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Five
Podiums Await AMSOIL in
Crandon
Hord and Douglas win, Oberg
second
Labor
Day weekend brought a little extra work for the
AMSOIL Super Team members as they decided to get
a few extra laps in while the Championship Off
Road Racing (CORR) series took some time off for
the holiday. Scott
Douglas, Mike
Oberg and Chad
Hord proved to be a powerful trio as they
headed to the World Series of Off Road Racing’s
BorgWarner Shootout in Crandon, Wis.
Driving his BOSS Snowplow/AMSOIL/Kumho
Pro Light truck, Hord started the weekend off
with a stellar run in the “Decision at Sundown”
on Friday night. Hord put together a tough
battle with nemesis Jeff Kincaid in the
non-points shootout and fought through traffic
to finish second. On Saturday, Hord
redeemed his near miss by overcoming a back row
starting spot to take the win and another World
Championship ring. Sunday’s race brought a
third podium to the AMSOIL pits as Hord again
tangled with the back markers before finishing
second.
 Pro 4x4 brought out the high
horsepower of Douglas and his AMSOIL/Kumho Ford
F-150. On Saturday, Douglas held the
second spot for much of the race but was forced
to the pits after a tussle with another driver
cracked the fiberglass hood, blocking the
truck’s cooling system and his line of
sight. The El Cajon, Calif. native and fan
favorite delivered his signature smooth style in
Sunday’s class race by taking home the win and
his third straight win on a Sunday. All
that was left was a shot at his third BorgWarner
Cup, but an accident directly in front of him by
Johnny Greaves ended his chance at history as
Douglas got tied up with the carnage and was
forced out of the race.
“It
was a good weekend for us,” said Douglas after
Sunday’s Cup race. “We weren’t here to
fight for a championship, but we came out with a
win and a lot of new information that will help
us be even faster in the final CORR races of the
year.”
 In Pro 2wd, Oberg showed off his top
end speed with three strong races. On Saturday,
he started in the back row and found himself in
10th coming into the first turn. On the third
lap, however, Oberg started dialing in the truck
and began picking off the field. Within four
laps, the Eagle River, Wis. driver had one of
the fastest trucks on the track and was looking
at a podium finish. A large rock would play the
spoiler after it kicked up and damaged the
transmission, forcing Oberg to pull off.
On Sunday, Oberg would get redemption.
Again starting in the back row due to not racing
full time in the WSORR, Oberg received perfect
bite off the starting line and came through the
first turn in fourth. From there, he moved his
AMSOIL Chevrolet into second with three laps to
go and stayed there for the rest of the
race. In the Cup race, Oberg ran fourth
for most of the race, but another rock pierced
the transmission casing and ended the day for
the championship driver.
Congratulations go out to Dan
Vanden Huevel. The Flying Dutchman won his
first WSORR points championship with a pair of
strong finishes in Crandon. The Dutchman also
finished third in the BorgWarner Cup race, which
was swept by Pro 2wd's. It was Vanden
Huevel’s first Pro 2wd championship of his
30-year career.
Bad Break Leaves Douglas Sidelined in
Chula Vista
Hord fills in for veteran
driver
 |
 | Scott
Douglas headed to Chula Vista, Calif. on
September 13-14 with a nine point lead in the
championship standings. However, hope for a
title in 2008 might have come to a violent end
before the weekend got underway.
The
Southern California resident was taking part in
Friday's practice session when he attempted to
launch off the finish line tabletop jump. His
AMSOIL Ford F-150 grabbed too much air and nosed
into the ground, causing the truck to propel an
estimated 20 feet high and flip numerous times
before coming to a standstill in a twisted lump
of metal and fiberglass. Inside the truck,
Douglas was not much better as his left leg took
a majority of the impact. After getting hauled
out of the truck, he was taken to a local
hospital. With a large amount of swelling,
doctors were able to stabilize the leg, but
determined that he had two small fractures in
his lower leg and one in his foot. The major
damage was done to the upper leg and knee.
Douglas went through a successful surgery
on Monday to repair the broken leg and
kneecap. A timeline for his return to
action has not yet been determined.
