Schubitzke Heading to Winter X
Teammate Eckstrom Already In

DJ Eckstrom #25 Driver Duluth, MN	Carl Schubitzke #96 Driver Duluth, MN

Hill City, Minn. ~ At the 2005 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo., Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports Snocross pilots D.J. Eckstrom and Carl Schubitzke were the only two Polaris riders to make the nationally televised finals.  Eckstrom, who has twice returned to his Duluth, Minn. home with a medal (Bronze in 2002, Silver 2003), qualified for the 2006 Games at the AMSOIL Duluth National during Thanksgiving Weekend.  His teammate, Schubitzke, missed out on a return trip that weekend by one qualifying spot.  But the Duluth, Minn. native made up for the missed opportunity last weekend in Hill City, Minn.

Schubitzke took to the hills of Park X, a half-hour south of Grand Rapids, on Saturday and Sunday for the second round of the World PowerSports Association’s Winter X Games qualifying.  On Saturday, Schubitzke had his Polaris IQ dialed in.  He ended the three-round qualifier with two wins and a second.  The strong finishes gave him the number three qualifying spot for Sunday’s final.

When the sun rose on day two, Schubitzke lined up with the rest of the 15 qualifiers to tackle the long, steep course at Park X.  When the green flagged dropped to start the race, Schubitzke jumped out in front of the crowd and came out of the first turn with the lead.  Five sleds would battle for the lead spots throughout the 10-lap final.  At the end, Schubitzke was in fifth, meaning the Proctor graduate will be heading back to Aspen at the end of January.

The Winter X Games will be aired nationally on ESPN 2 and ABC.  For a complete listing of show times, go to: http://www.amsoil.com/snocross/2006/winterx/schedule.aspx.

The WPSA and Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports will be back in action this weekend in Gaylord, Mich.  The event will be considered a “double” national.  On Saturday, the Pro Stock and Pro Open rounds that were scheduled to run at the AMSOIL Duluth National will be completed.  On Sunday, a full day of Pro racing will take place.

Laninovich Takes Second World Podium
Rookie Wiemer Finishes in Top 10

Vancouver, B.C. ~ Team AMSOIL supercross rider Billy Laninovich continues to show off his talent for the world.  For the second straight week, “Lano” took home a third place finish in the World Supercross Series.

Click image for Photogallery

Laninovich, who took a third place at the World Supercross opener in Toronto, got off to a great start in his qualifying heat.  The Southern Californian picked up the holeshot over Davi Milsaps.  Milsaps was able to get around him, and Laninovich had to settle for a third place finish.

The main event proved more of the same for Lano.  He got another great start, almost grabbing the holeshot.  He only trailed Nathan Ramsey after the dust settled through the first turn.  Laninovich would battle for second, but eventually gave way to Milsaps on the fourth lap.  Laninovich took home his second straight third place finish.

“I got stuck behind a lapper over there and had to roll a couple of jumps,” said Laninovich afterwards.  “That’s where (Milsaps) made up the time.  I made a couple of mistakes and he started gaining on me.”

For Laninovich, the opportunity to race in two non-points related supercross events is good practice for the upcoming AMA Supercross Series, which begins January 7, 2006.

“I just came to these two races just to warm-up and practice some racing.  I’m just going to go home, practice hard and get ready for Anaheim 1.”

Laninovich’s rookie teammate displayed his speed again last weekend.  After finishing fourth in the opening round, Jake Wiemer brought in another top 10 finish with a ninth in Vancouver.  The Idaho-native took a fourth in his heat, advancing him directly to the finals.  Wiemer posted some of the fastest lap times in the Supercross Lites field.

The AMA Supercross Series begins January 7, 2006 in Anaheim, Calif.  Kevin Windham and Mike LaRocco will be making their 2006 debut in the Supercross class.  Wiemer and Laninovich will also be racing in the Supercross Lites class.  The rest of the SoBe/Samsung/AMSOIL team will ride in the East Series.

TV Coverage

AMSOIL is once again gaining great coverage of its teams on television.  CBS, SPEED, ESPN2 and OLN are just some of the channels that you can catch TEAM AMSOIL.  For a complete list of show times click here.

Co-op Sponsorship

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 it the AMSOIL Racing Department. Teams who were sponsored last year will need to fill out the form once again.  Thank you all and good luck.