Trey Canard Interview; New Team Videos

Trey Canard has been the hottest rider in pro motocross recently. The AMSOIL backed rider has won three straight overall titles in the 250 class. His last year on the smaller bike could conclude with his second pro championship and his first outdoor version.

Racer X took a few minutes to talk with the red-hot, red-head in their weekly 5 Minutes With... article. You can read it here.

Also, Revalved TV has put out a pair of new videos. One features GEICO/AMSOIL rider Brett Metcalfe, who currently sits third overall, and talks about being part of one of the most successful MX/SX teams in the world.

The second video highlights rookie Eli Tomac and his run through the pro ranks, including his win at the opening round of the AMA Outdoor Nationals.

Teams will be arriving at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in the middle of Tennessee this weekend for the start of AMA Amateur Nationals presented by AMSOIL. More than 1,300 amateur riders will compete in 35 classes of the toughest amateur race in the world. Team AMSOIL will be on hand all week for rider support and on-site promotions.

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

Team AMSOIL

Teague Wins Twice

Bob Teague and Paul Whittier continue their 2010 summer of dominance after picking up a pair of wins in July

Team AMSOIL raced in Harrison Township, Mich. on July 17-18 in the third race of the OPA GEICO Series. Lake Saint Clair waters were rougher than usual providing a great show for the fans at the Beacon Cove Marina grandstands. Along with the win, the race also proved to be a good testing opportunity for Team AMSOIL for the always hotly contested Saint Clair, Mich. race on this past weekend.

The annual Saint Clair River Offshore Race, held July 23-26, drew huge crowds from hundreds of miles around. Team AMSOIL started on the outside of lane one, and by rule, were forced to maintain their position through the first turn. Heading into turns three and four, Team AMSOIL took advantage of Team Phoenixparts.com's wide turn, darting inside and taking the lead. The move gave Team AMSOIL the momentum, and they pushed to a substantial lead for the remaining 15 laps.

As a result of the wins at Harrison Township and Saint Clair, Team AMSOIL is in a dominant first place overall high points position in the OPA Geico Series, having won four out of four races.

Next stop for Team AMSOIL is the SBI/OSS Michigan City Grand Prix, Michigan City, Ind. on August 8-6.

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

Team AMSOIL

Douglas Wows Hometown Crowd With Win

The only competitive sport the Oshkosh Speedzone Raceway seemed prepared for Thursday night was fishing. A mere 24 hours later, the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL put on a show for the ages with a track expertly prepared for two rounds of spectacular racing. AMSOIL Super Team driver Scott Douglas, who has a race shop nearby and whose wife, Jackie, was born just minutes away from the facility, took his first checkered flag of the year in front of a packed house on Friday night.

It was an eventful PRO 4 race as Rick Huseman ended up on his lid not once, but twice. In a display one can only witness in the TORC Series, Huseman fired it back up both times and stayed competitive and on the lead lap, finishing fourth. Johnny Greaves finished second with Steve Barlow bringing home third.

In PRO 2WD, former AMA Supercross champion Ricky Johnson put on a clinic with his victory. Behind him, however, it was a side-by-side battle between another former dirt bike champ, Jeremy McGrath, and current class points leader, Rob MacCachren. McGrath was able to earn runner-up honors after starting eighth with MacCachren rounding out the podium in third.

Douglas would follow-up his win with another podium finish on Saturday night. During the Pro 4x4 race, Douglas, Mike Jenkins, Johnny Greaves and Rick Huseman all held the lead at one point. In the end, Jenkins took home his second career win in the Traxxas/AMSOIL truck, followed closely by Douglas, who raced the final laps with a leaking front tire.

In Saturday's PRO 2wd race, Johnson was able to stay just ahead MacCachren for his second win of the weekend.

The Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL now heads back to Bark River, Mich. for rounds seven and eight.

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

Team AMSOIL

Canard Sweeps at Washougal, Wins Third Straight Overall Title

Chris Pourcel may be the 250cc class points leader in the AMA Outdoor Nationals, but Team AMSOIL rider Trey Canard has been busy closing the gap the past three weekends.

At last weekends race in Washougal, Canard came out of the gates in a hurry. He grabbed the hole shot in the first moto and extended a sizeable lead en routhe to his second straight moto win and set himself up for his third straight overall.

In the second moto, Canard once again grabbed the hole shot. While Pourcel was able to move up to second, he never got close to Canard. The Oklahoma-native celebrated his second win of the weekend and now has the most overall wins in the 250 class this year and sits second in the season long points race.

Up next for the Geico Powersports/AMSOIL team will be round 9 at Unadilla (N.Y.).

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

Team AMSOIL

Pegram Podiums at Mid-Ohio

Team AMSOIL pro road racer Larry Pegram thrilled his local fans by taking the lead into the first corner at the AMA Pro Road Racing event in Ohio last weekend.

The Ohio-native lead for the first lap before Tommy Hayden took over, passing Pegram on lap two and proceeded to lead the next six laps. By this time, Josh Hayes had passed Pegram and was shadowing Hayden's every move for the remainder of the race.

