Pegram Wins Close One In California

While we were watching the AMA Pro Road Racing in Daytona earlier this month, the American Superbike race was one of the closest races I have ever witnessed first hand. Five riders finished the race less than .8 seconds apart.

Well, the close racing continued at Auto Club Speedway in California this past weekend. Team AMSOIL rider Larry Pegram won Saturday's race, but the top four were only .7 seconds apart when they waved the checkered flag. On Saturday, three riders finished within .6 seconds of the win. Left out of that group was Pegram, who crashed while leading on lap nine. He was still able to finish 10 laps and pick up three championship points. He now sits third overall after just two weeknds of racing.

By the way, AMSOIL is the Official Oil of AMA Pro Road Racing and presenting sponsor of the Daytona Sportbike class. The next race is scheduled for Road Atlanta, April 16-18. Go if you can, it might be the closest race you'll see all year.

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

Jeremy Meyer
AMSOIL Race Program Manager

AMSOIL Shock Therapy Wows at World Finals, Grabs Big Air Award

Congratulations goes out to Jon Zimmer and Sudden Impact Racing for grabbing the Monster Jam "Big Air Award" at this year's Monster Jam World Finals Awards Banquet.

Zimmer flew well above the limits of gravity at the Houston Monster Jame in mid-February (pictured) in the AMSOIL Shock Therapy truck. That jump made a lot of people take noticed and for the second year in a row, Zimmer was accepting an award at the event (2009 Rising Star Award).

Zimmer did very well in his first World Finals. He clocked in the fourth fastest time in qualifying before loosing to eventual winner Dennis Anderson and Grave Digger in the second round.

“I did everything I could, but I didn’t have lane choice, and he ended up pulling away from me out of the turn,” said Zimmer. “I’m just proud for AMSOIL, team SIR, and my crew–without them, I never would have been here in the first place.”

In Freestyle, Zimmer lost his front steering during a series of spins, before rolling the truck over on a set of triple-stacked cars.

The AMSOIL Shock Therapy Truck is scheduled to be in Elko, Minn. April 10.

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

Hord Readies New Ride For TORC 2010 Opener

After a very successful run in the Pro Light class, Team AMSOIL off road racer Chad Hord is moving up to the faster Pro 2wd class.

Hord will join AMSOIL/BFG Tires driver Mike Oberg in one of the premier class of the Traxxas Off Road Championship presented by AMSOIL. (Scott Douglas will still be driving the Pro 4x4 in TORC). Here's a look at the new truck from one of Hord's early season test sessions.

TORC has also added a new event to their 2010 schedule. TORC will race at Chicagoland Speedway August 25-26 in conjunction with the weekend of racing for the NASCAR Camping World Truck race and the IZOD IndyCar Series. (Read more about Chicagoland Event).

The 2010 TORC series kicks off May 1-2 in Tucson, Ariz.

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

Wild Weekend Ahead

Many of your favorite AMSOIL teams will be working towards championships this weekend, including monster trucks, dirt bikes and road racing.

A quick happy birthday goes out from all of us at AMSOIL to Geico Powersports supercross rider Justin Barcia. Barcia just turned 18 on Thursday and is doing what most new legal voters are doing on a Saturday night, trying to win the AMA Monster Energy Supercross in Jacksonville.

Barcia now sits third overall in the SX Lites East Coast Series, just 25 points behind defending champion Christophe Pourcel.

(Check out Barcia's teammate, Blake Wharton, on Racer X Video).

Team AMSOIL road racer Larry Pegram finished on the podium in Daytona earlier this month and now he has his sights set on winning in California. Pegram will join the rest of the AMA Pro Racing teams at Auto Club Speedway Friday through Saturday. AMSOIL is the Exclusive Official Oil of AMA Pro Road Racing and the presenting sponsor of the Daytona Sport Bike class.

