Sitting Tall

Indianapolis, Ind. ~ Leading up to round six of the AMA Supercross, Kevin Windham has had a mixed bag of luck this season. First, he and AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda teammate Mike LaRocco took a one-two finish away from the hype known as Anaheim 1. Windham would follow the win up with a second in Phoenix and a third at Anaheim 2. Rounds four and five, however, would prove to be a little more difficult. San Francisco saw K-Dub rub tires with LaRocco, putting him in back of the pack before finishing ninth. Finally, round five was forgettable in more ways than one. During lap two of the main event, Windham crashed hard, hitting his head and injuring the same leg he broke two years ago. With the AMA heading east last weekend, no one knew what to expect from the powerful 4-stroke rider.

"When you take our riding on the 100-percent scale," explained Windham, "we're giving it 99.9, and when you're not comfortable or you're a little bit off, just one little hair in our sport, it's costly and that's what happened to me."

Back in California for Anaheim 3, Windham would look like the podium mainstay more so than then the emergency room visitor from the past two weeks. During his qualifying heat he battled Ricky Carmichael for the holeshot before settling into second and securing a top-five qualifier.

Meanwhile, Windham's teammate was busy rejoicing. LaRocco, the Indiana native who won the Indy event in 2004, turned 34 on Saturday. He may be the elder statesman of the Supercross series, but going into the weekend he sat fourth in the overall standings. He would have to earn a spot in the main in the semi-final, an event he would win in front of the hometown crowd.

"It's been a tough season this year," said LaRocco when asked about winning back-to-back events at the RCA Dome. "I definitely have my work cut out for me, but the Honda is working great and I just have to get out to another good start. A lot of good things happen when you get in front of the pack."

Both LaRocco and Windham would find strong starts in the 250cc main event. Windham showed another strong start, settling into fourth after the first turn. LaRocco meanwhile, sat in sixth and was battling Heath Voss for a top-five start. As the race wore on, Windham would find the right line and settle into third after passing Ernesto Fonseca on lap four. By then, Carmichael and Chad Reed had opened up their lead on the back, meaning Windham would ride solo for the remainder of the 20-lap final.

Behind K-Dub, it was LaRocco who was again getting faster as the race went on. He got by Voss for fifth and three laps later found himself scurrying past Fonseca. He was still four seconds behind Windham.

When the Checkered flag dropped, Carmichael had won his fifth straight race, a full nine seconds ahead of Reed. Windham was back on the podium with a third place finish and it was father time finding another top-five with LaRocco's fourth.

"Tonight I was kind of reserved and I was going to give it a good effort," said Windham after the race. "I was just never on Chad or Ricky's times. I did great in practice and good in the (main) as well."

"I'm not here to make excuses (because of the injury)," continued Windham. "I'm stoked about my ride tonight and excited to keep it on wheels and just move forward the best I can."

Windham also considered the podium spot a minor victory after all that had happened over the past two weeks.

"Last weekend I made it two laps," joked Windham. "So this is for sure a victory. I didn't see the inside of a hospital this weekend, so that's good. And I didn't hit my head again, so, yeah."

Windham holds onto third overall in the Supercross standings. His 100 points is 13 less than Reed's second place, and only one ahead of LaRocco. Carmichael increased his point total to 145.

The 250 riders head back to the West Coast this weekend. The AMA will bring its bright lights and loud sounds to Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. ESPN 2 will broadcast the race on Sunday.

East Opener

Indianapolis, Ind. ~ The AMA sat on the West Coast for the first five rounds of the AMA Supercross series. That meant there were a lot of East Coast riders sitting on their hands for a month and a half. But that was a good thing for eastern half of the AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda team.

The schedule gave both Joaquim Rodrigues and Josh Grant a few extra weeks to heal from injuries. Grant had wrist surgery in the off-season and had the cast removed only four weeks ago. Rodrigues had various injuries that kept him from full strength during the holidays.

The qualifier would be hit and miss for the 125cc team. The rookie Grant would finish eighth after a fall mid-way through the second heat. Rodrigues' luck would be even less fruitful after he got tangled up in a multi-bike pile-up after the gate dropped. To get into the main, he needed to ride in the top four in the last chance qualifier. His second place finish would do just fine.

In 125cc main, Rodrigues, who is well known for his good starts, would begin the race in seventh. Grant, who was running in his first supercross race, was near the back of the pack. Both riders would move up, but not enough to get on the podium. Rodrigues finished sixth while Grant battled with the back and finished 15th.

The AMA 125cc Supercross Series also heads back west this weekend to San Diego. Team AMSOIL/Chaparral riders Billy Laninovich and Tommy Hahn will get back on their Hondas Saturday night.

Bad Luck Left at Lambeau?

Green Bay, Wis. ~ Fifty degrees for a snocross event in February is unheard of. Whether you blame it on El Nino, or the tides from the Fox River, something strange was in the air at Lambeau Field.

Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports was running strong before the ghost of Vince Lombardi kept D.J. Eckstrom and Carl Schubitzke grounded during the U.S. Air Force Lambeau Leap. More than 10,000 fans, most of who ditched their favorite factory colors for Packers green and gold, showed up to watch snowmobiles fly around the most sacred grounds of Green Bay.

Team AMSOIL switched colors to help promote the ultimate high flyers, the U.S. Air Force. But crash landings were more common for the team this weekend. In the Pro Stock, things were looking good for Eckstrom. He was on his way to being the top qualifier before a sled tagged him from behind in the last heat, causing him to tip the sled. The Duluth, Minn. native recovered and took the number four spot in the main. Schubitzke, meanwhile, was in a series of mishaps and a crash in the third heat left him sidelined for the main.

In the final, the first corner looked dangerous as a number of sleds played bumper cars. Eckstrom would come through the logjam in the middle of the pack. But the tight course left few opportunities for a major comeback and he finished in sixth.

In the Pro Open, Eckstrom was once again on target. He qualified third for the final. But once again, "Showtime" Schubitzke was grounded after a crash toppled him over his sled in the second qualifier. As he tried to remount his Polaris IQ, he grabbed his arm and pulled himself off the track. He would have to head to the emergency room, where the doctors would put 25 stitches in his elbow.

Eckstrom would stay on the track for the main, or at least the first few laps. When the race started, he was only four points out of the lead in the championship hunt. Four laps into the 20 lap race, he was running in third and knocking on the leaders taillights. But a carbon fiber intake reed in the motor let loose and caused the engine to start backfiring and spitting gas. After the sled stalled, Eckstrom would look down to see his sled on fire. Track workers from the WSA would jump in and extinguish the fire with fistfuls of snow, but Eckstrom's day was done.

Team AMSOIL heads north of the border this weekend to Valcourt, Quebec. They return to the states in two weeks with a two-day national in Buffalo.

Picture Of The Week

Green Bay, Wis. ~ Snocross fans got a unique view in Green Bay over the weekend. A new promotion was launched by the WSA this year, the AMSOIL "Fan of the Day." Each day, trackside announcer Robi Powers will choose a handful of eager fans to watch the pro races from inside the track. These lucky fans got a chance to watch some exciting races, high-speed spills and, of course, stand on the "frozen" tundra known as Lambeau Field.