Pegram was able to take what he felt was a satisfying third place finish ahead of Saturday's second-place finisher Ben Bostrom. As with the first two, Bostrom kept the pressure on Pegram all day but just couldn't find a way by the AMSOIL rider.

After another strong start to the race, Jake Zemke with his National Guard Jordan Suzuki found himself battling with teammate Canadian Brett McCormick on the #23 Jordan Suzuki. These two ran nose-to-tail for the last part of the race and McCormick continued his nice progression in the sport by passing Zemke on the last lap.

AMSOIL is the Official Oil of AMA Pro Road Racing and the presenting sponsor of the Daytona SportBike class. Up next on the AMA schedule is the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Montery, Calif.

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

Team AMSOIL

Canard Wins Second Straight Overall

AMSOIL sponsored motocross star Trey Canard won a moto and finished second in the other Saturday at the Spring Creek National in southern Minnesota to claim his second straight overall title in the 250cc class of the AMA Outdoor Nationals. It was the third time this year that a rider from the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda stable claimed an overall title as Eli Tomac earned one at the start of the outdoors season.

"This was the best outdoor race I've ever had," said Canard, who dominated the second moto by leading all 15 laps. "Even in practice I was just on it, finishing two and one, I think. Juts a great day.

Teammate Justin Barcia also had a tough run in the first moto, finishing 16th, but managed to reach the podium in Moto 2 with a great ride that ended with him in third place.

A steady day netted Blake Wharton fifth and seventh place finishes, while rookie Tomac was 13th in Moto 1 and 11th in Moto 2.

Up next, the series travels to the Great Northwest for next Saturday's Washougal National in southern Washington, just over the border from Portland, Ore.

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

Team AMSOIL

Watch Mike Oberg's Win, From Bark River

AMSOIL off-road racer Mike Oberg picked up his first win in nearly two years during round three of the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL. Chad Hord was close behind for much of the AMSOIL Pro 2wd race on Saturday.

TORC, through its sanctioning body of USAC, streams all of the races live. Below, you can watch Oberg's big win and check out all of the action from the Bark River rounds of racing.

Oberg, Hord and Scott Douglas will follow the TORC series to Oshkosh, Wis. on July 23-24 for rounds 5 and 6.

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

Team AMSOIL

Oberg Wins in Bark River

As the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL returned to Bark River, Mich., AMSOIL Super Team driver Mike Oberg returned to the winner’s circle for the first time this year.

Oberg started on the pole for Saturday's Pro 2wd race and pushed the AMSOIL/BFGoodrich Chevrolet to the front coming out of turn one. He led at the midway point, and swapped positions only once when Jeremy McGrath moved by him for less than one full lap. It's Oberg's first win under the TORC series banner and moves him into fifth overall.

“It was a tough battle out there,” Oberg said. “I was a little apprehensive because I got all these rabid dogs behind me trying to chase me down. This is a great win for my team and for AMSOIL, which has been with me for a long time. (The truck) was hooking up. I was planting that outside tire in every corner and it really worked out.”

Rob MacCachren finished second and Chad Hord took the final podium spot after getting by Jeff Kincaid on the final lap.

In other action from the weekend, Scott Douglas picked up a third place finish in Saturday's Pro 4x4 race. Johnny Greaves took the weekend sweep in that class, with Steve Barlow, Mark Jenkins and Rick Huseman rounding out the podium finishes.

TORC heads to Oshkosh, Wis. on July 23-24.

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

Team AMSOIL

TORC Heads to Bark River, Watch Live (New Video Posted)

The Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL, heats up in Michigan this weekend. Rounds 3 and 4 will be held at the historical Bark River Raceway in Bark River, Michigan.

Scott Douglas will be looking for his first Pro 4x4 win of the season and is coming off a near win at the Crandon Cup in June.

Chad Hord and Mike Oberg have been tweaking their AMSOIL Pro 2wd trucks, looking to put more horsepower to the ground after a combined three top five finishes in Crandon.

You can watch the entire weekend of race from Bark River at http://www.amsoil.com/ as TORC will be streaming every class live. Racing starts Saturday morning and runs through Sunday afternoon.

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

Team AMSOIL

Teague Crowned Champion in Sarasota

For 26 years the Superboat Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix held on the 4th of July weekend in Sarasota, Fla. has become one of the sports most popular races. The week-long event involves the entire community, which has now risen over $14 million dollars to support local children’s charities.

After a day full of fan interaction on Friday, Team AMSOIL tested over 100 miles on Saturday in the calmer than normal conditions for the Gulf of Mexico. A great set up for the conditions was developed for Sunday's race.

A morning rain storm on Sunday, in combination from swells coming in from a tropical depression in the Gulf, resulted in a significant change in the conditions compared to the day before. When band Mike Defrees took the AMSOIL Skater to the Gulf for the first race of the day, it was immediately apparent that it was going to be a tough day in a boat that was set up for calmer conditions.

