Rinker Second In Bay City, Still Leads Series

Bay City, Mich. ~ Terry Rinker has been both good and bad at the Annual Bay City River Roar in Bay City, Mich. The former series champion has won the prestigious event twice in his career. But he has also seen the dark side of the choppy canal after crashing his boat in 2004. After winning the first two races of the Champ Boat Series, Rinker was looking for a repeat of past success last weekend.

Click Image to Enter Bay City Photogallery

The Tamp, Fla. native likes the four-turn, one and a quarter mile circuit in Bay City. Mix in his new hull design, and you can easily see that the bright yellow AMSOIL/Rinker boat is one of the fastest boats on the water. Rinker showed his speed during the qualifying runs on Saturday. The #10 boat jumped out ahead of the competition and was able to grab the number two spot on the starting grid for Sunday's final. His biggest concern would be sitting next to him in the pole position, defending champion Tim Seebold.

During the final, Seebold would power his Bud Light vessel to the lead through the first turn. But 50-laps takes patience, and the 43-year-old Rinker knows how to keep the pressure on. With time running out, Rinker caught Seebold on the 47th lap and was looking for a way around the leader. Rinker moved his Lee Hull design boat within two boat lengths of Seebold, but the Saginaw River wasn't giving an inch. The two stars of the Champ Boat Series crossed the finish line one-two, with Seebold taking the checkered flag, and Rinker letting the world know that he has returned to the top of the sport.

"We had a great race and it was a fun to battle with Tim for the overall win," said Rinker. "We didn't win today but it felt like we did, and I have great confidence that we can win next week in Pittsburgh."

Rinker still holds a solid lead over the rest of the Champ Boat class. His 1,718 points is 73 more than second place driver Seebold, and 161 more than third place's Todd Bowden. The fourth round of the Champ Boat Racing Series moves on to the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta next Saturday afternoon, July 2 as the headline feature of one of the nation's longest running summer festivals. The Champ Boats return to the Alleghany River for the first time in a few years at a race that goes back to 1982.

Oberg Saves Best For Last

Day 1 - Round 5

Click Image to Enter Crandon Photogallery

Crandon, Wis. ~ It takes a lot of horsepower, driving ability and luck to succeed in the Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) Series. Unfortunately, sometimes the only luck is bad luck. That was almost the case for the AMSOIL/Kumho Tires Super Team last weekend at the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway in northern Wisconsin.

Sportsman 2 started Saturday's schedule with veteran Mike Oberg behind the wheel ofthe #280 truck. Oberg, who lives in nearby Eagle River, Wis., was looking at back-to-back podiums after finishing third in Antigo, Wis. two weeks earlier.

Oberg hopped into his two-wheel drive Chevy looking to take full advantage of a perfectly groomed track. With a thunderous roar, the entire field of trucks came around Crandon's famous first turn and Oberg was in second place just a few feet behind the leader. As the race wore on, the Wisconsin-native maintained second place as the top two trucks pulled away from the pack. However, bad luck and human error played havoc on his chances for a podium. Midway through the race, Oberg was going around the finish line corner when a track worker attempted to cross the track unaware of the oncoming race traffic. Oberg was able to swerve around the track worker to avoid the accident. Unfortunately, the unexpected obstacle pushed his truck into a 180-degree spin, hitting a metal guardrail in the process. Slamming into the guardrail destroyed the trucks rear axle, making it impossible for Oberg to compete with the race leaders. He was able to limp the damaged truck back to the pits where the pit crew decided the damage was too severe to safely continue racing, meaning a tenth place finish on the day and a long night of work ahead of them.

Next up was "The Flying Dutchman", Dan Vanden Heuvel. The Pro-2 driver was looking for his first podium of the 2005 season, and Vanden Heuvel has run some of his best races of his career at Crandon. When the green flag flew The Dutchman powered his way to the front and came around corner one in fourth place. He piloted the AMSOIL/KUMHO TIRE Chevy through the front straightaway when a competitor made contact forcing him into a 180-degree spin right in front of over 15,000 fans. When the dust settled, Vanden Heuvel was locked together with another truck and had to be separated by tow trucks and track workers. A full two laps later he was able to continue with the race and salvage a seventh place finish in the accident plagued race.

When the Pro 4 trucks came to the line for Saturday's race, Steve McCrossan knew what he had to do to move forward from his fifth place point's standings. When the green flag dropped, the Toronto-native shot ahead and was second heading toward the first corner. Unfortunately, the #33 truck made contact with a competitor, which spun the AMSOIL/Kumho Tire Chevy sideways at over 80 mph and slid into a wooded area on the side of the track. When McCrossan brought the truck back out on to the track he was in last place. He also had a flat tire. Unlike the fast paced NASCAR pit stops, CORR pit stops for tire changes are time consuming. To make matters worse the flat tire had caused a brake line to rupture and when McCrossan got back on the track he had to complete the remainder of the race with no brakes. Despite all these obstacles the McCrossan Motorsports team was able to bring the truck back in seventh place.