“We made some suspension changes
heading into the weekend that really worked
well,” said Douglas after the crash. “We
went out in practice with a damp track and the
Kumho Tires really hooked up. My
confidence with the truck was at an all-time
high. On that lap, we came through the
quads, cleanly cleared the triple and headed for
the tabletop. For that brief moment I felt
invincible, but then found out that I
wasn’t.”
On
the track, AMSOIL Pro Lite driver Chad
Hord pulled double duty over the weekend by
filling in for Douglas in the Pro 4. CORR
allowed Hord to drive the #7 Ford F-150 and
compete for championship points only after he
pitted for one full lap. Despite the handicap,
Hord was on the track to accumulate as many
championship points as possible in the hope that
Douglas can join the chase again at the AMSOIL
Dominator Desert Challenge in Primm, Nev.
October 25-26. Hord battled with the field and
finished 11th on Saturday and 12th on Sunday.
While Douglas fell out of the points lead, he
still sits third, just 40 points behind the
leader.
“Thanks go to Chad for filling in for
me in a moment’s notice,” said Douglas.
“He did a great job on the track and being an
AMSOIL-sponsored driver, it showed what great
teamwork can accomplish.”
“Scott took a really hard hit and I
was honored when they came over to ask if I
could drive the truck,” said Hord. “I had never
driven a Pro 4 before, and if Scott and (crew
chief) Bill Smith had the confidence in me to do
it, I said ‘you bet.’ Bill put together a
good game plan, got me comfortable in the truck
and was a big help on the radio during the race.
I won’t get too comfortable as I expect to see
Scott back behind the wheel in
Primm.”
Hord did fare better in his
full time job as a Pro Lite driver. On Saturday,
he was forced to start dead last after he was
unable to qualify because of mechanical
problems. Once the green flag fell, Hord went on
a tear with the live SPEED cameras rolling,
moving from 25th all the way up to third by the
end of the race. On Sunday, Hord qualified
second and was credited with a fifth place
showing, picking up valuable points as the
championship leaders dropped out or finished
behind him. The 2006 class champion moved into
fifth in the points standings.
In Pro 2,
Mike
Oberg had his AMSOIL/Kumho truck pointed in
the right direction. Despite a broken shock that
put him out of the race on Saturday, Oberg came
back strong on Sunday after reconfiguring the
truck’s sway arm. Qualifying 12th, Oberg quickly
got on the gas and was sitting in sixth just
four laps into the race. Contact from another
driver brought out a black flag for Oberg on lap
five after a 2" steel bar was knocked loose and
was considered a safety issue by CORR. After
pitting to get the bar removed, Oberg returned
to the track with most of the field in front of
him. The Eagle River, Wis. driver quickly worked
his way around the field and by the time the
competition yellow came out, Oberg was back into
the top 12. With one lap remaining, Oberg moved
past five more trucks to finish sixth.
“I
don’t think anyone passed more trucks out there
than I did,” said Oberg following Sunday’s
race. “I was really comfortable in the
truck today. It’s a shame everyone thinks they
have to smash their way to the front. We
had a great setup today and we know we are
headed in the right direction for Primm. I
can’t wait to get there.”
AMSOIL is
the Exclusive Official Oil of Championship
Off Road Racing. The next CORR event will be
the AMSOIL Dominator Desert Challenge in Primm,
Nev. on October 25-26. Sunday's race from Chula
Vista will air on NBC on October 5. Primm's
events will air live on SPEED and NBC.
AMSOIL Re-Signs World
Champion
Wanderscheid agrees to three year
extension
AMSOIL INC., The First in Synthetics, has
signed a three-year contract extension with
three-time AMSOIL Eagle
River Snowmobile Derby World Champion P.J.
Wanderscheid.
AMSOIL has been the
title sponsor and exclusive oil provider for
Wanderscheid since the 2004-05 season. In
2006, Wanderscheid became only the third person
to win three Eagle River World Championships.
This year, Wanderscheid will be focused on
becoming the first to win the world-famous derby
a fourth time.
 “P.J. is an excellent ambassador for
AMSOIL and the sport of oval ice racing,” said
Jeremy Meyer, AMSOIL Race Program Manager. “It’s
more than just the results on the track with
him, it’s about the countless hours he spends
promoting the sport and his sponsors away from
the race trailer. He is a true asset to AMSOIL.”
