AMSOIL Celebrates 35th Anniversary
AMSOIL sponsored drivers meet face-to-face with AMSOIL Dealers

July 17-19 marked a historical point in the history of synthetic lubrication as AMSOIL INC. celebrated its 35th Anniversary with an unrivaled convention that featured Dealers, new products, an extraordinary plant tour and more than 30 race teams and series.

On Thursday, approximately 1,000 AMSOIL Dealers, employees, friends and family were on hand for the opening ceremonies which featured the high-energy introduction of the corporate race teams and series partners. Dealers learned firsthand about AMSOIL's involvement in Championship Off Road Racing, the new official oil sponsorships of Daytona Bike Week and Sturgis Bike Rally and met some old (Mike LaRocco) and new (Scott Douglas, Mike Oberg) racers.

From there, the group was led to the Winning Formula Expo, which featured the racers and representatives of the corporately sponsored series who were on hand to talk about their efforts and sign autographs. In attendance, among others, were Brady Smith, Scheuring Speedsports, PJ Wanderscheid, Sudden Impact Racing, Chad Hord, Judnick Motorsports, Darrell Nelson, AJ Diemel, Bob Richardson, Bob Teague, and Terry Rinker.

The trackside announcers Robi Powers and Faron Meeks also lent their incredible talents to both the Expo and the opening ceremonies. Powers and Meeks helped introduce the racers and also worked the Expo floor as "pit reporters." Their reports were broadcast on large 50-foot screens on each end of the expo hall.

"The AMSOIL 35th Anniversary Convention was a great success," said Jeremy Meyer, AMSOIL Race Program Manager. "We believe everyone from the race teams to the Dealers to the AMSOIL employees has been energized by the entire convention. We had great speakers throughout the show, and our Dealers walked away with a great amount of knowledge and enthusiasm that we feel will translate to their AMSOIL businesses."

Also unveiled was the introduction of the new AMSOIL Dominator Racing Oils. These three new oils (RD50, RD30 and RD20) were designed to expand the Dominator line and will offer three new viscosities that race teams have been asking for. Read more about the AMSOIL Dominator Racing Oils at http://www.amsoil.com/.

Douglas Makes NBC History
Team AMSOIL wins on live network coverage

AMSOIL/Kumho Tires Super Team driver Scott Douglas picked an opportune time to pick up his first win of the 2008 season. The El Cajon, Calif. native mastered his home track (Chula Vista) and made a historical run in becoming the first Pro 4 driver to win a Championship Off Road Racing event on live network television (NBC).

Entering the weekend, Douglas had landed on the podium in five of the first six CORR races and a third place finish on Saturday brought that total to six out of seven.

Douglas qualified second fastest but the inverted starting grid put Douglas on the outside of row two. Just moments after the green flag was waved, the red flag came out as fellow AMSOIL/Red Bull driver Steve Barlow had a hard crash, flying end over end in the air, as his truck attempted to fly over the front straightaway table top. Fortunately, Barlow was okay, but the truck was in need of serious repair.

When racing resumed, Douglas battled Kyle LeDuc and Rick Huseman for the third place position, with Douglas riding a smooth, consistent line for final podium spot.

Sunday morning qualifying saw the grey and black AMSOIL Ford stop the clocks at 53.425 seconds, the second fastest qualifying time in PRO 4.

Quickly, Douglas moved in behind race leader Johnny Greaves as Huseman was right on Douglas' rear bumper. The top three stayed in this order through the mandatory caution on lap eight, and the full caution on lap eleven. Several times Huseman made a run, but the Kumho Tires kept Scott in second place. Then on lap 12 , Greaves hit the turn 2 berm hard, bending a tie rod and damaging his power steering. This put Douglas into the lead. Huseman took one final shot at Douglas, but the El Cajon driver pulled away for his first win of the season in front of a nationwide NBC audience.

"I couldn't be more proud of my crew," said Douglas. "It's the biggest reason we've been on the podium in seven of the eight races and always qualifying up front all year long. The round 8 win is the result of my crew. This truck has been solid all year. Saturday night the guys worked until 10p.m. checking and rechecking everything and it shows in our results. The track in Chula Vista is really hard on equipment. It's really fast, yet it has many of the abusive characteristics of a desert race. It was great to win when NBC Sports was broadcasting live in front of my hometown fans with AMSOIL supporting us at the track. Having everyone here made the victory that much sweeter."

