AMSOIL Behind The Scenes Video - Eagle River

It will be a busy weekend with several Team AMSOIL members racing across the country. More on that below, but take a moment to go Behind The Scenes as we talk to some of the best oval ice racers in the world at the AMSOIL World Championship Snowmobile Derby.



The GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda supercross team will be in Indianapolis, Ind. on Saturday for the AMA Supercross series. Kevin Windham will be joined by SX Lites rider Blake Wharton at the event. Wharton, a rookie on the East Coast series, has finished fifth and fourth in his first two professional races and will be looking for his first podium finish in Indy. The Indy track was designed by retired AMSOIL rider Mike LaRocco. SPEED will air both classes on Sunday.

Oval ice racer PJ Wanderscheid will be racing in Garrison, Minn. as part of the WSA Pro-Ice series. The three time AMSOIL World Champion has won three times in Garrison since 2006. The race will be a final tune-up before the season finale in Beausejour, Manitoba.

Brad and Roger Lovell will take their new AMSOIL title sponsored racer trucks to one of the fastest growing off road races in the world this weekend, the King of the Hammers race in Johnson Valley, Calif. The championship rock crawlers and rock racers will be working the the Torchmate team at KOH.

The qualification process for the 2009 AMA ques Amateur National Motocross Championships Presented by AMSOIL starts this weekend with a pair of area qualifiers. Cooperland in Stillwater, Okla. will host a South Central race, and MX Marion County in Reddick, Fla., will host a race in the South East. More than 60,000 amateur motorcross riders take part in the annual event, all trying to be one of the 1,300 lucky riders to get to Loretta Lynn's ranch and be crowned a national champion. AMSOIL riders Trey Canard and Kevin Windham have both won titles at "Loretta's".

And don't forget about Daytona Bike Week, which started today and runs through next week. AMSOIL is the Official Oil of Daytona Bike week. Stop by the AMSOIL booths to see what we have going on for the next ten days in Florida.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

AMSOIL Co-Title Sponsor of Lovell Rock Racing

AMSOIL has been a long-time sponsor of Brad and Roger Lovell, one of the top rock crawling and rock racing teams in North America. In 2009, AMSOIL will be moving into a new role with the championship team as co-title sponsor.

AMSOIL, along with Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems, have partnered up with the Lovell's to form a comprehensive off-road racing team. AMSOIL will receive title sponsorship location on Brad and Roger's rock crawlers and rock racers, with additional exposure with desert racer Greg Jones, Jeepspeed pilot Mike Shaffer and unlimited rockcrawler Jesse Haines.

“We are focused on quality and intend to let our results speak for themselves," said Brad Lovell. "We are extremely proud to welcome AMSOIL as our new co-title sponsor. They have been an excellent partner for the past few years and a key to our many championships and race wins. From a personal standpoint, I am thrilled to be involved in multiple forms of off-road racing.”

The Lovell's will help premier four new vehicles at the upcoming King of the Hammers race on Saturday, February 27. Brad Lovell (#232) and Roger Lovell (#32) will each take the wheel of a sleek AMSOIL/Torchmate Ford Ranger, while Jesse Haines (#199) will pilot the newly fabricated Torchmate/AMSOIL racer. Rockcrawling champion Jason Scherer will also be outfitted with the AMSOIL logos for the race.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Windham Talks About Supercross Season

The guys at motocross.com took a few minutes out of their busy schedule to talk with Team AMSOIL rider Kevin Windham about his 2009 supercross season, the changes to racing and the field he lines up against.

Windham and the rest of the Geico Powersports/AMSOIL will be in Indianapolis this Saturday.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Metcalfe Crashes, Wharton Battles in Atlanta

For seven straight weeks, the AMA Supercross Championship will be touring the east coast after spending all but one weekend out west. This long road trip started out inside Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on February 21.

Race day started off rough for the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team, as championship hopeful Brett Metcalfe crashed in practice, breaking his collarbone. He’s scheduled for surgery this week, but the timeline of his return isn’t yet known.

His Lites teammate, rookie Blake Wharton, had a tough go of it to start the day, coming from behind to barely qualify in his heat race, finishing eighth. This gave him the 15th gate pick out of 20 riders in the main event. He started near the tail end of the top 10 and then methodically began working his way forward. With three laps to go, he was fourth and pressuring for third, a position he actually nabbed during the next go-around. He held third for the final two laps until two turns to go, when he was caught on the outside and relegated back to fourth, where he finished.