Wanderscheid Racing has 66 career wins
and 15 series points championships. In 2008,
they won the WSA Pro Open and Pro Champ classes
and finished third overall.
“AMSOIL is
an excellent company to work with,” said
Wanderscheid. “AMSOIL provides us with the best
products on the market and the necessary
protection our sleds demand. We are excited to
be carrying the AMSOIL flag for three more
years.”
Scheuring Speed Sports Signs
Makita
Industrial Tool manufacturer joins
successful snocross
team
Scheuring
Speed Sports is pleased to announce a new
marketing partnership with Makita Industrial
Power Tools. The new deal replaces a long time
partnership with Red Bull, and the top level
snocross team will be known as the AMSOIL/Air
Force/Makita team.
 “I am excited to be
partnering with the premier industrial tool
manufacturer in the world,” said team owner
Steve Scheuring. “Using Makita Industrial
Power Tools on our race team for the past 10
years has been a very positive experience. Our
race environment could be best described as one
of the toughest in all forms of racing.
Racing and testing in snow with temperatures
reaching subzero at times puts all our equipment
to the test. All of our Makita Tools have
passed the test with flying colors. This
is going to be a great year for the AMSOIL/Air
Force/Makita snocross team.”
Scheuring Speed Sports has been testing
for the past few months for the first round of
the new ISOC series, which will open at the
AMSOIL Duluth National in Duluth, Minn. on
Thanksgiving weekend.
Rinker Wins National
Championship
AMSOIL powerboat driver picks up another
title
Team
AMSOIL powerboat driver Terry
Rinker marked the Labor Day weekend with a
successful run at the 25th O.P.C. National
Championship races in Kankakee, Ill.
 Rinker took part in the
festivities, which was not a ChampBoat
sanctioned race, by competing in the Modified
Unlimited class. Rinker earned the National
Championship title driving the AMSOIL-sponsored
#10 boat to a strong victory. The AMSOIL boat
started on the pole and led the field for all 15
laps to secure the victory. This National
Championship win increases the AMSOIL team’s
APBA national high points lead in the Mod-U
class with just one race remaining. The final
race will be held in Florida in mid-October.
AMSOIL team driver Randy Rinker finished
a respectable fifth after suffering a propeller
failure midway through the 15-lap race.
Terry
Rinker is leading the F1 ChampBoat Series points
championship. AMSOIL is also the Official Oil of
ChampBoat.
Hurricane Ike Forces Race
Rescheduling
ChampBoat events to be
rescheduled
World
class powerboat racers and organizers suffered a
significant blow from Hurricane Ike as it
devastated a massive area of South Texas, the
home of many powerboat racers, organizers and
rescue personnel.
 John Schubert, president of SPORT,
the organizer of several Sport/Champ2 Texas
events, including one scheduled for this weekend
in Orange, Texas stated, “Our family came out ok
from the storm, but most of South Texas was hit
hard and is still without power, forcing us to
cancel the Orange, Texas race. We hope to
reschedule it for later this season, but if that
doesn’t work out, we’ll have to wait until
2009.”
ChampBoat Chief of Rescue Mike Gibbs
suffered significant damage to his home, forcing
his family to stay with friends.
“Our side of Houston (eastern) was
hit exceptionally hard and there are still tens
of thousands without power, so the last thing on
our minds right now is boat racing.”
The ChampBoat
Series also was forced to cancel the Tempe
Grand Prix scheduled for September
27-28.
“Our
thoughts and prayers go out to all our friends
in Texas,” said ChampBoat Director Mike
Schriefer. “When disasters hit, it puts the
sport of powerboat racing into perspective. It’s
a shame, however, as we have worked so hard the
past two years on Tempe, so we’ll really be
looking forward to rescheduling the Tempe event
for 2009, which will quickly become one of our
highest profile events.”
The
ChampBoat Series now directs its focus on the F1
ChampBoat and Champ2 season finale at the
inaugural Grand Prix of Naples November
1-2. AMSOIL is the Official Oil of
ChampBoat.
