Team AMSOIL Racers Come Up Big at AMSOIL Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby

The 2010 AMSOIL Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby took place January 14-17 in Eagle River, Wis., where the racing action kicked off with the Friday Night Thunder event, featuring two rounds of pro snocross and the Sweet Sixteen oval ice race. 

The Sweet Sixteen places the top 16 oval ice riders into one final shootout race to determine who will garner the pole position in the feature AMSOIL World Championship race.  Team AMSOIL racer P.J. Wanderscheid achieved the sixth fastest qualifying time and got a great start in the 15-lap final, leading the race from start to finish to take his first career Sweet Sixteen win.

With a weekend off from AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series competition, AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports snocross riders Robbie Malinoski and Andrew Johnstad traveled to Eagle River to compete in the AMSOIL World Championships.  In the Friday Night Thunder Pro Stock class, Malinoski opened an early lead and took the win, while teammate Johnstad took second.  Not to be outdone, Johnstad took the win in the Pro Open class, while Malinoski finished second. 

Malinoski and Johnstad continued racing strong in the snocross finals on Sunday.  Johnstad took second and Malinoski third in the Pro Stock class.  In the Pro Open class, Malinoski earned second, while Johnstad held third for most of the race before a broken throttle cable took him out of the race.

In the feature AMSOIL World Championship oval ice race on Sunday, Wanderscheid shot out of his inside starting position and entered turn one just behind leader Matt Schultz.  Continuing close pursuit of Schultz for much of the 25-lap race, lapped traffic eventually forced Wanderscheid several sled lengths behind, and he cruised to the second place finish.

AMSOIL Direct Jobber Finishes Strong in Vintage Snowmobile Race

With over 800 entrants, the 2010 AMSOIL Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby kicked off with the largest vintage snowmobile race in the history of classic sled competition, where AMSOIL Direct Jobber Scott Swendson of Brookfield, Wis. drove his 1976 Polaris TX 440 snowmobile to a strong sixth place finish in the 440 Snocross Fan (‘76 & Older) Class.

“This was my first time racing since about 1997, and then it was on newer equipment, so it was a little tough getting back into the swing of things,” said Swendson.  “It was a lot of fun, and I will be back next year with a little more practice under my belt.  We did not get much time on the sled as we just got done building it about 10 days before the race.  It handled great, and had really good power using the AMSOIL DOMINATOR Synthetic 2-Cycle Racing Oil.”

Wharton and Canard Take Third Place Podiums

The second round of the 2010 AMA Supercross season, including the second round of the Lites Western Regional Supercross Championship, was held January 16 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.  After just missing the podium in Anaheim with a fourth place finish, Team AMSOIL Lites racer Blake Wharton got off to a great start and took hold of the lead, which he held for 12 of the 15 laps before losing a few positions late in the race.  He finished third, while teammate Trey Canard finished seventh.  In the Supercross class, Team AMSOIL racer Kevin Windham battled through the crowd to finish sixth.

Martin Takes Second in Shakopee

The fourth round of the 2009-2010 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series took place last weekend in Shakopee, Minn.  With temperatures staying above freezing, riders were forced to race through a watery mess, but buoyed by more than 20,000 cheering fans, they put on an exciting show.  Team AMSOIL/Judnick Motorsports racer Ross Martin took an early lead in the Pro Open final and held it for most of the race before engaging in a bar-to-bar battle with Tucker Hibbert over the final four laps.  Hibbert took the win, with Martin finishing a close second.  The two racers are now tied for first place in the overall Pro Open points standings.  Martin finished sixth in the Pro Super Stock class.

Team AMSOIL will compete in the ESPN Winter X Games this weekend.  The final will be televised on ESPN on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EST.  The AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series resumes February 5-6 in Farmington, N.Y.

2010 AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour Schedule

The AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour will see Circle Track Senior Tech Editor Bob Bolles travel to various race venues across the country, where he will interact with racing teams, drivers and fans to promote grass roots racing, discuss current trends in racing technology and build sponsor awareness among the hardcore racing community.  The 2010 schedule is as follows:

2009 TORC Season Available on DVD

All the excitement of the 2009 Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL season is now available on DVD.  Races are available for $15 each, or get the complete set of eight races for $90.  For more information, visit www.torcseries.com/dvd.

Ebert Wins USCC Red Lake I-500

Arctic Cat rider Dan Ebert advanced from fourth place on the time charts to win the USCC Red Lake I-500, followed by Polaris rider Gabe Bunke in second and Arctic Cat rider Ryan Huston in third.

AMSOIL Dealer Takes AMA Ice Race Grand Championship

AMSOIL Dealer Dan Kujala won the 2010 AMA Ice Race Grand Championship in the Open Studded Quad Class last weekend.