Eckstrom, Crapo Heading to Winter X
Despite lack of snow, both riders heading
to Aspen
No
snow in the upper Midwest isn’t slowing down the Snocross
racing and the plans for a gold medal at this year’s Winter
X Games in Aspen, Colo. Both riders in the AMSOIL/Scheuring
Speed Sports trailer have qualified for this years event,
which is aired live on ESPN and ABC.
Crapo
qualified by finishing second at the AMSOIL Duluth National
on Thanksgiving weekend. Eckstrom, who finished seventh in
Duluth and just missed the cut, was scheduled to race in a
qualifier on New Years Eve. The birth of his daughter kept
the two-time medalist from riding that weekend. That means
Eckstrom will receive a sponsor exemption and will be able
to compete in Aspen. The long-time AMSOIL rider has won a
silver and bronze medal at the event.
“You
always want to win Winter X,” said Eckstrom. “The track is
the best one we’ll see all year and it’s in front of a huge
(TV) audience, so winning that race can make your season a
success no matter what you do the rest of the year. I have
a good feeling heading out there that we’ll be bringing back
some hardware.”
Crapo
finished fourth at last years game, and this will mark the
first time the young rider gets to compete close to his
Idaho home on an AMSOIL backed sled.
The
Snocross portion Winter X Games 11 airs live from January 26
– January 27 on ESPN and ABC. Check local listings for
times.
Supercross Starts In Southern Cal.
Team AMSOIL nabs top tens, loses Grant
SPEED
Channel broke out three-plus hours of live supercross
coverage as part of the AMA Supercross series season opener
in Anaheim, Calif. January 6, 2007. AMSOIL was well
represented at the first race of the year, with Kevin
Windham, Travis Preston, Josh Grant and Jake Weimer
representing the Factory Connection/AMSOIL team.
In
the Supercross class, it was Preston showing his speed early
and often. The veteran rider took his Honda CRF450 to a
third in his heat race and a fouth in the main. Windham
battled slow starts but was able to finish fifth in his heat
and ninth in the main.
In the Lites class, Weimer stole the show from championship
favorite Grant. Weimer worked into the lead in his heat
race, finishing one spot ahead of Grant. In the main, Weimer
worked his bike into fifth place by the time the checkered
flag dropped.
Despite the second place ride, Grant's night was cut short
due to injury. The young rider suffered a lung injury during
practice and was unable to race in the final. Team
representatives hope he will be able to ride this weekend in
Phoenix.
All forms of racing are getting going again now that the
holidays are over. This weekend marks the return of snocross
in Brainerd, Minn. Oval ice racing gets underway at the
AMSOIL Eagle River Derby Track, and the arenacross series
will be back with a round of racing in Baltimore.
