Finding a Key to the Soo Locks

Rough water slowed Rinker down in Sault Ste. Marie. Rinker finished fourth.

June 18-20 ~ All boat traffic in and out of Lake Superior must pass through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. All contenders for the 2004 Champ Boat national title must get by reigning champion Terry Rinker. The AMSOIL/Rinker Boats/Blackhawk Racing team traveled to the St. Mary River for the second round of the Champ Boat Series. They left with a fourth place finish and a new attitude.

Rinker found himself in third place overall entering the weekend. A fourth place finish in round one at New Roads, Louisiana didn't give the team the rousing start to the season they expected, but it didn't hurt much either. Actually a lot was learned from the experience and the knowledge was put to use at the Soo, especially regarding props. As Rinker likes to say a prop is like the tire of a race car, if it doesn't bite, or grip in the case of a tire, then the boat, or car, doesn't move as fast. The prop allows the transference of horsepower to propulsion. If the prop isn't right for conditions then valuable horsepower and subsequently time is lost.

Rinker heads to Bay City to defend his win there last year.

Rinker launched into the water among the freighters and whitecaps. Rough water kept boats on trailers for day one which hurt testing. So everything rode on the results of Sunday's heats and main event. Once in race mode the conditions weren't much better, but Rinker/AMSOIL weathered the dreadful wakes. Rinker said he played it too careful hoping to not tear the boat up with a mistake. Bad hops tossed the vessel like a yellow bobber. The team just missed the podium for the second consecutive race. "I was a little too careful." said Rinker. Still, with six events left it's anyone's race to the title. "There are a lot of points to be had, but nothing gives you points like a win," said Rinker. Rinker is looking to defend his win at Bay City, Mich. from a year ago. "The third round has been good for us. It's time to throw caution to the wind."

Up Budds Creek without a Paddle

Kevin Windham finished the motos in Budds Creek 4th and 5th.

June 18-20 ~ Perhaps no one is racing harder in 250cc motocross, but seemingly getting less for the effort than Kevin Windham. Budds Creek Motocross at Budds Creek, Maryland hosted round four of the AMA Chevrolet U.S. Motocross Championship sponsored by AMSOIL. Windham started in the top ten of moto one, but never really made the expected push into the top three positions. He ended up fourth. In the second moto the AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda rider started much further back in the pack, but was able to finish fifth. The combined finishes gave him fourth overall for the day. Windham is third overall in outdoor national points.

Josh Grant improves every week! He leaves Budds Creek fourth for the weekend and tenth overall.

Over in the 125cc action, Josh Grant for Team AMSOIL continues to impress. He just missed the podium at Budds Creek with his eighth and fifth place moto finishes. Chris Gosselaar looked like he was in his old form as he chased hard in moto one to earn a fourth place. He followed that up with a 13th. He was fifth for the weekend. Greg Schnell had a rough first moto, but came back to finish seventh in the second moto. Ryan Mills was down some, but his chin was up. He was 14th and 10th in his two outings.

Right now you have to tip your helmet to Josh Grant. The newbie is 10th in overall AMA Chevrolet MX points. Mills is 13th with Gosselaar right behind him in 14th. Schnell is rallying into the top 20 after missing action due to a nasty rib injury.

AMSOIL Racing Notes

Brady Smith wins round 3 of the AMSOIL Late Model Series.

The AMSOIL Late Model Series raced into its third event at the Proctor Speedway in Proctor, Minnesota. It sounds like a broken record, but again rain threatened the event. Still, hearty fans packed the stands while 25 Late Model cars filled out the field. When all was said and done a new leader was on top of the points standings. Brady Smith is now alone as the leader. The AMSOIL-sponsored car of Darrell Nelson is second. Harry Hanson, who led the standings going into the race, is in third place. The race ended on a caution after 30 of 35 laps because of rain. Smith was declared the winner. John Kaanta, reigning WISSOTA national champion, was second. Defending AMSOIL Series champion Steve Laursen finished third. Multiple AMSOIL Series race winner Tom Waseleski was fourth and fan favorite Paul Wrazidlo rounded out the top five. The series moves on to Ashland, Wisconsin and ABC Raceway July 30. Twelve drivers are within 20 points at the mid-point of the series. Four drivers - Todd Gehl, Jeff Broking, Tom Nesbitt and Smith - have improved their finishes each round thus far and will be contenders for top money come September.

