AMSOIL Shock Therapy and AMSOIL Excaliber simply lit Elko Speedway on fire this past weekend. Jon Zimmer and newcomer Chris “Panda” Ryan did everything except tear their equipment up to turn the fans on, and at the end, the roaring crowd told Zimmer and Ryan they’d done their jobs.
“It was a great show,” said Zimmer. “Even though it was freestyle only, I wanted to show the fans in Elko what Team AMSOIL and team Sudden Impact Racing was all about!”
To begin, Zimmer and Ryan came to the front stretch of the speedway and did dueling donuts side-by-side to tease the crowd and prepare them for the two rounds of freestyle to follow. When it was freestyle time, Ryan put AMSOIL Excaliber through its paces, hitting the van stack and car set, then pulling into another donut. His first weekend in the truck was a success, and he could be seen getting analysis and advice from Zimmer after his first run.
Zimmer was on point from the moment he left the pit area, blasting out and immediately taking on the van stack with tremendous air, then standing the truck nearly vertical on the car set. A high-speed donut and more air followed, and the crowd was definitely into the monsters and AMSOIL Shock Therapy. This was simply a tease for the final freestyle of the night, however.
Zimmer and Ryan saved the best for last, with Ryan grabbing some huge air in Excaliber and capping it with a donut on the front stretch, while Zimmer went into a longer and even faster run than his previous one. Zimmer had Shock Therapy pointing every way but upside down, somehow keeping the truck on all four wheels, even through a cyclone donut that began in turn one and ended in turn four! Zimmer even managed a small slap wheelie off of the car set, and when his run was finished, the tire smoke from his final donut engulfed the entire truck, and the thousands of fans in attendance were screaming and cheering for Team AMSOIL.
“We were happy with the way things turned out for sure,” said Zimmer. “People were telling me that it was the best show they’d seen at Elko, and with AMSOIL behind us, it makes it that much easier to keep the fans happy.”
From here, the team travels to Calgary and a full show, with racing and freestyle on the docket. Look for an interview with Zimmer soon, as well as video and more photos from Elko!
Douglas, Hord, Kincaid and Taylor All Earn Wins at Crandon International Raceway
The 11th and 12th rounds of the 2009 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL were held Labor Day weekend at Crandon International Raceway in Crandon, Wis., where AMSOIL Super Team driver Chad Hord looked impressive in his Pro 4x4 debut and teammate Scott Douglas earned another World Championship ring.
With more than 40,000 rabid race fans filling the grandstands for the 40th Anniversary weekend at Crandon International Raceway, Hord set the standard at the first race of the weekend, the Pro Light Decision at Sundown on Friday night. Upon the start, Hord pushed his way to the front and battled with AMSOIL-sponsored racer Jeff Kincaid. After a mandatory caution, Kincaid made a mistake on the front stretch and spun out, allowing Hord to grab the lead and his first Cup win.
Saturday is considered World Championship day at Crandon. The racer who wins his class race is dubbed a World Champion and takes home the ring to prove it. Following his Cup win on Friday, Hord was looking for some more hardware in the Forest County Potawatomi Pro Light class race, engaging in another hard-fought battle with Kincaid. Kincaid took the win and the Oakley Bomb Run Award for the fastest lap time, while Hord earned the second place podium finish.
In the AMSOIL Pro 2WD class, Todd LeDuc took the win and the Oakley Bomb award, while AMSOIL-sponsored drivers Ricky Johnson, Jeremy McGrath and Dan Vanden Heuvel all earned top 10 finishes, crossing the finish line in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Following his second place podium in the Pro Light class, Hord took the wheel of an AMSOIL Pro 4x4 truck owned by Scott Douglas, and the two AMSOIL Super Team drivers proceeded to dominate the Kumho Tires Pro 4x4 field. Douglas took the early lead and pulled away from everyone except teammate Hord, who hung onto his bumper for much of the race. In the end, Douglas put his AMSOIL Ford F-150 on top of the box for his first win of the season and Hord earned the second place podium and the Oakley Bomb award.
Sunday´s racing featured yet another battle between Hord and Kincaid in the Pro Light class. Kincaid showed off his exceptional speed and took the win and Oakley Bomb award, while Hord battled from a seventh place start to earn another strong second place podium. Kincaid now leads the points chase by just one point.
In the AMSOIL Pro 2WD class, AMSOIL-sponsored drivers Scotty Taylor and Ricky Johnson proved their championship credentials by finishing first and second respectively. Taylor used the track to his advantage and pushed out a large lead before taking the win and Oakley Bomb award, while Johnson battled with Robby Gordon and eventual third place finisher Rob MacCachren before finishing second. Johnson still leads the points chase, but Taylor is just eight points back with four races left.
With the live ABC cameras filming, the highlight of the day was the Pro 4x4 BorgWarner Cup race. After a major wreck, officials red flagged the race and called for a restart after an extensive clean-up of the race track. Within a lap of the restart, Kyle LeDuc took the lead and never looked back, taking the win and the Oakley Bomb award. Douglas and Hord again finished bumper-to-bumper, this time with Hord in fourth and Douglas in fifth. Douglas sits fourth overall in the Pro 4x4 points battle.
Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2009 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL will be held October 23-24 at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif.
Stephen Watson of Off-Road Design (ORD) Racing approached AMSOIL months back in a bid to obtain sponsorship for the grueling Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno Race. AMSOIL likes challenges, so we jumped on board to help Stephen and his team make it to the end. ‘The Long Way’ 1000 mile race is a 3-day event with over 300+ miles of open-desert endurance racing with only a one hour service period each night for maintenance. Temperatures rose to over 100 degrees, and the desert takes no prisoners. The silt beds of the Nevada desert provided dust that often made it impossible to see much past the hood of the car. Add some rocky terrain with some good ruts to catch even the mightiest trucks, and you’ve got yourself a challenge that doesn’t yield.
In an Ultra4 Buggy built for Off-Road Racing, ORD managed to lock in 2nd place out of 11 competitors in their class. Despite the dust bath the truck received during this race, ORD knew they had nothing to worry about with AMSOIL Ea Oil and Air filters installed and AMSOIL in the engine. Their impressive result made room for them in their next big event, the King of the Hammers in February. AMSOIL is proud to be a part of their success, and will keep up with them as they continue their climb to the top of the ranks. With results like these, they will no doubt take their star up several notches in the Ultra4 world of Off-Road Racing.
Back in May, Diesel Power Magazine orchestrated another successful Diesel Power Challenge with AMSOIL on board for the third year as a major sponsor. With each year steadily getting better, Diesel Power Magazine called the 2009 challenge the ‘best event yet’ with competitors showing no signs of slowing or stopping.
Coverage of the event includes two lengthy stories appearing in the August and September issues of Diesel Power. The August issue provided overviews of the competitors, with all the details surrounding each of their modified machines. The September feature, more than forty pages worth, is titled Diesel Death Match, featuring 14 diesel guzzling, fire-snorting monsters producing enough horsepower and torque to make a diesel lover swoon. The setups ranged from mild to wild in this competition, which in the end produced one winner.
To quickly recap, the Diesel Power Challenge pits 15 trucks against one another in a series of tests designed to reveal the nation’s ultimate street-legal diesel powered vehicle. Readers of Diesel Power Magazine vote and decide on the final roster of competitors, but only one emerges with the title. In a three-day period, these diesels are put through trials and tribulations designed to dismantle the trucks not fit to be crowned all while a film crew is on hand to capture each moment, whether they fail, prevail or both.
Overall Robert Evans of Reno, NV took home the glory, but the others didn’t make it easy for him and it was close right up to the end. Each year brings out the drive, determination, and the desire to win within every competitor. With a fierce passion to build a truck that has the wherewithal to defeat each phase of this challenge, builders arrive ready to prove themselves. AMSOIL is always pleased to be on board providing lubricants that can withstand these rigorous conditions and help conquer the course.
This year’s event will be aired on Four Wheeler Television on the Outdoor Channel sometime in the fourth quarter. And be sure to subscribe to Diesel Power Magazine so you can have your say in who will be at next year’s challenge by voting online in Spring 2010. Only time will tell if Robert Evans can defend his title next year, or if the torch will be passed to the next worthy diesel-powered champion.
It’s impossible to leave this subject without mentioning the two new premium APICJ-4 diesel oils AMSOIL introduced this spring.For diesel empowerment, choose AMSOIL.
Hord to Drive Douglas Motorsports 4x4 Race Truck in BorgWarner Cup Race
Wednesday, August 26 , 2009
Hord to Drive Douglas Motorsports 4x4 Race Truck in BorgWarner Cup Race
Douglas Motorsports will field two identical AMSOIL Kumho Ford F-150 off-road trucks in the BorgWarner World Championship Cup race in Crandon, Wis. on Labor Day weekend. Two-time BorgWarner champ Scott Douglas will drive the number 7 AMSOIL Pro 4x4, and Pro Light champion Chad Hord will drive a matching Douglas Motorsports AMSOIL entry. The team recently tested both trucks at Crandon, and Hord quickly proved the transition to a full-size 4x4 race truck with 900 horsepower will not be a problem.
“Chad Hord is very deserving of this opportunity to drive one of the AMSOIL Ford F-150s from Douglas Motorsports,” said AMSOIL Race Program Manager Jeremy Meyer. “His program is top notch, and he has the ability to compete with the best drivers in the sport at Crandon. AMSOIL has two cup winners on its Super Team in Mike Oberg (Baldwin Memorial Cup) and Scott Douglas (two-time BorgWarner Cup), and Chad has the talent to bring home a third. The Pro 4x4 class just got a lot deeper with Chad Hord running for this year's prize, and the world will get to see it live on ABC."
The 2009 BorgWarner Cup race will air live on ABC on Sunday, September 6 at 3 p.m. Central Time.
was all about!”
AMSOIL Shock Therapy. This was simply a tease for the final freestyle of the night, however.
was all about!”
AMSOIL Shock Therapy. This was simply a tease for the final freestyle of the night, however.