Finally, if you happen to be in Las Vegas this weekend, stop by Sam Boyd Stadium for the Monster Jam World Finals. AMSOIL Shock Therapy driver Jon Zimmer has quickly established himself as one of the top drivers in the world and is competing in his first Monster Jam event. Only 24 trucks are invited and the Monster Jam 2009 Rising Star Zimmer is looking for the biggest win of his career. The World Finals start tonight and finish up tomorrow.

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

Martin and Bauer Clinch Titles, Johnstad Most Improved

AMSOIL gets to celebrate another successful snocross season. The AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series wrapped up in Lake Gevena, Wis. and Team AMSOIL riders once again stole the show.
Ross Martin won both pro races and almost two titles. He already had the AMSOIL Pro Open championship wrapped up in Hayward, but just missed the pro stock title, finishing second overall.

His protege, Mike Bauer, clinched the Semi-Pro Super Stock #1 championship on Saturday. He was looking for a title in Semi-Pro Super Stock #2 on Sunday, but a crash knocked him out of the race and contention. He still finished second overall.

Robbie Malinoski finished fifth overall in Pro Open and fourth overall in Pro Super Stock. Scheuring Speed Sports teammate Andrew Johnstad finished eighth overall and took home ISOC's Most Improved Rider award.

Overall, it was a great year of snocross racing. Nine events stretched from New Hampshire to Utah and was covered on Versus for the first time. More than 123,000 people watch the live stream this past weekend with another 25,000 people showing up in Lake Geneva for the final event.

All of us at AMSOIL are very excited with the direction of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series and we can't wait for round one of the 2010-2011 season at the AMSOIL Duluth National.

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


ACSS YEAR END AWARDS
Event of the Year: Utah
Pro Rookie of the Year: Tim Tremblay
Fan Favorite: Levi LaVallee
Freestyle Athlete of the Year: Matt "Tinger" Tingstad
True Grit Award: Levi LaVallee
ISOC Employees of the Year: Jake Haugh & Todd Johnson
Most Improved Racer: Andrew Johnstad
Pro Stock Privateer: Paul Bauerly
Pro Open Privateer: Paul Bauerly
Team of the Year: Warnet Racing

Can Martin Creep Into Double Championship at Grand Finale?

One year ago, Team AMSOIL/Judnick Motorsports rider Ross Martin was just beginning a grueling rehabilitation schedule after breaking his hip during practice at Winter X. Now, the former champion is back on top of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series with just weekend left on the schedule.

Watch Live Now

The ACSS wraps up this weekend in Lake Geneva, Wis. with racing starting today. The pro's will hit the track tomorrow and Martin will be looking to take over the points lead in Pro Super Stock. Martin, who has been stellar this season, has already locked up the AMSOIL Pro Open championship, but will look to keep his perfect podium streak in tact on Sunday. Martin needs to overcome 23 points in Pro Super Stock for his second double championship of his career.

Judnick Motorsports has had a stellar season. Along with Martin, young Mike Bauer has pushed his semi-pro ride into contention in both stock classes. Bauer has a sizable lead in Semi-Pro Super Stock #1 and should wrap up that championship this evening. On Sunday, Bauer will try to close the five point gap between him and Logan Christian.

Lake Geneva is always a great weekend of racing and temperatures are very nice this time of year. So come on out and cheer on Team AMSOIL.

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

AMSOIL Shock Therapy and Final Snocross on the Horizon

Some great news has been passed along to the AMSOIL Race Department these past couple of days, including news on the AMSOIL Shock Therapy Monster Truck.

AMSOIL Shock Therapy took center stage last week as the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit announced its intentions of reopening and hosting a monster truck show in 2010. (Read Full Story).

And finally, don't forget about the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series finale this weekend in Lake Geneva, Wis. Only an hour from Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago, the ACSS champions will be crowned starting on Friday and wrapping up on Sunday. Team AMSOIL/Judnick Motorsports rider Ross Martin has already wrapped up the AMSOIL Pro Open championship and has his sights set on the Pro Super Stock title as well.