“I was in eighth for eight laps,” Wharton said. “Usually, I can get those good starts, but tonight was a bad start night for me. You can’t get every holeshot, right? So you’ve got to learn how to do both (come from behind and race from the front). I felt like I was smart in the race, and I wasn’t rushing things. I waited for the right time and started passing them, and I ended up being in third and just made a silly mistake and lost it back and got fourth. I’m happy with how I rode, though, because I was in ninth and I caught all the way up and passed guys. That shows me that my speed and endurance are there, so I just need to fill in the middle

In the 450cc class, the story was similar for Kevin Windham. In his heat race, Windham came from way behind to finish fifth. He started mid-pack in the main event and worked his way forward, eventually finishing sixth.

“The starts are killing me right now,” Windham said. “I’d like to think I can run with those guys if I get the start, but the starts continue to elude me.”

From here, the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team heads to Indianapolis, Indiana, for round nine of the AMA Supercross Series, and round three of the Lites Eastern Regional Supercross Championship, on February 28. Retired AMSOIL rider Mike LaRocco will be designing the track.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

AMSOIL Sandbox Arena Arenacross Wrap-Up (Video)

The AMSOIL Sandbox Arena held its inaugural AMSOIL Sandbox Arenacross presented by EVS this past weekend. A huge crowd filled the New Richmond, Wis. complex to watch some great racing on the super technical track.

Thanks to the fine group at LP Multimedia for bringing us a video highlight of the weekend of racing. Check out the results of your favorite rider.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Team AMSOIL Ready for Busy Weekend

Many of your favorite Team AMSOIL racers will be in action this weekend throughout North America.

Snocross

The AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series will head north of the board to Valcourt, Quebec for round six of the 2008-09 schedule. AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports rider Shaun Crapo is looking for back-to-back wins in the Pro Stock class after the Idaho-native took his first win of the year in Farmington, N.Y. last weekend. The Valcourt race also marks the 50th anniversary of the Bombardier, the parent company of Ski-Doo. The Grand Prix de Valcourt will race all weekend long and will include both snocross and some of the world's best oval ice racers. You can WATCH THE EVENT LIVE through the streaming video service offered up by the ACSS.

Supercross

Team AMSOIL supercross riders Kevin Windham, Brett Metcalfe and Blake Wharton will be in Atlanta on Saturday night for the AMA Supercross Series. Windham currently sits seventh overall after seven rounds of racing. Metcalfe and Wharton will take part in round two of the Lites East Coast series. Metcalfe took a third in round one back on January 24. Wharton, a rookie, took fifth in his pro supercross debut. Saturday's race will air LIVE ON SPEED starting at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Arenacross

The AMSOIL Sandbox Arena is hosting a first this weekend. The two year old facility in New Richmond, Wis. will have the Inaugural AMSOIL Sandbox Arenacross on Saturday and Sunday.

"We have built a standard Arenacross track just for this event," said Sandbox owner Rob Murphy. "We are going to give away a bunch of cool prizes, including a Nintendo Wii. Plus the track will have four lanes, a big catapult jump and a gnarly whoops section. A real different track than we're used to."

Saturday night will be Pro Night starting at 7:00 p.m. CST. Sunday will be a full day of amateur racing.

Monster Trucks

Sudden Impact Racing will have four trucks running at two events this weekend. The AMSOIL Shock Therapy truck will join Excaliber at the Albany Civic Center in Albany, Ga. for a Checkered Flag Productions show on Friday and Saturday night.

The CULT Energy Activator truck will join forces with Sudden Impact at the Monster Jam show in Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, N.M. on Friday and Saturday night.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

AMSOIL Kawartha Cup Coverage

The bright sun and mild temperatures brought out a full crowd of spectators for the second round of the AMSOIL Kawartha Cup held last weekend as part of the Canadian Snowcross Racing Association in Peterborough, Ontario. After a weekend off from racing, competitors were ready to hit the track with a handful of pro racers within reach of the prestigious Kawartha Cup.

In the Pro Stock class it was Lee Butler (Polaris) who took the lead from the start followed by teammate David Joanis (Polaris) with Michael VanDolder (Ski-Doo) and Joey Sagan side-by-side in third position. Sagan quickly made the pass on VanDolder taking over third and holding on for the remainder of the race putting himself on the podium along with Joanis in second and Butler taking the win.

