SONOMA -- Learning on the go has never been a problem for Steve Rapp.

The 36-year-old Oakland native and Acalanes High School graduate earned a second-place finish in the 750 Superstock in one of his first AMA races at Infineon Raceway in 1997. He won the Daytona 200 last year in his first Formula Xtreme race with his new team.

And 21/2 months after he began taking flying lessons in November, he earned his pilot's license and has since logged roughly 100 hours in the air.

"You can say that about a lot of these top riders," said Rapp's crew chief with Attack Kawasaki, Richard Stanboli. "Anything they get involved with wholeheartedly, they do well at."

Rapp is back at Infineon, where he enters this weekend's Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown tied for third in the Formula Xtreme standings and fifth in Supersport. In searing heat Friday, he qualified second for today's FX race with a lap time of 1:37.185.

Qualifying for Supersport is this afternoon. San Francisco native Jake Zemke won the pole position for the Formula Xtreme race with a track record lap time of 1:36.853.

Rapp has finished in the top eight in various AMA classes 10 times from 1998-2006, but last season may have been his best, when he finished second in the Formula Xtreme final standings and fourth in Supersport. Not bad considering he was joining a new team after two seasons with Michael Jordan Motorsports, and adjusting to the 600cc Formula Xtreme bikes after piloting a 1000cc Superbike in 2005

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and 2006.

"First year (with a new team), you're getting to know each other," Rapp said. "There's so many new things -- new brand of motorcycle, new tires, new crew -- people are just getting to know each other and know what you like."

This year Rapp has been able to hit the ground running. He's posted three straight top-five finishes in Formula Xtreme, including a second-place result at the season-opening Daytona 200. His best Supersport result so far in 2008 was a fifth place finish at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. Last Wednesday and Thursday, Rapp tested at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah and went on to post the second fastest time in Formula Xtreme.

That was a far cry from last year's races at Miller, where he finished sixth in FX and 10th in Supersport.

"We went there last week with the idea that we needed to relearn how to ride that race course," Stanboli said. "We went around with a car and examined all the different corners, where he might be able to pick up time. And then, boom, he was focused and really professional about it. He went out and did his business and his lap times were really good."

One of the last things Rapp has left to accomplish is winning a season championship, and it appears his best chance to capture one will come in Formula Xtreme. Last year he had five top-three finishes in 11 races, including a third-place result in Sonoma, but he also came in sixth or worse four times.

"He seems more focused this year compared to last," Stanboli said. "He's more driven than he was last year, when there was more uncertainty as he was feeling out the team."

If he can be more consistent, Rapp should be in the FX title hunt until the end of the season. He has 85 points right now, nine behind Zemke.

"What else is there to do? You have to have a reason to race," Rapp said. "I've won races and I've finished second in the championship a couple of times. I've done a lot of stuff, it's just that's the one thing that I haven't done.

"I never really set my goal on it because I never felt that I had a really good chance at it. But now I feel like I do. That's my main goal right now."

Contact Curtis Pashelka at cpashelka@bayareanewsgroup.com.