Windham Slowly Regaining Form
Grant Falters In Final East Coast Race
Houston, Texas ~
Everyone knew it would take Kevin Windham a
few rounds to get back up to speed after breaking his arm in December.
Many experts called him the X-factor, the spoiler so-to-speak, as the
2006 Supercross season headed into its final stretch of races.
Houston’s Reliant Stadium was the site for Windham’s return to the mix
of other riders intent challenging what has become the AMA’s “Big Three”
of Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and James “Bubba” Stewart.
Windham drew two of the three riders, Reed and Stewart, in the first
Supercross heat of the night. When the gate dropped, Windham was
battling with Reed and Michael Byrne up front. Stewart, however,
quickly made his way past all three riders to take the lead. Reed
settled into second, while K-Dub grabbed onto third. That would be the
finishing order when the checkered flag dropped, advancing all three
into the final.
Teammate Billy Laninovich continued his strong riding in the senior
circuit. Laninovich was sitting on the outside looking in as he trailed
Jeff Gibson for the final transfer spot. Thanks to a stall by Gibson in
the whoops section, Laninovich, who regularly runs in the West Division
Lites class, was able to take over the fourth and final transfer spot.
In the main, Windham rode with the front pack for a few laps before
Stewart and Carmichael pulled away. Windham and Reed were forced to
battle for the third spot with Michael Byrne. Reed got by Byrne first
and was able to pull away from the other two riders. Windham squeaked
by Byrne on lap seven for fourth, exactly where he would finish when the
race ended. Laninovich, meanwhile, was caught in mid-pack and ended up
12th in the main.
Grant Finishes Poorly, Hahn Gets Podium
While K-Dub was finding himself on the big bikes, teammate Josh Grant
was hoping for his third straight win in the Lites class and a bit of
bad luck for points leader Davi Millsaps. Unfortunately, it would be
Grant who found some bad luck in the final East Coast race of the
season.
 Grant
started the night on the right note. In his heat race, the young
Californian once again showed off his speed. He grabbed the hole shot
and checked out, leaving the competition in the dust. He had a small
battle with Kelly Smith for a brief moment, but for the most part, he
was in control of the race from the beginning, easily winning and
advancing to the final.
In the second heat race, it was Grant’s teammate who showed off his
speed. While it was Millsaps who grabbed the holeshot and the lead, it
was Team AMSOIL rider Tommy Hahn who mastered the whoops and set his
sites on Millsaps. Hahn, who actually rode a faster lap time than
Millsaps, battled the race leader for the win. The Kansas kid, however,
came up just short, finishing second.
In the Supercross Lites main, Grant would need to win and have
Millsaps finish 18th or worse for Grant to win his first pro series
points championship. Unfortunately, Grant couldn’t get the luck he
needed. He went down on the first lap while attempting to pass another
rider. Grant wound up with a hole in the side of his engine, sending
him off the track and unable to finish the race, costing him both first
and second place in the points race. Hahn, meanwhile, was busy
pressuring the race leaders and eventually moved into second place
behind Millsaps. While he was breathing down the neck of Millsaps for
the entire race, Hahn was never able to get past the eventual champion.
He did land his first podium of the year, however, and finished the East
Coast series in fourth.
LaRocco Bike On eBay
 If
you are in a charitable mood and are looking for a unique bike for your
collection, you might want to go to eBay on April 12. Mike LaRocco’s
gold CRF450R will be up for auction. The AMSOIL backed bike is an exact
replica of the bike the Rock rode in San Diego this year. The winner
will also win a limited edition set of black and gold No Fear gear and
an all expense paid trip to the supercross finale in Las Vegas. Money
raised will go to the Asterisk Mobile Medical Unit, a group that keeps
riders safe on a weekly basis.
Autumn Woods Roars Back Into Action
New driver helps team finish two drivers in top five
 Fredericksburg,
Texas ~ Autumn Woods Racing has made a few changes for the 2006
racing season. Gone is secondary driver Chris Mosher, who was let go by
the team this winter. In his place will be Ricky Brantley, who has a
long career of racing off-road trucks. The second biggest change at the
opening round last weekend was the debut of the team’s new race trucks,
replacing the long-standing General Lee design the team had used in past
years.
Nothing much has changed on the track, however, as former champion
Jeff Dedick continues to be one of the sport’s best drivers. The
season officially started in the heart of Texas last weekend.
Fredericksburg marked the opening round of the Special Evens Performance
Series. Brantley was exceptional in his team debut, finishing the event
in second place. Dedick had some minor front drive-train issues that
forced him to compete in 2-wheel-drive all weekend. He was still able
to finish fifth overall. The team is back in action next month in
Springfield, Mo.
