AMSOIL Racing: Ross Martin got the better of you in the DOMINATOR race last year. How difficult is that race and what are your plans to win it this year?
Malinoski: The race is not too bad; it’s heads-up racing, so your focus is just on one guy, which makes life a little easier. The plan this year is the same: wide open for two laps and let the rest fall into place.
AMSOIL Racing: Compared to some riders, you started in snocross at a later age. What were you doing until then and what got you into the sport?
Malinoski: I was at a crossroads in my life at the time I started. I had just graduated from high school and was searching for some direction, so my dad gave me an option to work at his shop in exchange for a season of racing, and I never looked back. Before that, motocross was all that I was doing.
AMSOIL Racing: Is there one victory in your career that means more than any of the others?
Malinoski: I think last year in Duluth was one that I will always hold on to. It took place in AMSOIL’s backyard, and I came out swinging. I have never experienced so much excitement from staff and sponsors than following that win.
AMSOIL Racing: You’ve won ACS championships and Winter X Games medals. What’s left for you to accomplish in snowmobile racing?
Malinoski: As a racer, you never feel like you have made it, and maybe that’s why I am still racing. I think if that feeling ever sets in, then I know that I have raced my last race. But I am more hungry than ever, and I still get nervous before every race.
AMSOIL Racing: Last summer you took on a unique role – fighting forest fires. How did that come about?
Malinoski: I had called [team owner] Steve [Scheuring] that summer and told him if he had some jobs that he needed done, I was his man. So he called and said there was a fire down south, and that [head mechanic] Tony [Clement] and I were leaving the next morning. Then I was gone, so I never had a moment to think about what I was getting into. That’s how it all came to be; it was a great experience.
The 2012/13 AMSOIL Championship Snocross season begins with the Duluth National November 23-25. Watch the action live throughout the weekend at www.amsoilracing.com.