The Pro Open race played out quite similar to the Stock with Butler grabbing the win ahead of
team-mate Joanis followed by Sagan, giving Team Royal Distributing full domination on the podium. Butler’s win, combined with his fourth place finish from round one gave him the points needed to narrowly edge out VanDolder for the 2009 AMSOIL Kawartha Cup.

One of best races of the day was in the Pro Women class. Current points leader Angela Vacchino (Arctic Cat), got off to a bad start coming out of corner number one at the back of the pack with her work cut out for her. Wakenda Peters (Arctic Cat) took the lead with Stacey Orr (Ski-Doo) following closely behind. Vacchino worked her way through the rest of the field in a matter of laps, taking over the lead and leaving Peters and Orr to battle for second while Danielle VanDolder (Ski-Doo) moved up quickly in fourth. After some contact in the corners, Orr came out ahead, finishing the race in second place behind Vacchino. VanDolder put herself on the podium with a last minute pass for third.

Semi-Pro action was heated as usual as tight battles took place in the top five in both the Stock and Open classes. Making their first appearances on the podium for 2009, Jamie Byers (Polaris) held on for second place in the Semi-Pro Stock race ahead of Sean Macaulay (Ski-Doo) who took third position. No stranger to the top, Dustin Vandrie (Arctic Cat) grabbed the win.

Semi-Pro and Pro racers are off to Valcourt, Quebec this weekend for the Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt as part of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series. The best racers in North America will battle in the hometown of Bombardier to mark the 50th Anniversary of Ski-Doo
snowmobiles.

Regular CSRA racing will resume February 27 – March 1 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario kicking off with Friday night racing under the lights. AMSOIL is the Official Oil of the CSRA.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Scott Dougals on Totally Off Road Radio Tonight

AMSOIL off road racer Scott Douglas will be behind the mic tonight (Wednesday) as a guest on Totally Off Road Radio's Off Road Night LIVE.

TORR will host its show live from Fenway's Sports Bar in Carlsbad, Calif. starting at 6:00 pm PST. The two hour show will include Douglas, as well as off road stars Johnny Greaves, Curt LeDuc and Rick Huseman. The group will be discussing the many changes to short course off road racing that will occur in 2009.

Also on the show will be Team AMSOIL driver and owner of Traxxas, the radio control car company, Mike Jenkins. He will be discussing his companies new role as title sponsor of The Off Road Championship (TORC) and what the newly formed series will involve this season.

Totally Off Road Radio will air live on San Diego's AM 1000 as well as a live webcast at http://www.torrshow.com/.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Canard Fourth In San Diego Supercross

For the last race of the initial western swing of the AMA Supercross Championship, the series headed into San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium for round seven of the 450cc series, and round six of the Lites West Coast series on Valentine’s Day.

In the Lites class, Team AMSOIL rider Trey Canard put his GEICO Powersports/Honda up front to win his heat race before getting a start just behind his teammate Dan Reardon in the main event. He ran fourth while Reardon was third. Not too long after Canard got by Reardon, Reardon went down and was slow to get up. By the time he got going, he was nearly a lap down, and he finished 18th despite the spill.

With San Diego in the rear view mirror, the Lites West riders on the GEICO Powersports team are going to be doing some outdoor testing while the Lites East gets back up and running next weekend in Atlanta.

“The plan is to get a good outdoor setting and to get really comfortable with the outdoor bike over this break," said Canard. "With about two weeks before the last supercrosses, we’ll start working on that again and try to come out at the last three swinging,”

In the 450cc class, AMSOIL rider Kevin Windham started sixth before moving up to fifth on the fourth lap. He was pressuring Mike Alessi for fourth for a few laps before he got stuck in Alessi’s pace.

“I was a little disappointed with myself,” Windham said. “I got a little complacent, I believe, and in my position, I should’ve been more aggressive."

Still, Windham soldiered on for a seventh-place finish as the series prepares to head east to rutted, softer tracks that could favor his riding style.

From here, the GEICO Powersports Honda team heads to Atlanta for round eight of the AMA Supercross Series, and round two of the Lites Eastern Regional Supercross Championship, on February 21 inside the Georgia Dome, team Lites riders Brett Metcalfe and Blake Wharton will pick up where they left off in Houston a few weeks ago.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Crapo Takes Win at AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Race in New York

It was anybody’s race in the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Pro-Super Stock final Saturday afternoon at the Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack facility. With the domination factor known as Tucker Hibbert out of the picture, a talented field of the world’s best snocross riders was hungry to prove their mettle on the national stage.

