Grant Picks Up First Pro Win
It will be a family
affair for LaRocco in Indy
Atlanta
~ Promise and potential are two
words that are thrown around too many
times in the sporting world. Oftentimes
the athlete never lives up to the hype.
For the AMSOIL Supercross Team, the
latest round of talent comes from a
20-year-old California kid who possesses
the raw speed and control to be one of
the sport’s best young riders. After an
up-and-down rookie season, the need for
consistency was ingrained into Josh
Grant. After a poor start in his first
race of the 2006 season in St. Louis,
Grant finally showed the potential he
promised coming out of the amateur ranks
in Atlanta last weekend.
Grant, who had crashed twice in St.
Louis and finished dead last in the
Supercross Lites final, was able to hold
on for a much better day of riding in
Atlanta. In his heat race, Grant had to
reel in the leaders after getting buried
off the start. By the final lap, he had
moved his way through the crowd and into
a transfer position. With a lap to go,
he pressured the third place rider, but
ran out of real estate and settled for
fourth.
The “Lites” main event saw something
rare in supercross racing. Grant got a
great start, sitting in third, but
quickly moved into second. The good
start was wasted, however, after a rider
crashed and the red flag came out. It
turned out to be a blessing in disguise
for Grant who proceeded to grab the
holeshot on the restart. Another crash
helped Grant and Davi Milsaps separate
themselves from the field. Milsaps took
over the lead from Grant about a third
of the way through the race. Grant
found the opening he needed after
Milsaps went down. There was no looking
back for Grant, who was on cruise
control with one lap to go. When the
checkered flag came out, he took his
first career SX win in style, performing
a heal-clicker over his handlebars. The
win gave Grant 25 much needed points,
which moved him into fifth in the East
Supercross Series points race. Teammate
Tommy Hahn, who finished fifth in St.
Louis, had trouble through out the main
and finished in 20th.
Supercross Main
Mike LaRocco recently turned
35-years-old and, after 18-years as a
professional rider, hit the track for
his 228th career AMA Supercross start in
Atlanta. LaRocco, who switched to the
bigger Honda CRF 450 this year, has been
working hard to regain the form and
speed of his youth. He was able to find
some of that speed in his semi-final
heat. Historically a poor starter,
LaRocco got out of the gate well in his
qualifier and settled into third after
the first turn. He quickly got around
the fallen race leader and was sitting
in second when the checkered flag
dropped.
When the main came around, LaRocco
was hoping for another strong start. He
would not find it in Atlanta. He worked
his way through the field and finished
eighth. The Rock, who at one point was
sitting in fourth place in the AMA
Supercross standings, now sits in eighth
overall with 108 points.
LaRocco, who is originally from South
Bend, Ind., will be racing this weekend
in Indianapolis. It will be extra
special for the veteran rider as his
eight-year-old son, Ryder, will also be
racing under the RCA Dome roof. Ryder
will be racing in the KTM Junior
Supercross Challenge, a three-lap race
on KTM’s 50 SX Pro Senior LC
mini-motorcycle. The race features 7-8
year-olds and is held during
intermission of supercross races.
LaRocco won in Indianapolis in 2004.
Eckstrom Finds Speed, Sixth Podium
Schubitzke recovers
from flu, gets top five finish
Winnipeg,
Manitoba ~ Team AMSOIL snocross riders
D.J. Eckstrom and Carl Schubitzke
competed in Winnipeg, Manitoba for the
first time over the weekend as part of
the World PowerSports Association’s
PowerSports Tour. Both riders found
good lines as Eckstrom finished the Pro
Open race in second, while Schubitzke
took fifth in the Pro Stock class.
Eckstrom entered the weekend only
nine points out of first in the Pro
Stock class, but some tough breaks kept
the perennial front-runner out of the
final. He did find the going a lot
easier in the Pro Open class, winning
two of his three qualifying heats.
Eckstrom, who is considered one of the
most consistent riders on the circuit,
almost won his second Pro Open race of
the season, finishing second and ending
up on the podium in the Pro Open class
for the third time this year.
“The competition is really stiff,”
said Eckstrom. “We’ve really had an
up-and-down season. We’ve struggled to
make finals, and we’re not the only ones
that have had difficulties. A lot of the
top guys are having trouble. It’s a long
season, and we’re coming down to the
last few races, so we’ll do our best and
see how it comes out.”
Meanwhile
Schubitzke ran a strong race in the Pro
Stock class, taking fifth overall.
Schubitzke was aggressive all weekend, a
sign of a return to health for the
recently-ailing snocross pilot.
“Showtime” failed to make the top 10 the
past two weekends as he dealt with a
serious bout of influenza.
Look for Team AMSOIL on the podium at
the next World Power Sports Association
Snowmobile Tour event at Lambeau Field
in Green Bay, Wis., March 4. The
Winnipeg race will air on ESPN2 on
Friday, March 3 at 2 p.m. CST.
