AMSOIL Top Truck Challenge Now Airing on Motor Trend TV

Back in June ten competitors and their trucks descended on Hollister Hills, CA for a week of brutality called the Top Truck Challenge. They endured a series of tests aimed at causing maximum destruction to their rigs, all in the name of clinching the title of Top Truck Challenge Champion. Four Wheeler Magazine hosted the event, and AMSOIL was on hand to provide lubricants to e
ach competitor so their engines could withstand the beating. While we couldn't prevent the broken parts and destruction caused by huge water-filled holes, boulders, and the dreaded Tank Trap, we could ensure their engines were up to par for the task.

Motor Trend TV is now streaming coverage of the 2013 Top Truck Challenge with a new video posted each day this week. See for yourself why the Top Truck Challenge is one of the most grueling off-road competitions in the world. Here are just a few images to whet your appetite.

AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge Is On at UNOH

One of last year's star contenders.

We're back at the University of Northwestern Ohio for the AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge presented by Popular Hot Rodding. As in years past, it's an experience unlike any other. Engine builders from around the country gather for a week of competition in a head-to-head dyno shootout with the ultimate build going home with the title Engine Master. After four solid days of dyno runs, six finalists will each give their best on a final day of nail biting excitemen. Though the event is but a week in length, these teams prepare all year, constantly studying the finer points of the rules in order to see how and where each one can get their edge.

Fords, Mopars, Chevys, big blocks and small bocks, Fuel Injected and old school motors all compete on identical dynos under identical atmospheric conditions. Many competitors are simply here for the adventure, but others only have their eye on the prize. And from what we've been hearing, more builders have asked rules-related questions than ever before, so we're expecting some of the most innovative engine designs ever this year.

Over $85,000 in contingency cash is on the line, so there's a pretty serious bit of gamesmanship going on. As in years past, Clarence Barnes is on hand as Master of Ceremonies to keep the show going while teams wait their turn to attack their targets.

The first team on the dyno this year was headed by Midwesterner Mark Dalquist of Throttle's Performance who drove all night to be there. After three dyno Dalquist's numbers set the bar. By day's end, he was still in first place, a good place to be heading into Day Two.

To get a feel for the action here check out this video from UNOH and the AMSOIL Engine Masters Dyno Challenge 2013.

SEMA Feature of the Week: “Stroker” --The Custom Shop’s 1966 Pro-Touring Chevelle

John Wargo of The Custom Shop first approached AMSOIL back in 2009 as he was preparing his 1968 Camaro RS and 2007 Cadillac Escalade for SEMA. Wargo wanted the engine to perform on par with the rest of the vision he was creating, and we liked what we saw so we got on board and provided him with AMSOIL products to accommodate his request. Since that time Wargo has returned to SEMA each year with more custom rides and sought out AMSOIL for his lubrication needs. The attention to detail he puts into his builds is impressive, enough to catch the attention of heavy-hitters like Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota. Wargo has had the honor of doing SEMA projects for those companies in the past, and is indeed a force to be reckoned with in the pursuit of creating and designing one-of-a-kind show cars like none other. A regular on the car show scene, Wargo has earned Best of Show awards and landed magazine covers and features on numerous occasions. This will be his 15th year in a row at SEMA.

Wargo is currently putting the finishing touches on a 1966 Pro-Touring Chevelle, just one of his latest projects slated for a feature spot at SEMA 2013. We reached out to Wargo to get some insight on what it takes to prepare for a show of this magnitude, and here’s what he had to say.

What drew you to this make/model for SEMA?
JW: I have always liked the body style of the ‘66 and ‘67 Chevelle.

What is is that has you jazzed about this particular build?
JW: The Dual Quad EFI Holley Terminator system on an ATK Performance 408 Stroker LS3 motor did 630HP on the dyno!

Why do you think SEMA has become such a destination for vehicle builders like yourself? 
JW: It’s where all the Big Dogs bring their cars to show them off, and also the magazine coverage you can get there.

What is it about this vehicle that makes it ‘you’?
JW: Firestone air ride suspension, the motor I stated earlier is BAD. It’s going to have a great Sony audio/video system and custom interior as well.

What made you choose AMSOIL for your engine?
JW: With any high performance motor and transmission you have to keep it protected, and AMSOIL has always been a great product for that.

