Trucks
Dialed In For 2007
Autumn Woods grabs pair of wins in February
West Chicago, Ill.
~ With the cold and
snow still gripping the Northern United States, it might be an
odd time to start thinking about truck racing. Usually, the
trucks get rolling in late April and May and stick to the dirt
tracks scattered throughout the country. But the AMSOIL-sponsored
Autumn Woods Racing team is utilizing a southeast circuit and
the invention of domed stadiums as a great opportunity for some
primetime winter racing.
 The
West Chicago-based team took part in the inaugural N.O.R.R.A.
event on February 10 in Lake City, Fla. at the North Florida
Speedway. The four-truck, side-by-side racing is a hit among
die-hard racing fans. AWR drivers Jeff Dedick and Ricky
Brantley showed why they were two of the top off-road truck
drivers in 2006. Dedick won the event, with Brantley right
behind him in second.
The next
stop for AWR was at the packed USHRA event in the Edward Jones
Dome in St. Louis. Dedick was once again able to steal the
show. The series features two-truck, “Chicago” style racing.
Dedick, the only AWR driver at the event, went into the final as
the number one qualifier. A great run in the final kept the
AMSOIL driver on top as he picked up his second win of the
season.
Autumn
Woods Racing will be back in action this weekend. Both Dedick
and Brantley will be racing in the second NORRA event of the
season as it heads to Douglas, Ga. at the Douglas Motor Sports
Park on Saturday.
“East
Coast Riders Get Their Turn”
Sipes, Laninovich join Windham, Preston on SX
Tour
St. Louis, Mo.
~ Team AMSOIL
Supercross riders Ryan Sipes and Billy Laninovich said goodbye
to their extended stay at their practice tracks two weeks ago.
The Supercross “Lites” riders finally took part in an AMA
sanctioned event as the East Coast Lites Class joined the tour
in Atlanta.
In the
Lites class, Laninovich and Sipes were hoping for a strong start
to the East Coast series. Both riders started strong in their
heat races. Lano took a second while Sipes grabbed a third place
finish in his qualifier. Sipes was able to make the top ten in
the final by placing ninth after a strong start. Laninovich
finished in 12th.
Supercross
riders Kevin Windham and Travis Preston continued their strong
riding at the AMA event at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Windham
was strong early, finishing second in his heat race. Preston
also moved onto the main with a fifth in the same heat. In the
final, Windham was able to ride to a strong fifth place showing,
while Preston battled with the pack and succumbed to a crash in
the final, finishing 12th.
Windham
continued his consistent riding last weekend as the circuit
traveled into St. Louis.
K-Dub was riding strong all weekend long. He finished third in
his heat race and took home a solid fourth place finish in the
main. Teammate Travis Preston finished fifth in his heat race,
but was unable to finish the main and finished 21st overall.
In the "Lites" class, Sipes and Laninovich continued their
search for a championship with moderate success. Sipes finished
fourth in his heat race and eighth in the main. Laninovich
finished fifth in his qualifier and 14th in the final.
The AMA
Supercross series airs on SPEED Channel. The series moves to
Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. this
weekend.
“A
Double-Double for Snocrossers”
Team AMSOIL battles through back-to-back
double nationals
 Shakopee,
Minn. ~ The
good thing about taking part in a double points weekend is that
if things are going your way, your team can make up a lot of
ground in the points race. Of course, if things are not going
your way, it is also possible to fall even further behind. The
AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports team faced this harsh reality
twice during the past two weekends of racing.
Two weeks
ago, Shaun Crapo and DJ Eckstrom were hoping to get back into
the championship mix as they battled one of the largest tracks
the World PowerSports Association has ever created in Eagle
River, Wis.
Riding and flying high at the AMSOIL Derby Track, Eckstrom and
Crapo would have to deal with a double national event. This
meant that there would be four finals and 12 qualifying heats.
In the first round Crapo led the charge, finishing seventh in
the Pro Open class while Eckstrom finished tenth. With Eckstrom
out of the Pro Stock final after breaking a shock in the third
round of qualifying, Crapo finished 12th.
The next round saw both riders in all four finals. In Pro Stock,
Eckstrom finished ninth while Crapo came in 14th. In Pro Open,
Eckstrom finished strong, landing in sixth while Crapo finished
the circuit in tenth.
 After
battling sled issues and fatigue, the team had to quickly
rebound for a second double national in Shakopee, Minn.
Unfortunately, the sled gremlins continued to haunt the
Scheuring team. With two rounds of racing, that wasn't a good
sign for the season points race. On Friday, Crapo failed to
qualify for the Pro Stock final. Eckstrom, however, was able to
win one of his heat races and was able to push his Polaris into
sixth after starting in the back row.
On Saturday both riders failed to qualify for the Pro Open final
after breaking suspension parts. Crapo was able to make the Pro
Stock final on Saturday for the second round of racing. The
Idaho native won a heat race and finished second in the other
two qualifiers, pitting him as the number four qualifier. Crapo
finished seventh in the final.
Sunday brought a second round of Pro Open to the table. Eckstrom
ran strong in qualifying, finishing fourth, second and third.
Another suspension problem, however, pushed him out of
contention as he finished 14th in the final. Crapo was unable to
advance.
Eckstrom is sitting in 12th in Pro Stock for the season, while
Crapo is in 14th. In the Open class, Crapo is in 11th while
Eckstrom is in 15th. There is one race left on the schedule, the
Grand Finale in Lake Geneva, Wis. The WPSA airs all of its shows
on SPEED.
Frozen
February for Ice Racer
Wanderscheid looks for success after Eagle
River
 Sauk
Center, Minn.
~ Three-time World
Champion PJ Wanderscheid has had a busy month of racing. With
the warmer temperatures in the early part of the winter, a
number of races were rescheduled for February and March. This
meant that the AMSOIL team would be on the ice four out of five
weeks.
February started off with a visit to the podium for PJ. The Sauk
Center, Minn. native finished third in the 440 Champ class in
Garrison, Minn. He followed that up with a fourth place finish
in the Pro 600 Open class.
The next weekend saw Wanderscheid race in Antigo, Wis. Handling
issues continued for the young racer. He finished fifth in the
Pro Open class, but only seventh in the Pro 440 class.
A third straight weekend of racing brought the #28 sled to
Wayauwega, Wis. February 17-18. Wanderschied continued to grab
hole shots all weekend long, but a broken sway-bar meant only a
fourth place finish in the 600 class. After a month of
searching, he did find the podium in the 440 class with a second
behind Jeff Ludwig.
Last weekend, Wanderscheid headed to Beausejour, Manitoba for
the second time this year. The team battled a winter blizzard to
get to the track, resulting in only one day of racing. Sled
problems caused the team to try a number of different cooling
systems, and they were unable to finish the race.
Wanderscheid will be gunning for his first win of the season at
the final event of the year. The series concludes this weekend
in Ontonagon, Mich. on Saturday and Sunday. |
