Carly Davis follows father's snowmachine racing track

Less common are championship-winning daughters following in Dad's footsteps.

But Soldotna snowmachine racer Carly Davis, 18, is changing that.

Davis, daughter of seven-time Tesoro Iron Dog champion Scott Davis, defeated the defending national champion to win the Pro Women's Super Stock race last weekend at the 17th Duluth National Snocross in Minnesota.

Similar to motocross, snocross riders drive their snowmobiles around a course filled with big 80-foot-plus jumps and tricky corners. More than 32,000 fans turned out over the course of the weekend for a half-dozen races. Only the Winter X Games, which begin Jan. 22 in Aspen Colo., is a bigger competition in the sport.

Quick-starting Davis got the hole shot and held off Kylie Abrahamson of Merrifield, Minn., over the 10 laps of racing to win the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series opener.

How big is that?

"If anybody is anybody, this is where they're at," said Scott Davis. "It's the Daytona 500 of snowmobile racing.

"She's a tough gal," Davis said of his daughter. "Carly is a jumper. She's not afraid to get in the air. And once she got an edge she didn't make any mistakes. The reigning champ couldn't get around her."

Davis' first exposure to the national circuit came last season, when she flew to the Lower 48 for the Air Force Canterbury Snocross in Shakopee, Minn. Davis, who's been on snowmachines since she was an infant, is part of a team of six racers sponsored by Christian Bros. Racing of Minnesota.

She's been in snocross since age 11 -- though at first she didn't look like much of a racer to Dad.

"She was plenty content to ride with me," Scott Davis said. "My machine had handlebar warmers on it, and she liked that. She finally got too big."

Before long, Carly Davis was entering races in Anchorage and Valdez. She won the hillcross and snocross at the 2007 Alyeska Extreme Spring Weekend.

Now she's racing on a circuit that's centered in the upper Midwest. Her brother Cory has won the World Power Sports Association semi-pro open division title, but injuries hurt his season last year. At Duluth last weekend, Cory was second to Dylan Martin in the semi pro super stock race.

"I get a huge adrenaline rush from it -- and butterflies before every race," Carly Davis said. "But I think I have the ability to push myself and make myself stronger."

And not just mentally, either.

Before her racing season began, Carly hired a personal trainer who put her on a strict regimen. Six days a week, she lifts weights, does a cardiovascular workout, stretching and yoga for 90 minutes -- with another 30 minutes at night.

"I used to get so tired and sore I was exhausted," she said. "It (the regimen) helps so much. I felt 10 times better than after last year's Duluth race."

Dad noticed the harder training she was putting in, too.

"I knew she had the goods," Scott Davis said. "I knew she was close. But she even surprised me a little bit."

Despite the victory, Carly Davis realizes she has work to do. She wants to corner better, without letting off the throttle. Even with her new workouts, the physical toll from all the pounding and jumping is tough.

"It's really intimidating, especially for us girls," Davis said.

And each year, the ante goes up.

"They're flying compared to what they were doing 10 years ago," said Jon Nowacki, who covers snowmobile racing for the Duluth News Tribune.

Which makes the victory even more rewarding for Davis.

"When I was on the podium when I got first, everyone was screaming, 'Awesome job, Carly.' There aren't very many women racers, so maybe I can make a name for myself."

Much like Dad.

Reporter Mike Campbell can be reached at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.