Under fading sun and a track worn from a day’s worth of qualifying, Polaris rider TJ Gulla set the early pace, grabbing the holeshot at the onset of the 18-lap Pro-Super Stock final. Close in tow was AMSOIL/Scheuring SpeedSports rider Shaun Crapo and New York native Brett Bender, fresh off his first pro podium from a week ago.

Setting a blistering pace, Gulla and Crapo edged out to a comfortable margin early and began to encounter lap traffic on lap six. While Gulla and Crapo proceeded to edge away from the rest of the pack, a battle for third played out behind them as Bender, Garth Kaufman and Levi LaVallee rode nose to tail in search of a clean pass. Past the halfway point it appeared Bender might hold on for a second straight podium, but suddenly patience paid off for Kaufman as he hammered the massive back straight triple to overtake Bender. Four laps later, LaVallee mirrored the pass and shuffled Bender back to fifth with only four laps to go.

With less than three laps to go, it appeared Gulla was a shoe-in for his first pro win of the season but suddenly his lead vanished as he got tangled up with the lapped sled of Matt Judnick. Gullas mistake opened the door for Crapo, who took home his first ACSS win of the year (Crapo also won the Pro race at the AMSOIL Eagle River World Championship race in January).

“I feel bad for TJ,” said Crapo as he stood atop the podium during post race ceremonies. “He deserves to be here. But our team has been working so hard for this, and this weekend we finally were in a position to take advantage of other riders mistakes and it paid off.”

Kaufman picked up his third straight podium with a second place finish while LeValle took home third. AMSOIL pro DJ Eckstrom was able to take starts on Saturday after injuring his knee and hip in Brainerd the week before. He made it into the final through the LCQ and only took the start for valuable class points.

"The knee is pretty sore and with the track having a lot of icy spots, one wrong turn could keep me out all year," said Eckstrom. "We'll do the same formula on Sunday for the mod class and rest it up so we are good to go in Valcourt."

The AMSOIL Pro Open class and both Semi-Pro classes will finish up the weekend on Sunday.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

ACSS in Brainerd Offers Challenges for Team AMSOIL

Great weather combined with the awesome setting of the NHRA Dragstrip at Brainerd
International Raceway made for a perfect race weekend as another record crowd witnessed the fourth round of racing for the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series.

After turning some of the fastest laps in practice it looked like it was going to be a banner weekend for the AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports team. Things were looking positive until the back straight stretch, referred to as "The Minefield", reared its ugly head.

D.J. Eckstrom lined up in heat one of the first Pro Stock qualifiers as one of the favorites for the weekend. Coming through turn one and into the start of the minefield section, Eckstrom was at the front of the back. One jump later a sled behind him lost control and tagged him from behind, removing him from the snowmobile. The racer behind him inadvertently nailed him while he was laying on the track, hitting him in hip/back area. After a trip to the Emergency Room, the good news was that he had a deep bruised, but had no broken bones. This put him on the spectator side of the track for the rest of the weekend. Despite the lost weekend, Eckstrom still sits seventh in Pro Stock.

"It's pretty sore right now," said Eckstrom. "The first turn is always crazy and sometimes you don't get through it. I'm just going to rest it this week and get ready to race in New York."

Meanwhile, teammate Shaun Crapo qualified for both pro finals. In Pro Stock, he was running in the top five when he flipped going through the minefield. With the entire field now in front of him, Crapo was able to move up a few spots and finished 11th. Despite the crash, he is still sixth overall in class points. In the AMSOIL Pro Open class, Crapo came out of corner one in second place and looked like he was in a position to podium. A couple of on track incidents with other snowmobiles made his podium hopes fade fast, finishing 14th.

Up next for the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series is the Arctic Cat Eastern National in Farmington, New York February 14-15.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Wet West Coast Conditions Await AMSOIL Supercrossers

With rain drenching the floor of Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. for days leading up to round six of the AMA Supercross Championship, track builder Dirt Wurx did an admirable job in protecting the track surface from the damaging water, with the only real problem area being the starting line, but that turned out to be key for the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL team.

