Title To Tampa

Kankakee, Ill. ~ It took a winless 2004 for Terry Rinker to get motivated. The 2003 ChampBoat Series Champion didn’t like losing, so he rekindled his passion for powerboat racing in the off-season. He built a new boat, trained his 44-year-old body harder than ever and rediscovered the look of a champion. After winning three of the season’s first four races, the look was back and he just needed to keep the boat afloat to once again be named series champion.

The final round was scheduled for late September. However, conflicts in San Diego pushed the ChampBoat Series finale to Kankakee, Ill. over the Labor Day weekend. That gave the Rinker/AMSOIL team very little time to secure the points win that they had been holding onto all season long.

Thousands of fans lined the shorelines of the Kankakee River for the 21st Annual American Power Boat Association’s OPC Nationals. The championship weekend would feature a narrow, two-pin, one-mile course. With speed the biggest factor, the championship was up for grabs as Rinker led the series by less than 60-points when the qualifying began on Saturday.

Rinker would not breeze through the weekend as he hoped for. After qualifying sixth on Sunday, Rinker would take to the water on Monday morning for the warm-up session. But a self-proclaimed “driver error” put the yellow #10 on its back. The crash caused a massive rush to fix the damaged boat in time for the final event. If the boat didn’t get fixed in time, Rinker would have had to take out his back-up boat and start dead last. But the team was able to dry out and fix the boat in time for the start.

“We worked like we were in fast forward all morning long,” said Rinker. “We dug down hard to get the boat ready for the water by the mid-afternoon event.”

When the final event started, Rinker was sitting in his sixth qualifying spot and optimism was running high. The AMSOIL-backed driver raced hard during the 50-lap feature and when the checkered flag dropped, the Florida native had finished fifth. That was enough to secure his second career title. Three wins and five podiums aided rinker in the eight-race season.

“It is such a great feeling to be back on top,” said Rinker after the race. “We had one goal this year, and that was to win something. We didn’t care what it was, just as long as we won something. Well we won something alright, and we did it by rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty.”

Extended Series

Crandon, Wis. ~ The Crandon International Raceway usually marks the biggest and best the Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) has to offer. In the mix of all the action, the AMSOIL/Kumho Tires “Super Team” stood out from the crowd during the busy Labor Day weekend that brought more than 60,000 fans to the northern Wisconsin racetrack.

Sportsman 2

Rounds 11 and 12 meant the series championship was on the line for the Sportsman 2 class. Team AMSOIL/Kumho Tires driver Mike Oberg was on the outside looking in. However, the veteran driver loves the spoiler role and had the chance to shine in front of the sport’s biggest crowd last weekend.

Oberg was the first of the three Super Team trucks to thunder down the front straightaway on Saturday. The Eagle River, Wis. resident led the field of 13 trucks around the famous first corner. Oberg pushed his Dynomax Chevrolet to the front of the pack and held on for the entire race. It marked the third win of the season for the Oberg team and helped keep him in the fourth spot overall.

On Sunday, Oberg would get a chance to take the weekend sweep. The start of round 12 was déjà vu for the #280 truck. Leading out of turn one, Oberg led the field for more than half the race. It wasn’t until he came into contact with another driver that he would relinquish the lead. He would battle for the lead for the rest of the race, but when the final flag fell, he had to settle for a second place finish. It marked the final race of the Sportsman 2 season. Oberg finished with three wins, a total of eight podiums and a fourth overall in the class.

Oberg will be traveling to California for the two races at the end of September and the beginning of October.

Pro-2

Dan Vanden Heuvel was itching to get back on the podium after a disappointing weekend in Bark River, Wis. The Flying Dutchman came rushing out of the first corner in the fifth position. Vanden Heuvel used his veteran knowledge of the track to move through the field and into the third spot. It was the first time in three races that the Wisconsin native had been on the podium.

Success would be harder to find on Sunday for Vanden Heuvel. Coming off the start, he again found himself behind the leaders and had to work his way up to the pack from the eighth spot. Track knowledge and a take no prisoner’s attitude moved the Dutchman up into fourth. With his sights set on the leaders, the unfortunate happened. Another truck plowed into Vanden Heuvel’s #77 Chevy. Heavy damage was done to the rear wheel, breaking the ring and pinion on the rear axle. Vanden Heuvel was sidelined for the remainder of the race, finishing the day in seventh.

