A lot of people say Blair Morgan is the best snocross racer around. He'd love to prove them right and just might do it again this year, but it's the third year that injury has slowed his climb to the top.

"It hasn't really been much of a season for me so far,? he said. "I broke my thumb the second day of testing, so really early in the season it's totally not going the way I planned. For sure."

Last year he had a strong lead in the Pro Open class until he broke his Tibia in the fifth round. The year before that he was slowed by ankle and back injuries from summer motocross racing.

"I haven't raced a sled since last February. It's been almost a year now. I'll be back for the 15 of January. I've been riding my motorcycle a little bit.?

On Friday, Dec. 30 he was thinking of climbing back on a sled to practice.

"It's been six weeks now. I wouldn't be able to hang on very well. I wanted it to heal right. I didn't want to come back too early.?

If he can stay on and stay fast he could return to the winners circle that he dominated for years.

"I've basically won every championship since '98,? he said.

At the races this season he's mounted his sleds to take the green flag and build a few points. His leg held him back during motocross races in the Canadian circuit this summer, but the man from Prince Albert , Saskatchewan , finished in seventh place. The sport took him to France where he raced for Team Canada .

"The summer was actually pretty good,? he said, "I raced motocross all summer and it went pretty good. Pretty good competition this year, a lot of fast riders."

He raced for Morgan Racing Yamaha in motorcross, though the owners are no relation to him.

"I actually did do my own Yamaha team in ?03 and ?04, but I didn't do that this year." He's a co-owner of Blair Morgan Racing for snocross, but said he doesn't emphasize one sport over the other.

"Everything I do, you know I give it 100 percent. In summertime I'm thinking just bikes. I'm not thinking, 'it's going to help me in wintertime'.?

Being a boss does have perks, he said, but he's glad the other two owners handle management.

"I'll be able to continue to run this racing team when I retire. So I'll be able to have a job after I retire,? he said, "A lot of people think that I do a lot of the decision making and stuff like that but I don't. I just focus on my racing. Maybe after I'm done racing I'll be more involved.? Morgan turned 30 in October but isn't worried about age as much as he is over injury.

"I feel really strong right now. These little injuries, especially this thumb thing, it was just really stupid. I'm just kind of mad that I missed some races already and it'll be kind of hard for me to catch up to the championship. That's my goal right now. We'll just see if it could be done.?

One obstacle could be weather. Fog ruined the first race at Duluth and last year races in several circuits were cancelled due to melted snow.

"Global warming these days, it's getting worse and worse every year,? Morgan said.

He'll be at full strength for the X-Games in late January. It's a big race, he said, even though it's not part of the championship series. ESPN broadcasts the race and sponsors pay close attention.

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