The track itself was designed by supercross legend Jeremy McGrath and featured two large whoop sections and multiple rhythm sections. In the valleys between the jumps and other obstacles, rain seeped through the protective plastic somewhat, which led to a track that featured dry, slick, rocky jump faces and landings with wet, rutted and soft transitions. And the starting line was nearly all rain-soaked, with the exception of a few gates in the middle of the left side of the gates where a pile of dirt had been left during the week, and its removal left a dry spot of dirt, allowing for good traction for the fortunate few who were able to start there.

What this meant was that for the main event, gate picks were going to be key, so heat-race results were at a premium.

AMSOIL 450cc rider Kevin Windham fought his way up to fourth in the second Hhat, which gave him the seventh gate pick for the main event, leaving him out of the preferred area right off the start. Still, the veteran played it smart around the first turn and rounded the first lap in fifth. As he looked for a way around Ivan Tedesco for fourth, he lost a spot to defending champion Chad Reed, who would eventually finish second. On lap eight, Windham found his way by a fallen Josh Grant for fifth just before the sky opened up and rain began to fall, turning the hard, dry areas of track into virtual ice, and Windham lost the spot back to Grant.

However, late in the race, Windham was making up ground on Tedesco for fifth before he stalled his bike in the slick conditions on the final lap, costing him a spot. He finished seventh.

The Lites riders had similar issues to contend with, if not worse, as their heats came before the 450cc qualifiers. AMSOIL's Dan Reardon started up front in his heat and made up some time by jumping the track’s triple on the first lap. It wasn't enough as h still finished third. Meanwhile Trey Canard fought his way through for fourth, giving the two the sixth and seventh gate picks, respectively, putting them outside of the “good area” for starting success.

Off the start, Canard got caught up with Ryan Dungey, who fell in the first turn, and he was forced to come through from the back. He rounded lap one in 17th, while Reardon came around in 10th. Canard and Dungey hooked up and began to come through the pack, and on lap four, Canard had moved into the top 10 when he mis-timed a section and went over the bars in the tricky dirt. Stunned, it took him a while to get going, and by the time he did, he was a lap down. From there, he ran on the leaders’ pace for the rest of the race, even passing eventual fifth-place finisher Jeff Alessi at the 10-lap mark. He still salvaged a strong 12th-place finish despite the first-turn tangle and the later hard fall.

Reardon worked his way from 10th up to fifth in the early going before losing a couple of spots in the late going to Dungey and Ryan Sipes. Reardon finished seventh, which matches his current position in the points standings with three rounds left to run.

From here, the AMSOIL sponsored team heads to San Diego on February 14 for round seven of the AMA Supercross Series and round six of the Lites Western Regional Supercross Championship.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Wanderschied Waits For Pair of Podiums

Team AMSOIL oval ice racer PJ Wanderscheid headed to Forest Lake, Minn. this past weekend to take part in the WSA oval ice series as well as a make-up final from the weather shortened Iowa race.

The weather was balmy, bringing mid 30’s temperatures both days at the track. Wanderscheid took part in the three rounds of qualifying on Saturday for the Pro 600 class. Racing on his 440 Arctic Cat, the Sauk Centre native ended up with second, third and first place finishes in the three heats. Starting the final as the number four qualifier, Wanderscheid was second to Dustin Wahl heading into turn one. He held is position for the first lap, but the more powerful 600 cc race sleds pushed by him on the large track. Despite the power difference, Wanderscheid finished fourth.

Sunday brought two days of finals, with the first one being a make-up race from Rock Rapids, Iowa. He again grabbed a good hole shot and was second heading into the first turn. He ducked under the leader and nabbed the lead down the backstretch completing lap one. The next lap saw Wahl give an awesome drive out of turn two and had the inside line going into turns 3 and 4, overtaking Wanderscheid. He came as close as a few sled lengths to Wahl but faded back at the finish for second.

The rest of the day consisted of qualifying for the scheduled Champ 440 final. Wanderschied swept all three heats, giving him the top qualifying spot for the feature. He had a good hole shot and again came out of turn two with the lead. That lead would be short lived when Wahl passed by on the second lap. He continued to pull away though the race running an outside line that our sled could not run. A restart on lap nine couldn't pull Wanderscheid closer to the leaders and he ended up with his second podium of the weekend with a third place finish.

