It started out small for the Hentges family when they decided to transform their favorite pastime of snocross into a business.

It was 1999 when they took their two sons, then-14-year-old Jonny and senior Nate Hentges, then 19, to the Scott County Fairgrounds in Jordan, Minn. The track was small along with the crowd, but that didn’t matter to the family. This was their passion.

Just before the race, Hentges noticed all the elements around him, the snow, the crowd, the track, everything. Then the snowmobiles took off and he began to cheer – from the sidelines.

His brother Jonny went on to win four of six races that weekend, which led Hentges to one conclusion.

“I saw (Jonny) racing and I thought ‘I can do that.’ ”

One year later, Hentges sat on his own snowmobile on the Scott County Fairground track, preparing for his first race.

“I was nervous,” he said. “I didn’t know exactly what to expect.”

After the race, Hentges’ feelings took on a different outlook, one that would set the tone for his own career in snocross.

“I just got addicted,” Hentges said. “It was definitely something I wanted to keep doing.”

The snowball effect
The Hentges family’s transition as fans of snocross to business owners of a snocross racing team occurred in a snowball-like fashion, Hentges said.

Hentges, 23, has been around snowmobiles since he was 6 years old. As he grew older, he became accustomed to how they handled and operated, but the idea of participating in races was far out of the picture.

Then came his first race in Jordan and he never looked back, he said.

“Your adrenaline gets going so fast and you can only think so far ahead of yourself,” Hentges said. “It’s a sweet feeling.”

Snocross is a sport that involves riders racing snowmobiles around a track for a set number of laps, usually four or five, Hentges said. As Jonny found success his first weekend, he said the family started taking him to more local races, hauling his snowmobile across the state – and the winning continued.

During Jonny’s first season, the family decided to start its business and immediately gained the help of sponsors, the first being Ski-Doo.

Now, five years later, Hentges Racing has snowballed into a well-established business from its modest beginnings. It consists of a six-member team – two pro (Justin Tate, Brad Pitlik) and four semi-pro racers (Hentges, Jonny, Bobby Lepage and Don Leddy) – two semi trucks to haul equipment and a plethora of mechanics and other workers, he said.

“It just kept growing,” Hentges said. “Our whole family mentality is we gotta do our best in everything … keep going to the next level.”

Hentges Racing also has help from its 22 sponsors, which provide the business with various essentials like clothing and riding accessories. Some of the sponsors include Polaris, Pirtek, Royal Enterprises, Parts Unlimited, Artiva, Smith Goggles and the Hentges family’s summer construction business S.M. Hentges.

Another major player in the Hentges business is team manager Todd Wolff. Before joining the family, Wolff, 31, made his mark on the snocross world by collecting back-to-back Warroad 500 wins, along with eight professional podium appearances for the World Snowmobile Association during his 20-year career. He also raced on the Hentges’ team for a year before becoming the team manager, Wolff said.

“(The Hentges) were a nice family so it was a pretty easy decision (to join the team),” Wolff said. “The people that were involved … fit what I was trying to do.”

This season the team’s success includes a first-place finish from Lepage at the Duluth National and appearances from Tate and Leddy in the 2005 Winter X Games in Aspen, Co. Tate finished 18th while Leddy took 20th.

“The last couple of years, (the team has) made some big strides,” Wolff said. “It’s only going to get better.”

A busy lifestyle
Hentges doesn’t consider himself an average college student. While most students get to enjoy the Water Street scene on weekends, he said, he spends his traveling to different locations across the nation for each race.

“We’re on the road pretty much from Thanksgiving through spring break every weekend,” Hentges said. “We’re all over the country.”

The two semi trucks are the Hentges family’s travel method to each race. On average, they put on 15,000 miles each year traveling to places like New York, Michigan and Canada.

Because of this extensive traveling, Hentges, a business administration major and marketing minor, has developed his own technique to handle the college workload. He collects his work and does it while he’s on the road, he said.

“Most college students are just worried about getting good grades,” freshman and friend Zach Ritter said. “Being a college student, you have enough to worry about. He’s one of the most responsible people I ever met in my life.”

Apart from the racing aspect, Hentges also works as the team’s assistant manager, a role that includes scheduling activities, balancing budgets and handling sponsors and promotions.

When Hentges took on the role as assistant manager, his mother, Jeanette, thought it would be difficult with his schedule.

“I really felt it was a stretch for him, but he’s been able to handle it,” Jeanette said. “At times, it can be overwhelming, but it gives him very good experience.”

After the season ends, however, Hentges gets to ease back from his busy lifestyle – moderately. After the season, Hentges said, staying in shape becomes a major priority because snocross success depends on it.

To stay in shape, Hentges works with a personal trainer primarily on cardio exercises.

“People who are fit generally have way less injuries,” Wolff said. “They don’t make as many mental errors.”

Hentges next venture will be to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field for the WSA Snocross World Championship. The tournament starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

An evolving sport
The sport of snocross has changed from the style Wolff raced under during his career. When he came into the sport in 1983, snocross took the form of a cross country race. Also, he said, the sport has gained popularity since that time.

“It’s changed. Now you go to a race, there’s 20 semis,” Wolff said. “The money’s gotten much larger.”

A typical tournament features 75 to 100 riders, each racing three rounds to separate 15 riders from the pack for the final. Each round consists of four to five laps, each taking 35 to 50 seconds to complete.

Scoring is based on the place each racer finishes. If a racer takes first place, they receive one point. Second place gets two points and third place gets three points. A lower score gives a racer better placement.

“If you have one bad round, you’re done,” Hentges said. “If you get like a fourth place, you can pretty much be done. You have to get first, second, first.”

After the top 10 earn their way into the final, the next 10 race in the last chance qualifier round (LCQ). The top five move onto the final and make up the 15 riders that compete for the tournament title.

Alumna Becky Gesswein said she has seen Hentges race throughout his career.

“It’s so much fun seeing someone you know competing at that level,” Gesswein said. “He just likes to have fun.”

During his two-year semi-pro career, Hentges’ best finish, he said, was seventh place.

“This whole sport is getting faster and faster. These whole semi-pro ranks are getting faster and faster,” he said. “You just have to do well and have the confidence to go to the next level.”

On the horizon
With the season well underway, Hentges said the team has the potential to become dominant as long as it stays consistent in one major category – winning.

“We gotta win races,” Hentges said. “We’ve just got to get people on the podium. That way, we can go to our sponsors the next year and say ‘this is what we did, this is what we’re capable of.’ ”

The main antagonist this year has been a slew of injuries that has kept the team from advancing at the rate it would like, he said.

“We’ve had a bad run of injuries this year,” he said. “Without a doubt, this team’s capable of doing real well.”

After graduation in May, Hentges plans to estimate roadwork for S.M. Hentges, and then take on a heavier workload for Hentges Racing in winter.

As far as snocross goes, Hentges doesn’t plan on leaving it in the near future. As long as he’s having fun, he said, he’ll keep with it.

“I’m not ready to walk away anytime soon.”