaws in the Three Lakes Shootout, February 14-15, on Spirit Lake, 1426 State Highway 32 in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. And remember, there’s simply nothing better going on in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year than Snow Outlaws drag racing, so come out on Valentines Day and fall in love with winter’s most explosive sport!

Visit the Snow Outlaws Facebook page

Snow Outlaws thanks STM Powersports , Hypersports , Woody’s Traction ,Transport Refrigeration , Badger State Electric, H&H Performance , Red Cup Racing , Days Powersports , Musselman Home Improvements , Studio 77 , Tracks USA , Sullivan Custom Farming , Sullivan Transport , Bormann Performance , G-Force Racing , Timber Inn , Snap-On Tools/Aaron Wold , Troy Fisher Photography , Knutson Fabrication Inc. , Darana Hybrid , Kyle Cook Racing , Rice Lake Tourism , Pioneer On Long Lake , Lakewoods Resort , Weenie Roast , Kostman Racing , ISH Racing , Hogan Racing , Chris Connelly Racing , Brunn Construction Company, 515 Racing, Stampkrete, Casey Hauck Performance, Troy Larson, CabComfortDirect, Three Lakes-Brule River Trails, Pro Cycle Performance and Xtreme Sound.

This report was prepared by Tim Hailey. Enjoy everything there is to read, see and watch about powersports drag racing and more at https://www.eatmyink.com; For hi-res photos, email timhailey@eatmyink.com

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