Curt Gelling is fourth in national points.

A quick note on Darrell Nelson and the WISSOTA Late Models and Modifieds: Nelson currently leads the Late Model standings at two tracks and is second at a third. He's leading the Modifieds at one track and is in the top five at two others. He's a great driver and huge supporter of AMSOIL products. A look at the national standings shows Nelson second overall in Late Models and eighth in Modified. Looking at the national standings is like a Who's Who of drivers competing in the AMSOIL Late Model Series. As for AMSOIL-sponsored drivers, Curt Gelling is fourth in national points and Pat Doar is 11th. Tom Naeyaert, sponsored by AMSOIL Dealer Rick Bahr, is 29th. Over in the Mods, Craig Thatcher is 20th with Steve Arpin, sponsored by AMSOIL Dealer Bob Czeczok, at ninth and Luke Schilling, sponsored by Phil Schilling, is 43rd.

Phil Bozell finished ninth in his AMSOIL Pontiac at the ARCA Re/Max Flagstar 200 at Michigan Int'l Speedway June 19. AMSOIL Direct Jobber Lynn Peterson of Vicksburg, Michigan works very closely with this program. Peterson says the team used AMSOIL ATM 10w-30 Synthetic Oil in the engine for both qualifying and the race. They used the AGR 75W-90 Gear Lube in the rear end and transmission for qualifying. The team then made a switch to the TGO 75W-140 Gear Lube for the rear end and TGR 75W-90 Gear Lube in the transmission for the race. There was also a grease switch from AMSOIL GLB Multi-Purpose Grease in qualifying to the GRG Series 2000 Racing Grease for the competition. Bozell's engine builder told Peterson, "... the engine looked beautiful. No wear anywhere. It looked like it had just been assembled and oil poured over the top of everything." That's a great testimonial. Congratulations to the entire Bozell team.

A note about the ARCA Re/Max Series: AMSOIL has a growing presence in the series and the drivers, crew chiefs and car owners are getting more interested in "The First in Synthetics." Ron Cox is currently 16th overall. He's been working with AMSOIL Dealers Charles and Ollie Ernstberger of Salem, Indiana. Norm Benning at 13 is an AMSOIL user, too.

In Staging

Rinker can't wait to get his boat on the water for the Bay City River Roar in Bay City, Michigan June 25-27. He expects to have one of his older boats that has been refurbished ready to go for the race. Rinker says he very comfortable in the boat and is eager to get back in it. Rinker is the defending champion of the Bay City race.

Special Events will have a 4-wheel Jamboree in Anderson, South Carolina June 25-27. The 8th Annual Summer 4-wheel Jamboree sponsored by AMSOIL will feature monster trucks including the AMSOIL-sponsored "Big Dawg" driven by Doug Noelke. Gary Dedick will have the AMSOIL-sponsored "General Lee" in the tough truck events. If you go look for the AMSOIL booth.

If it's flying trucks you want then you'll have to travel to Crandon, Wisconsin June 25-27 for the fifth and six rounds of CORR off-road racing. Dan Vanden Heuval is second in points in Pro-2 while Mike Oberg is second in Sportsman-2 points. Ben Wandahsega is lurking in Sportsman-2 as well. Steve McCrossan will look to rebound in Pro-4. All the AMSOIL teams will be in action. Expect a full report next week in the AMSOIL Checkered Flag.

The AMSOIL motocross team is off for a week, but returns to action Fourth of July weekend at Red Bud in Buchanan, Michigan.

On TV

All the motocross racing from Budds Creek will air on ESPN2 on June 27 beginning at 2:00pm EST.