Smith Wins
Again
Team AMSOIL late model driver takes fifth
checkered flag of
season
AMSOIL late model driver Brady
Smith racked up his fifth victory of 2008 on
August 30 at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring
Valley, Minn.
 Smith sported a fast car all night
as he won his heat race and the dash to earn the
pole position for the $5,000 to win World Dirt
Racing League (WDRL) main event. The Solon
Springs, Wis. native then swapped the lead on
several occasions with Chris Simpson during the
40-lap A-Main before guiding his AMSOIL race car
to the winner’s circle ahead of Chris and Chad
Simpson, Justin Fegers and Eric Pember. The WDRL
triumph was the second straight series victory
for Smith as he also won the rain-postponed
“Masters” on August 1 at the Cedar Lake
Speedway.
Smith
is scheduled to race at the Farley Speedway in
Farley, Iowa on Friday and Saturday night as
part of the Yankee Dirt Track Classic.
Smith will also be in Knoxville, Iowa September
25-27 to defend his Knoxville Late Model
Nationals title.
AMSOIL Rider Second Overall in
Finale
AMA Outdoor Nationals wraps up in Steel
City
The
2008 AMA
National Motocross Championships wrapped up
for the first time on a Saturday at the Steel
City Raceway in Delmont, Pa, and although
weather reports leading up to the race indicated
a deluge, no rain reared its ugly head.
AMSOIL Lites rider Jake
Weimer had a solid day at Steel City. He
worked his way up to sixth in the first moto and
found himself in a battle for third in the
second moto before finishing fourth. Weimer
finished second overall for the day and finished
the season fourth in points with 321.
 “The second moto, I had a pretty good
start, and there were bikes going down
everywhere,” Weimer said. “I was behind [Brett]
Metcalfe forever, and I felt like I needed to
get around him, but I wasn’t making it happen. I
kind of got stuck in his pace, and then [Nico]
Izzi got by both of us, and then I finally
decided that I needed to make something happen
with Brett. We ended up coming together, and he
went down, and it wasn’t really intentional, but
it was one of those racing situations where I
thought I had it, and he thought he had it, and
we came together, and unfortunately, he went
down.”
Rookie Blake Wharton had a great
come-from-behind ride in the first moto,
finishing just behind Weimer in seventh. Wharton
grabbed his second holeshot of his short career
to start the second moto, but went down in a
slick spot a couple of turns into the race and
was forced to come from the back of the pack. He
finished sixth overall.
Australian Dan
Reardon was disappointed with his results at
the season finale, but he’s happy that he has a
healthy season under his belt so that he knows
what to expect next year. Reardon went 13-11 for
12th overall and finished out the season 11th in
the standings.
Josh
Grant grabbed the holeshot in the opening
moto and led the first six laps before losing
the lead to eventual winner Ryan Dungey. He ran
second until he experienced a mechanical failure
with about three laps remaining in the
race. In the second moto, Grant again
started at the front and ran second for the
first few laps before eventually finishing the
race in eighth. Grant ended the season ninth in
points despite racing only half the series, and
he earned two podiums – at Colorado and
Washougal.
The GEICO
Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team will take some
time off before beginning 2009 testing and
returning to action for the 10th anniversary of
the U.S. Open of Supercross at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on October
10-11.
Holy
Hannibal!
Lovell Racing battles elements in WE-Rock
Finals
The
Lovell
Racing Team showed up in Hannibal, Mo. ready
to do battle at the 2008 WE-Rock Finals in the
rain, mud and rock of Hannibal Rocks Off-Road
Park. Unable to make the trip was the team’s
guiding light, spotter Roger Lovell. For the
first time, Brad Lovell would be competing
without his brother, but under the capable
guidance of longtime rock crawler Sean
Lazzelle.
 Lazzelle’s confidence was
immediately put to the test as he guided the
AMSOIL crawler across one of the most
treacherous courses ever created. Lovell was
forced to pilot the #232 Fabtech/AMSOIL/Ford
Ranger over a rock spine with a 12’ cliff on one
side and a 30’ cliff on the other. The spine was
so narrow that the tires had to completely hang
off either side. As long as everything was
navigated correctly, the inevitable crash off
the rock could be saved with some throttle
action. With great confidence, the pair took to
the course and flawlessly negotiated the
dangers.