Day 2 - Round 6

When Sunday morning came around, the Super Team was ready for the hectic day with each driver having his CORR sanctioned race and the Crandon sanctioned "Governor's Cup" race. The schedules were flip-flopped for the day because of the popular Governor's Cup race that would end the day. This would give a chance for the Pro-4 teams to make any necessary changes before the final run.

McCrossan got a great start and came around the corner in fourth place and chased the race leaders for over half the race. When the Lucas Oil truck blew up in a cloud of smoke, he maneuvered the AMSOIL truck into third. But bad luck would once again grab hold of the Super Team. As the race continued McCrossan began to lose power due to a failing ignition system. After falling back to fourth the truck gradually lost all power and had to pull over to the side of the track only one lap from the finish line. Due to other casualties throughout the race, McCrossan was still able to obtain a fourth place finish.

Sunday's Pro 2 race was an action-packed event and when "The Flying Dutchman" came around corner one in fifth place, fans knew he was on a mission to make it to the front of the field. After exchanging positions throughout the race in a heated battle among the top eight trucks, Vanden Heuvel brought the #77 Chevy across the finish line in fifth.

After a sleepless night, the dedicated Oberg Motorsports crew put the finishing touches on Oberg's #280 Sportsman 2 Chevy. With the entire rear axle being destroyed in Saturdays race the crew had to install the spare axle, along with the driveshaft and trailing arms. So when the green flag dropped for Sunday's Sportsman 2 race Oberg's truck was in top condition. As the race progressed Oberg battled hard with the leaders for the entire race, but was just outside of a podium finish at the checkered flag. He finished fourth.

Governor's Cup
Next on Sunday's agenda was the annual Crandon Sanctioned Potowatami Cup Race where CORR"S top Pro 4, Pro 2, and Sportsman 2 drivers compete together in an all out race for the world famous cup.

It was a large field of trucks on the starting line, including all three AMSOIL/Kumho Tire trucks. For the start of the race, Vanden Heuvel, one of the fastest Pro 2 trucks in CORR, was at the front of the straightaway a few hundred yards ahead of the other trucks. Meanwhile, McCrossan and Oberg were in the back row lined up with the rest of the field.

Coming into the first corner McCrossan and Oberg were actually battling each other with Oberg leading the way. Meanwhile Vanden Heuvel took a huge hit in the front corner of his truck just before the first lap ended, which destroyed the steering system and made it impossible for him to continue. After a little bit of friendly bumping, McCrossan made it past Oberg and both of the AMSOIL/Kumho Tire trucks began working their way through the field. When the checkered flag fell, McCrossan found himself in fifth overall and the fourth fastest Pro 4 truck. Oberg was right behind him in sixth overall, but scored the fastest Sportsman 2 truck and a trip to the podium.

It's only two weeks until the AMSOIL/Kumho Tire Super Team will be rolling into Topeka, Kan. on July 8-9 for round eight and nine of the CORR series.

Fireworks For The Fourth

Buchanan, Mich. ~ Can Josh Grant grab another holeshot and another win in the 125cc class? Will Kevin Windham find the right groove and return to the podium? Will Tommy Hahn and Juaqium Rodrigues return from injury to shake up the standings? These questions and more will be answered this Fourth of July weekend in Buchanan, Mich. Round five of the AMA Outdoor Nationals will be held July 2-3. You can catch all of the 2005 motocross series on the Outdoor Life Network.

2005 AMA Motocross Series TV Schedule (OLN TV) - All Times Eastern
Date	Time	Class	Venue	Location
06/02/05	Thursday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Hangtown Motocross Classic	Sacramento, CA
06/04/05	Saturday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	High Point Raceway	Morris, PA
06/09/05	Sunday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	High Point Raceway	Morris, PA
06/18/05	Saturday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Motocross 338	Southwick, MA
06/18/05	Saturday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Motocross 338	Southwick, MA
06/25/05	Saturday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Budds Creek MX Park	Budds Creek, MD
06/30/05	Saturday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Budds Creek	Budds Creek, MD
07/30/05	Saturday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Red Bud Track-N-Trail	Buchanan, MI
08/04/05	Thursday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Red Bud Track-N-Trail	Buchanan, MI
08/06/05	Saturday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Unadilla Valley	New Berlin, NY
08/11/05	Monday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Unadilla Valley	New Berlin, NY
08/13/05	Wednesday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Thunder Valley MX Park	Lakewood, CO
08/18/05	Monday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Thunder Valley MX Park	Lakewood, CO
08/20/05	Wednesday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Washougal MX Park	Washougal, WA
08/25/05	Monday - 4:00 p.m.	125cc	Washougal MX Park	Washougal, WA
08/27/05	Wednesday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Spring Creek MX Park	Millville, MN
09/01/05	Thursday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Spring Creek MX Park	Millville, MN
09/03/05	Saturday- 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Broome-Tioga Sports Center	Binghamton, NY
09/08/05	Thursday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Broome-Tioga Sports Center	Binghamton, NY
09/11/05	Sunday - 4:00 p.m.	250cc	Steel City Raceway	Delmont, PA
09/15/05	Thursday - 4:00 p.m.	125cc	Steel City Raceway	Delmont, PA
09/17/05	Saturday - 3:00 p.m.	250cc	Glen Helen Raceway	San Bernardino, CA
09/22/05	Thursday - 5:00 p.m.	125cc	Glen Helen Raceway	San Bernardino, CA
Check your local listings for exact times.
update 6/29/2005