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

Jeremy Meyer
AMSOIL Race Program Manager

Barcia Wins, Windham Meets Milestone

The Vet and The Rook continued their Supercross assaults this past weekend as the series went to Toronto.
AMSOIL would like to throw out a big-time congratulations to GEICO Powersports/Honda's Justin Barcia for his first career win in the Supercross Lites class. AMSOIL has been working with Barcia's program since he was a champion at Loretta Lynn's and we are very excited about his pro career.

For Kevin Windham, the vet keeps on tackling milestones as he made it into the top five in a Supercross race for the 100th time of his career with a fifth place in Toronto. The fact that he had a slow start in Saturday's main and still finished fifth is testament to his ability.

Up next for Team AMSOIL is the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas this weekend.

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

Jeremy Meyer
AMSOIL Race Program Manager

Wanderscheid Wins For First Time in Manitoba

Photos courtesy of Ed Mosiewich

Team AMSOIL oval ice racer PJ Wanderscheid continued his dominance in the Champ 440 class this past weekend. Wanderscheid headed north of the border to Beausejour, Manitoba for the 48th running of the Canadian Power Toboggan Championship.

While Wanderscheid has never won in Beausejour, he has been the strongest 440 racer on the circuit since finishing second at the AMSOIL Eagle River World Championship in mid-January.

After a full day of testing on Friday, Wandersheid continued to dial in his Champ 440sled against in the more powerful 600 Open class on Saturday. Qualifying sixth, Wandersheid grabbed the hole shot, but the higher horse powered 600's took advantage on the long track, pushing the three time World Champion back to fourth by the final flag.

In Champ 440, it was back to his winning ways. Wanderscheid swept all four rounds of qualifying against a very stack field. As the number one qualifier, Wanderscheid grabbed the lead in turn one and never looked back. At the finish, he had opened up an 11-second lead over second place for his first career win in Manitoba.

"This track has never been good to us," said Wanderscheid. "But we found a great set-up a few weeks ago and our confidence was sky-high heading into our final event. We want to thank everyone who made this year a success, including AMSOIL, Drift and Arctic Cat."



Wanderscheid won seven feature races, including the Friday Night Thunder Sweet 16 race in Eagle River. He also won the Central Wisconsin Triple Crown and the Canadian Championship.



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

Martin Clinches AMSOIL Pro Open Championship

Team AMSOIL snocrosser Ross Martin will head into the the final weekend of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series as an "Untouchable". Martin, the 2008 Pro Rider of the Year, sits 80 Points ahead of his competitors in the AMSOIL Pro Open points chase, clinching the title after his weekend of racing in Hayward, Wis.

Martin has been on the podium in every AMSOIL Pro Open race this season, an incredible feat in a class loaded with talent. The Judnick Motorsports rider finished second in the open class in Hayward.

"Winning the title is fantastic." said Martin. "I could not be more fired-up. It is twice as sweet after coming back from the disappointment of my season ending injury last year. We have worked hard as a team and it has really paid off. I am holding off on the true celebration until after the finale in Lake Geneva, where I will be doing everything I can to capture the Pro Stock Year-End Title."

Martin also won both Pro Stock heats and the final in Hayward last weekend. This narrows the gap between him and points leader Tim Trembley as Martin sits second in Pro Stock points.

Scheuring Speed Sports riders Robbie Malinoski and Andrew Johnstad fought of physical battles with some opponents in Hayward. Johnstad was landed on during one of his heat races and Malinoski was punted from the track in a separate altercation. Malinoski finished fifth in Pro Open and Johnstad came across the line in eighth. Both riders had mechanical problems in Pro Stock.

The season finale is March 19-21 in Lake Geneva, Wisc.

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

Busy Weekend at Daytona International Speedway

It was an exciting weekend of racing at the famed Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. as three major motorcycle racing events shared the spotlight with Daytona Bike Week.

AMSOIL, which is the Official Oil of Bike Week, was front and center in all of the weekend’s racing action. Starting on Thursday, Team AMSOIL road racer Larry Pegram took his Ducati bike to the number-two qualifying position for the AMA Pro Road Racing American Superbike class. Pegram raced in the lead for several laps of the 15-lap final before pushing his bike across the stripe in third, less than a second behind the winner.