When the green flag dropped, Team AMSOIL got stuck in traffic going into the first turn and one of the boats in the pack crossed in front of Team AMSOIL and took out the turn buoy. The new Stihl 388 Skater had a cleaner line on the outside and took the early lead in the Super Cat class. From that point on, there was a close deck to deck battle between the Stihl team and Team AMSOIL which ended up being one of the most exciting races of the day. Team AMSOIL was able to catch and pass Team Stihl and extend a lead of about 11 seconds. As the nearly 90-mile race progressed, Team AMSOIL was slowed a couple of times while lapping traffic and took a couple of huge flights in the rough conditions which enabled the Stihl team to come within a boat length heading into the final outside turn of the race. Team AMSOIL hit a large rogue wave which caused the boat to hook violently and end up on the wrong side of the turn buoy. Team AMSOIL was then forced to go back and “make up” the turn, allowing Stihl to cross the finish line first.

Post race inspections revealed that Team Stihl’s propellers did not meet the required specifications for thickness resulting in a disqualification for the Stihl team. Team AMSOIL was then awarded the checkered flag with Team Popeye’s placing second, and Team Dark Dog Energy Drink, running their new MTI, finishing in third place.

Next stop for Team AMSOIL is the OPA/GEICO Race in Harrison Township, Mich. on July 16-18.

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

Team AMSOIL

AMSOIL New Title Sponsor of Dirt Nationals at Elko Speedway

Elko Speedway in Elko, Minnesota is proud to announce that AMSOIL INC. will be the Official Title Sponsor of the 2010 Dirt Nationals, now know as The AMSOIL Dirt Nationals at Elko Speedway. The event, in only its year, broke most speedway attendance records during its incredible inaugural running.

“Adding a nationally recognized company such as AMSOIL is exciting to the event and to Elko Speedway” said track owner Tom Ryan. “It is our goal to make this event one of the marquee events in dirt racing, and adding AMSOIL as a title sponsor in only the second year I think is the next step to accomplishing that goal! We welcome AMSOIL and look forward to a bright future together in building this event.”

After the success of the 2009 event, this year’s AMSOIL Dirt Nationals at Elko Speedway covers three full weekends and officially opens on Thursday July 8 with a charity NASCAR Night presented by 3M, Best Buy, General Mills, & Great Clips, as Elko Speedway “Gives Back to the Community.” Proceeds from all tickets sales will go to Minnesota Military Families charity, Victory Junction Camp and the Greg Biffle Foundation. NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Greg Biffle, AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, and Jason Leffler will be the first to take laps on the Elko clay, and the night will feature the “Minnesota-Iowa-Wisconsin Late Model Invitational” which will include the “AMSOIL Top Performance Challenge.”

The following two weekends of July 16-17 and 23-24 feature USMTS Modifieds & IRA Sprints respectively. support classes include Elko “B” Mods, 360 sprints and micro sprints.

“We have had a long-standing relationship with the performance and racing industry," said AMSOIL Race Program Manager Jeremy Meyer, "and we saw this as a great opportunity to be associated with the beginning of a great event and an amazing facility that is second to none in short track racing.”

The Superior, Wis. based company formulated the first 100% synthetic motor oil to meet the requirements of the American Petroleum Institute in 1972. AMSOIL now produces more than 100 high performance lubricants and products, distributed by a network of AMSOIL Dealers.

A complete schedule of the AMSOIL Dirt Nationals can be found at www.amsoil.com.

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

Team AMSOIL

Canard Tops at Red Bud; Three AMSOIL Riders in Top 5

On the strength of his win in the second 250cc moto of the day, GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL rider Trey Canard won his class Saturday at the AMA Pro Motocross Championship RedBud National.
Canard finished fourth in the first moto and had the same average finish as Dean Wilson, who finished third and second. However, it was Canard’s win that made the ultimate difference. The key moment was his pass of Wilson late in the second moto, which sealed both the moto and overall victory.

“I knew Wilson was riding really hard,” Canard said. “I wasn’t sure he could keep that pace because he was really pushing it. I just tried to stay calm and make sure I made it through the moto.

The victory is the first of the outdoor season for Canard, who pulled to within seven points of third place in the season standings.

(Racer X Interview with Canard)

All of the AMSOIL sponsored riders improved from Moto 1 to Moto 2.

Justin Barcia finished fifth and third in his 250 motos to wind up fourth overall. He nearly captured second place in that second race during the moto’s waning minutes.

Blake Wharton suffered a busted lip after a rock from the track came up under his helmet and hit him in the mouth early in the second moto. He rallied to finish fourth in, two places higher than his first moto, and he ended fifth overall on the day.

Rookie Eli Tomac finished 10th overall on the day after finished of 12th and ninth, respectively.

On the 450cc side, Brett Metcalfe finished fifth and fourth for an overall finish of fifth on the day. He did slip to third in the season standings, but he’s only three points out of second.

The AMA Pro Motocross Championship takes a week off before resuming is schedule on July 17 at the Spring Creek National in Millville, Minn.

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

Team AMSOIL