Eckstrom came out of the first turn in a group of riders battling for second behind eventual winner Tucker Hibbert. Once the scrum cleared away, Eckstrom had worked his way into second and was pulling away from the pile. He held the position for the first six laps of the 20 lap final before trying a secondary line on one of the courses' uphill sections. The move proved costly as it kicked Eckstrom off the sled and out of the top ten.
"I wanted to make sure there was a second line through the rhythm section in case I got caught up in lap traffic later in the race," said Eckstrom. "I just missed the rhythm and hit a kicker and that was all she wrote."
Eckstrom finished the final in 11th. Meanwhile, teammate Shaun Crapo was also riding in the top five and gaining ground for a podium spot when he was rear ended by a hard charging sled, causing his rear shock to break. Crapo finished 13th.
Eckstrom, who sits third in the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Pro Super Stock class, and Crapo (6th) will return to Minnesota for round four of racing in Brainerd, Minn. February 6-8. Ross Martin, who rides for the AMSOIL/Judnick Motorsports team, dislocated his hip in Aspen and will miss the remainder of the year.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
