Courtesy of SnowWeek.com

Hillclimber Vincent Clark’s talent was evident at the first Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hillclimb Association (RMSHA) event this season in Preston, Idaho.

Clark runs two stock and two mod classes on the hillclimb series with his arsenal of Ski-Doo equipment. At Preston, he burned down his open mod sled. Fellow Ski-Doo driver Rusty Johnson offered to loan a machine for the class. The borrowed sled was Johnson’s 800 improved stocker, which Clark used to qualify for the finals. When Clark should have been out-gunned in the Open Mod class, he shot up the competition. Johnson, also racing in the Open Mod class on his own mod machine, was on the list of drivers beat by Clark. Johnson’s response? “Yeah, but that sled is really fast.”

That was the start to Clark’s dominating season, and though it isn’t quite over, Clark has been so dominant that he’s earned the Snow Week Racer of The Year Award. He’s the first hillclimber to earn the honor.
Vinnie, to most, still has two events left on the RMSHA calendar as this issue heads to the printer. During the season to date, Clark has raced in four different classes at each of the first six events. In those 24 entries, Clark has landed on the podium 18 times with 11 wins, four seconds and three third-place finishes. Season to date, he also has four King Of The Hill titles, three Stock and one Mod title.

Those finishes have amounted to a huge points lead in his two stock classes. With two races left in the season, Clark led 900 Stock by 320 points. His margin in 800 Stock was 295 points. As for his two mod classes, he led those, too. He held a 175-point margin in 800 Mod, and took the lead by a thin 18-point spread in the Open Mod class at the Jackson Hole World Championship Snowmobile Hillclimb.

“If things roll out the way the season is going, I’ll be more pleased with this season than last season,” Clark said. Last year, Clark finished the season by winning the points titles in 800 and 900 Stock classes. He also placed second in 800 Mod and third in Open Mod. That, after missing the first few races of the series. 2006 is Clark’s first full season with the RMSHA circuit.

Two words to describe his current race season are “dominant” and “consistent”. Based on our conversations with Clark and his peers, two words that describe the driver are “humble” and “talented.”

“One thing I can say about Vinnie is he is consistent,” said RMSHA driver and Ski-Doo Western Race Manager Mark Thompson. “As he started to show his face on the hillclimb circuit, he showed that he had the ability and talent. And he just continually improves. He is incredibly consistent at all the events, and that is really tough in hillclimbs. The hills are all different and the terrain varies so much at different races. But he stays consistent.”

Clark’s team includes Rick Budge, Heather Budge, Carson Budge and Mark Holz. His sponsors are Ski-Doo, Alpine Country Rentals, Blair Morgan Racing, Holz Racing Products, VP Racing Fuels, Woody’s, BoonDocker, Cold Wave, Dodge Trucks and Oakley.

Read more about Clark’s accomplishments in Snow Week No. 14.