Other AMSOIL drivers had solid weekends with Chad Hord taking a fourth in Pro Lite on Sunday after getting caught up in two wrecks on Saturday. Mike Oberg pushed his Pro 2 up at least four spots on both Saturday and Sunday, finishing ninth on Sunday despite a bad crash during qualifying. The Oberg crew had less than two hours to get the AMSOIL Chevy back on track for the top 10 run.

The next race for CORR is the third and final race in Pomona, Calif. on August 16-17.

Smith Takes Two on Wild West Tour
Team AMSOIL driver wins back-to-back on WoO circuit

Brady Smith is on a mid-summer hot streak. The AMSOIL late model driver took part in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series "Wild West Tour" and won two straight events in mid-July before picking up his fourth win of the year last weekend.

Grand Forks, ND

Smith came out on top of a classic 50-lap A-Main on July 11 at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. , holding off a frantic last-lap bid by Shannon Babb that had the quarter-mile oval’s big crowd holding their collective breath.

The 31-year-old Smith held off a hard charging Babb coming out of turn four. Smith pushed his AMSOIL late model across the stripe a scant 0.121 of a second before Babb, while rubbing doors with the lapped car driven by Joey Pederson of East Grand Forks, Minn.

"That race had to be exciting for the fans,” said Smith. “I know it was an exciting race for me. I worked hard for it. It feels great to get the AMSOIL car back in the winner’s circle.”

Estevan, Saskatchewan (Canada)

Smith quickly proved to skeptics that his win in North Dakota was no fluke. Twenty-four hours after capturing his first-ever WoO victory, Smith made it two straight with a dominant performance in Saturday night’s ‘Energy City 50’ at Estevan Motor Speedway in Saskatchewan. Smith drove forward from the 14th starting spot to take the lead from Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., on lap 27 and then sailed away from the field, beating Lanigan by a commanding 5.792 seconds, one of the largest victory margins of this season’s WoO LMS.

“To win two World of Outlaws features is an accomplishment,” said Smith. “But winning two in-a-row is just awesome. Doing this against the competition in this series, I couldn’t be more proud for our AMSOIL team.”

New Richmond, Wis.

The Brady Smith Racing team recorded their fourth win of the 2008 racing season on Friday night, August 1 at the renowned Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis.

The rain-postponed 'Masters' event from June took place last weekend at CLS and a $5,000 top prize was up for grabs. In front of a jam-packed grandstand, Smith started from the pole position for the 50-lap affair and withstood a strong challenge from Ashley Anderson. At the completion of 50 green flag circuits around the 3/8-mile speed plant, Smith found himself in victory lane celebrating his exciting 'Masters' triumph over Anderson, Jimmy Mars, Scott Gilberts and Nick Anvelink.

In addition to the rain-postponed 'Masters,' the AMSOIL team also competed in three more Dirt Late Model events from July 30-August 2. Smith finished eighth in a WDRL Series show on Wednesday at the Superior Speedway in Superior, Wis., 25th in another WDRL race on Thursday at the CLS and 23rd in the $50,000 to win 'USA Nationals' on Saturday at CLS. The driver known as the "Prodigy" was running inside of the top 10 during the 100-lap 'USA Nationals' on Saturday before mechanical problems dropped him to 23rd.

Peterlin Wins Battle, Hanson Wins War
New champion crowned in AMSOIL Late Model Series

Sophomore WISSOTA Late Model racer Kyle Peterlin was not to be denied the victory at his home track Saturday night July 26 in Hibbing, Minn. Peterlin dominated the action in the 35-lap AMSOIL Late Model Series feature and scored the sweep for the evening. Peterlin held off veteran racer Pat Doar's repeated attempts to wrestle the lead away after three caution flags slowed the event before Peterlin drove away from the field for the win. The track "locked down" toward the end and, with the cars single file and unable to pass, and with Peterlin out front, his victory was assured.

Peterlin redrew the outside of the front row starting beside another veteran, Tom Waselseski, Sr., but it was Peterlin who got the jump at the green flag. Waseleski fell into second ahead of Jake Redetzke, Doar and Harry Hanson. Peterlin wasted little time putting a straightaway lead on the field and soon was eyeing the rear of the pack.

