SALAMANCA, N.Y. — For Tucker Hibbert, arguably the biggest star of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series, there’s always room for improvement.
That room certainly isn’t very big, though.
The 31-year-old Minnesotan has tallied 114 victories in 192 starts and won his 10th X Games gold medal last week in Aspen, Colo. He comes into the U.S. Air Force Snocross National in Salamanca this weekend with a 66-point lead in the AMSOIL Snocross Series.
“I’m motivated mostly by not losing, trying to win every time and finding ways to be better,” said Hibbert two days prior to his pair of victories in Deadwood, S.D., on Jan. 22 and 23. “Even if I win a race or I win a championship, there’s room for improvement no matter what.”
A story in Sports Illustrated last month tallied his accomplishments.
Hibbert has won in 58 percent of his starts in the series; by comparison, Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR’s active leader in winning percentage, has 75 wins in 507 starts — a “mere” 15 percent.
And visits to the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, where the series will stop for the fourth time this weekend, have been kind to Hibbert.

Each weekend, the series holds two feature races — and Hibbert has won all six in the past three years here.
“It was an excellent track last year and I’m excited about coming back again,” Hibbert said. “It’s a fun place to race with the fans, and for us to get to the other side of the country is a nice change of scenery.”
Like several athletes in the sport, Hibbert’s schedule has been demanding lately. Of course, that’ll happen when it’s winter and your passion is racing in the snow.
Following a race weekend outside Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 8 and 9, Hibbert spent over a week testing in Aspen for the Winter X Games — testing he said is necessary for both athlete and sled because of the dramatic change in altitude.
Then it was off to South Dakota for a pair of races there, then back to Aspen for the Winter X Games held last week then to Salamanca for the series’ fifth and easternmost stop of the eight-race season.
“It’s a hectic schedule,” Hibbert said. “There are times during the season it’s not so crazy, where we’ll race and have a weekend off and then have another race — it’s a bit more relaxed. Where we are at in the schedule right now, it’s pretty busy.”
It’s a schedule that has paid dividends for Hibbert and his Team Monster Energy/Arctic Cat/ Ram Truck, which he established in 2006. In addition to sweeping both races at Deadwood, he also swept the previous event in Shakopee, Minn.
His other finishes this season have been first and second to open the season in Duluth, Minn., and first and fourth place finishes just outside Fargo, N.D.
“The season so far has been going really good and we’re happy, obviously, to be on top of the point standings,” he said.
Despite the success, Hibbert said he remains motivated by trying to correct mistakes while, admittedly, trying “to figure out how to win by more or do better.” And there are some racers trying to knock Hibbert off the top of the charts.
“There are some young, fast guys that are a challenge for me every race,” he said. “It’s not like it’s easy; it’s a super challenging series and every race is a lot of hard work to be up front.”
Hibbert also races dirt bikes during the off season and did AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships for about a decade. The 2011 snocross season was the first full-time season for Hibbert since 2002/2003, when he stepped away from the sport to focus on dirt bikes.
He said in his time with the snocross series, he’s seen a lot of positive changes.
“I’ve been racing as a professional since 2000, so I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years and it seems like every year it just gets a little bit better and more popular,” he said. “The TV coverage and the live-streaming online — all the media and sponsors that are involved — it just really has grown and helped to showcase our sport and show it to people who haven’t seen it before.”
Wins aside, Hibbert said he’s excited for the trip to Salamanca, admitting it’s “probably the most exciting fan base we’ll have all year.”
He’s also keen to the idea of fans riding to the event on snowmobiles of their own.
“That’s another somewhat unique thing about the New York races is that a lot of (fans) snowmobile to the race,” he said. “There are a few races out of the year people will actually ride to the race and that’s probably the biggest one for that.
“It’s fun to see people get together and ride their snowmobiles to the race track, watch us race and then ride home. It’s pretty cool.”
The AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series visits the Seneca Allegany Casino on Friday and Saturday. Practice and races take place throughout both days, but opening ceremonies for the Pro Lite and Pro Open series begin each day at 6 p.m.
(Salamanca Press managing editor Rich Place may be contacted at r.placesp@gmail.com)