AMSOIL "U" On Display

Superior, Wis. ~ It hasn't been the warmest of Mays in northern Wisconsin. Cold is the only word that describes the recent weather. But adrenaline can usually shove the cold aside and there was plenty of it on display at this year's AMSOIL University.

Seven AMSOIL sponsored race teams showed up to display their haulers and vehicles on Monday, May16. The winter sports season was showcased by Team AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports and driver Carl Schubitzke. They were set up right next to the AMSOIL /Wanderscheid Oval Ice Racing Team, featuring two-time World Champion P.J. Wanderscheid.

Across the alley to the Wanderscheid trailer was a sure sign of summer. The 2004 AMSOIL Series Late Model Champion, Darrell Nelson, was on display. The number 44 car is all tuned in and ready for a repeat of last year's championship. The newest Late Model was also unveiled for the event. Brady Smith, who recently signed a multi-year deal with AMSOIL, showed off his new car to the 250 AMSOIL Dealers and employees who took the walk through the pits.

The biggest showcase for Team AMSOIL came from the tri-fecta known as the AMSOIL/Kumho "Super Team". The Super Team is made up of three Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) teams: Dan Vanden Heuvel, Steve McCrossan and Mike Oberg. They collectively showed off their new truck and hauler designs and everyone was impressed. CORR begins racing this weekend in Lake Odessa, Mich.

Neck-and-Neck

Lima, Ohio ~ Team AMSOIL has seen teammates square off against one another before. Snocross pits D.J. Eckstrom against Carl Schubitzke every weekend. The same holds true in Supercross, where Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda's Kevin Windham and Mike LaRocco go head-to-head for 16 weeks. That excitement continued last weekend in Lima, Ohio at the Special Events Performance Series.

Autumn Woods racing unleashed a second truck to duel the already popular Jeff Dedick and hisGeneral Lee. During Friday's first round of qualifying, Dedick unleashed the General for a fifth place finish. Meanwhile, his new teammate, Chris Mosher, was driving the "00" truck to a ninth place qualifying time. That meant the drivers would be separated in the brackets for the first few rounds on Sunday.

But winning changes things, and Dedick and Mosher found themselves paired in the semi-finals Sunday afternoon. The two orange Toyotas were neck-and-neck throughout the entire race, but it was the younger driver, Mosher, who took home the win and advanced to the finals. Once there, he was set against David Demag. The two went nose to nose into the last stretch, before Demag took the lead, handing Mosher a second place finish.

Autumn Woods Racing is back home, preparing both trucks for the Bloomsburg, Penn. event June 8-10. For more information regarding our summer series, please visit www.familyevents.com.

Rockin' In The Dark

Phoenix, Ariz. ~ Could anyone imagine that the once grassroots sport of rockcrawling would be performed in front of thousands on a warm spring night at an international raceway? Few sports have evolved as quickly as rockcrawling, and a new plateau was reached May 13 and 14 with the sport's first night event held at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix.

United Rockcrawling & Off-road Challenge (UROC) set the stage for 45 of the nation's top teams to do battle and strive for the series championship. Competition in the Modified Class was brutal as many high-ranking teams found themselves outperformed by the rest of the pack. One such top team was Lovell Rock Racing.

"We came out the first night and were very satisfied with our performance but were dismayed to see that we were in 5th," said spotter Roger Lovell, "I was very impressed with the other teams out there. We only made two small mistakes all night and were behind four other teams."

The courses were very tight and technical, consisting of three to six pairs of cones called 'gates'.Competitors had to find ways to fit their vehicles through these gates positioned at all angles.

"Creativity was key," added driver Brad Lovell. "We entered course number one going forward, exited between a set of gates to race around the whole thing, backed through the middle, and exited in front wheel drive."

Brad and Roger Lovell made a remarkable comeback on the second night of competition with the low score for the Modified Class. Drama came on the Lovell's last course when the vehicle rolled nearly on it's top.

"I was wedged upside down in the rocks hoping Roger could push me back over," said Brad. "It seemed pretty hopeless. Our only shot was to gas it and hope the Art Carr transmission would draw fluid."

The crowd went wild as Brad was able to shift the truck onto its passenger side in reverse and then onto its wheels going forward.

"We were as surprised as anyone," said Roger. "The front bumper barely missed a cone as it rolled and when Brad got it back on the wheels we were perfectly positioned for the next big climb."

The effort helped the brothers climb two places to finish on the podium in third. They hold a second place position in the Modified Pro Series with a strong lead over a four-way tie for third. Watch for more action from the duo as the UROC Pro Series returns to St. George, Utah on June 16-18.

Checkered Flag Notes

· Scotty Adema, also know as "The Fort Myers Flash", had only one number on his mind ashe entered competition at Hialeah Speedway inFort Myers, Fla on Saturday, May 7. That number was "four"and it showed as Adema was determined to capture his fourth win in a row in USA Sprints pavement competition.

Although Adema took the checkered flag, it was by no means an easy win as the veteran came from the back after spinning on lap 10 while battling with Mike "Hollywood" Schroeder. This win was a record-setting accomplishment as Adema broke the USA Sprints record for consecutive race wins.

· Team AMSOIL racer John Hansen took the 8H car to a win at the BST Jasper Modified Series at the Phillips County Fair Grounds in Holyoke, Colo. The race was sponsored by AMSOIL Dealer Mike Browne in conjunction with his retail account, S & W Supply.

· It was another great day for Team AMSOIL, Dealer Al Lowe and Daryl Hadley Racing at the Salem Speedway in Salem, Mass. Driver Scott Beeler won his second feature event and David Bayens added a second place finish, his third for the season in the Street Stock Division. Meanhwile, teammate Kyle Hadley picked up his third top 10 of the season in the Super Late Model Division with a seventh place finish.