West Chicago, Ill. ~ With the cold and snow still gripping the Northern United States, it might be an odd time to start thinking about truck racing.  Usually, the trucks get rolling in late April and May and stick to the dirt tracks scattered throughout the country.  But the AMSOIL-sponsored Autumn Woods Racing team is utilizing a southeast circuit and the invention of domed stadiums as a great opportunity for some primetime winter racing.

The West Chicago-based team took part in the inaugural N.O.R.R.A. event on February 10 in Lake City, Fla. at the North Florida Speedway.  The four-truck, side-by-side racing is a hit among die-hard racing fans.  AWR drivers Jeff Dedick and Ricky Brantley showed why they were two of the top off-road truck drivers in 2006.  Dedick won the event, with Brantley right behind him in second.

The next stop for AWR was at the packed USHRA event in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.  Dedick was once again able to steal the show.  The series features two-truck, “Chicago” style racing.  Dedick, the only AWR driver at the event, went into the final as the number one qualifier.  A great run in the final kept the AMSOIL driver on top as he picked up his second win of the season.

Autumn Woods Racing will be back in action this weekend.  Both Dedick and Brantley will be racing in the second NORRA event of the season as it heads to Douglas, Ga. at the Douglas Motor Sports Park on Saturday.

St. Louis, Mo. ~ Team AMSOIL Supercross riders Ryan Sipes and Billy Laninovich said goodbye to their extended stay at their practice tracks two weeks ago.  The Supercross “Lites” riders finally took part in an AMA sanctioned event as the East Coast Lites Class joined the tour in Atlanta.

In the Lites class, Laninovich and Sipes were hoping for a strong start to the East Coast series. Both riders started strong in their heat races. Lano took a second while Sipes grabbed a third place finish in his qualifier.  Sipes was able to make the top ten in the final by placing ninth after a strong start.  Laninovich finished in 12th.

Supercross riders Kevin Windham and Travis Preston continued their strong riding at the AMA event at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.  Windham was strong early, finishing second in his heat race.  Preston also moved onto the main with a fifth in the same heat.  In the final, Windham was able to ride to a strong fifth place showing, while Preston battled with the pack and succumbed to a crash in the final, finishing 12th.

Atlanta Round 8 Results

Windham continued his consistent riding last weekend as the circuit traveled into St. Louis.
K-Dub was riding strong all weekend long. He finished third in his heat race and took home a solid fourth place finish in the main. Teammate Travis Preston finished fifth in his heat race, but was unable to finish the main and finished 21st overall.

In the "Lites" class, Sipes and Laninovich continued their search for a championship with moderate success. Sipes finished fourth in his heat race and eighth in the main. Laninovich finished fifth in his qualifier and 14th in the final.

St. Louis Round 9 Results

The AMA Supercross series airs on SPEED Channel. The series moves to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. this weekend.

“A Double-Double for Snocrossers”
Team AMSOIL battles through back-to-back double nationals

Shakopee, Minn. ~ The good thing about taking part in a double points weekend is that if things are going your way, your team can make up a lot of ground in the points race. Of course, if things are not going your way, it is also possible to fall even further behind.  The AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports team faced this harsh reality twice during the past two weekends of racing.

Two weeks ago, Shaun Crapo and DJ Eckstrom were hoping to get back into the championship mix as they battled one of the largest tracks the World PowerSports Association has ever created in Eagle River, Wis.

Riding and flying high at the AMSOIL Derby Track, Eckstrom and Crapo would have to deal with a double national event.  This meant that there would be four finals and 12 qualifying heats. In the first round Crapo led the charge, finishing seventh in the Pro Open class while Eckstrom finished tenth. With Eckstrom out of the Pro Stock final after breaking a shock in the third round of qualifying, Crapo finished 12th.

The next round saw both riders in all four finals. In Pro Stock, Eckstrom finished ninth while Crapo came in 14th. In Pro Open, Eckstrom finished strong, landing in sixth while Crapo finished the circuit in tenth.

After battling sled issues and fatigue, the team had to quickly rebound for a second double national in Shakopee, Minn.  Unfortunately, the sled gremlins continued to haunt the Scheuring team. With two rounds of racing, that wasn't a good sign for the season points race. On Friday, Crapo failed to qualify for the Pro Stock final. Eckstrom, however, was able to win one of his heat races and was able to push his Polaris into sixth after starting in the back row.

On Saturday both riders failed to qualify for the Pro Open final after breaking suspension parts. Crapo was able to make the Pro Stock final on Saturday for the second round of racing. The Idaho native won a heat race and finished second in the other two qualifiers, pitting him as the number four qualifier. Crapo finished seventh in the final.

Sunday brought a second round of Pro Open to the table. Eckstrom ran strong in qualifying, finishing fourth, second and third.  Another suspension problem, however, pushed him out of contention as he finished 14th in the final. Crapo was unable to advance.

Eckstrom is sitting in 12th in Pro Stock for the season, while Crapo is in 14th.  In the Open class, Crapo is in 11th while Eckstrom is in 15th. There is one race left on the schedule, the Grand Finale in Lake Geneva, Wis. The WPSA airs all of its shows on SPEED.

Frozen February for Ice Racer
Wanderscheid looks for success after Eagle River

Sauk Center, Minn. ~ Three-time World Champion PJ Wanderscheid has had a busy month of racing. With the warmer temperatures in the early part of the winter, a number of races were rescheduled for February and March.  This meant that the AMSOIL team would be on the ice four out of five weeks.

February started off with a visit to the podium for PJ. The Sauk Center, Minn. native finished third in the 440 Champ class in Garrison, Minn. He followed that up with a fourth place finish in the Pro 600 Open class.

The next weekend saw Wanderscheid race in Antigo, Wis. Handling issues continued for the young racer. He finished fifth in the Pro Open class, but only seventh in the Pro 440 class.

A third straight weekend of racing brought the #28 sled to Wayauwega, Wis. February 17-18. Wanderschied continued to grab hole shots all weekend long, but a broken sway-bar meant only a fourth place finish in the 600 class. After a month of searching, he did find the podium in the 440 class with a second behind Jeff Ludwig.

Last weekend, Wanderscheid headed to Beausejour, Manitoba for the second time this year. The team battled a winter blizzard to get to the track, resulting in only one day of racing. Sled problems caused the team to try a number of different cooling systems, and they were unable to finish the race.

Wanderscheid will be gunning for his first win of the season at the final event of the year. The series concludes this weekend in Ontonagon, Mich. on Saturday and Sunday.