While Peterlin was gingerly weaving his way through the field, Doar had his hands full with Hanson who had disposed of Waseleski and Redetzke, As the two of them also began to put cars a lap down. Peterlin's huge lead disappeared when the caution flag flew when Tim Carlson spun off turn one in a cloud of dust. Doar and Hanson were now right on Peterlin's bumper along with A. J. Diemel, who had moved into fourth after starting ninth. Doar exerted pressure on Peterlin at the green flag, but to no avail as Peterlin again extended the lead to several car lengths as the No. 23 appeared to be set up perfectly for track conditions.

All Peterlin had to do was maintain his pace and he was home free, which he did.. Doar finished second while Hanson's third place finish vaulted him to the AMSOIL Late Model Series overall win. Diemel and Waseleski, Sr. rounded out the top five. Redetzke held on to sixth ahead of Tom Waseleski, Jr. with 2007 champion Darrell Nelson eighth.

The AMSOIL Late Model Series is sponsored by Fox 21, B105, The Fan 560, Tom Clusiau's Motors, The Shack Liquor Store, Highway 210 Auto Parts, Scott Didrickson Construction, Ashland Ford Chrysler, Duluth Lawn and Sport, Superior Beverage and Short Stop gas stations.

Rinker Roars Chases, Then Sweeps
A missed shootout turned into a St. Louis Sweep

Pittsburgh, Penn.

Terry Rinker celebrated the 4th of July in Pittsburgh for the 27th Annual Three Rivers Regatta. The Tampa, Fla. ChampBoat driver also celebrated his second straight podium finish in front of tens of thousands of fans along the Alleghany River..

Shaun Torrente earned the pole and never trailed but had to survive a final two-lap shootout to capture the Regatta. The driver from Miami, Florida earned pole position after finishing 3rd and 1st in his two heat races and led from the drop of the flag around the 4-pin 1.25 mile (2 kilometer) course.

Torrente had his hands full after Lynn Simburger and Billy Joule came to a stop on lap 48 (out of 50). The entire field was forced back to the start dock for a final two-lap “dash for cash” to determine the winner of the Grand Prix. Team AMSOIL driver Terry Rinker used the restart to his advantage, putting immense pressure on Torrente and Tim Seebold. But with only 2.5 miles, Rinker's efforts came up just short as he finished in third with Torrente taking his third straight win.

St. Louis, Mo.

Terry Rinker reestablished his championship run as he held off a determined Torrente by two seconds and took his second win in three years at the 37th Annual Bud Light St. Louis Grand Prix on Creve Coeur Lake just outside St. Louis last weekend.

The thousands of fans who lined the lake saw a perfect start for the AMSOIL/Rinker Racing veteran who came off the dock in the pole position and held off local favorite Tim Seebold and Torrente. The three boats made it a spectacular race to the first commitment buoy with Rinker holding the inside and the lead that he would not lose for the next 43 laps.

Torrente’s boat worked his way around the defending race champion Seebold in the first one-third of the race and took up the charge to catch Rinker, finally passing him briefly on the 44th lap. The cat and mouse game between the two drivers ended when Rinker finally used traffic to his advantage and took home his first victory of the season and his third in St. Louis in the last five years.

“We did a great job on the setup since the moment we rolled into the paddock,” said Rinker. “We set fast lap in qualifying, won our heat race and then today's Grand Prix. So we went three for three and the sweep. You can’t do anything better than that.”

Randy Rinker, the older brother of Terry, was fifth in the other AMSOIL/Rinker Racing Lee Craft.

The fifth round of the 2008 F1-ChampBoat Series is this weekend at Algonac, Michigan The battle for the top two positions will only get hotter as the series moves into its second half of the season on the St. Clair River on August 9-10.

Rinker’s podium and win has him just 60 points back of series leader Torrente, who leads the drivers’ championship with 2201 points. Randy Rinker is seventh overall in his AMSOIL sponsored boat.

Teague Nabs Another Win
Wins becoming commonplace for off shore team

Sarasota, Fla.

After winning three races in June, the AMSOIL Offshore Racing Team traveled to Sarasota, Fla. to compete in the annual Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix race held on the 4th of July weekend. This is one of the largest summer events in the region and drew huge crowds. The AMSOIL Offshore Race Boat and support rigs participated in the annual parade through the city of Sarasota.

