E3 Spark Plugs News

Home state rider Andrew Short led the early laps of Moto One in the 450cc class at the Thunder Valley National in round five of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship before he high-sided his factory Honda in the deep Lakewood, Colorado, ruts. Series points-leader, Ryan Dungey, inherited the lead and set the cruise control on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki. But, Dungey’s pace couldn’t hold off a late race charge by Josh Grant aboard his Toyota Yamaha.

New Zealand motocross racer Ben Townley finished second overall at Lakewood's Thunder Valley National. Townley has shown tons of speed this season aboard his Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda. Photo courtesy of www.troyleedesigns.com.

Grant would take the win with Dungey crossing the finish line second followed by Suzuki’s Tommy Hahn who had disposed of a hard charging Brett Metcalfe to claim third. Defending outdoor AMA Lucas Oil Pro MX national champion Chad Reed could only muster a 10th place in Moto One. The KTM 350cc rocket ship  of Mike Alessi didn’t appear to like the air at the mile-high Thunder Valley track as Alessi struggled to a 12th overall in Moto One.

The second moto looked to be a carbon copy of the first with Andrew Short controlling the early laps of the race. Unfortunately, Yamaha’s Josh Grant would crash in turn one after the start spoiling his chance for an overall MX victory. This moto, Suzuki’s Dungey would have to pick up his pace with a very fast Ben Townley aboard the TLD/Lucas Oil Honda breathing down his neck. Both riders passed Short to finish “one, two, three” respectively. Brett Metcalfe brought his Geico Powersports Honda home in fourth ahead of Jagermeister KTM rider Mike Alessi.

This was Dungey’s fourth win in a row and propelled the Rockstar rider to a 51 point lead in the championship. Australia’s Brett Metcalfe moved ahead of fellow compatriot Chad Reed for second place in the series standings after finishing third on the day at Lakewood. Alessi, Short, Grant and Townley are now separated by a single point each as they fight for fourth thru seventh. Next weekend, teams travel to Buchanan, Michigan, for the annual AMA outdoor motocross event at Red Bud MX.

Be sure to check E3 Spark Plugs’ blog for a wrap-up of all the racing action.

Moto One was no surprise as Frenchman Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki) had already won all but one opening moto during the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA 250cc Pro MX Championship series. Teammate, and last weekend’s rookie winner, Dean Wilson (Kawasaki) kept pace for a second overall followed by Honda’s Trey Canard who tasted the Denver soil earlier on. South Africa’s Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki) continued to show his world championship form with a strong ride to fourth ahead of three American motocross riders Broc Tickle (Yamaha), Blake Wharton (Honda) and Eli Tomac (Honda).

Geico Powersports Honda rider Trey Canard finished second overall at the Thunder Valley National to take over the fourth spot in the 2010 Luca Oil AMA MX Pro Championship for the 250cc Lights class. Photo courtesy of www.treycanard.com.

After several years of racing under the lights in Lakewood, Colorado, promoters moved the Thunder Valley National race to daytime for 2010. Oklahoma rider Trey Canard must have liked the change as he took the lead in Moto Two ahead of his Honda teammate Blake Wharton. Early on, Scottish rider (via Canada) Dean Wilson and his Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Pourcel and Rattray followed in close pursuit. Pourcel would chase down the Geico Powersports Honda rider Canard in Moto Two giving Pourcel his first double moto win of the season. Canard crossed the line in second place followed by Wilson and Rattray.

The ladies returned to action this weekend at the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colorado. Red Bull Honda rider Ashley Fiolek put her number one plate out front early but lost the top spot to Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson when she bobbled in the deep Thunder Valley ruts. Fiolek and Tarah Gieger (Honda) would tangle in a fight for the second spot allowing Patterson to coast to the overall win. Patterson leads the womens division of the AMA National Championship series ahead of fellow Florida WMX riders Fiolek and Gieger.

Don’t forget to check the E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs website next weekend as teams head east to Buchanan, Michigan, for round six of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship at the Red Bud Motocross National. If you want Energy, Efficiency and Ecology from your car spark plug, insist on E3 Spark Plugs and trust our patented DiamondFire technology to deliver more power and better mileage from a cleaner burn.

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The weather wasn’t the only thing that was hot over Father’s Day weekend as the National Hot Rod Association rolled into Bristol Dragway for the E3 Spark Plugs Thunder Valley Nationals. NHRA fans were the beneficiary as a couple of legends to the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series reached career high performances. Top Fuel ace Tony Schumacher blazed through qualifying rounds to earn a spot in his 100th final round while Funny Car driver John Force won his 130th NHRA national final.

Force regained the series points lead posting a 4.37 second run in the finals at 285.59 MPH in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang as challenger Tim Wilkerson’s hopes went up in smoke. The charismatic Force reached his 207th career final by eliminating Paul Lee, Matt Hagan and Bob Tasca III in early rounds. This was the 10th running of the NHRA event at the famed Thunder Valley racing facility. Del Worsham would leave Bristol with third place points followed by Tasca and Ashley Force Hood.

U.S. Army Motocross Team

In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army team avoided a head-to-head confrontation with series points leader Larry Dixon when 14th place qualifier Morgan Lucas eliminated the FRAM Top Fuel driver in round one. Schumacher took out second place qualifier Cory McClenathan in the semi-final round and went on to claim his 65th career NHRA national win. Tony’s fourth victory of the 2010 season came at the hands of second-generation racer Brandon Bernstein who could only manage a 272.56 MPH against Schumacher’s final run of 306.53 MPH.

Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards coasted to an easy win when challenger Rickie Jones red lighted in the final round. The starting line foul saved Edwards as he fought an ill handling car that didn’t hook up to the hot Bristol track. Teams travel to Norwalk, Ohio, for next weekend’s NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing action for Round Thirteen of the twenty-three race series presented by Lucas Oil. If you are looking for high performance, try E3 car spark plugs in your favorite ride and put our patented DiamondFire technology to work for you.

E3 SPARK PLUGS THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS RESULTS

TOP FUEL
1. Tony Schumacher; 2. Brandon Bernstein; 3. Cory McClenathan; 4. Antron Brown; 5. Shawn Langdon

FUNNY CAR
1. John Force; 2. Tim Wilkerson; 3. Del Worsham; 4. Bob Tasca III; 5. Ashley Force Hood

PRO STOCK
1. Mike Edwards; 2. Rickie Jones; 3. Jeg Coughlin; 4. Allen Johnson; 5. Ron Krisher