Pro-4

As the Pro-4 class came to the line for Crandon’s land rush start, the excitement grew as nine of CORR’S high horsepower 4-wheel drive trucks got ready to blast into the first corner. Steve McCrossan got a great start off the line until he got sideways in the air before the first corner. The Toronto native was able to right the truck and came around the corner in eighth. The top eight trucks raced bumper-to-bumper for the first four laps. McCrossan would work his way up to fourth spot. He would hold that position for the next few laps before dropping down to sixth, his finishing position for the 11th round.

Sunday would bring even more action to the fans in the Pro-4 class. McCrossan would get a cleaner start to round 11, coming out of the first turn in fourth. After a brief battle with the fifth place truck, McCrossan would pull away and join the race leaders. Contact would be the downfall that Sunday afternoon. After getting bumped, the #33 truck made contact with a concrete wall, resulting in a flat tire. After the pit stop, he was able to get back on the track and salvage a seventh place finish.

The Pro-2 and Pro-4 season continues with four races in the California sun. Both McCrossan and Vanden Heuvel will be traveling to southern California at the end of September to try and climb up in the CORR standings. The two-weekend trip marks the first time in CORR history that point races will be held on the West coast.

Steve McCrossan

Borg Warner Shootout

The last event of the weekend was the Famous Borg Warner Automotive brawl, which puts the world’s best Pro 4, Pro 2, and Sportsman 2 drivers against each other in a 10 lap all out race.

During Friday’s time trials for starting position, the entire team Super Team had impressive runs. McCrossan made a lightning fast trip around the track to secure the position of fifth fastest truck. The Flying Dutchman was able to pull off a fast lap quick enough to put him in the front row starting grid know as the “Fab 5” row. Oberg blasted around the track and not only destroyed the other Sportsman 2 times, but was the fastest two-wheel drive truck in a time trials, also placing him in the “Fab 5” row.

When the green flag flew Vanden Heuvel and Oberg took advantage of the head start with Vanden Heuvel shooting into second with Oberg on his tail. After avoiding numerous accidents McCrossan quickly worked through the field to fourth spot and stayed there until the half way mark of the race, when two flat tires put him on the sideline. Meanwhile, Oberg and Vanden Heuvel continued on with the Flying Dutchman finishing third and Oberg finishing fifth overall in the first Sportsman 2.

Champion Crowned

Crandon, Wis. ~ While the AMSOIL/Kumho Tires Super Team had a great showing at Crandon last weekend, it was another AMSOIL sponsored driver that was stealing the show. Ben Wandahsega was winning championships and other titles all weekend long. The Wandahsega Off-Road Team started the weekend strong at the Annual Pit Crew Challenge. The three-man crew beat the second place team by almost two full seconds in the tire-changing event on Friday.

On Saturday, the focus returned to racing. Wandahsega, who entered the weekend at the top of the Sportsman 2 standings, had a great start off the line during round 11. On the verge of clinching the championship in Sportsman 2, Wandahsega battled with AMSOIL driver Mike Oberg all race long. When the checkered flag dropped, Wandahsega was in second, less than a half truck length behind Oberg. It marked the tenth podium of the year for the Wandahsega team. The strong finish wrapped up the season championship with a 25-point lead over second place heading into round 12.

Wandahsega didn’t even need to race on Sunday, but the champion showed his true colors and took the starting line for round 12. He came out of the first turn in fifth and eventually worked his way onto the podium with a strong third place finish. His four wins in 2005 also helped him grab the Precision Gear Sportsman Driver of the Year Award.

Windham Battles Storm, Carmichael

Delmont, Penn. ~ AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda’s Kevin Windham felt lucky just to be racing last weekend at the Steel City National. The Mississippi native faced one of the biggest tests of his life during the week leading up to the second to last race of the AMA Outdoor Nationals. Windham, who lives in Centreville, Miss., had to deal with the harsh reality of Hurricane Katrina last week. K-Dub and his family were able to escape harms way without much damage, but the lingering effects the storm will have on his home state will stay in his mind for months to come.

“I must be one of the luckiest guys around, there was so much devastation,” said Windham. “I feel very blessed and very lucky. The week wasn’t the best, and I didn’t get to ride as much as I like to, but riding a motorcycle in the U.S. or anywhere suddenly doesn’t seem that important in the wake of Katrina.”