On Friday, Pegram again was the number-two qualifier and was looking to better his results from the previous day. Pegram went head-to-head with five other bikes, this time finishing fifth, but just .87 seconds behind the leader.

"It was a good weekend and we had a lot of speed in this bike both days," said Pegram. "But we were struggling with grip on the high banked part of the track. We know we have the power to be competitive and we battled all weekend long."

The Daytona 200 featured the Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL class on Friday night. With temperatures about 15 degrees below normal, Josh Harrin pushed his Suzuki across the line first after a long duel with Dane Westby. SPEED aired the event live on Friday night.

On Saturday, the dirt was piled up and ready for the Daytona Supercross event. Also ready to race were Geico Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda riders Kevin Windham, Justin Barcia and Brett Metcalfe. In Supercross, Windham was solid all night long, finishing third in his heat race. In the final, K-Dub took a tough start in the 180-degree turn and came out of the first lap in eighth. From there, Windham pushed his Honda 450CRF around the tight track and moved all the way up to fourth before the checkered flag dropped. Just in front of him was Trey Canard, Windham's teammate who is running for Factory Honda this weekend in the 450 class (Canard rides for Team AMSOIL in the Lites West Coast Series, which is on hiatus).

In the Lites class, it was follow-the-teammate night for Team AMSOIL. Barcia and Metcalfe started seventh and eighth in the Lites final and had some work to do in front of them. The teammates went back and forth for much of the race with Barcia making a late move on a few riders, finally finishing fifth. Metcalfe finished seventh.

Sunday meant more Supercross, this time from the amateurs. The Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross brought in 770 amateur racers on Sunday. The first-time event was a brainchild of MX Sports, the same group that runs the Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn's Ranch. AMSOIL was the official oil of the Daytona event.

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

Larry Pegram Leads Exciting AMA Opener at Daytona International Speedway

The five top bikes entered in the AMA Pro Road Racing American Superbike opener at Daytona International Speedway went handle bar to handle bar for 15 laps on Thursday, including Team AMSOIL rider Larry Pegram.

After a thrilling AMA Pro Racing SuperSport race, the AMA Pro American SuperBike field lined up under sunny skies and the warmest temperatures of the event so far. The exciting qualifying session saw Aaron Yates take pole position with Pegram less than a second behind for the number two spot.

Jake Zemke took the lead with a huge drafting move on lap seven and led Tommy Hayden and Pegram, all within inches of each other, around the high eastern banking. Pegram and Hayden went by Zemke on lap 11 with Young and Yates holding station. Hayden had a near slide in the infield, later saying that it really didn't hurt his chances at that particular point on the racetrack. With two laps to go, there was a massive reshuffling as Hayden took the lead and was closely followed by Zemke, Pegram, Yates and Young. Pegram took the lead with less than two laps to go, but Zemke took a strong back stretch run to over take Pegram.

Hayden finished second and Pegram closed out the podium with third. Pegram, Yates and Young all turned their fastest laps on the final lap of the race.

The final AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike race of the Daytona 200 week goes green tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. local time and both races can be seen in their entirety this Saturday beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET on SPEED.

AMSOIL is the Official Oil of AMA Pro Road Racing and the presenting sponsor of the Daytona SportBike class, which will race in tonight's 200. Daytona Bike Week continues through the weekend. AMA Supercross will race on Saturday night with Kevin Windham and Justin Barcia looking for their first wins of the year.

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

Team AMSOIL Shines In Front of 74,000 (Watch)

In front of a record-setting crowd of 74,000 fans in Jacksonville, Team Amsoil Shock Therapy and Amsoil Excaliber shone the brightest. Among a field of 16 of the world’s greatest monster trucks, Carl VanHorn took the AMSOIL Excaliber to the racing victory.

