Still Second, and Searching
Binghamton, N.Y. ~ Usually slow and steady is a good thing. Consistency pays off, or so they say. But don't let Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda star Kevin Windham hear you say that. For him, consistency hasn't been quite enough this summer.
For the past nine events, Kevin Windham has finished second in the AMA Outdoor Nationals to series points leader, Ricky Carmichael. While that is an impressive feat, finishing second is getting to be old news for K-Dub. The news, however, wouldn't change at the track in Binghamton, N.Y. last weekend.
In moto one, Windham started among the leaders and quickly settled into second. He would hold on to that spot for the remainder of the race, bringing home his eighth straight second place finish behind Carmichael. The biggest challenge for the Mississippi-native came from the return of James "Bubba" Stewart, who battled Windham for most of the moto.
"It was nice have Bubba back out there," said Windham. "He kept me honest in the first moto. In the second moto, he looked like he was going to give Ricky some trouble for a couple of laps, but coming down the hill, I saw him go down again and couldn't believe it."
Stewart, who was running beside Carmichael, came down the big hill too fast and crashed in a washed out section of the track. Stewart looked to be favoring his arm after the accident, and he left his bike lying on the ground for a few minutes before returning to the bike, riding one more lap, and then calling it quits. Stewart's delay was just the opening Windham needed to jump back into second, the position he would hold for the remainder of the race. It was also a position K-Dub has grown to know very well.
"I've been runner up here a few times," said Windham. "So that's not too bad. I don't want to hang my head too low, but Ricky rode a great race and I'd love to be up there challenging him. I'll just keep going and keep plugging away and doing the best I can."
Windham reiterated his need to find more time to keep up with the speed of Carmichael. For the second straight week, K-Dub was searching for an extra second per lap that Carmichael seems to find week-in and week-out.
"That's a good cushion in our sport," said Windham. "That's a lot of time. There are some things that I have to change about my riding so I can knock them off. It sounds easy - shave off a second - but the faster you go, the harder that second is to achieve."
For now, Windham will have to keep battling for the lost time. He will also have to keep battling the questions about being a second place finisher and the mental rut that comes with the added pressure. For the most part, Windham is handling it, as always, slow and steady.
"I go to those press conferences and we talk about how I have been in second so many years in a row, and how I was the last guy to win besides Ricky, so all that stuff feels good, "said Windham. "I'm just trying to keep my head high. It's one of those things where it's easy to get disappointed. It's easy to get bored."
A Banged Up Weekend
Binghamton, N.Y. ~ Coming off its best weekend of racing of the 2005 outdoor season, the AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda 125cc Team was looking to expand on it's group success at Millville. But with the overly competitive 125 class this year, one good showing can quickly turn bad in just seven days.
Leading the way for the AMSOIL team was star in the making Josh Grant. At Millville, Grant used his speed to work his way up to a podium in the first moto and third overall on the weekend. The speed continues to flow out of Grant's Honda CRF250, but the rest of the field had just a little bit more at Binghamton last weekend. In the first moto, Grant found himself battling with a pack of riders, including Ivan Tedesco and Ryan Mills. A clean ride could have meant a podium for either of the riders. However, both Grant and Mills would crash. Grant would finish the moto in sixth. He would improve his standings in the second moto with a fifth place finish, still only good enough for a sixth overall for the day. Grant currently sits in fourth in the 125 standings.
The surprise of the weekend came from Grant's teammate Juaquim Rodrigues. After going down in the first turn of moto one, Rodrigues quickly righted his CRF250. Coming from last place, he worked his way through the pack into 16th. That was good enough to get ahead of teammates Billy Laninovich (20) and Tommy Hahn (36). Laninovich would get J-Rod back in the second moto by finishing 15th to Rodrigues' 19th. After a strong weekend and a top 10 overall finish in Millville, Hahn picked up zero points after finishing his second moto in 35th.
The AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda team only has two rounds of action left this year. Labor Day weekend brings the team to Delmont, Penn., and the Steel City Raceway. The AMA Outdoor Nationals is aired on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN). The next race to air will be the Millville race this weekend, Saturday, August 27, at 4 p.m. EST.
