Windham Wins, So Does Canard
K-Dub snaps Reed’s streak, Rookie takes first Supercross Race

AMA Supercross Round 7 – Houston

Supercross Class
Team AMSOIL supercross rider Kevin Windham had a breakthrough at the Houston, Texas round of the AMA Supercross Championship last weekend. Windham is one of only two riders to have finished in the top five in every main event so far, but in Houston, K-dub took a big leap forward, winning his first AMA Supercross main event of the season.

Windham started near the front in the main event and took over the lead when Davi Millsaps crashed on lap two. From there, Windham led the remaining 19 laps. It was the 13th AMA Supercross win of his career, moving him past Ezra Lusk and David Bailey to 12th on the all-time Supercross win list.

“It was a tough race, because it would’ve been easy to let your mind wander, and I stayed focused,” Windham said. “When Chad [Reed] was in second, I felt like I was inching away. I’m thankful for my team. All of those guys came together. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle, and they all came together for this.”

Windham’s win further solidified his spot at second in the championship, and actually moved him up three points closer to Reed for the championship lead with 10 races still left to run.

West Coast Lites
The Lites class also saw success as Phoenix winner Jake Weimer got a start near the front of the pack, and then fought it out with the leaders on his way to a solid third-place podium finish. Aussie Dan Reardon got the holeshot in his heat race, and went on to finish third. In the main event, though, things didn’t start well and he finished sixth.

The west-coast Lites riders now get about two months off before the final round of the West series in Seattle.

AMA Supercross Round 8 – Atlanta
The Atlanta round of the AMA Supercross Series couldn’t have gone a whole lot better than it did for the AMSOIL team, as all three riders got the holeshot and went on to the win in every heat race, then won the Lites main and finished second in the 450cc main.

East Coast Lites
Rookie rider Trey Canard proved his worth early and often in Atlanta. He was fastest in the first Lites practice session of the day, while Grant was fastest overall.

Canard got his inaugural supercross off to a good start in his heat with a holeshot, although he had to fight over the win with former team rider Ryan Sipes. Canard continued his streak in the main event, grabbing another holeshot, although this time, he was never seriously challenged. He went on to win the main event by more than a straightaway.

“I’m fortunate,” Canard said. “I’m blessed in many ways, and it’s not just me that did that; everyone behind me... There was a lot of hard work and dedication behind me. It’s a long series, and I want to concentrate on that.”

By virtue of his win, Canard is the points leader heading into round two. His Lites teammate, Grant, grabbed a holeshot in his heat race. In the main, Grant had a good start, right behind his teammate Canard, but then went down in the first turn. Grant got up and went to work, passing his way up through the field into eighth, behind Nico Izzi and Ryan Villopoto. Villopoto crashed on one of the track’s vertical walls when he hit the back of Tyler Bowers. By the time Grant saw Villopoto down, it was too late. He was committed to climbing the vertical wall, and ran into Villopoto, going down a second time. Grant recovered for seventh place.

Supercross Class
Windham was coming off of his first win of the season in Houston and headed into Atlanta with his confidence high. In his heat, Windham not only grabbed the holeshot, and the win, but set the fastest heat-race time of the night, giving him first gate pick in the main event.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking from the start,” Windham said. “I was back there a little ways, and I just said, 'I’ve got to keep plugging away.’ That’s what I did.”

Windham worked his way through the field and into second by lap seven, but by the time he got there, leader Davi Millsaps was too far gone to catch, and Windham was forced to settle for second.

“I sure would’ve liked to win one again,” Windham said. “Once you win one, you kind of get greedy."

Windham gained seven points on championship rival Chad Reed and now sits only 25 points back with nine rounds left to run. Only two weeks ago, his points deficit was 35.

From here, the team heads to Indianapolis this weekend for the second round of the Lites Eastern Region championship and round eight of the AMA Supercross Series inside the RCA Dome.
Overall Results and Point Standings

AMSOIL Triple Crown Series Brings Buzz to Central Minnesota
First two legs in the books with finale this weekend

Round One – Garrison, Minn.
They rode for more than two hours on Sunday, February 17, but the prize waiting for the pros at the end made it worth it in the first leg of the 2008 AMSOIL Triple Crown presented by Polaris. DJ Ekre from Shevlin, Minn. rode his Arctic Cat snowmobile through ice, snow, mud, and forest on his way to a first-place finish in the Mille Lacs 200 in Garrison, Minn.

Ekre was one of more than 120 racers in this weekend’s event. Racers participating in the event came from the five-state area and Canada and participated in classes ranging from amateur and vintage, to youth and pro. The increased payout of $25,000 will be seen at each of the next two legs of the series.

Ekre’s teammate, Brian Dick, who also rides an Arctic Cat, from Thief River Falls, Minn. led the entire 100-mile race heading into the last three laps. It was reported that his sled blew a belt which prevented him from making a clean sweep of both pro finals for the weekend.

(photo courtesy of Wayne Davis Photography)

Round Two – Brainerd, Minn.
Eckre continued his winning ways at the second round of the AMSOIL Triple Crown in Brainerd, Minn. last weekend.

While Ekre’s margin of victory was not as large as the one in Garrison, he still came home with a $3,000 check after winning the Pro 600 class at Brainerd International Raceway.

