Rolling A Pair In Vegas

Las Vegas ~ Everything was decided heading into the final weekend of racing for the AMA Supercross Series. Ricky Carmichael grabbed the 250cc title two weeks earlier, Ivan Tedesco and Grant Langston were crowned the East and West 125cc champions, and, for the most part, every position near the top of the standings was already set. The only incentive was to put pressure on the other teams for the outdoor season.

Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda was ready to hit the throttle hard at Sam Boyd Stadium. The top Honda team would prove they are among the sport's elite as they picked up two more podium finishes and ended the season with several riders in the top five overall point's race.

Having won the season opener, Kevin Windham had visions of completing the bookend by winningthe final race in Vegas. "K-Dub" won the season ending final last year and was confident he could repeat. He showed he was ready for the night's main event and anticipated showdown of elite racers by leading the majority of his heat race. In the main, Windham was able to snap the field and grab the lead by negotiating his way through a very tricky and unusual split start. He built up a huge lead (almost 10 seconds over second place rider Chad Reed) early on and was putting in very consistent laps.

"I broke away well, and I really wasn't expecting to do that," Windham said. "I was glad to see it. The track kind of came in and there was a lot of loose dirt up on top, but I felt like I was riding pretty good."

By lap 14, however, Windham was forced to contend with lap traffic and a hard charging Reed. Unfortunately, he ended up getting knocked off his line while passing another rider in the long and difficult whoop section. He crashed into the tough blocks after getting bucked from his bike. Windham was able to restart his Honda CRF450R and jumped back onto the track in third place, where he eventually finished for the night. The podium marked his ninth trip to the box this season, earning him third overall in the THQ AMA Supercross point standings.

"Lewis was at the extreme right and I was kind of mid-to-right. I really wanted to get over there pretty bad and in the process, I just kind of dropped the front end," Windham said of his fall that cost him the lead. "It's my fault. I should be able to adapt to a situation like that."

Mike La Rocco was not able to race in Vegas due to last weekend's crash while racing in Houston. Mike, however, finished a very respectable 2nd overall in the THQ World Supercross GP point standings and 5th overall in the THQ AMA Supercross point standings. Mike had a great season overall and is planning on racing at least one more year of supercross with the team.

With the best of the East and West coast series riders squaring off in the Dave Coombs, Sr. 125 East-West Shootout, Billy Laninovich, Josh Grant and Juaqium Rodrigues were looking to finish the supercross season in the spotlight. Ending his first year of supercross racing, Grant was looking to cap off a solid rookie season in the Vegas final. In the main, he started strong in eighth and quickly learned that anything can happen in the main. By lap seven, Grant, inspired by the 39,106 cheering fans, worked his way up to third were he found himself battling with Jay Marmont and Andrew Short for a coveted podium finish. Proving he will be one to watch in 2006, Grant held of Short for third, capping off a solid rookie season of racing with another podium finish.

"It feels good," said Grant. "I wanted to end on a good note and this was perfect. I've been training for outdoors and doing those long 30-minute moto's helped me out for this weekend."

Fresh off his podium finish in the 125cc class in Houston, Laninovich was confident in his ability to earn a spot on the podium. "Lano" had a solid heat race, finishing fourth overall. Going into the main event, he knew a solid start would be important to stay out of trouble in the challenging split start. However, Laninovich got caught up in traffic and was forced to settle into 14th position. But the young hopeful rode well and was eventually able work his way into a respectable eighth place finish for the night.

With his first podium finish of the supercross season in Pontiac, Mich, Juaqium Rodrigues was looking to finish the season on a roll. Unfortunately, as the very congested field of 125cc racers diced for position heading into a first lap turn, his night abruptly ended in a horrendous crash with Rodrigues going over the bars landing head first while getting plowed by following riders. Fortunately, his injuries were not serious, and he will be able to ride the opening round of the outdoor season.

The AMA Motocross Outdoor Nationals will begin with the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Sacramento, Calif. May 21-22. AMSOIL is once again an official sponsor of the series, this year becoming and "Official Licensed Product" of the AMA.

Checkered Flag Notes

· Team AMSOIL has been getting some strong riding from two dirt-bikers out of Iowa. Johnson Racing out of Deep River, Iowa has brought home a couple of top ten finishes this year. The team recently finished the Indoor Winter Series at the Farley Motorsports Center in Farley, Iowa. The 11-race series feature 65cc Senior and 85cc Senior Classes. Konner and Casey Johnson showed well. Konner finished the 65cc class fourth overall and Casey ended up 10th in the 85cc class.

·Ryan Posocco continues his dominance at the Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Conn. Posocco started the 30-lap feature in the 11th position and slowly worked his way into the top-five with a few laps remaining. He battled for fourth after a restart with less than 10 laps to go, but had to settle for a fifth place finish.

"It was a good run for us tonight" stated Posocco. "We struggled all night with the chassis. No matter what we did for changes we just could not get the car to hook up. We got it better for the feature but not near as good as it should be, so we're happy to get a fifth place finish. We just have to go back to the shop this week and figure out what's wrong with the car. I am confident that we will get it figured out soon."

Posocco will return to action this Friday night at the Stafford Motor Speedway. For more information on this event visit www.staffordspeedway.com.

Picture(s) of the Week

Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports owner Steve Scheuring has a wish list a mile long. After the Las Vegas Supercross weekend, the snocross team owner might have added another item to that list. Scheuring had AMSOIL on display for the U.S. Air Force at Nellis Air Force Base. The photo shoot included the AMSOIL/Air Force sleds, Ricky Rudd's Nextel Cup Car, a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird and the Orange County Choppers bike. Steve might be trying to figure out a way to sneak the bike onto his hauler without getting caught.