On The Road Again

Solon Springs, Wis. ~ Brady Smith continued his "Tour of Duty" across the Midwest last week, notching a pair of top 10 finishes. "The Deuce" traveled to Kansas and Nebraska last weekend to compete in a pair of T.O.R.A. events.

On Friday night, Smith tackled the ultra-fast Belleville High Banks in Belleville, Kan. The Solon Springs, Wis. driver had a strong run in the heat race, finishing second and earning a valuable starting position for the $10,000-to-win main event. "The Deuce" ran hard all race long, hanging around the top 10 the entire race before finishing fifth.

Smith then packed up the team and headed to the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb. for another $10,000 to win event on Saturday. Once again, he finished second in his heat race to make the feature. Unlike Belleville the night before, Brady could only muster an eighth place run at the 3/8-mile facility.

"I was fairly happy with how our weekend went," said Smith after the weekend's events. "We got another top five with those guys and had a solid eighth place finish at Junction. I think we would have been a lot better on Saturday at Junction, but we had to unload our backup car early in the night. It is a shame because our primary car would have been pretty good there."

Smith will be loading up the AMSOIL-backed Monte Carlo for a fun-filled, four-race Fourth of July weekend. On Friday, he will begin a 10-race schedule in the UMP Summernationals Tour at the Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, Ill. From there, he heads to the I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. On Sunday he will be in Danville, Ill. at the Vermilion County Speedway before celebrating the nation's independence at the Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, Ill. on Monday.

AMSOIL Notes

· Team AMSOIL driver Ben Wandahsega had another strong weekend of racing in the CORR series. The Forest County Potawatomi/Chevy trucks driver took home two third place finishes, despite problems with the rear end and transmission. In the series first six rounds, Wandahsega has two wins and six top three finishes. He is currently one point behind the overall leader Dan Baudoux in the series point's race.

· A -Team Racing continues their dominance over the field in the True Value Modified Racing Series. The series would finally get going after a spring full of rain kept the cars sidelined this year in North Woodstock, N.H. Defending champion Kirk Alexander had to work his way to the front of the pack on Saturday night. Starting 12th, Alexander caught up with the leaders just before the half-way point of the 100-lap feature. He would take the lead on lap 50. Despite a restart on lap-54, he was able to hold onto the lead for the remainder of the race to pick up his fifth win of the season. Alexander currently sits in fourth in the overall track standings.

· Ryan Posocco's first career start in the NASCAR Busch North Series resulted in a 16th place finish this past Friday night at the Stafford Motor Speedway. Posocco started the #6 Eagle Leasing sponsored Chevrolet from the 22nd position and was able to stay on the lead lap throughout the 150-lap feature event.

Earlier in the day, Posocco recorded the 11th fastest time in the hour and a half long practice session and then when it came time to qualify, Posocco recorded the 22nd fastest time, which earned him a spot in the 150-lap main event.

"I was extremely happy with our effort in practice" stated Posocco. "We missed the first 25 minutes because we were one of the last cars to get inspected, but once we got on the track the car was good right from the start. We made a few minor adjustments to make the car better and they definitely helped. When it came time to qualify, we filled the car with fuel and that made the car a handful and we slowed down three-tenths but we were still able to make it in the race which was our number one goal coming into the night."

The rebroadcast of the race can be seen on the Speed Channel July 8 at 2 p.m. (EST). The next race for Posocco will be at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Wednesday August 10.

· AMSOIL is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2005 Loretta Lynn's Amateur Nationals this August. A number of Team AMSOIL riders have already made the cut. Brandee Payne from Texas and Shane Bowlden of Georgia will join Rhett Urseth from Arizona at the event. Loretta Lynns's will be held August 1-6 in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

· The #10 Monday Motorsports team has been busy lately. At the "Thursday Night Thunder" event on June 17, the team turned the eighth fastest qualifying time at the Wisconsin International Raceway (19.750 seconds). They then brought home a fifth place heat finish before ending the evening with a sixth in the 50-lap feature.

On Thursday, June 23, the #10 car showed roughly the same results as the week before at WIR. The team qualified ninth overall after turning a 19.930 second lap time. In the heat race, they were able to move to the final with a 10th place finish. In the feature they moved up enough spots to finish seventh.

· Scotty Adema continues to rack up wins in 2005. Adema ran down a slowing Shane Kreidler in the late stages of the June 24th race at Auburndale Speedway in Florida. Adema picked up his sixth win of the season in the USA Sprints Series.