By race time on Sunday the conditions had become very rough. Because the race course was located several miles by water from the pits in the Gulf of Mexico, there was no option of going down in prop pitch or gears, which would have been better for the rougher conditions. So the team had to settle for moving weight forward in the boat as the best solution.

Once the green flag dropped, Team AMSOIL, driven by Paul Whittier and throttled by Bob Teague, battled the conditions on the 80-mile race course, finishing strong in second place.

St. Clair, Mich.

One weekend after attending the AMSOIL 35th Anniversary Convention, the AMSOIL Offshore team traveled to St. Clair, Mich. to compete in the annual OPA St. Clair River Classic offshore race. Tens of thousands of fans packed the town and the shores to watch the big boats compete up close.

During the first test session on Saturday, Team AMSOIL apparently struck a submerged object in the river and destroyed a propeller. Because the propeller that was destroyed was one that would have likely been used in Sunday’s race, the rest of the day was spent trying alternative set ups and timing the boat around the race course. Bob Teague and Paul Whittier logged over 160 miles of testing to perfect the set up, speed and handling of the AMSOIL Offshore Race Boat. Practice on the 6.3 mile race course was timed to achieve quick and consistent lap times.

The extensive testing definitely paid off when the green flag dropped on Sunday. This would be another highly competitive battle in the Super Cat Lite class between the Motley Crew Team and Team AMSOIL. AMSOIL took the lead on the first straightaway and continued to extend their distance on the fleet throughout the entire race.

The win in Saint Clair extended Team AMSOIL’s OPA points lead. Currently, Team AMSOIL is leading the points chase in OSS and OPA and is tied for first in POPRA.

Next stop for Teague and Whittier is the OSS Race in Kenner, La this weekend.

Podiums Aplenty for Team AMSOIL MX
Bad news follows as Canard out for season

Buchanan, Mich.

The GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda Team reached the halfway point of the 2008 AMA National Motocross Championship in Buchanan, Mich. in mid-July. Round six was held at the Red Bud Track 'n' Trail, and the AMSOIL team held down half of the top-four spots, while the team’s other two riders ran near the front of the pack most of the day.

After scoring his first-ever podium moto finish at the last round in Colorado, Trey Canard did one better at Red Bud. Canard started at the tail end of the top five and quickly fought his way up into his second place finishing position by the end of the third lap. Moto two was quite similar as Canard started fourth, and then quickly found his way into second. This time, however, Canard was much closer to Villopoto and pressured him for a few laps, only to fall. He got up still running second, but then had to contend with Ryan Dungey behind him. He held Dungey off until the final lap, when Dungey's bike broke, and Canard finished the day with a strong 2-2 for his first-ever AMA National overall podium finish at second overall.

“It’s great to finally get my first motocross podium out of the way,” said Canard.  “I think I put a little too much effort on winning the first few rounds. Instead, I was making too many little mistakes. I needed to get back to the same effort and focus I was giving in Supercross and I feel that’s what happened today.”

Teammate Josh Grant took a bet before the first practice of the weekend that he would jump LaRocco's Leap on the first lap. LaRocco's Leap is the track's infamous huge uphill triple, made famous by retired Team AMSOIL rider Mike LaRocco years ago. Not normally a jump that's easily cleared on a Lites machine, Grant not only figured he could do it, but did on the first lap of practice.

One week earlier, Grant finished second in his return from injury and his goal to finish inside the top five at Red Bud wouldn't change. So, for the second week in a row, he met that goal, going 5-4 for fourth overall with two top-10 starts and two top-five finishes.

Jake Weimer continued to make up ground in the points standings, even though his weekend wasn't ideal. He went down early in the first moto and got back going a lap down, eventually finishing 28th. In the second moto, he started outside the top 10 and fought his way up to sixth place at the finish despite a suffering a shoulder injury during practice.

Dan Reardon had a strong first moto, fighting his way through the field for ninth. In the second moto he passed his way up into sixth and was actually gaining slowly on Grant when he had an encounter with lapped traffic and went down, ending his race

Unadilla, NY

A staple on the AMA Motocross circuit, Unadilla is known for both its history and its slick, rocky racing surface. The AMSOIL/ Honda team went into New York down one rider, as Reardon missed the event with a shoulder injury he suffered in practice at the previous round. His return is considered week-to-week.