Any
racing team needs teamwork, the right vehicle
and a little luck. Luck decided to leave the
team after their initial success. On the second
course, the team had the finish gates in sight,
but the crawler stalled just as the truck slid
off a sizeable drop and precisely when Lovell
needed some horsepower. The result was an
end-over-end roll that left the Ford Ranger
helplessly “turtled” and unable to finish.
Registering scores on only three out of four
courses, Lovell Racing was tied for seventh at
the end of the first day.
Rain, mud and
fog welcomed competitors on day two, so the team
concentrated on surviving the courses and taking
cones when necessary. Lovell launched the truck
up the first rock slope and found just enough
traction to break the rear gear set and failed
to finish.
The
#232 roared back to life on course A1 as Lovell
became the first and only driver to complete the
course. Team Lovell was patient and stuck to
their plan. Their performance was good enough to
gain five places in three courses and put them
in second with only the final round to go.
“I think most people out there would
agree that we have the best climbing vehicle,”
said Lovell. “The engineers at Fabtech
have built us the best suspension out there, and
if you can keep the BFG’s on the rocks, they
will keep you moving forward.”
While
others found defeat in the mud, Lovell and
Lazzelle gracefully launched up the bonus climb
on the final course and made fast work of the
remaining gates to handily finish the
competition in second.
Lovell Rock Racing will compete in its
last 2008 event on September 20 as XRRA holds
its U.S. Finals in Jellico, Tenn. Roger Lovell
will defend his 2007 U.S. Championship in the 32
Dirt Logic/AMSOIL/Ranger and Brad will hunt for
the top spot in #232 after finishing the 2008
XRRA season in third place.
Camburg Shows Helping
Hand
Vegas to Reno more than winning
race
 Coming into the Best in the
Desert's "Vegas to Reno" race, everyone knows
the difficulties and challenges ahead of them.
With more than 450 miles of race course, it has
some of the most technical and abusive terrain
in the United States.
Jason
Campbell, driving with Scott Zindroski and
Morgan Wilson in the Camburg/AMSOIL Toyota, was
last off the line in his class as he faced a
rear starting position. The first 80 miles
featured some of the race’s roughest terrains
and it showed early as a large number of trucks
and buggies succumbed to the
elements.
The
AMSOIL/Camburg truck was able to overcome a 20
minute traffic jam and numerous stops to help
downed racers during the early stages of the
race to stay on course. At one point, the truck
pulled over to help a stranded buggy that had
run out of gas. The crew filled an eight-ounce
water bottle with gas from their fuel tank about
30 times to get the buggy restarted.
After
they made it over the 8,500 foot summit, Jerry
Zaiden took over driving with Brad Hisgen and
Justin Held along for the ride. With 200+ miles
to go, Zaiden knew they had a chance since half
the field typically fails to finish. After
helping more stranded racers, the Toyota was
stuck in 4-LO and had to make it to the next
scheduled pit stop at a high speed of 27
mph.
Zaiden pulled into Pit 9 and the crew
refueled and reset the ECU, which allowed the
Toyota Tundra to get out of the lower gear. With
only 110 miles left to the finish line, Zaiden
set a fast pace to the end.
The
AMSOIL/Camburg Toyota crossed the finish line
sixth in its class and 99th overall in 16 hours,
57 minutes. Out of 202 vehicles that started the
grueling race, only 51 percent finished the
event. In uncommon fashion, all of the Class
8100 trucks, the same class as the Camburg team,
finished the 450 mile race.
The
Camburg/AMSOIL Toyota will also be a hit with
video gamers starting next week. A new game
called Baja: Edge of Control is set to
be released across the country next Monday.
AMSOIL will be receiving exposure through its
partnership with the Camburg Racing team.
Camburg Racing is a desert race team that
competes in the Baja 1000, Baja 500 and other
Best in the Desert races. The game is based on
the Baja 1000 and includes more than 95
different tracks that replicate the 1000, as
well as the Baja 250 and the Baja
500. |