“AMSOIL Rider Nabs AX Championship”
Lange goes “Green” for series title
 Minneapolis, Minn. ~ The AMSOIL foray into Arenacross racing has proven to be a major success this winter. Thanks to the strong riding of Team Babbitt's/AMSOIL rider Darcy Lange, AMSOIL can add another rider to its growing list of champions.
Two weeks ago, the Kawasaki backed team headed to Guthrie, Okla. to take part in the BooKoo Arenacross Series. Lange, who was the front-runner in the season long points championship, was looking to extend his lead in the Sooner state. Lange was able to win all of his heat races on Friday and Saturday night in both the 250 and 450 classes. He then took both finals in the 250 class and was able to win the 450 class on Friday night, before finishing in second on Saturday.
Lange then headed into the final weekend in Minneapolis last Friday and Saturday with a chance to secure the overall points championship. Lange not only secured the title but almost put together another perfect weekend inside the Target Center.
In the 250 class on Friday, Lange took the checkered in the qualifier and went on to win the main. He then switched to his bigger Kawasaki and took the Friday night sweep by winning both the heat race and the main in the 450 class.
On Saturday, Lange was looking for his perfect weekend to continue. In the 250 class, he once again swept the two rounds of racing. With the 450 class still to run, Lange had the championship, but still wanted perfection. He would almost get there, winning his heat race, but finishing a close second to Tyler Bowers in the 450 main.
For the season, Lange has won 12 races in the 250 class and another 11 in the 450 class. His 23 wins were 17 more than the closest competitor. Lange has only missed six podiums in the 36 finals he's raced in this season.
There are two rounds left in the BooKoo Arenacross Series. On February 9 and 10 the Series will be in Unacasville, Conn. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
“Johnson To Miss Rest of AMA AX Season”
Defending champ out with injury
Saginaw, Mich. ~ The AMSOIL sponsored Junior Jackson Racing team will be on the track this weekend in Saginaw, Mich. for the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series. Michigan native Nick Adams and teammate Nate Tiearney will be riding in the AX class for the final two rounds of racing in 2007.
The duo will look to pick up the reigns for defending Series champion, Chad Johnson. An MRI showed that Johnson has torn the groin muscle completely and the tear is dangerously close to a main artery. Doctors have indicated that he needs two months of complete rest and an additional two months of rehabilitation.
Despite missing last weekend’s race, Johnson still sits sixth overall in the AMA AX standings. The Rhinelander, Wis. native had two wins on the circuit this year.
“Grant Returns To Form”
Supercross rider back on top after early season injuries
 Anaheim, Calif. ~ Team AMSOIL Supercross “Lites” rider Josh Grant has successfully shaken off the effects of an early season crash that cost him valuable points during the first two rounds of the AMA Supercross Lites - West Coast Series.
Grant, who crashed during the first two rounds of the Series, is getting up to speed with the other top riders in the class. Two weeks ago, the Series continued its California swing with a race in San Francisco. Grant quickly found his groove on the muddy SBC Park track. The Californian rode a spectacular race, pushing his Honda 4-stroker into second place, just one spot ahead of AMSOIL teammate Jake Wiemer. The strong finish pushed Grant into the top10 in the season long points battle.
Last weekend in Anaheim, Grant proved he was healed from his earlier injuries, once again grabbing a second in the Lites main event. Wiemer, meanwhile, was just off the pace set by the leaders, finishing sixth. Wiemer still holds the edge over Grant in the Lites class, sitting third overall to Grant’s fifth.
In the supercross class, veteran superstar Kevin Windham has been battling the top riders in the class all season long. Windham finished tenth in San Francisco and improved to seventh at last weekend’s Anaheim race. Teammate Travis Preston finished seventh in San Francisco, but a crash in practice left him out of the main in Anaheim.
The AMSOIL team will be in Houston, Texas this weekend. The event will air on CBS (see below).
“AMSOIL Finds Silver In Rockies”
Freestyler whips snowmobile to record setting leap
Aspen, Colo. ~ With all of the snocross hype that entered this year's Winter X Games, it turned out that it was a snowmobile freestyler that would bring home a medal for Team AMSOIL.
In its first year as an official X Games event, freestyle snocross was a popular event with athletes and fans. Aired live on ESPN and ABC, the event featured death-defying stunts on 400-pound snowmobiles. AMSOIL linked its name to young rider Aleksander Norgaard in hopes of bringing home a Winter X medal.
After running a great qualifying round, Norgaard went into Sunday night's final as the number two qualifier. That put him head-to-head in the first round with the number three qualifier. The young Swede would pull off two straight back flips to advance to the final. A strong run would mean gold and Norgaard gave it his all, finishing with a 93.66 score (out of 100). But he was up against the top qualifier, Chris Burant and Burant pulled off a 96 for the gold.
Check out video of Norgaard in action here on ESPN.
While Norgaard was celebrating, AMSOIL snocross riders DJ Eckstrom and Shaun Crapo were left hoping for a medal next year. ESPN ran four heats of eight riders on Friday night, with the top two heading directly into Saturday night’s finals. Eckstrom was up first and ran a strong race, but finished out of the top two with a fourth place finish. Crapo would run the third heat, but was also unable to get into the top two, finishing in third.
On Saturday, both riders would try to get one of the four final spots by running in the Last Chance Qualifier. In their heats, each would battle 10 other riders for two spots. Both riders got off to great starts in each of their respective heats, but a compression problem bogged down both sleds, side-lining both riders before the half-way mark.
Eckstrom and Crapo will be in action this weekend as they continue their quest to win a WPSA championship. They will be following the series to Buffalo, N.Y. for the fourth round of Pro Stock and Pro Open racing. The WPSA airs weekly on SPEED.
“Wanderscheid Battles Foes, Freezing Cold”
World champ finding sledding rough on oval ice
Sauk Centre, Minn. ~ The lack of snow and cold weather early in the winter has played havoc with race promoters trying to host snowmobile races in 2007. Numerous events were canceled or postponed due to the lack of snow and ice. The weather has definitely changed and that means teams will be cramming in a season full of races in a short period of time before spring begins and the snow and ice fade away into summer.
PJ Wanderscheid has been on the road battling both a highly competitive field of racers and the brittle cold that can settle on the Midwest during the winter months. Two weekends ago, Wanderscheid loaded his Arctic Cat up and headed to two separate races in northern Wisconsin. Friday meant a full day of racing in Plymouth, Wis. In the 600 Open, Wanderscheid pushed his 440 Cat to a third place finish. He then battled with Terry Wahl in the Champ 440 final, finishing in second.
On Saturday, the Wanderscheid/AMSOIL team unpacked the trailer in Wausau, Wis. for a full weekend of racing. While Wanderscheid pulled a holeshot in the 600 Open final, handling issues pushed his sled back to fifth by the time the checkers fell. In Champ 440, the same handling gremlins would pop up and pushed the three time World Champion into sixth.
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