In the first Lites moto, Grant started at the tail end of the top five, and over the next few laps worked his way into third. After battling it out with a couple of other riders for the rest of the race, he was able to keep pace and finish third.

Unfortunately for Grant, the second moto was red-flagged because of lightning, just short of 10 minutes in, which meant the entire race would have to start over. On the restart, Grant found himself about mid-pack and had a hard time going forward, as the track had become one-lined and he lost his goggles early in the muddy conditions.

"After they red-flagged it, I went back to the truck and we changed the tire thinking that if it rained or if it was muddy that it would clear out the mud a little better, but it didn't help that much," Grant said. "Also, it didn't help losing my goggles on the second lap, either. With how gnarly and rocky Unadilla is, you can't get behind someone and get roosted. You ruin your eyes. I couldn't really move forward or backward because it was one-lined and I'd get roosted and couldn't see. I'd just follow the guy in front of me from a distance, basically."

Still, Grant's 3-12 score was good for fifth overall and he moved up to 15th in the points standings with four rounds left to run after missing most of the first half of the championship with a concussion.

Canard started near the tail end of the top 20 in the first moto and fought throughout the moto, eventually landing in fifth by the end of the race. In the second moto, Canard again started poorly and with the track in the condition it was in with the mud and rain, he was unable to move up very far. He eventually finished just behind Grant in 13th. Canard's 5-13 was good enough for eighth on the day.

Weimer had a tough day at Unadilla. In the first moto, he started near the tail end of the top 15 and then fought his way up to ninth, and things could've been even better than that if not for a few key mistakes. However, in moto two, Weimer fell victim to the conditions and rounded the first lap in 34th place due in part to a goggle malfunction. He then had to stop for a new set of goggles, causing him to fall further back. He eventually got up to 25th, but that wasn't far enough to earn race points.

Washougal, Wash.

The final race on a five-week stretch of AMA National Motocross found a deceivingly slick, tight track in Washougal, Wash. Team AMSOIL riders saw the highs and lows of racing on July 27. With Reardon still out with an injury, Grant, Weimer and East SX champ Canard were all hoping to leave an impression before the two-week break in action.

Grant has been suffering from a badly sprained ankle since the second moto at Budds Creek. In the first moto in Washougal, Grant grabbed the holeshot and led the first few laps before eventually finishing third.

Then, in moto two, Grant ended up with the last gate pick because he missed the deadline to report to the staging area after he had trouble starting his bike. Still, he started inside the top 10 and began working his way forward, eventually finishing fourth and grabbing third overall.

"I think if I would've started up front with these guys, I would've been in a better position than I was," Grant said. "When you have 39 guys to the left of you... I just did the best that I could. I hit the berm and just hoped for the best, and I came out around tenth, so I just plugged away and tried to pick off guys. I'm fortunate to be up (on the podium) and be safe."

With his performance, Grant moved all the way up to eighth in the point’s standings despite missing the first three rounds.

Canard had a fall on the opening lap of the first moto and was only able to fight his way back up to 21st, just out of the points. In second race of the day, he grabbed the hole shot and led the first half of the moto. He eventually dropped a hard fought battle with Ryan Dungey and Ryan Villopoto and moved into third. In the late stages of the moto, however, a lapper unexpectedly pulled into his line, causing him to crash violently. The end result was a broken left femur, which will keep him off of the bike for anywhere from four to six months. He has had surgery, and the doctors indicated that it went as well as possible. However, he is definitely out for the remainder of the championship.

Weimer rode very strong at Washougal. In the first moto, he started mid-pack and worked his way all the way up to sixth place. In the second moto, Weimer was in a battle with a few riders for the whole race, eventually finishing sixth again. Weimer was sixth overall and still sits fourth in points with three rounds left to run.

The GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team has two weekends off before Millville, Minn. The team will be joined by amateur sensation Blake Wharton, who will be making his professional debut.

Corporate Race Booths Registration Open Online
AMA Motocross, AMA ATVA Nationals, AMSOIL Dirt Track Series and Loretta Lynn’s Area and Regional Qualifiers Open