Lovell Third Quick up Pikes Peak (Watch)

Having always lived in the shadow of Pikes Peak, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has always been part of Brad Lovell's life, even though he's never taken the 12-mile trip up the mountain. After building a formidable racer for the TORC Series presented by AMSOIL, this year was different.

"I never thought the V-8 powered AMSOIL Pro-Light would be competitive in the Pikes Peak Open class but I knew I needed seat time" said Lovell. "Especially after two tough rounds of racing at Crandon."

Lovell rushed back home to Colorado from Crandon, Wis. only to complete tech and make the drivers meeting with two minutes to spare. There are no breaks for latecomers at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Even a poor sole from Hungary was turned away after his car was stuck in customs during the practice days. The Pikes Peak Open class for the 88th running consisted of nine vehicles including a modified Cobra, a dedicated hill climb car from New Zealand, a WRC rally car from Luxembourg, and a Honda Ridgeline outfitted for Baja.
"I can’t say too much about the run itself as I was really trying to concentrate," said Lovell. "At one point I got to jerking the wheel around way too much and needed to slow my hands. I could feel tension in my body and several times told myself to relax and focus. On the narrow exposed turns it occurred to me that my tires were actively saving my life."

After getting through some early nerves, Lovell finally reached the pavement near the top and knew there wasn’t much holding him back. He rounded the last corner to see the checkered flag and a third place trophy. His total time was 13:17 over 12.42miles with an elevation gain of 4,720 ft and average speed of 56 mph.

Pikes Peak is an amazing race. It is the second oldest race in the country and has been sustainable longer than most of us have been alive. It has big names and unknowns, record setters and adventure seekers.

"I was there for seat time in my new truck but fell in love with a phenomenal local race that I have neglected my whole life," continued Lovell. "It has the same airs of adventure that attract people to the Baja. I don’t care if they pave it, I almost now welcome it. Either way, I can’t wait to get back up the mountain next year."

Lovell will bring his AMSOIL Pro Light to rounds 3/4 of the TORC Series July 10-11 in Bark River, Mich.

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

AMSOIL Race Department

Canard and Metcalfe Podium in Thunder Valley

The GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team placed riders on the podium in both the 450 and 250cc classes on Saturday at the Toyota Trucks Thunder Valley National in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

Trey Canard finished third and second in his two motos to finish second overall in the 250s and Brett Metcalfe rode to a pair of fourth place finishes in 450 motos for a third place overall finish.

Up until Saturday, Canard had been disappointed with his finishes thus far this season. At Thunder Valley, Canard said he felt more like his usual self, particularly in the second moto where he got the hole shot and led a significant portion of the 30-minute race.

"From the past few weekends, it's a big improvement for me," Canard said. "I'm excited, hopefully I can keep the momentum going and try to have fun with it."

With his finish, Canard moves to fourth in the season 250 standings.

Metcalfe, riding in the 450 class this season, stayed out of trouble on the starts and used consistency to run to his third place finish.

"The track was really, really rough and super narrow in some of the sections," Metclafe said. "Being consistent is paying off for us. Now we just have to work on being more consistently in the top three.

It's another podium on the year for Metcalfe, who is now second in the season points.

Blake Wharton finished fifth overall by finishing sixth then fifth in his two 250 motos and is now eighth in the season points.

Justin Barcia got caught up in a first turn melee in the first moto but battled his way to a 16th place finish. In the second, he steered clear of trouble and rode to a seventh place finish, good for 10th place overall on the day. For his efforts, Barcia won the Muscle Milk Recovery Award.

Rookie Eli Tomac said he was also hampered by rough starts. He finished seventh and ninth in his motos, good enough for eighth on the day.

Next up for the AMSOIL sponsored team is the Red Bud National in Buchanan, Mich. July 3.

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

AMSOIL Race Department

Lovell Tackles Pike's Peak, Watch Live on Sunday

Less than one week after making his rookie debut in the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL, Brad Lovell is working on another first.

Lovell, who raced in the Pro Light class at Crandon International Raceway last weekend, is making his first trip up Pikes Peak at the annual Pikes Peak International Raceway this weekend. Lovell is actually racing his AMSOIL V8 Pro Light truck in the Pikes Peak Open class and was second in qualifying as of Thursday morning.

Pikes Peak is the second oldest motor sports race in America. AMSOIL has used the "Race to the Clouds" as a proving ground for its products since the late 1960's when Bobby Unser was setting records on the mountain.

AMSOIL, through its partnership with the United States Auto Club, will present Live Racing Coverage from Pikes Peak on Sunday, June 27, starting at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time.

WATCH LIVE

The next TORC race will be in Bark River, Mich. on July 10-11.

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

Team AMSOIL

TORC Opens With Bar-to-Bar Racing

The much anticipated opening weekend of the 2010 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL brought out the best in the worlds top off road drivers. Team AMSOIL racers helped set the tone early in what will be an action packed season.

Scott Douglas piloted his AMSOIL/Kumho Tires Ford F-150 to a pair of third place finishes in the Pro 4x4 class. Douglas, who led for much of Sunday's race before getting "bumped" out of the top spot by Steve Barlow, was also the story in Sunday evening's Crandon Cup race. The Cup race features Pro 4x4 and Pro 2wd trucks going head to head on the 1 1/2 mile track. Douglas was able to catch Jeff Kincaid on the final turn, but couldn't push past the Traxxas/AMSOIL driver and just missed the $15,000 payday by less than two feet. Douglas now sits second overall in the points race.

