Wanderscheid Wraps Up WPSA
Weekend sweep for World Champion
 Garrison,
Minn. ~ Park X near Grand Rapids, Minn. is owned and operated by the
World PowerSports Association, and with the lack of snow in Buffalo,
N.Y. this year, that meant the PowerSports Snocross Tour had to relocate
to northern Minnesota. That also meant that the oval ice race scheduled
for Park X last weekend had to be moved. Garrison, Minn. would be the
benefactor for the second straight weekend of racing, and the move would
also help three-time World Champion PJ Wanderscheid.
The Pro 600 class was on the track Saturday with great track
conditions. As the top qualifier for the final, Wanderscheid started
strong and powered through the first turn in front of the pack. He
quickly gained ground on the field and won the race with a full
straightaway lead.
Sunday brought very fast qualifying to the Garrison track for the
Champ 440 class. Team AMSOIL took a second and two wins as they
continued to test new set-ups for this weekend’s race at Valcourt,
Quebec. The 10 lap final once again saw Wanderscheid leading the way
over the competition. Wanderscheid won the race with a ˝ straightaway
lead, despite a lower bearing failure that caused the bottom of the
motor to break apart.
"We were able to take home two wins on a weekend where we were also
doing a lot of testing for next week’s race,” said Wanderscheid. ”With
AMSOIL stepping up in a big way, we are looking forward to our first
time racing at the Grand Prix in Valcourt. The race is the east coast’s
version of the Eagle River Derby. We have heard a lot about it and are
excited about such a large venue to race at.”
Team AMSOIL at Park X This Weekend
Eckstrom looks to take over points lead
 Aurora,
Minn., ~ With Wanderscheid heading to Valcourt, Team AMSOIL will be
well represented this weekend, both on the ovals and on the Snocross
track. The sixth round of the WPSA Snocross season will be held in
Valcourt, and Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports will be on hand to
defend its 2005 win at the Quebec track.
Team AMSOIL will be looking to bounce back from a painful weekend of
racing at Park X last weekend. D.J. Eckstrom and Carl Schubitzke both
fought through a difficult weekend of racing to earn points in the
season points race.
Eckstrom, who entered the weekend second in the Pro Open class,
started the weekend strong by placing in the top three in all three of
his Pro Stock qualifying heats. He entered Saturday’s final as the
number five qualifier. In the final, Eckstrom got a great start and was
among the leaders heading into the up-hill first corner. Coming down
the hill, however, Eckstrom was tagged by another sled, sending Eckstrom
to the ground and the #25 Polaris cartwheeling down the hill. By the
time Eckstrom ran down the hill, he was out of the top ten. He was able
to recover a few positions and ended up in 13th.
In the Pro Open class on Saturday, Eckstrom won his first heat, but
in the second qualifier, his sled hooked up with another snowmobile,
knocking Eckstrom off the track. He would recover to end up seventh in
the heat. That run, plus a second place finish in his third heat, meant
Eckstrom had to qualify for the final through the Last Chance Qualifier,
in which he took second. Starting from the back row in the final,
Eckstrom was moving through the pack when he again got hit in the back
by another sled. He managed to stay on the Polaris, but was in visible
pain. He completed the race in 13th.
Schubitzke, meanwhile, was never at full strength the entire
weekend. The Duluth, Minn. rider was stricken by influenza all weekend
long. It took a courageous amount of strength to even get on a sled,
let alone ride against the world’s top Snocross racers. While he didn’t
make it to the final in either class, he did pick up valuable points in
the season points race.
The AMSOIL/Scheuring team heads north to Canada this weekend for the
annual Grand Prix de Valcourt in Valcourt, Quebec. The WPSA can be seen
on ESPN 2 on Friday afternoons.
Brady Smith Continues Winter Run in
Florida
TV to show top ten finishes by Team AMSOIL driver
Vousia, Fla. ~
As the temperatures in his hometown of Solon
Springs, Wis. hover around 30-below, Team AMSOIL late model driver Brady
Smith is enjoying the 60-degree weather in Florida this week. Smith,
who has been driving in the southern states for the past three weeks,
moved to Volusia (Fla). Speedway Park this week for a six race series
sanctioned by UMP.
On February 12, Smith competed in the Winternationals final at East
Bay Raceway Park. The event, which will be carried by SPEED Channel at
a later date, meant a $12,000 purse for the winner. After finishing
third in his heat race, “The Deuce” advanced to the 75-lap Main. He
would start in the 12th spot and was able to move his Chevy Monte Carlo
to a solid ninth place finish.
On Monday, Smith headed to Volusia for the first of six races. While
it wasn’t quite the same degree of coldness as his hometown, the track
deemed the weather too cold to run the first UMP Series event. On
Tuesday, Smith heated up the number two car by running the 34th fastest
time of the 99 cars that took time in qualifying. He would finish sixth
in his heat race and fifth in the B-Main event. Both spots fell just
shy of transferring to the 30-lap final. Wednesday meant another day of
racing at Volusia. While he improved his qualifying time, he ran a
sixth in his heat race. His fourth place effort in the B-Main was also
just shy of transferring into the A-Main.
For the latest results of Brady Smith and his 2006 Winter Tour, go to
www.bradysmithracing.com.
Smith Grabs Two Two’s
Oval Ice Racer Earns Two Podiums On Opening Weekend
 Shawinigan,
Quebec ~ Team AMSOIL oval ice racer Jason Smith has been waiting for the
opening round of the Eastern Pro Tour all winter long. The 2005 “Most
Improved Racer” winner has his sights set on the EPT Pro Championship in
2006. He started his quest with a strong showing in Shawinigan, Quebec
last weekend.
