May 2-3 ~ Michael Byrne, who had more than his share of injury this year, returned to competition for the first time in seven weeks in Vegas' 125 East-West Shootout. Chris "Goose" Gosselaar of AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda/Factory Connection raced with a broken foot. Ryan Mills, ending his first full season of supercross, looked to maintain the consistency which has garnered him respect and attention from other top programs. All three riders took considerable time during and after practices to check out the track. There were some tricky whoops and a monster table top right after the start.

After an uproarious amount of patriotism and flag waving to open up the show, 125cc racing started about dusk. The wind was fierce and the hint of rain hung in the air. The trio of AMSOIL 125 riders made the main with little trouble. Burner led the charge for AMSOIL coming out of the gate sixth. Goose was ninth and Mills was steady in 15th. Mishaps by other riders and a strong desire moved Burner into third place. Goose made his way up to fifth. With laps counting down Byrne continued to turn fast times. He made up some ground, but it was a little too little too late. Burner finished terrifically on the podium in third place. Goose turned in a strong performance for fifth and Mills, who never really found his groove, crossed the line in 16th. For complete race coverage, see Gusty Winds Can't Cool Hot Byrne

LaRocco and Preston did not compete and Team AMSOIL was without representation in the 250 class. For details see Looking for LaRocco and Praying for Preston
 

How Did They Finish?

How did they finish? Let me tell you. Despite what appears to be a revolving door to the doctor's office, Team AMSOIL has stayed consistent in supercross. When one when down, another rider took his place. In 125cc West action Travis Preston had to relinquish his crown, but still finished second overall. Gosselaar finished a respectable seventh. Over in 125cc East, Ryan Mills did a great job in his rookie campaign to finish ninth. Michael Byrne came in 13th. The 250cc racing did lack a little punch from the AMSOIL boys, but still the team showed well. Byrne was 13th, Mike LaRocco 14th and Preston 26th in limited action. On the bright side for LaRocco, he did manage to finish seventh overall in the inaugural World SX GP.

Kevin Windham fans might be excited to see a new rider in the ranks of Team AMSOIL. For details read Welcome Windham.

Monsters, Tough Trucks and 4-Wheel Jamborees
 

May 3-4 ~ The first of the Special Events 4-wheel Jamborees for 2003 got down and dirty in Springfield, Missouri. AMSOIL is a proud sponsor of the Jamborees and of the Tough Truck competitions. Chris McCoy in "Mack Attack" defeated the "General Lee" of Jeff Dedick to win round one. Both drivers will be award cash prizes and products on behalf of AMSOIL. The next event is set for May 16-18 in Lima, Ohio. The AMSOIL monster truck "AMERICAN DREAM" driven by Dave Turpen will make an appearance. You can expect the dust to fly when he starts his famous doughnuts.

Quick Takes from Around & About

Ashford Racing set a New Zealand record for the fastest four-cylinder import with a top speed of 159 miles-per-hour at Ruapuna Raceway. It also pays to look good. The car won top honors as Best Race Car at Westpac Trust Stadium in a huge car show. Ross Lawson, an AMSOIL Dealer from Queensland, works with this top team from down under.

Bill Leahy won both his heats and the Mod 4 feature the Red River Valley Speedway. A week prior he finished ninth in the feature event due to a transmission problem. AMSOIL Dealer Jason McSparron supports the Leahy Team.

Darrell Nelson started third and finished third in a Late Model heat at Rice Lake Speedway. He started the feature on the outside poll and ran a heck of race. He just lost a little at the end to finish, you guessed it, third. In Modified action at Rice Lake, Nelson started ninth in the feature. He worked his way steadily up to the second in another very close race.

Joe Leek started eighth in the 600 Stock Mini Sprint Race at Miami Country Speedway in Peru, Indiana. He managed to work his way all the way up to second before still just a bit back to fourth. Leek uses AMSOIL 10w-40 Motorcycle Oil in his 600cc Yamaha engine according to AMSOIL Dealer Richard Goodenbour.

Bob Weber began his 2003 season with a win in his #11 Late Model at Lancaster Motorsports Park. Weber started back in the fourth position, but won going way. Weber just missed winning a track championship by two points last season. He and AMSOIL Dealer Marty Gilmore are happy with the start of the season and are determined to grab the title this year.

Micah Norse finished 14th at Irwindale, California. He drove his Legend car up to the 11th position before it got loose and didn't handle well. Norse battled the car, but lost a bit having to slip back a few spots. Jim Fleshner is the AMSOIL Dealer who supports this team.

AMSOIL Dealer David Busch reports that Mack Racing blew away the field in their first Late Model feature of the season.

AMSOIL Dealer John Cassidy is with the Last Ditch Racing team at the Rim of the World Rally in Palmdale, California. The team from Bangor, Maine is the furthest team from the east to compete, 3500 miles one way.

Brandon Hendrick finished a very respectable 15th and 14th in two 110 lap events at South Boston Speedway. It was the first time for Hendrick to compete in Late Model competition. He's learning quickly. In both races he had spinouts that luckily didn't damage his AMSOIL car or any other car.

At Talladega, Canaan Manley rode his Suzuki TL1000-R to a strong 10th in Heavyweight Twins Expert and 13th in B Superbike Expert.

In a backup car, Zach Chappell finished second by mere inches in a 360 sprint car event at Memphis Motorsports Park. Eight thousand fans walked through the gate for the show. David Chappell reports AMSOIL/Champco/ Carbon Sprinter is now first in overall points. Pat Grady and Bryon Jones are AMSOIL Dealers who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and work with the crew.

The NC DirtRider Team has been making hay on the Carolina Hare Scramble circuit.The five riders finished 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 11th and 14th in a recent event. In motocross action the team snagged two firsts and a second out of 280 riders. Dealer Pete Muzio sponsors this team.

Lou Sippolt is back in the saddle in Truck Racing. In his last race he started eighth. Sippolt worked his way up to and around one stubborn competitor blocking his way to the front. for Sippolt focused on the front. He chased down the leaders making it a drag race to the finish. Sippolt finished second, but now leads the overall points standings. Dale Helgevold is the AMSOIL Dealer with this team.

Monty Morgan drove his Open-Wheeled Modified to a feature win at Bronson Motor Speedway. He survived a dramatic last lap tangle with another car to gain victory. Don Dawson is not only an AMSOIL Dealer, he works on the crew for Morgan Racing.

The MMRI Team has begun its second year on racing Late Models on the asphalt of Berlin Raceway (MI). Jake Meyerink qualified fifth for the feature. He went into the final with great expectations and did well. Meyerink had a respectable eighth place finish. John Breen is supplying AMSOIL products to the team again this season.

TV Times

You can be sure ESPN and ESPN 2 will re-air the Las Vegas race. Check your local listings for times in your area. You might even see round 15 from Salt Lake City on the schedule, too.

In Staging

Byrne, Mills, Gosselaar, LaRocco and Windham are all set to go in round 1 of the Chevy Trucks US Motocross Championships at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California on May 10-11.

Mark your calendars also for the start of the CORR season. The off-road trucks featuring the AMSOIL team of Dan Vanden Heuval get started in Dresser, Wisconsin on May 24-26.

Happy Mother's Day!

See you in the pits!