After earning two strong fifth place finishes at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Team AMSOIL Superbike star Larry Pegram was looking to climb the points standings at the ninth round of the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship, held July 31 - August 2 at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kan. He did just that, dominating the weekend by winning both Saturday and Sunday and earning his first career weekend sweep.

In both finals, Pegram led every lap from the start. While he cruised to a convincing win on Saturday, he had to fight off Tommy Hayden for the second victory on Sunday, crossing the finish line .333 of a second ahead of the hard-charging Hayden.

"I was sweating and Tommy was all over me; he was an animal," Pegram said. "I could hear him back there; I could feel him. The last three laps I was riding fairly defensive. I was still trying to set a good pace but in the places where I knew there were opportunities to pass, I wasn't giving any room there. My hat’s off to him. I rode as hard as I possibly could and he was there the whole race."

The weekend sweep gives Pegram three victories on the season and vaults him from fifth to third in the points standings. Round 10 of the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship will be held this weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alston, Va. The races will be featured in a pair of same-day, two-hour telecasts on SPEED on Saturday, August 15 at 8 p.m. EST and Sunday, August 16 at 12 a.m. EST.

AMSOIL is the Official Oil of AMA Pro Road Racing and presenting sponsor of the Daytona SportBike class.

AMSOIL Racers Earn Seven Total Podiums
The ninth and 10th rounds of the 2009 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL were held August 8-9 at Bark River International Raceway in Bark River, Mich.

In the Pro 4x4 class, Rockstar racer Kyle LeDuc dominated the weekend with two victories and two Oakley Bomb Run Awards for the fastest lap times. Monster Energy racer Rick Huseman took second both days, while AMSOIL Super Team driver Scott Douglas raced strong to earn a third place podium finish on Saturday. AMSOIL racer Johnny Greaves took the third place podium on Sunday.

Two AMSOIL drivers, former supercross superstars Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Johnson, engaged in an intense battle on Saturday in the AMSOIL Pro 2WD class. McGrath led for most of the race, but eventually succumbed to both Johnson, who took the win, and Todd LeDuc, who took second. McGrath took the third place podium finish and his very first Oakley Bomb Run Award. LeDuc came back from his second place finish to win on Sunday, while Johnson took second and the Oakley Bomb Run Award and Rob MacCachren took third.

In the Pro Light class, Traxxas/AMSOIL driver Jeff Kincaid took the win on Saturday and the Oakley Bomb Run Award on both Saturday and Sunday. Marty Hart and Chris Brandt took second and third respectively on Saturday. AMSOIL Super Team driver Chad Hord took fourth on Saturday, then stormed back for the win on Sunday, while Mark Oberg and Steven Federico took second and third respectively.

All the action of the Bark River races will air on ESPN2 this Sunday, August 16 at 11:30 a.m. EST.

The 2009 TORC Series returns to Crandon International Raceway in Crandon, Wis. for rounds 11 and 12 on Labor Day Weekend, September 4-6. The event will broadcast live on ABC.

AMSOIL Offshore Team Takes Win in St. Clair
The AMSOIL Offshore Racing Team of Bob Teague and Paul Whittier competed in the popular OPA/OSS St. Clair River Classic Offshore Race in St. Clair, Mich. on the first weekend of August. Boasting a full carnival with rides, attractions and street vendors, the three-day event drew nearly 100,000 people. While test conditions were unusually rough on Saturday due to strong winds blowing directly up the river, conditions were calmer for Sunday’s race day.

In the main event, Team AMSOIL started in the number two lane with Team Propstop on the pole. When the green flag dropped, a furious deck-to-deck battle ensued between Team AMSOIL and Team Propstop. On the third lap, as Team AMSOIL attempted to pass on the inside lane at turn 1, Team Propstop hooked into its path. Getting caught in the rooster tail, Team AMSOIL was forced to pull back. The deluge of water caused one of the boat’s engines to go into a “guardian mode” with reduced power. Although Teague was able to restart the engine, Team Propstop gained about a 20 second lead. Team AMSOIL quickly made up the deficit in three laps and stayed on the outside lane at turn 1 and 2, following Team Propstop closely down the course to turns 3 and 4. When Team Propstop started to turn, they left a lane open. Teague and Whittier quickly took advantage, crossing to the inside and hooking Team Propstop tightly around turn buoy 4 at high speed and opening up a two-boat advantage coming out of the turn. The planned move paid off as Team AMSOIL continued to stretch out the lead for the remaining laps until winning the checkered flag. Later, the winning Cat Lite #77 Team AMSOIL boat was paraded in front of the huge crowds as it proudly displayed the checkered flag.

The win at St. Clair establishes Team AMSOIL in first place in the points chase in both the OPA and OSS circuits. Teague and Whittier resume competition August 22-23 at the OPA/OSS race in Patchogue, N.Y.

AMSOIL Amateur Rider Eli Tomac Topples Competition at Loretta Lynn’s

Motocross champions in 34 classes were crowned after a week of racing at the Air Nautiques AMA Amateur Motocross Nationals presented by AMSOIL at Loretta Lynn Ranch.

Leading the way was the top amateur from the AMSOIL/Factory Connection team, Eli Tomac. The Colorado-born rider turned in a dominant performance, winning all six of his motos by large margins and taking the Schoolboy 2 and 250 B Modified class championships. Tomac also turned in the fastest lap time of the week. Although he is classified as a B (intermediate) rider, Tomac's lap times put him on par with the A (expert) level racers.

Tomac will pilot his AMSOIL bike at the FIM Jr. World Championships in Taupo, New Zealand this weekend.

Windham Set to Return to Motocross Track

After a two-week break, the 2009 AMA Motocross season resumes this weekend at Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, N.Y. Team AMSOIL 450 star Kevin Windham will also be back in action. Although he hasn’t competed in this year’s motocross season, he plans to get back on the track for at least two of the remaining four races in order to prepare for the winter supercross season.

“I’m definitely doing Budds Creek and I’m definitely doing Unadilla, and past that, I’m really up in the air as to whether I’m going to do Southwick or I’m going to do Steel City,” said Windham. “I think my favorite track of the two would be Steel City because it’s one of my favorite tracks overall, but it’s kind of a testament to how much fun I’ve been having. It’s the end of summer and my kids are going back to school, and I’m having fun. As much as I hate sand, I may actually do Southwick.”

Smith Takes Second in Superior
Team AMSOIL late model racer Brady Smith wrapped up a busy stretch of racing in his home state of Wisconsin at the end of July. On July 29 at the Superior Speedway in Superior, Wis., Smith finished second in his heat race and fifth in the dash. Starting fifth on the grid in the A-Main, Smith moved up the field to earn a second place finish.

Smith competed at the Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. July 30 - August 1. On Thursday, Smith ran in the top 10 early before finishing 20th. At the USA Nationals on Friday and Saturday, Smith won his heat race and finished third in the dash. Starting third in the main event, Smith salvaged an 11th place finish.

After having last weekend off, Smith will compete at a World of Outlaws Late Model Series tripleheader this weekend at Grandview Speedway and Bedford Speedway in Pennsylvania and Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland.