"Let's Go Muddin'!"

Anaheim, Calif. ~ "Let's go muddin'." That was the quote from Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda Superstar Kevin Windham before the first qualifying heat in Anaheim last weekend. K-Dub could not have been more prophetic.

A low front hit the southern shores of California four days before the much anticipated AMA Supercross opener on Saturday night. The rain played such havoc on the track that Thursday's practice was cancelled, and the city of Anaheim forced the AMA to stop working on the track on Thursday because the dump trucks were hauling too much mud onto city streets.

The one thing the rain would not do is damper the festive mood of the Supercross opener. More than 45,000 fans braved the elements, equipped with umbrellas and yellow-rain gear to witness what some experts were calling the greatest supercross race in history.

On hand for the event were, three-time champion Ricky Carmichael, the unveiling of James "Bubba" Stewart in the 250 class and the return of "The King", Jeremy McGrath. But underneath the fanfare and publicity train stood two of the sports legends, Windham and teammate Mike LaRocco.

So when the event finally got underway Saturday night, the AMA had condensed the field and the laps to help keep the track safe for all of the riders. The early qualifying rounds would tempt a few brave souls who dared the triples and hotfooted the rhythm sections. But the rain kept falling and the track grew progressively worse by the time the gate dropped on the main event.

Both Windham and LaRocco would get good starts, with Windham nearly grabbing the holeshot from Carmichael. After the first lap, Windham found himself alone in second with LaRocco sitting fifth. Both riders settled in for the grueling task of keep their Hondas standing and running for the entire 12-lap feature. Their ability to keeping the tires turning was something that eluded most of the field, including Carmichael, who dumped his Suzuki three times. The first time allowed Windham to take over first, the second allowed him to increase his lead and the third gave LaRocco just enough of an opening to move into second.

Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda didn't finish the race without some worries, however, as Windham stalled his big 450cc on the ninth lap. But a large lead over LaRocco and Carmichael gave him enough time to get re-fired and headed toward the checkered flag.

"There were times where I didn't know where I was at," said Windham during the post-race press conference. "For the first half of the race, I knew where I was, but after I got up from my crash, I was just focused on getting the bike started and getting pointed in the right direction. They (the mechanics) were just pointing at their heads, telling me to think, and I didn't know where I was. They did a good job, because it was a tough race, and any time you have three guys on the podium, who at some point in the race none of them knew who would be up here, that pretty much tells you all you need to know."

Meanwhile, it would be a 1-2 sweep for Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda in Anaheim. LaRocco continued to pour over the jumps and kept his bike standing throughout the race for a second place finish.

"I was pretty much just planning on staying up," said LaRocco of his second-place finish." These guys were riding, in my opinion, crazy for the mud, and I knew that I wasn't going to do that. I just took the slow route and tried to stay up so that I wouldn't have issues like muddy grips and more problems than we all already had. This race was about survival and just staying up. There wasn't one time that I tried to push my activity level or anything. I just tried to take the slow and deliberate approach.

Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda also received a strong showing from their highly touted 125 team. Newcomer Thomas Hahn would finish in the top five and showed great patience throughout the race. He battled his way from 7th to take the lead before he fell back to his 4th place finish. An earlier incident would keep teammate Billy Laninovich out of the top 10. Team AMSOIL riders Joaquim Rodrigues and Josh Grant are running in the 125 East category and were not allowed to ride in Anaheim because of the reduced field.

The AMSOIL/Chaparral/Factory Connection/Honda team will be traveling to Phoenix, Ariz. this weekend for the second round of the AMA Supercross series. If you can't get to Arizona on Saturday, check out your local listings on ESPN 2 for the Sunday telecast.

A New Year Sweep

Shakopee, Min. ~ This past weekend's WSA Regional at Canterbury Downs had all the makings of a National event. With the majority of top pros on hand preparing for next week's WSA National, Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports made it clear they did their homework over Christmas vacation.

The Pro Stock final featured a little "Showtime". Carl Schubitzke grabbed the holeshot and took the lead. The first-year Team AMSOIL rider led from start to finish in the eight lap final and notched his first win of the season. Meanwhile teammate D.J. Eckstrom got tangled up in the first corner but recovered for a fifth place finish.

In the Pro Open, Eckstrom proved why he is a front-runner for the title this year. He came out of the first corner in second place and took the lead after the sixth lap. He would stay out front through the checkered flag. Schubitzke experienced an electrical failure on the warm-up lap and was unable to start the final.

Eckstrom is currently in second place in the Pro Open field, just two points behind Blair Morgan. In the Pro Stock category, Eckstrom is also in second behind Morgan, while Schubitzke is in sixth.

Team AMSOIL will be back at Canterbury this weekend for round three of the WSA Snocross Nationals. The Pro finals will be Sunday afternoon.

No Second Banana

Plymouth, Wis. ~ When AMSOIL signed phenom oval ice racer P.J. Wanderscheid they knew they were getting a two-time Eagle River World Champion and holder of 56 race wins. But they also got a relative no name in the ice oval world, P.J.'s teammate, Shaun Belke.

The 23-year-old is proving to be a competitive force this year. During the U.S.S.A. opening weekend in Plymouth, Wis., Beilke grabbed a podium in the Semi-Pro Open with a second place finish. The AMSOIL/Wanderscheid Racing team then sent him into the pro circuit where he found a ninth place finish waiting for him in the Pro Champ 440 class.

Wanderscheid, meanwhile, continues to refine his new Artic Cat. At Plymouth, he placed 4th in Pro 440 and 6th in the Pro Open class.

The AMSOIL/Wanderscheid team will be back on the frozen track this week at the Eagle River World Championships in Eagle River, Wis. P.J. is a two-time champion of the event and is looking to recapture his title after finishing second in 2004. The team will race every night starting on Thursday.

Moving On Up

Chilton, Wis. ~ Regional racing has been good for Team AMSOIL this winter. PMK Performance traveled to Gravity Park in Chilton, Wis. this past weekend. Top rider Kristen Leirmoe finished first and second in the Women Stock heats before taking the checkered flag in the final. It's the second win of the year for Leirmoe who also won the Women Stock final at Ishpeming, Mich. in December.

PMK Performance Racing will also be in Eagle River this week. Leirmoe will be entered in the Womens-600 and the Pro Womens Class.

Picture Of The Week

Anaheim, Calif. ~ The spoils of success, one would guess. Anaheim winner Kevin Windham probably gained a few more fans after he showed up in this clunker. Fans lined up all day Saturday to sneak a peak inside the Lamborghini. Don't worry, K-Dub had to return the "rental", but he did get to keep some hardware from the weekend, the Anaheim 1 trophy.

Moving Pictures