E3 Spark Plugs News

Taddy Blazusiak wins Round Two of the GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs. Image courtesy of EnduroCross/Source Interlink.

Round Two of the 2010 GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross series presented by E3 Spark Plugs delivered a dramatic show this past weekend at Guthrie, OK’s Lazy E Arena. Bets were on KTM racer Mike Brown, who dominated much of the race – until the checkers flew. After an exhausting battle across the biggest track of the series, KTM teammate Taddy Blazusiak pulled out all the stops for a spectacular come-from-behind win. After also taking the series opener at Las Vegas’ Orleans Arena July 17, Blazusiak thus far has a firm grip on the championship lead.

Brown and Blazusiak traded leads throughout the event, with Brown hitting triples and scrubbing speed in the straights and Blazusiak, true to form, holding the advantage in the technical rocky turns. In fact, it was one rock in particular that ultimately took Brown out of the running for the win. Wet sand had made the river rock 180-degree turn incredibly slick and it was there that Blazusiak made the pass that stuck. Several laps later, Brown’s KTM stalled and never fired back up, saddling its rider with a disappointing DNF.

Taddy Blazusiak wins Round Two of the GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs. Geoff Aaron (right) took second, Justin Soule (left) third. Image courtesy of EnduroCross/Source Interlink.

Brown’s exit handed second place over to GEICO Christini rider Geoff Aaron, a ten-time National Trials champ. For a moment, it looked as if he may take the win when Blazusiak nearly performed an endo across a double jump on the last lap, but held on long enough to finish first. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Justin Soule took third place, making his first podium finish in only his second main event. The turn of events pushed Soule’s Kawasaki teammate Ricky Dietrich further away from regaining his AMA EnduroCross championship. Dietrich raced despite debilitating pain from a compound fracture of his pinky toe suffered just two weeks prior. The pain and a bent shift lever on the opening lap of the main left him with a modest ninth-place finish.

Next up: Round Three of the GEICO EnduroCross series presented by E3 Spark Plugs in Indianapolis, Indiana Friday, August 27 during MotoGP weekend. Be sure to check the E3 Spark Plugs blog for all the latest racing news. And to boost your own racing performance, pick up a set of E3 Powersports Spark Plugs at one of our licensed dealers with stores online and nationwide.
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Monster Energy racer Chad Reed has retired the Number One plate for the remainder of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Championship. The defending outdoor national champion returned home to recover from the Epstein-Barr virus. Photo courtesy of www.chadreedracing.com.

Big news came this week from the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship series as the defending outdoor national champion Chad Reed dropped out of the chase for the 2010 title.  After being diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Reed has decided to recover at home with his wife and their new son Tate. Reed had struggled throughout the season with chronic fatigue syndrome before falling out of the series’ top 5 in national 450cc points last week at the Millville MX.

Hondas grabbed an early lead in Moto One as Red Bull’s Andrew Short led the way over Kevin Windham and Ben Townley. Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey was charging from a lack luster start when Townley crashed hard in the whoops injuring his right shoulder and ending the day for the fast Kiwi. Dungey would manage his way through the field sailing past Windham for second place before tracking down Short for the lead. Windham would fade to ninth late in the race as Honda riders Short and Aussie Brett Metcalfe would claim second and third in Moto One.

Red Bull Honda rider Andrew Short would grab his second holeshot of the day and his eighth holeshot of the season in Moto Two of the Washougal MX National. Windham would position his 450cc Red Bike into second place as Dungey chased the pair of Honda riders up Horsepower Hill.  As the race approached the halfway point in Moto Two, Dungey stepped up the pace to pass Windham and Short for the lead. Rockstar Energy’s Tommy Hahn put on an impressive ride to third and Yamaha rider Justin Brayton rebounded from a disappointing first moto to finish fourth.

The victory at Washougal was Dungey’s seventh of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA season giving the factory Suzuki ace a commanding 95 point lead over Short for the championship. Townley’s misfortunes would allow Metcalfe and Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha rider Josh Grant to move past the injured Honda rider to take over third and fourth place in the points championship. Popular privateer Nicholas Wey would have his best result of the season finishing fifth overall behind a very fast Tommy Hahn. Suzuki’s Hahn turned in the fastest times of the day and seems to be recovering nicely from his own nagging injuries.

The 450cc pro riders will have two weeks off before teams head all the way across the country for Round 9 of the AMA Lucas Oil MX Pro Championship in New Berlin, New York. Don’t forget to follow the action on the E3 Spark Plugs Racing blog from the famed Unadilla MX track as the world’s top riders battle all the way to the 2010 AMA Championship. If you want peak performance and great fuel mileage from your car, truck or SUV, ask for E3 Car Spark Plugs at your favorite auto parts store. Our patented DiamondFire technology is designed to deliver Energy, Efficiency and Ecology for your ride.

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