Catch Him If You Can

Phoenix, Ariz. ~ Coming into the 2005 AMA Supercross Series, no one was giving Kevin Windham a chance to win the title. But what's not to love about "K-Dub"? In his 12-plus years of racing, Windham has won at Loretta Lynn's, was the 1994 AMA Rookie of the Year, a former 125 Supercross champion and was the rider who ended Ricky Carmichaels streak of 30 consecutive moto wins in 250 National Motocross. Why so little fanfare then?

Windham is on a searing start to the 2005 Supercross season. After winning in Anaheim, some "experts" thought the victory was due more to the rain and muddy conditions at Angel Stadium and that he would surely lose his podium spot to Carmichael, Chad Reed and even rookie James Stewart.

But the skies were clear when Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda parked in the pits at Phoenix last weekend. The Bank One Ballpark even had a roof to shield the man-made track from mother nature. After the dust had settled, Windham returned to the podium, this time in second place behind Carmichael, but ahead of Reed and the rest of field.

"I rode a good race," said Windham. "I didn't win, but he (Carmichael) never really just gapped me by a long ways. He just slowly started inching away, so I was happy with my consistency. Of course there are some things I would like to work on, but we still have 14 rounds left."

The second place finish leaves Windham on top of the overall point standings. Carmichael, who took third in Anaheim a week earlier, moved into second place just two points behind. Windham has never lead the series in points, a fact he joked about after the race.

"I never have and now that I am, I think it's time to cruise and protect my points lead," mused Windham. "There's so much time left and so much that can happen, so we'll take it one race at a time and there's still a lot of things that need to happen before we start think about (a title)."

After finishing second in Anaheim, Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda rider Mike LaRocco finished 15th in Phoenix. "The Rock" currently sits in sixth place overall in the points standings.

Meanwhile, the 125-team continues to get a boost from newcomer Tommy Hahn. The Kansas native finished sixth overall in the 125 main, but combine those points with his fourth place finish in Anaheim and Hahn sits in third place overall and just two points off the leaders.

Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda will travel back to Anaheim this weekend. Round three of the AMA Supercross Series will again be held at Angel Stadium on Saturday. ESPN 2 will air the event on Sunday.

A Misplaced Second

Shakopee, Minn.~ It was a bittersweet weekend for Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports last weekend. The deep freeze that covered the Polaris Canterbury Open couldn't stop D.J. Eckstrom from grabbing a second place finish in the Pro Stock event.

Eckstrom dominated the field and even dumped points leader Blair Morgan from his sled during the qualifying rounds. Eckstrom entered the main event as the number one qualifier. Teammate Carl Schubitzke sat next to him on the starting line as the number two qualifier.

During the final, Eckstrom came out of the first corner in fourth place but was charging on the leaders. He would pick off two spots easily and was chasing down the leader, Robbie Malinoski, when the checkered flag dropped.

However, the excitement over Eckstrom's win didn't last long. During the post-race tech inspection the WSA found an illegal brake on his sled. The WSA said the brake was too big and called it a "performance enhancing part". Eckstrom was disqualified from the final, and the points he earned from that race were taken away. He was allowed to keep his qualifying points, but the loss of points moved him from first place to fifth in the overall standings. Schubitzke is in sixth place, just one point behind Eckstrom.

Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports will be traveling south next weekend. Round four of the WSA Nationals will be held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. January 22 and 23.

Southern Style

Superior, Wis. ~ Team AMSOIL continues to take the first place trophies home. Autumn Woods Racing, which was recently signed on as a corporately sponsored team, is sitting on top of the points standings in Pro Stadium Truck Racing.

After three races in the U.S.H.R.A. series, the team is first overall in points. Two weeks ago they finished in second place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and last weekend they made things look easy in New Orleans.

The team is led by three-time champion Jeff Dedick and his General Lee. They will be featured on ABC prime time television this summer on Friday nights. The team will also debut its new website this month at www.AutumnWoodsRacing.com.