“Team AMSOIL Heading to Winter X Games”
New rider, Shaun Crapo, soars at AMSOIL Duluth National

Duluth, Minn. ~ The AMSOIL Duluth National is one of the biggest weekends in snocross racing each year.  The annual event in Duluth, Minn. kicks off the snowmobile-racing season and Team AMSOIL usually finds success at its hometown race.

It was a mixed bag of success for the riders this past weekend.  In the pro stock class, both DJ Eckstrom and his new teammate Shaun Crapo rode well during qualifying.  Eckstrom had a pair of second place finishes and Crapo won two of his heats.  But both riders found trouble in their third heat.  Eckstrom was landed on by another rider while battling for the lead and was forced to pull off the racetrack.  Crapo, meanwhile, was leading his second heat but caught the edge of the track and was unable to safely get back into the race.  Both riders qualified for the final through the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), but had to start in the back row for the main event.  In the final, both riders found good starts, but the tight holeshot and the short track made it difficult to pass into position.  Crapo finished the race in tenth while Eckstrom finished one spot behind in 11th.

In the Pro Open, both riders found trouble with their sleds on Saturday.  Eckstrom had a faulty carburetor and Crapo battled a bent deflector plate on the #3 machine.  Eckstrom missed the final after going 6-5-15 in his heat races.  Crapo did finish second in his first qualifying heat, but no better than fifth in the last two.  He was able to make it into the final through the LCQ, but he was unable to finish in the top 10, ending up 11th when the checkered flag dropped on the 15-lap final.

Sunday was a better day of racing for the Scheuring Speed Sports team.  The crew worked tirelessly all night to find the gremlins hiding inside the mod sleds.  The hard work paid off as the riders tried to qualify for the 2007 Winter X Games.  Crapo led the way for Team AMSOIL by winning all three of his heat races and was tabbed the top qualifier for the finals.  Eckstrom was still dealing with sled issues, but was able to finish his final heat race with a win.  In the final, Crapo battled up front all race long, eventually finishing in second and securing a spot in the X games.  Eckstrom battled from the back row after a great start and was able to finish six spots higher than his qualifying position of 13th.  Currently, his 7th place finish is keeping him out of the X games, but there are three more qualifying weekends left.  The former silver medalist will try to qualify at Park X in Hill City, Minn. in two weeks.

The next WPSA national event for the AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports team will be in Gaylord, Mich. on December 12, 2006.  The AMSOIL Duluth National will air nationally on the Speed Channel on December 9, 2006 at 2 p.m. EST.  A repeat airing will be on December 14 at 2 p.m. EST.
 

“Bauer Gets Going in Semi-Pro”
Team AMSOIL riders use experience to showcase skills at AMSOIL Duluth National

Duluth, Minn. ~ Team AMSOIL riders Mike Bauer and Kristen Liermoe used the experience they gained against stronger competition last year to come storming out of the gates on the WPSA tour this year.

At the AMSOIL Duluth National, semi-pro rider Mike Bauer showed the move up in classes last year was important to his development.  The Arctic Cat rider out of Duluth, Minn. ran both the stock and open classes in semi-pro and was one of the faster riders all weekend long.  In the stock class, Bauer won his first heat race and finished the next two with a second and a fifth, respectively.  In the final, he found his best finish in the class with a fourth.  In the open class, the young rider went 5-3-3 and was able to finish ninth in the final.

Liermoe continues to grow in the women’s class.  The young rider out of southern Wisconsin is part of the PMK Performance team and is riding in the women’s stock class this year.  After finishing eighth in her first heat race, Liermoe bounced back for two-second place finishes.  She advanced to the final and finished sixth.

Both riders will be racing at the WPSA National in Gaylord on December 12, 2006.

“Arenacross Teams Find Podiums Again”
Lange continues winning ways with podium trifecta

Yakima, Wash. ~ AMSOIL is getting a strong showing from Team Babbitt’s in the BooKoo Arenacross Series this winter.  New rider Darcy Lange is quickly running away with the series points race after only three rounds of racing.

In Yakima, Wash. just before Thanksgiving, Lange showed exceptional speed on the difficult track.  On Friday night, Lange grabbed a pair of podiums.  In the 250 class, Lange delivered the fastest lap time of the main event and was able to finish in second.  In the 450 class, Lange again delivered in front of the near capacity crowd.  He started in fourth, but was able to navigate through the traffic to take an early lead, holding on for the win.

On Saturday, Lange again got out front early and led the field for most of the 250 race and delivered an incredible performance for the win.  In the 450 main, Lange had a battle on his hands with Tyler Bowers for 13 laps.  A bobble by Lange gave the win to Bowers and Lange settled in for a sixth place finish behind teammate Jeff Northrup.

After three rounds of racing, Lange is leading both classes in points.  In the 250 class, he has a 31-point lead over second and in the 450 class he has an 11-point lead over Tyler Bowers.  In the overall championship standings, Lange has a 56-point lead over second.  Northrup is currently in third in the 250 class and third in the overall standings.  Team Babbitt’s will be racing at the next round of the BooKoo Arenacross series on December 29 in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Team AMSOIL Battles For Points Race in AMA AX”
Johnson, Schnell within reach after three rounds

Reno, Nev. ~ The first three races of the Toyota Arenacross Series have come to an end and AMSOIL sponsored riders Chad Johnson and Greg Schnell are in the championship mix.  The pair of Junior Jackson Racing riders are still in the top 10 after the recent races in Reno, Nevada.

Defending series champion Chad Johnson just missed the podium at the November 17-18 event in Reno.  On Friday night, Johnson pushed his Suzuki to a fourth place finish in the Arenacross class.  He followed that up with a sixth place finish on Saturday night.  Schnell, meanwhile, finished 11th on Friday, but improved to eighth on Saturday.  Currently, Johnson is second overall in the series and Schnell is sixth overall, just 12 points behind Johnson.

Rookie rider and teammate Ryan Poulter finished sixth on Saturday in the Arenacross Lites class, but did not make the main on Friday night.  Poulter is ninth in the AX Lites West class.

Junior Jackson Racing will be off from racing until after the New Year.  The team will be racing again on January 5-6 in Charlotte, N.C.   They will also be racing the East Coast Supercross series starting in February.