Smith Gets Spring Season Underway
Young driver continues quest for Rookie-of-the-year
honors
 Solon
Springs, Wis. ~ Team AMSOIL late model Driver Brady Smith currently
sits 15th in the NARA Late Model Dirt Series point standings after the
first four point races at the East Bay (FL) Raceway Park back in
February and the event last weekend at Brownstown, Ind. The Solon
Springs, Wis.-native will compete on a full-time basis with the Series
in 2006 and vie for the National Championship and Rookie of the Year
honors. Smith is currently leading the Rookie of the Year chase at this
stage of the season.
“The Deuce” invaded the Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Ind. last
Saturday night for round seven. Although Smith had a fast car
throughout the night at the tacky, 1/4-mile semi-banked dirt oval, he
failed to make the starting grid for 75-lap feature. Smith went through
the infield to avoid a spinning car in his heat race, but rebounded to
earn a fifth place finish. He was then battling for the second and
final transfer spot in his consolation event, when he was pushed off the
front-stretch, which resulted in his car spinning out in front of the
standing room only crowd.
The Brady Smith Racing team will travel to Georgia and South Carolina
this weekend for a pair of NARA Late Model Dirt Series events. The
weekend will kick off on Saturday evening, April 8 with an event at the
Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia. On Sunday, the action will turn
to the Cherokee Super Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina. Both NARA
Late Model Dirt Series events will pay $10,000 to the winner.
Eckstrom Makes Early Exit In Toronto
Crash stops weekend at CSRA event
Barrie, Ontario ~
Fresh off his third place overall finish in
the World PowerSports Association Snocross series, D.J. Eckstrom was
looking for a win in the Canadian Snowmobiling Racing Association’s
final weekend in Barrie, Ontario.
Eckstrom, who is a top rider in the WPSA, traveled with the Scheuring
Speed Sports team to the Barrie event. Eckstrom was running strong in
the qualifying heats in both the Pro Stock and Pro Open classes,
transferring to the main in each. In the Pro Stock final, Eckstrom was
riding strong when another sled landed on top of him, forcing him out of
the race. The crash brought an early close to the weekend for the team,
as the injuries prevented Eckstrom from racing in the Pro Final open.
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
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
- Motocross racer John Higbee of Cartlett, Va. is running strong
in AMA District 13 this year. Higbee is racing in the 125B class
and is currently ranked third. He is also ranked third in the
College Boy class and leads the Unlimited Amateur class. Higbee has
12 combined moto wins this year and finished out of the top three
only twice out of 24 races. AMSOIL Dealer Scott Mattice sponsors
Higbee.
- Jason Baldwin has won another state championship in motocross.
Baldwin recently won both motos at the 15th Annual North Carolina
State Championships in Sanford, N.C. Baldwin won both motos to win
the overall in the +30 Expert class. He is heading to the Loretta
Lynn’s qualifier in Reidsville, N.C. this weekend. He also races
supermoto in California. AMSOIL Dealer John Coffey sponsors
Baldwin.
-
 Team
T Racing has wrapped up their winter series with a good showing.
Josiah Tognazzini finished sixth overall in the 85-beginner class at
the Woodland MX Winter Series. Josiah also joined his father,
Darin, in the team race, finishing ninth overall out of 26 teams.
- Johnson Racing, the 2005 AMSOIL Grassroots Team of the Year, has
been running quads instead of bikes this winter and last weekend
took part in the Mid America Quad Challenge. James McNaul, the 2005
D22 Champion, and Tom Henkle, who finished 7th overall at Loretta’s
last year, took home 3rd and 5th place finishes respectively in the
Quad A Main. Last year’s D-22 Youth champion Bubba Hicks won the
90cc Open, and Brady Losure ended the weekend 5th overall in the Jr.
Quad Division. AMSOIL Dealer Randy Johnson sponsors all four
riders.
- Dirt super late model driver Chris Shelton is off and running in
the UMP Series. The Paducah, Ky. racer was busy throughout March,
racing four weekends. He finished 4th in the B-Main in Clarksville
on March 18 and 15th in the feature at PIR the following weekend.
He returned to Clarksville on March 25 and finished 7th in his heat
and 12th in the feature. AMSOIL Dealer Andy Southard sponsors
Shelton.
- Dash Racing is running faster this season since switching over
to AMSOIL in their Suzuki Hayabusa. The team recently qualified
third in the Superstreet Shootout class out of a 17-bike field.
They were running in the 8.5-second range at 170 mph and ran the 4th
quickest time of the day. They also qualified 4th in the 1000
Supersport class, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
AMSOIL Dealer John Kinkade sponsors dash Racing.
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