"I qualified low in the bracket because I caught an edge, but I didn’t make any mistakes in the first round,” said VanHorn. “We got a huge victory and it was great to have a big victory for AMSOIL and team owner Brandon Lagarde; we have a great team.”

VanHorn took the final victory of racing by pushing the truck as hard as it would go, with his final jump giving him the edge for the win, but also twisting AMSOIL Excaliber sideways in the air. Being a veteran driver behind the wheel, VanHorn was able to power into the save and spun AMSOIL Excaliber from the sidewalls of the tires onto the nose, then back to earth for a spectacular save, a fitting end to the racing portion.

“I knew that I had a huge crowd watching me, and this show was also televised for SPEED Channel, so I needed to make sure I brought that thing back to earth,” said VanHorn. “I was happy we didn’t damage Amsoil Excaliber for freestyle.”

Freestyle was where Jon Zimmer and AMSOIL Shock Therapy made his statement. Zimmer drove the AMSOIL-sponsored truck with incredible skill as usual, hitting every obstacle full-speed, and keeping great momentum. AMSOIL Shock Therapy was well on its way to a freestyle victory when he took a final chance, attempting a cross-thread on the biggest obstacle in the track that came up just short, sending AMSOIL Shock Therapy twisting into a cartwheel and ending up with the truck on its roof. All 74,000 fans were on their feet screaming their approval for AMSOIL Shock Therapy.

“I always go all-out, and I had the crowd behind me, as well as AMSOIL,” said Zimmer. “The truck took everything I threw at it, and I could have flipped it back over and gone out and drove some more; it was still fine besides the body.”

VanHorn also had a spectacular run, filling his entire time and continuing the run even with a broken axle halfway through. Big air, donuts, and cross-threads were his staple, and both AMSOIL Shock Therapy and AMSOIL Excaliber finished in the top half of the freestyle field, nearly completing a weekend sweep on the biggest stage in Monster Jam.

This weekend, the team heads to Winnipeg. Until then, we'll see you at the races.

Metcalfe, Canard Podium in Atlanta

Sometimes a week can make all the difference in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series.

GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda riders Trey Canard and Brett Metcalfe turned bad luck in Indianapolis into podium finishes Saturday night in Atlanta in front of a jam-packed house at the Georgia Dome.

Canard, racing in the series' top division for Honda for just the second time, took advantage of a strong start and other competitors' mistakes to finish second. Metcalfe, who crashed in practice in Indy before rallying for a fifth place finish, remained patient during a wild Supercross Lites East race and finished in third.

"It was a good week," said Canard, who was involved in three accidents last weekend in Indy. "I feel like I made some good improvements and it paid off. Right now I'm just kind of speechless with the whole thing."

Team AMSOIL rider Kevin Windham ran into trouble in the main event after starting the day on such a high note. Windham was the No. 1 qualifier and won his heat race. But on the third lap, Windham veered off-track and fell off his bike. He fell to last place but would rally to finish 14th on the day.

In the Lites race, Metcalfe and teammate Justin Barcia were key players in a wild race where they used polar opposite strategies. Barcia was an aggressor and Metcalfe took a more patient strategy.

Both started in the top five, but Barcia rushed to the front and challenged for the lead. Unfortunately he made an error heading into one of the tracks sharp corners and fell off his bike. With just three laps left, he ran out of time to atone for his misstep.

Metcalfe took advantage of Barcia and others' mistakes and moved up the standings and into third.

"This race reminded me of another race that was just as strange," Metcalfe said. "That race was about being patient, so I knew tonight to be very patient.

Barcia (bar-sha) was undaunted despite seeing victory slip through his fingers.

"I had the bike to win tonight that's for sure," said Barcia, who finished 17th. "The team made a great adjustment right before the race that really helped my ride. I made a rookie mistake, but I learned so much tonight. I'm going to work extra hard this week and be ready to go."

The Montster Energy AMA Supercross Series next heads to the world center of speed, Daytona International Speedway on March 6. AMSOIL is the Official Oil of Daytona Bike Week, which started this past weekend.

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