Scott Douglas hasn’t forgotten the way his 2008 off-road season ended (a hard crash and multiple broken bones in his leg, ankle and feet), but that didn’t prevent him from charging hard at the 2009 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL opener last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. It was that aggressive approach that landed him back on the winner’s podium with a second place finish in the Pro 4x4 class.

Despite some handling challenges, Douglas finished fifth in round one, earning valuable points toward the championship chase. After his crew made critical adjustments to the truck for Saturday night’s second round of racing, Douglas started on the outside of row one and dropped back to fifth before making a charge. Douglas diced through the pack and stayed out of trouble, bringing the AMSOIL Kumho Ford F-150 across the finish line in second and earning a trip back to the winner’s circle podium, his ninth podium in his past 12 races.

Douglas wasn't the only Team AMSOIL racer to see the podium over the weekend. AMSOIL-sponsored drivers earned eight out of a possible 18 podiums, including two wins. Ricky Johnson earned the win in the Pro 2wd class on Friday, while Jeremy McGrath finished second. Scotty Taylor took the win in the Pro 2wd class on Saturday, while Johnson finished second. Jeff Kincaid and Chad Hord finished second and third respectively in Friday night’s Pro Light race, and Johnny Greaves took a third in Friday's Pro 4x4 race.

Television coverage of the Texas Motor Speedway TORC opener will air on ESPN2 this Sunday, May 24 at 11 a.m. EDT.

The Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL, the premier short-course off-road racing series in the nation, is broadcasting its races on ESPN2 and ABC throughout the 2009 race season. Five rounds will air on ESPN2, with three additional rounds airing on ABC, including a live telecast of the Crandon 40th Anniversary of Off-Road Racing. Marty Reid, lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN on ABC’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500 and selected NASCAR races, will call all of the TORC Series events on ESPN2 and ABC. Assisting is long-time extreme sports announcer Tes Sewell, with former Miss USA Kimberly Pressler as the roaming pit reporter.

Following a strong third place finish on Saturday, Pegram set his sights on another strong finish on Sunday. When the flag dropped, Pegram immediately propelled his Ducati 1098 R to fourth and was looking to move up the field. Although a failed overtaking maneuver on Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden enabled Geoff May and Josh Hayes to sneak through, dropping Pegram to sixth, he twisted the throttle, put his head down and passed May for fifth. He eventually finished the race in fifth, moving up two positions to sixth in the championship chase.

“Needless to say I’m really happy with what we have accomplished this weekend,” said Pegram. “My team has been great and the Ducati ran strong all weekend. Leaving Infineon a solid sixth in the championship is a great feeling, and I’m ready to start fighting for fifth at Road America.”

The sixth round of the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship will take place June 5-7 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

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

Lovell Competes in First Hill Climb
Team AMSOIL/Torchmate rock racer Brad Lovell competed in his first hill climb in Canon City, Colo. over the weekend of May 9-10. The rock racer class, new to CHCA competition, was the first class to compete and Lovell was lucky enough to be the first in line. Pinning the gas and hoping for the best, Lovell quickly learned the importance of being smooth with the steering wheel, and he set the low time of 3:39 in his second run.

The following day consisted of two timed runs, the best of which became the racer’s official time. On his first run, Lovell established the lead in his class with a time of 3:38. Knowing the time could be beat, Lovell went all out in his second run, staying on the throttle and hitting speeds of 94 mph. Although he finished with an official time of 3:34.76, rival JT Taylor bettered the time by a mere 6/10 of a second for the win.

Team AMSOIL/Torchmate racers Brad and Roger Lovell and Bill Kunz will compete in the second annual ROC Rock Race this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Jud Leslie.

Jenkins Brothers Take Second and Fourth at 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Season Opener

AMSOIL-sponsored drivers Mark and Mike Jenkins had a successful opening race of the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series at Road Atlanta. Both brothers scored MX-5 career-high finishes in the race, with Mark taking second place to earn his first podium finish. He led the most green flag laps of the 56-mile race, running in front of the pack for seven of the 22 laps while also recording the fastest lap of the race (1:42.517, 89.195 mph). Mike took fourth place after starting 10th and running as high as second in the 22-car field. He also earned the Carbotech Hard Charger award for advancing the most positions in the field.