Any favorite AMSOIL product?
JW: The motor oils, but we have run AMSOIL in all of our customers' cars for years. My company, The Custom Shop, has been in business for 25 years and has been building some of the best and baddest custom cars in the mid-west. 161 Magazine features, 16 covers, and so many “Best-of” trophies we can’t even count them all.

If you could choose any vehicle in the world to customize and make your own, what would it be?
JW: We have built a lot of really cool cars over the years for customers and for ourselves so I really don’t know. You can see our custom builds at www.customshop.org

Lastly, what’s your favorite band and song?
JW: Guns and Roses Sweet Child o’ Mine!

AMSOIL under the hood: 
AMSOIL 0W-30 Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil
Absolute Efficiency oil filter
Multi-Vehicle Signature Series ATF
Severe Gear 75W-90 Gear Lube
Anti-freeze & Engine Coolant
Dominator Coolant Boost
DOT-3 Brake Fluid
Racing Grease
P.i. Performance Improver

The AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour Nears the Finish Line

The AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour kicked off in June, making its way to several racetracks throughout the western United States and covering thousands of miles in the process. At the helm of the tour is Circle Track Magazine Tech Editor Bob Bolles, who is well-versed on the inner workings of the racing community. Bolles offers insight gained by years on the racing scene through articles and face-to-face interaction with fans and racers alike. This in-depth coverage of America’s love for grassroots circle-track racing is unparalleled from any other source.

Micro Sprints at Atomic Motor Speedway

Since its inception in 2010, the AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour has visited 73 race tracks and engaged over 220,000 racers and fans. At each stop, Bolles has the unique opportunity to talk shop with racers, promoters and fans to keep his finger on the pulse of the racing scene. His findings are shared with a larger audience through Circle Track Magazine and online coverage, which plays in important role in the growth and development of the racing community.

There are only two stops remaining on the 2013 AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour, so if you are in the area don’t miss the chance to see the AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour RV rolling into town. We caught up with Bolles a couple months back to see how the 2013 tour was unfolding and what a typical day at the track looks like for him. Read the article here, and then mark your calendars to usher out the final two legs of the 2013 AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour. For those who can’t make it, you can still find extensive coverage of each stop in the pages of Circle Track Magazine and on their website.

October 5 Irwindale Event Center Irwindale, CA

October 12 Central Arizona Raceway Casa Grande, AZ

Piggy-Backin' in the Rockies. You don't see this every day.

What's the most unusual kind of racing you've ever seen?

Racing Thrills Both Racers And Fans Alike

High flyin' with Brad Lovell

According to historians the Olympic Games began in Olympia, Greece around 776 B.C. Competition was at the heart of the games, as it is today. Who can run the fastest, jump the furthest, lift the heaviest weights... all for the glory of the moment.

Modern Olympics, both winter and summer, continue this tradition on a global scale as athletes push the boundaries of what's possible and break new ground in unbelievable ways. Swimming, skiing, speed skating, ski jumping, discus and more. Today, though, the scale of the Games themselves is itself a phenomenon as the stadiums get ever larger and the media coverage broader.

But what's at the heart of it is something very simple and elementary: competition. Children make boats out of sticks and race them in a stream. Friends gather to watch, rooting for the red stick or the blue stick or the balsa wood cork.

Short track off road racing is a thrill a minute.

This basic principle of competition quite naturally evolved in new directions during the machine age. Tractor pulls prove who's got the most diesel muscle. Snowmobile racing prove whose got the best machine, or which riders have the most skill and courage. And across the continent nearly every day of the week you can find cars, bikes, motorcycles or ATVs going head to head in circles or through the trees. It's in our blood.

One reason companies like AMSOIL support racing is because racing puts equipment to the test like nothing else. Lab testing is useful, but the real world environments that racers explore offer a new degree of testing.

At amsoilracing.com we like to share what our race teams are doing. Stay current with the events we sponsor. Check out the cool videos. Read the racer interviews. And bookmark us.

Racing can be fun, but it's also serious business. It's one of the ways we improve our products. We apply what we learn from the teams we partner with because we're in competition, too. We want our lubricants to be the best they can be. We were first in synthetics, but we can't -- and don't -- rest on our laurels.