Super Champions

Colorado Springs, CO - 2100 miles, 35 modified competitors, 9 courses, and one unforgettable victory.  The AMSOIL sponsored Lovell Rock Racing capped off a championship season by winning the granddaddy of them all, Supercrawl IV at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  Flash bulbs added to the Vegas lights as the team’s Ford Ranger ground to a halt, nosing through the finish gates and claiming the Supercrawl Cup.

It was not an easy win for the team as their first course was a heartbreaker. Roger Lovell guided his brother Brad up the steep, cross-angled face when disaster struck and the Ranger pitched to left.  The two worked feverishly to keep the Ranger on four wheels but the angle was too great. The Ranger tumbled to the ground landing firmly on its side and disqualifying the team from the course.

“The pressure was immense,” said Brad.  “We should have had that one. I was really nervous and Roger could not get me calmed down.” 

At the end of the first day the Lovell Brothers’ found themselves in a disappointing eighth place with 53 points. The team retired to the pits, working to regain composure for the second day of competition.

“We didn't look at scores, we didn't beat ourselves up, we just decided to go out and do our best,” Roger said about Sunday.

The brothers were first up against the Toyo Terror, an intimidating 18’ wall with an angle exceeding 80 degrees. In two days, only a handful of super modified buggies had made it over, the remainder falling victim to rollovers or breakage. The Ford V8 roared to life as Brad stabbed the pedal and braced for the climb.  Their fourth attempt resulted in the truck bouncing completely off the hill but landing on the wheels.

“The fifth time, I knew how the truck would react. We had the flow,” said Brad.

The engine roared, the suspension compressed, and when the dust cleared the Ranger was perched at the top of the wall.  Brad piloted the Ranger down the backside as Roger worked to keep the BF Goodrich Krawlers pointed in the right direction.  In less than
three minutes the Lovell Brothers had knocked 30 points off the previous days score.
 
The confidence was all the team needed to dominate the courses on the second day.  The Ford Ranger held together trough terrific abuse as the Lovell’s entered the finals poised for a win. The intensity grew as each team ran the final course. After some hair-raising near rolls, the Ranger clawed its way to the top claiming the Supercrawl Cup.

“We finished the course for the crowd which ended up being a lot of work,” said Brad.  “A belt failure had robbed us of power steering.”

The Ranger finally got wedged at the end of the course perched directly above the awards ceremony. The crowd went nuts as the 2005 UROC season came to a close with Lovell Rock Racing in possession of the coveted Supercrawl Cup.

The team spent the next 4 days on the same course for the UROC All Star Event during the SEMA show. Several team sponsors were given rides over the rocks while passers by watched the exhibition. Fellow AMSOIL team member and Pro Arena Truck Team - Autumn Woods Racing was on hand to check out the action. Drivers Jeff and Chris were able to take the Ranger for a spin on the rocks.

Back Home

Calgary, Alberta ~ After spending a couple of weeks pond jumping over to England, Marco Dubé decided he need some home cooking. The Quebec-native would get as close to home as Calgary, Alberta for the latest round of the Canadian Arenacross series.

On Friday night, Dubé found himself banging his KTM to a fourth place in the 125cc class. He would follow-up the near podium with a second place finish in the 250 class.

“I struggled all weekend to find the right jetting (at 2,800 feet above sea level),” said Dubé.  “I got hit pretty hard a couple of times this weekend.  It felt like a full contact hockey game out there.”

Saturday was event better for Dubé. He would storm out to the front of the field and would finish the race in second.  In the Open class he would battle the best riders in the series, before finishing in third.

Dubé is holding onto a 10-point lead in the 125 series and is third overall in the Open class.  He is heading to Bercy, France for the opening round of the World Supercross series.

Changing Seasons

The race seasons are slowly changing from summer and motocross, etc., to winter and Snocross. That means most of the corporately sponsored teams are on standby for a few weeks.  If you are an AMSOIL Dealer and are looking to sponsor a local racer through the AMSOIL Co-op Race Program, please fill out the G-2074 and send into me.  Teams who were sponsored last year will need to fill out the form once again.  Thank you all and good luck.

Jeremy T. Meyer
AMSOIL Racing Coordinator

More From Team AMSOIL

• Team T Racing has signed on with AMSOIL through SponsorHouse.com.  Last weekend Josiah Tognazzini took an overall eighth place finish at the Woodland MX Sunday Series in the 80cc Beginner Class.  He placed tenth under very sloppy track conditions in the first moto.   He followed that up with a sixth in the second moto.
• Neil Cheek raced to a third place overall in the BooKoo Arenacross series in Ft. Worth, Texas last weekend.  Cheek, who is signed up through SponsorHouse.com, raced in the 250 Beginner class and will be moving up to the 250 Novice class during the outdoor season.