Super Team To Invade Snocross,
Lambeau
New driver Douglas
introduced in Green Bay
Green
Bay, Wis., ~ Team AMSOIL worlds will
collide at Lambeau Field in Green Bay,
Wis., March 4 as the AMSOIL Super Team
will be on hand while Team AMSOIL/Scheuring
Speed Sports snocross riders D.J.
Eckstrom and Carl Schubitzke fight for a
spot on the podium.
AMSOIL Super Team members Dan Vanden
Heuvel, Mike Oberg and newcomer Scott
Douglas will be signing autographs and
spending the day with fans and snocross
racers at the WPSA event appropriately
named the Lambeau Leap.
“This is a great opportunity for
snocross racing fans to discover another
sport,” said AMSOIL Racing Coordinator
Jeremy Meyer. “There are more
similarities in the WPSA Snocross Tour
and CORR than people realize; high
speeds, big air and tight corners make
for an exciting competition no matter
what the vehicle is.”
Wanderscheid Wins Again
World champ gets two
podiums
Wausau,
Wis., ~ World Champion P.J.
Wanderscheid is getting to know the
Wausau, Wis. area well this winter. The
Sauk Centre, Minn. rider returned to the
1/3 mile track for the second time this
year, looking to repeat his podium
performances from the January races held
in the northern Wisconsin town. Track
organizers did change things up on the
field for last weekend’s event. The
track went from a flatter surface to a
high-banked oval.
Saturday brought out the 600cc class.
In the final, Wanderscheid lined up with
some of the sport’s best, and a great
start propelled the Arctic Cat to a big
lead. The 21-year-old ran the entire
final out in front to take home the win
in the Pro Open final.
More changes had to be made to the track
on Sunday. With the asphalt surface
showing through the ice the width of the
track was cut in half, making passing an
unrealistic option. Again the holeshot
was important. Wanderscheid brook loose
on the start of the Pro 440 final and
dropped into the first corner in third.
After a large crash during the first
lap, the riders lined up again for a
restart. Wanderscheid again moved into
the first corner in third, and with the
tighter track conditions, ended the race
in the spot.
"Saturday the track was in good shape
and the 600 was dialed-in for the short
track,” said Wanderscheid. ”On Sunday we
tried to put together the best set-up
for the diminishing track conditions. We
are happy to take home a first and
third. We’ll be doing some testing this
week to help us get dialed in for our
second trip to Beausejour, Manitoba.”
Beausejour, Manitoba is the last race
of the season and the final leg of the
Woody’s Triple Crown. Wanderscheid has
a good chance to capture both the points
championships and the Triple Crown.
Jason Smith Dominates Ice Ovals
Evans
Mills, N.Y., ~ Team AMSOIL oval ice
racer Jason Smith has been tearing up
the track everywhere he goes. Last
weekend Smith turned heads in Valcourt,
Quebec, Canada’s answer to the Eagle
River (Wis.) World Championships, by
winning the Semi-Pro final and several
heat races in the Semi-Pro and Pro
classes. This weekend Smith won every
race in Semi-Pro he entered, and
finished with two runner-up’s in the Pro
class.
After winning the first round of Pro
races on Saturday, Smith destroyed a
clutch while leading the second race.
After some last-minute repairs, Smith
finished second in the final. After
winning every one of his Semi-Pro races
on Sunday, he won both rounds of pro
qualifying and finished second in the
final.
Look for Smith in Roberval, Quebec
March 10 and 11 at the final ice oval
event of the season. Smith is locked
into first in Semi-Pro points and hopes
to secure second-place in the Pro class
points race.
Co-op Sponsorships
If you are an AMSOIL Dealer looking
to sponsor a local racer through the
AMSOIL Co-op Race Program, please fill
out the G-2074 and send it the AMSOIL
Racing Department. Teams who were
sponsored last year will need to fill
out the form once again. Also, please
remember to send in your race results,
as they will be included in the
Checkered Flag.
More From Team AMSOIL
- Team AMSOIL
snocross rider Kristen Liermoe had a
weekend of “almosts” last weekend.
The young rider finished her three
heats at the Wisconsin regional in
second place. She was able to grab
the holeshot in the final, but at
the halfway point, she came up short
on a jump, causing her to lose her
momentum. She was never able to
regain the lead and settled for a
second place finish.
-
Johnny
Munoz has completed the first two
rounds of the Houston MX Dealers
Series. The first round was in
Conroe, Texas at Three Palms Extreme
Sports Park. Munoz, who entered the
weekend banged up from a bad
practice crash, finished the day
eighth overall. The second round
was in Splendora, Texas at San
Jacinto Cycle Park. The race turned
into a muddy adventure. Keeping his
bike on two wheels, Munoz finished
the day fifth overall.
-
Team
T Racing was at it again last
weekend. Josiah Tognazzini took 8th
overall and is currently holding
down the fifth spot in the points
chase with only two races left. He
is currently only seven points out
of first and three from second.