More AMSOIL TV Coverage
Hurricane Mills, Tenn. ~ AMSOIL continues its support of grass roots racing with on-air sponsorships. AMSOIL has agreed to terms with Gear Media, the new television arm of the Loretta Lynn's Amateur Motocross Championships presented by AMSOIL. AMSOIL will retain its "presented by" sponsorship and will run one 30-second spot during each broadcast of the AMA Amateur and Mini Cycle National Championships at Loretta Lynn's. AMSOIL will also be featured throughout the program with the AMSOIL Team Spotlight and the AMSOIL Slow Motion Replay.
The events will air on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), with each event being rebroadcast twice. The Mini Cycle National Championships will air this Saturday, August 27th at 2:30 p.m. EST. For a complete listing of Team AMSOIL on television, click here
Smith Goes Topless
Locust Grove, Ark. ~ Brady Smith took his Chevy Monte Carlo to the Batesville Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark. last weekend for the annual "Comp Cams Topless 100." The AMSOIL Late Model driver timed in 28th quickest out of the nearly 70 competitors present for Friday night's qualifying. He then posted a solid fourth place finish in the heat race, but only the top three went on to the $44,000 to win 'Topless 100' starting field. On Saturday in the consolation event, Smith was running in the second and final transfer position until a flat right rear tire forced the Wisconsin driver pit-side. He came back out onto the speedway, but made a hard impact with the backstretch wall and nearly flipped over while trying to make his way back up through the field.
"It is a shame that we had the flat tire in our B-Main event," Smith said this week in a telephone conversation. "I felt like we were going to get in the show through the B-Main until that tire went down. We must have run over something on the track because the tire had been punctured. It was our first trip down to Batesville and I was glad that we were competitive, but it is unfortunate that we did not make the show."
Smith then headed home for a week of racing in Northern Wisconsin. Smith took part in round four of the AMSOIL Late Model Series in Superior, Wis. on Tuesday, August 24. Smith qualified in the final transfer spot of one of the toughest heat races in the series history. He would start 18th in the main. For most of the race, the Deuce was one of the fastest cars on the track. At the halfway point of the 40-lap feature, Smith had moved up eight spots. A number of yellow flags and a loss of grip on the track meant the AMSOIL driver would only move up two more spots before the checkered flag dropped on the race, putting Smith in eighth for the night.
The AMSOIL Late Model Series was co-sanction by the Tri-Star Challenge Series at the Superior Speedway. John Kaanta became the first repeat winner of 2005. Points leader Terry Casey had a rough night of racing. That allowed AMSOIL driver Pat Doar to overtake him in the overall standings with just two races left.
The next AMSOIL Late Model Race will be held on Saturday, September 3 at the Hibbing Raceway in Hibbing, Minn.
More AMSOIL Results
- As soon as Travis Sharpe rolled the car off the trailer last Friday, he knew the car was good to go. Sharpe, of the Southern Racing Team out of Pawleys Island, S.C., qualified second on Saturday and drew the fourth position for the start. Sharpe then drove his AMSOIL/Splitfire Chevrolet to the front of the field. On lap four he made the big pass for the lead and would never look back for his sixth win of the season. The win helped him maintain his points lead at the Concord Motorsports Park in Midland, N.C.
- The Hadley Racing Team out of Indiana is having a strong showing at the Salem Speedway this year. Two of the team's cars are currently in second and third place cars in the street stock division with two races left. In the Super Late model division, Kyle Hadley finished fifth last week and remains in that position in the overall points standings. Hadley was the 2004 Rookie of the Year. The Hadly Racing team is sponsored by AMSOIL Dealer Al Loew.
- Monday Motorsports had a strong showing two weeks ago at the Wisconsin International Raceway. Forty-seven late models from throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota showed up for the triple 50-lap feature event. The team qualified fifth with a time of 19.647. In the Red Race, they finished fourth followed by a sixth in the White Race. In the Blue Race, Monday Motorsports finished 13th. Overall, they grabbed a top 10 finish with seventh. They are currently eighth overall in the Thursday Night Points race. The team is sponsored by AMSOIL Dealer Rick Bahr.
- Ryan Posocco finished second last Friday at the Stafford Motor Speedway after surviving a spin down the backstretch grass early in the 30-lap event. Posocco started the #3 Eagle Leasing Chevrolet from the 11th position and held is ground when two cars in front of him made contact, sending one car sideways and into the infield. Posocco took an outside line and was exiting turn two when the car came back onto the track and made contact with Posoco's car. Even though the spin caused him to lose several spots, Posoco was able to catch up to the lead pack and would take over the second spot with five laps to go.
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