"It was a good weekend of racing and it was nice to not race in sub zero weather for once," said Wanderscheid. "We battled handing issues all weekend that we could not zero in on fast enough. When the weather got warm it changed track conditions quickly and it was partial guessing game to hit it right. Overall we are happy with our weekend even though we would like to win them all it was not our weekend to accomplish that."

Wanderscheid was scheduled to race in Garrison, Minn. this weekend, but track conditions and weather could play a role in keeping the three time World Champion at home.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Heads to Brainerd

The top professional snocross racers on the planet, as well as the leading freestyle athletes anywhere will invade the Brainerd International Raceway for Round 4 of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series this weekend, February 6-8.

AMSOIL riders DJ Eckstrom and Shaun Crapo will look for a mid-season push up the standings on one of the largest tracks the circuit has ever produced. Jumps will launch the riders more than 80-feet and higher in the air in the heart-pounding action.

The weekend heats up fast Friday night with the Monster Energy Slednecks Invasion Tour freestyle showcase. The top freestyle athletes in the world will perform some of the most insane tricks ever seen on a snowmobile including a back-flip.

Competitive juices flow early Saturday morning with qualifying, culminating with the first of two main events starting at 4:00 pm. This all-out showcase of the top Pro and Semi-Pro riders anywhere will be bar to bar non-stop action. Capping off the weekend will be Sunday morning qualifying and the second main event featuring Semi-Pro and Pro Open finals starting at 1:00 pm.

Racing gets underway at 9:30 am both Saturday and Sunday. For complete schedule visit BIR National.

Also racing this weekend will be three time AMSOIL World Snowmobile Champion PJ Wanderscheid. The AMSOIL oval ice racer will take part in the WSA event in Forest Lake, Minn. on Saturday and Sunday.

GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL supercross riders Kevin Windham, Trey Canard and Dan Reardon will return to Angel Stadium for the final race in Anaheim in 2009. Qualifying gets underway Saturday afternoon with a full show on Saturday night. SPEED will cover all of the action this weekend. The Supercross class will air on Sunday at 2:30 pm EST with the Lites class starting at 3:30 pm EST.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Canard Podiums in Return

The San Francisco Supercross marked the return of the Lites West, which meant the return not only of GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL's Dan Reardon, but also Trey Canard , who was injured during round two and missed round three with a concussion. The 2008 Lites East Champ had a troubled practice session in San Francisco, but by the time the main event rolled around, he pulled it together.
Canard started in fourth, behind Ryan Dungey, Cole Seely and Jake Weimer, and when Dungey went by Seely, Canard followed. For the next few laps, he pressured Dungey, only to make a mistake and fall back a bit. Late in the race, however, Dungey went down, allowing Canard by momentarily before Canard made another minor mistake and allowed Dungey back by for second. Still, Canard finished third in his first race back, which was like a win to him considering how things had been going."

(Canard Interview following his third place finsih)

His teammate, Reardon got bumped off the start in his heat race, which forced him to come from behind on a track that didn’t provide a lot of passing opportunities. He caught up to a strong seventh in the short, six-lap hat, but that gave him a bad gate pick for the main, forcing another poor start. He started outside the top 15 in the main event, but worked his way steadily forward until he sat on the tail end of a train of riders comprising spots four through seven. He finished seventh.

In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham was feeling good all day. He was up front throughout practice, but poor starts haunted him all day. In his heat, he was able to catch up to fourth from well behind the leaders. In the main event, he started outside the top 10 and worked his way up from there on the track that was difficult to pass on, finishing sixth.

“We didn’t change much today, which always makes me a happy camper – to ride the same bike throughout the day and have something that’s working good,” Windham said. “I had good confidence. It was a fun day, just being on the board and being competitive. At the end of the night, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but all in all, you can look back on this weekend and think of it as a big success."

From here, the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL team heads back to Anaheim, Calif., on February 7 for round six of the AMA Supercross Series, and round five of the Lites Western Regional Supercross Championship.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Watch the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series (Ironwood)

The AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series is back in action this weekend in Brainerd, Minn. for round four of the national circuit.

Friday night brings the the Slednecks Invasion Tour to the Brainerd International Raceway. Saturday is pro qualifying from 4-7 with the Pro Show and finals on Sunday from 3-6 p.m. You can still get tickets on-line through February 3 for a $5.00 discount.

You can watch round 2 of the ACSS from Ironwood, Mich. on SledHead 24/7 below.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.

(Part One)

Part two

Part Three