On Saturday, Smith was fast right from the start. In his first
Semi-Pro heat, he was able to take second place and advance to the
main. In the final, a bad holeshot meant he had a lot of ground to make
up. With the race only eight laps long, Smith moved quickly into second
and was able to hold the podium spot.
That gave the young rider confidence heading into the first round of
Pro qualifying. His first heat race produced a second behind veteran
driver Aaron Fellows. In the final, the team focused on getting the
holeshot. When the green flag dropped, Smith came into the first turn
with the race leaders. He was able to move from fourth place into
second, but ran out of time when the 10-lap race ended, landing second
on the podium again.
Sunday meant it was time to rev up the Champ 440 sleds. Smith would
take a second and a third in his heat races, advancing into the finals.
In the main, he started and finished the race in fifth.
“For the most part, we are very happy with the results of our first
regular season race,” said Smith. “We were plagued with bad holeshots
all weekend and it unfortunately kept us from finishing a little better
on Sunday. We plan on doing a couple days of testing to sort it all out
before our biggest race of the tour at Valcourt.
Leaving California
Team AMSOIL says good-bye to West Coast, for time
being.
Anaheim, Calif. ~ Team AMSOIL is hoping a shift to the East
Coast will help its Supercross standings. The AMA Supercross Series
visited San Diego last weekend, marking the last time the series will be
on the West Coast until it returns to Seattle on April 29. That meant
one last ride for Supercross Lites riders Billy Laninovich and Jake
Weimer.
Laninovich, who entered the weekend just five points out of first
place, needed to bounce back with a strong run after a disappointing
race in Anaheim the week before. Laninovich started his heat race
strong, grabbing the holeshot and looking like he had once again found
the speed that he was missing in Anaheim. But his lead quickly
evaporated, and he had to settle for a close second to Honda’s Andrew
Short.
 Rookie
Wiemer, meanwhile, also ran in the same heat as Laninovich. Wiemer rode
a strong race, finishing fifth, and advanced directly into the main.
In the final, it was a bad start for Team AMSOIL. Laninovich went
down in turn one and was now on a mission to get back as many points as
possible before the checkered flag dropped. While Laninovich struggled,
Wiemer had a solid start and settled in around mid-pack. When the race
wrapped up, Wiemer had a top 10 finish (9th) while Laninovich was able
to make up ground on about half the field, finishing 11th. Laninovich
is currently fifth in the overall West series, but has dropped to 19
points back from the leader. Wiemer is showing strength in his first
season as a pro, running in 10th despite missing the final in round
four.
Team AMSOIL was also hoping veteran Mike LaRocco would get closer to
a podium finish in 2006. The Supercross rider has been working hard to
get his four-stroke Honda dialed in and showed off his consistency again
in San Diego. He ran a strong qualifier, running the entire race in
third and advancing directly to the main. The final showed a great
race for fourth, that 10 years ago would have been a great race for a
win, between LaRocco and Honda’s Jeremy McGrath. The two over-30
veterans battled back and fourth behind the race leaders all race long.
When the checkered flag dropped, LaRocco found himself behind McGrath in
fifth place. “The Rock” is currently fourth in the Supercross points
race, but is 35 points behind third place. Teammate Kevin Windham is
expected to be riding within the next week and racing again in
mid-March.
The AMSOIL team will be back in action this weekend as the East Coast
“Lites” take the track for the first time. The AMA will hold its first
East Coast race of the year in St. Louis. The race will air on a
tape-delayed basis on CBS on Sunday and SPEED Channel later in the week.
Co-op Sponsorships
If you are an AMSOIL Dealer looking to sponsor a local racer through
the AMSOIL Co-op Race Program, please fill out the G-2074 and send it to
the AMSOIL Racing Department. Teams who were sponsored last year will
need to fill out the form once again. Also, please remember to send in
your race results, as they will be included in the Checkered Flag.
More from Team AMSOIL
- Bret Tripplet and T&A Racing had a solid showing in the team’s
rookie season. Tripplet raced his 360 Sprint Car at Lincoln
Speedway and was able to finish the year second in track points with
one feature win, five top fives and seven top ten finishes. AMSOIL
Dealer Tim Crumpler sponsors Tripplet and the team.
- Team T Racing was in action at Woodland MX Park on January 15.
Josiah Tognazzi fought a hard battle after a slow start. He was
making a pass for third when the rider in front of him crashed,
taking out the young rider at the same time. After getting passed
by the field, Josiah fought his way back to 10th place. He would
finish eighth in the Moto 2 and took home a 9th overall. Tognazzi
is sponsored by AMSOIL through SponsorHouse.com.
- Joey Mack wrapped up his 2005 racing season at the Monticello
Speedway in Arkansas with some style. Despite a broken shock in his
heat race, Mack was able to put on a show for the fans in the
feature. Starting in the back of the field, Mack was able to power
his way up to second by the end of the race. After running in 47
Late Model events in 2005, Mack amassed 10 feature wins, 23 top
fives and 30 top ten finishes. AMSOIL Dealer David Busch sponsors
Joey Mack Racing.
- Williamson Racing is doing well in the GNCC Pro Nationals in
2006. Justin Williamson runs four modified YZ-250 2-Strokes and
plans to display three of his bikes at the Indy Dealer Expo.
- Stoffle Racing continues its successful run in the Mountain
States Snowmobile Racing Series. AJ Stoffle took two wins in the
120 Modified and Jr. 7-10 classes at Crested Butte, Col. last
weekend. Michelle Stoffle took a second in Jr. 10-13 and a fifth in
Beginner Women. Michael Stoffle also took home a fifth in Masters
Class 40+. Stoffle Racing is sponsored through SponsorHouse.com.
|