Just like the first race, Ekre spent most of the race in second place, but his sled held together the entire time and he held on for victory. Ryan Simons, also on an Arctic Cat, took second after starting on the pole position.  The top five was rounded out by Aaron Christenson, Gabe Bunke and Brian Dick.

The BIR 200 was the second of three consecutive weekends of the high-stakes cross country series sanctioned by the USCC. This weekend, the third and final leg of the

Wanderscheid Eyes Season Championships
Final races to determine top spots

Team AMSOIL oval ice racer PJ Wanderscheid is chasing another WSA points championship this season and the final tally won't be decided until this weekend.

Wanderscheid traveled to McGregor, Minn. on February 16-17 for a full weekend of racing. With great ice conditions, Wanderscheid found some much-needed speed for his year-end title push. On Saturday, Wanderscheid finished second in his first Pro Open heat and won the next two. In the final, the set-up was right on track as Wanderscheid crossed the finish line in second.

Sunday brought out the Pro Champ sleds and Wanderscheid continued running strong. He finished his three heat races with a pair of thirds and a second. That placed him in the front row for the final where he was able to grab his second podium of the weekend with a third-place finish.

With one weekend to go, Wanderscheid is sitting first in both the Pro Champ and Prop Open class, but is still second in the overall points race. The AMSOIL/Wanderscheid Racing Team will wrap up its season this weekend in Beausejour, Manitoba.

Lovell Racing Tackles King of the Hammers
Rock Crawlers invited to inaugural desert event

The inaugural King of the Hammers, a 50-mile rock race, can be chalked up as both a success and a learning experience for Lovell Racing. Due to several factors, the brothers decided to split forces which proved to be a wise move as only one AMSOIL-sponsored Ford Ranger would finish the destructive race held in Johnson Valley.

Roger Lovell teamed up with Eric Filar from Alloy USA and started sixth out of the 43 invited teams.  Brad Lovell teamed up with Cameron Steele of Desert Assassins and pulled the 15th starting spot.  As the green flag dropped on the Lovell’s 2008 season, the 400-hp Ford’s roared to life.

As Brad’s team flew through the first part of the course, they came upon Roger and Eric standing outside of their truck.  A last-second repair to the fan punctured the radiator and caused the stoppage at the three-mile mark.

Brad and Cameron continued on and by the second checkpoint had moved up ten spots into fifth. The rough riding and the new truck blues took its toll on the rugged terrain. A linkage issue slowed the team before an electrical issue pushed the duo back in the pack. Misfortune struck again at the 25-mile mark when a seal separated on the rear axle.  Given the lack of parts and short time-frame, Brad and Cameron had to throw in the towel and were done for the day.

Roger was still in the race and had an excellent chance of finishing. The team worked as if they had been racing together for years and helped Roger and Eric pilot the Ranger through the rocks. The chase crew hit the desert to get in front of the race truck. Only yards before Roger came into pit #3, a radiator hose let go. Once again, the team came together and made the repair with parts scavenged from volunteers and spectators. 15 minutes later, the #32 truck headed out for the final leg of the race. Roger and Eric would finish 14th in a race that consumed nearly half the field.

After attending an industry show in Anaheim in March, the Lovell’s will start the XRRA series on March 22 in Moab, Utah.

Smith Wraps Up Speedweeks
Late Model driver preps for March schedule

Brady Smith and his AMSOIL dirt late model team have returned home to Wisconsin following a grueling start to the 2008 racing season.  Smith entered 13 Dirt Late Model events from January 23-February 15 at three southern speed plants:  Golden Isles (Ga.) Speedway, East Bay (Fla.) Raceway Park, and Volusia (Fla.) Speedway Park.  In all, the driver known as the "Prodigy" transferred his AMSOIL/Big Red Motorsports #2 Bloomquist/Vic Hill machine into the feature event on 12 occasions, as the team only failed to advance into the A-Main at one event.

In those twelve starts, Smith recorded two top-five finishes and five top-ten performances.  His best effort came in a $10,000-to-win event on Friday, February 8 at East Bay.  After winning his heat race and starting fourth on the grid, Smith finished a close second to Billy Moyer in the 50-lap affair.  Smith also posted a solid run a night later at the Tampa-area venue, as he wound up ninth in a $12,000-to-win show that was taped by the SPEED Channel cameras for viewing later in the year.

“We had a great car throughout our time in Georgia and Florida, but we didn’t always get a chance to show it,” commented Smith.  “However, when we got a little luck on our side or if we stayed out of trouble, we were able to put together some nice finishes.  I feel good about the fact that we made 12 of the 13 races that we entered, especially with the high car counts and the high level of competition.  Hopefully, some of that bad luck got left down south and we can have a terrific year in 2008.”

Smith tentatively plans on racing again on March 13-15 at the Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City, Kentucky.  A trio of unsanctioned races will be held at KLMS and the events will pay up to $10,000 to win.

Teague Shines at L.A. Boat Show
Off-season just as successful for power boat racer

Teague Custom Marine Inc. was selected out of hundreds of exhibitors at the 52nd Annual Southern California Boat Show in Los Angeles, CA as the “Best of Show Display” by the Southern California Marine Association.

The impressive 40’ x 80’ display prominently featured the Team AMSOIL race boat on the trailer.  Tilted on its side, the boat reached a height of over 13 feet.  The complete line-up of Teague and Ilmor Marine engines were shown throughout the booth, in addition to custom and high-performance parts offered by Teague Custom Marine, AMSOIL products and Teague racing apparel.