Rinker, who in 2003, won the Champ Boat Series championship slipped behind the competition in 2004. The feisty ex-wrestler wasn't ready to throw in the towel on a stellar career just yet. He finished last year without a win but still held a top three overall position. His mission for the 2005 season: Get back on top. But unlike Cinderella Man, there was no desperation for Rinker to feed his family, only desperation to get back on top.

So the 2005 Champ Boat season opened up in its usual haunt, New Roads, La. The Fourth Annual False River Championship was set in the heart of Cajun-country, virtually in the Florida-native's backyard. Rinker, who said his new boat and engine were the best he's ever mounted, was looking to shed the losing monkey off his back. And he would do it in impressive fashion.

Rinker, who introduced his new boat, a Lee hull, had not grabbed the checkered flag since August of 2003 when he won in St. Louis. He would have to beat pole sitter and defending champion Tim Seebold if he wanted to spill the champagne in New Roads. Seebold led the field from the start and charged his way to the lead before pulling away from the 14-boat field. But his power trim started to fail at the one-third mark, dropping him to fifth place. Rinker took advantage of the mishap and jumped to the lead. He would battle Jason Campbell for the rest of the race. With three laps to go, Rinker was sitting behind Campbell by less than a second. That's when things turned bad for Campbell and good for the former champ. Campbell's boat blew a hole in the bottom just enough to remove the top cowling. That gave Rinker the opportunity to move into the lead and secure the win.

The ChampBoat Racing Series sets off for its second round June 11 and 12 in Sault Saint Marie, Mich. This year's races will air on the Outdoor Channel. AMSOIL is the "Official Oil" of the Champ Boat Series.

Mt. Morris, Pa. ~ The "High Point" for Kevin Windham's 2005 Outdoor National season so far was his second place finish in the second moto at the Hangtown Classic in Sacramento on the opening weekend. Granted, that was the first event of the year, and after crashing his bike in moto 1 action, just finishing the race would have been an accomplishment. But things are looking up for the AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda rider after round two of the AMA Motocross season.

The series shifted coasts for the Memorial Day weekend. After starting out in sunny California, the focusturned to the High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pa., just south of Pittsburgh. Windham, who at times heads into the race weekend under the radar because of media darlings like Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart, was looking to recapture his consistent style of riding from last weekend. Remember, the last person to beat Carmichael on an outdoor track was K-Dub.

To beat Carmichael again was not in the cards at High Point for anyone. Windham grabbed a strong start in the first and was able to ride out a third place finish. Moto 2 was a little more work for the Mississippi native. After a slow start, Windham had to maneuver his way up to third. He ran out of track and time before the finish line and before he could catch up to Stewart's second place spot.

Windham's two third-place moto's gave him a third overall for the weekend. The 40 points he picked up at High Point vaulted him from ninth overall to fourth in the AMA Outdoor standings. His 62 points puts him 38 points behind leader Carmichael, but only 10 points behind second place David Vuillemin.

Mt. Morris, Pa. ~ Josh Grant is starting to pick up some momentum in the 125cc motocross class. Grant, who is participating in his second year on the pro outdoor circuit, started the season strong with a fifth overall during the opening week at Hangtown. A strong ride at High Point would create more buzz for the fearless 19-year-old.

The weekend started tough for Grant during his first moto. A poor start left him deep in the pack and he was unable to fully recover. He would finish moto 1 in 18th and was only able to pick up three points in the overall standings. In the second moto, Grant came alive. He got a great start and was able to finish the race in fourth and finished ninth overall on the day. The 18 points he picked up kept him in the top 10 with 50 points. He is 31 points behind leader Mike Brown, but only 18 points behind second place rider Mike Alessi.

After the race Grant said the AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda team was traveling to Budd's Creek, Md. to do some testing for a few days. The team will be at Budd's Creek on June 18-19, but will first travel to Southwick, Mass. for round three of the AMA Outdoor Nationals. The AMA Outdoor Nationals will be televised on the Outdoor Life Network this coming weekend.

Solon Springs, Wis. ~ Team AMSOIL Late Model driver Brady Smith had an up-and-down Memorial Day weekend. In his first trip to the West Plains Motor Speedway in West Plains, Mo., Smith failed to make the prestigious starting field for the $39,000 to win "Show-Me 100". He was trying to make his way to the front in his heat race when he blew an oil filter seal. The Solon Springs, Wis. native was forced to retire from his heat race, which buried him deep in a consolation event. He could not pass enough cars to transfer to the feature event.

Sunday would prove to be a much better night of racing at the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway in Dubuque, Iowa. Smith finished third in his heat race behind the wheel of his AMSOIL #2 Monte Carlo. He rolled off tenth for the $6,000 feature event and made his way up to the third by the time the checkers fell over the field.

"Our car was pretty good all weekend, but we just had some mechanical difficulties down at West Plains," stated the 2004 PolyDome WDRL Late Model Series Champion and Rookie of the Year. "There were a lot of good cars at the Show-Me and that is a tough place to get around. I think we would have been alright though if we wouldn't have had a part failure. Then at Dubuque, we had a very good run. The track was racy and you could run all over it. I am looking forward to this weekend and running all four of those shows. Two of them will be televised, so I definitely want to run strong in those races."

Smith will be extra busy this weekend, as he plans on competing in four Dirt Late Model events in as many states. In addition, those events will be run under three different sanctioning bodies. Below is a quick overview of where Brady Smith Racing will be competing this weekend:

Friday, June 3 - Vermilion County (IL) Speedway, UMP Tri-Track Challenge, $10,000 to win Saturday, June 4 - Florence (KY) Speedway, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, $10,000 to win Sunday, June 5 - Tri-State (IN) Speedway, UMP Tri-Track Challenge, $10,000 to win Monday, June 6 - Deer Creek (MN) Speedway, World of Outlaws, $10,000 to win

• Rookie Kevin Giles is proving to be a strong competitor in the Southeast this year. Last Saturday, Giles pulled out a third place out of a dozen seasoned drivers. Giles is getting noticed in southern Georgia and northern Florida. He already has a feature win on the young season.

• The 10th Frame/ Monday Motorsports Chevy Monte Carlo was on hand for the Fox River Racing Club's "Thursday Night Thunder" event last week at the Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wis. Driver Andy Monday qualified second after turning a 19.952 on lap one. In the six-lap dash event, Monday finished in fourth. In the feature the team started inside row six in the eleventh spot. They were able to move up to sixth by lap eight, but a restart and some damage to the right front corner of the number 10 car pushed them back to 12th. Monday still sits in fifth overall in the WIR Late Model standings.
  

It's never good to see snow at your first event of the summer. That's what Team AMSOIL rider Cody Swarners had to deal with this spring. It makes it tough to move when you have to wear your winter parka during race day. It's unknown if Cody was using the snow as an excuse for the electrical problem with the bike's kill switch.