Windham’s luck did not last long however, as he found himself on the ground in the first turn of moto one on Sunday. Looking to keep his long string of podium finishes alive, he picked up his Honda CRF450R and charged through the pack, picking off rider after rider before earning a hard fought second place finish. By the time moto two rolled around, Windham was eager to improve upon his first moto start. K-Dub followed series leader Ricky Carmichael’s holeshot into the first turn and settled in behind the modern-day legend in second position. Windham chased RC but he could not catch the newly crowned 2005 champion. So once again, Windham took home another second place overall finish. He comfortably holds on to second place in the 250 AMA Motocross Championship standings with only Glen Helen remaining on the 2005 outdoor schedule this coming weekend.

“When I fell in the first turn,” said Windham, “I thought it was a great opportunity for me to have a huge challenge in front of me. Like I didn’t already have some challenges (with the hurricane). So I really put my head down to try to get to the podium and I did that; and actually surpassed that with a second so I was excited. I was a little bit of a man on a mission in that first moto.”

Hard Luck on 125’s

Just when it looked like Josh Grant could have the storybook ending to a great outdoor season, the injury bug bit. Grant had an unfortunate crash while practicing at home the Thursday before Steel City, injuring his knee. Trying to ride practice on Sunday proved too painful, so he was forced to withdraw from the race. Now contemplating a possible knee surgery, Grant currently sits seventh overall in the 125-point standings.

His teammates would race on, however. In the first moto, Billy Laninovich found himself in good position after a solid top ten start. Unfortunately for “Lano,” he was fighting an illness that had zapped his energy and endurance. He hung on to finish 19th in moto one. Despite his good intentions in the second moto, the sickness forced the young rider back to the pits early in the race, forcing him to call it a day. Nevertheless, he finished 23rd on the day and slipped one spot to 15th in the overall 125-point standings.

Hoping to avoid the struggles of his 125 teammates, Tommy Hahn wanted to bring home some good news for the AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda team. In the first moto, Hahn earned a top five start putting him in good position for a solid finish. He pushed his Honda CRF250R throughout the moto but had to settle for 11th when the race ended. In the second moto, Hahn did not get the start he wanted and was forced to race from behind. Starting 22nd, he would have to work through the crowded field to finish 13th. With the solid day of racing, Hahn cracked the top ten finishing tenth for the day. His efforts pushed him up two spots in the overall point standings, now sitting in 13th overall in the 125 standings.

Although it was not part of the weekend results, Juaqium Rodriquez has been picked to represent Portugal in the upcoming Motocross Des Nations. He will be joining fellow AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda teammate Windham, who will be riding for the United States. With his nation’s honor now on the line, J-rod was able to rise up to the challenge of leading the 125 team by posting two very respectable finishes at Steel City, finishing 12th in both motos for ninth overall on the day. With the team-leading finish, Rodriquez moved into 22nd overall in the 125 standings.

Picking Up Steam

Solon Springs, Wis. ~ Brady Smith had a busy Labor Day weekend and found success at three different racetracks across the upper Midwest. Smith was able to capture his biggest win of the 2005 season on Saturday night when he captured the $5,000 top prize in the PolyDome WDRL Late Model Series show at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn. Smith finished second in his heat race and rolled off fourth for the 50-lap main event. The Wisconsin native then battled race leader Denny Eckrich for a number of laps before finally making the winning pass stick on lap thirty.

“The Deuce” registered two top ten finishes in his other events over the weekend behind the wheel of his AMSOIL #2 Monte Carlo. On Thursday evening, he was in action in the annual ‘Silver 1000’ at the Proctor Speedway in Proctor, Minn. He finished third in his heat race to earn a 12th place starting spot for the main event. He passed six cars on the one-grooved racing surface en route to a solid sixth place finish. His busy weekend concluded on Sunday with another $5,000 to win WDRL event at the LaSalle Speedway in LaSalle, Ill. Smith finished fifth in his heat race at LaSalle, but ended up eighth at the end of 50 grueling laps.

“It was great to get into victory lane again,” said an excited Smith. “We have been traveling a lot lately and going to some of the bigger shows to gain some experience. Unfortunately, when you run against the best competition in the country at tracks you have never been to before, it is very hard to make the shows and make any money. But, we have learned a lot about our car and obviously it paid off last Saturday night at Deer Creek. That was a great race between Denny (Eckrich) and myself and the fans had to really enjoy that. I have to thank AMSOIL and all of my sponsors for all of their support this season and we will try to reach victory lane a few more times before this season is finished!”

Smith and the team will tackle the famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio this weekend. The granddaddy of all Dirt Late Model races takes place this Friday and Saturday at the 1/2-mile, high-banked dirt oval in west-central Ohio and Brady will be on hand to vie for the annual ‘World 100’ crown.

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