AMSOIL Super Team Pro 2wd drivers Mike Oberg and Chad Hord had up and down weekends. Oberg finished fifth in Saturday's race, despite being down on power with a frayed spark plug wire. Oberg broke a drive shaft on Sunday. Hord's weekend started with a spectacular crash on Saturday. He found his grove on Sunday finishing fourth in the points race and fourth in the Cup race. Oberg finished sixth in the cup race.

Other AMSOIL sponsored teams finding success at the Big House:

Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy) first on Saturday and third in the Cup race.

Jeff Kincaid (Traxxas/AMSOIL) wins Crandon Cup and Sunday's class race.

Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/AMSOIL) wins Saturday's Pro Light race and sets new class track record.

Ricky Johnson (Red Bull) wins Saturday's Pro 2wd race.

The next TORC race will be in Bark River, Mich. July 10-11. AMSOIL will once again stream all of the action live on http://www.amsoil.com/.

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

AMSOIL Race Department

Watch TORC Opener On-Line (Live)

The Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL is finally upon us. The top off-road truck racers in the world will embark upon the legendary Crandon International Raceway on Saturday and Sunday for rounds one and two of the 2010 season.

Team AMSOIL stars such as Scott Douglas, Mike Oberg and Chad Hord will be pushing more than 850 h.p. around the 1-1/2 mile short course, located in northern Wisconsin. If you are unable to attend this weekends race, but don't want to miss any of the action, AMSOIL will be streaming every race, from Sportsman to Pros', live at http://www.amsoil.com/.

Starting at 10:30 on Saturday morning, and finishing up with the Crandon Cup race on Sunday evening, you will be able to keep up with all of your favorite Team AMSOIL drivers, both on the track and behind the scenes with live interviews.

The Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL will also air 26 straight weeks of coverage on HD Theatre starting Thursday, September 2.

Meanwhile, if you are looking to cure your racing blues, you can watch round three of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series on-line now. (Watch Now). AMSOIL is airing the entire ACSS on-line, with a new episode posted each Wednesday.

(Up Coming Events)

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

Team AMSOIL

TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL Opens Saturday

The 2010 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL is finally upon us.

This Saturday, you can catch AMSOIL Super Team stars Mike Oberg, Scott Douglas, Chad Hord and TORC rookie Brad Lovell in action at the Crandon International Raceway.

This year, TORC will be moving its programming to 26-weeks of coverage on HD Theatre. The series will also stream the entire weekend of racing live to www.amsoil.com.

Here's a quick look at the revolutionary HD Theatre programming that will begin airing September 2.

Racing begins at 10:30 Saturday morning with the Crandon Cup ending the weekend on Sunday evening.

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

Team AMSOIL

AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Replays On-Line

AMSOIL Re-airs Snocross Series Online

Superior, Wis. ~ Team AMSOIL snocross rider Ross Martin dominated the 2009-10 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series. If you missed any of Martin’s 14 podiums this past season, don’t worry, they are coming to AMSOIL.com.

AMSOIL INC., along with the International Series of Champions (ISOC) and Long Haul Productions, is re-airing the entire AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series online at http://www.amsoil.com/racing/video/ISOC_videos.aspx. The original eight shows aired on Versus earlier this year and are available in their entirety beginning Wednesday, June 2. AMSOIL will replay one new, one-hour show every Wednesday.

“The ACSS is the premier snowmobile circuit in the world,” said AMSOIL Race Program Manager Jeremy Meyer, “and some fans and race teams might have missed some the original broadcast, so we are giving them a chance to watch the entire season online at amsoil.com.”

ISOC has positioned itself to be the premier North American snocross sanctioning body. ISOC sanctions races throughout North America, including races in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Utah. These events feature the sport’s top riders, including Ross Martin, Robbie Malinoski and Tucker Hibbert.

WATCH NOW

The 2010-11 ACSS season kicks off Thanksgiving Weekend in Duluth, Minn.

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

Jeremy Meyer
AMSOIL Race Program Manager

An AMSOIL Resurrection

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, we received severl e-mails from AMSOIL Dealers regarding the recent sighting of an AMSOIL relic.

This sled is being featured on vintagesleds.com. Originally, this oval ice racer was a part of the AMSOIL/Team Aaen program. It is fresh out of restoration from Olav Aaen and is a 1979 Tim Bender Team Aaen RXL special.

It was on display at the St. Germain (Wis.) Vintage Show and, rumor has it, will be moved to the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain for permanent display.

Only 217 days until the AMSOIL World Championship Snowmobile Derby in Eagle River, Wis.

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

Jeremy Meyer

AMSOIL Race Program Manager

Lovell Unveils New Pro Lite

Brad Lovell is considered one of the most versatile off-road drivers in North America. He has won championships in rock crawling, rock racing and has recently piloted a top running team in the Best In The Desert series.

In 2010, Lovell will look to tackle the short course world. He will be racing alongside AMSOIL Super Team members, Scott Douglas, Mike Oberg and Chad Hord in the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL.

Lovell will put his new AMSOIL Pro Lite through the paces at Crandon International Raceway this week. Lovell sent us a picture of the new Pro Lite, which will debut at the TORC opener on June 19-20 in Crandon.

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

Jeremy Meyer
AMSOIL Race Program Manager