In one of the most dramatic Monster Energy® Supercross, an FIM World
Championship, seasons in history the fate of Chad Reed’s championship
season hangs in the wind as he battles injury this Saturday at
Seattle’s Qwest Field Saturday. In the Western Regional AMA Supercross
Lites class a champion will be crowned this weekend.
The AMA Supercross will air on SPEED Sunday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m.,
and the AMA Supercross Lites class race will air on SPEED Saturday May 3
at 3:00 p.m. EST.
Last weekend at St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome, Torco Fuels Honda’s
Kevin Windham, of Centerville, Miss., picked up his third main event win
of the season and tightened the championship race between he and Team
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians’ Reed in the before a crowd of
48,698.
Reed, of Tampa, Fla., took over the lead on the opening lap but would
give way to the hard-charging Windham, who steadily pulled away for the
win.
Windham, who entered tonight’s race trailing Reed by 16 points, cut
the deficit to 13 points with two races remaining. Reed, who is riding
with a cracked shoulder blade, turned in a valiant ride to earn second.
Red Bull Honda’s Andrew Short, of Smithville, Texas, finished third.
“Tonight I just wanted to put myself into a good position,” said
Windham. “(Chad) put himself in a good position to not lose too many
points tonight. It’s all about me now and I feel good about the ride I
put in tonight. I’m giving it all I can and that alone feels good.”
Added Reed, “(My shoulder’s) definitely a lot better than last
weekend. I just couldn’t make it happen in the whoops. I didn’t want
to lay (the bike) down so I rode for second tonight. I want this title
and I’m not about to let it go. I feel like I’ve let these guys into
this points battle all season long by making mistakes.”
Torco Fuels Honda’s Trey Canard clinched his first-ever Western
Regional AMA Supercross Lites class championship with a win.
“I really didn’t mean to take him out,” said Canard, a
four-time winner on the season, referencing the exciting finish to the
Lites class main event. “I think that’s racing and I would expect
him to do the same to me if it came down to this last race. I’ve
really wanted this championship since I was like three years old. I just
trained hard all week long and I can’t thank my team enough for
getting this championship.”
In the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites championship, it’s a
two-horse race between Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, of Belle
Plain, Minn., and Yamaha of Troy’s Jason Lawrence, of Carlsbad, Calif.
Heading into the final race of the championship this Saturday, Lawrence
carries a six point lead over Dungey. After the third race of the season
Dungey had 34 points on Lawrence after winning three consecutive races.
Lawrence capitalized off of a few less-than-favorable performances by
Dungey. The 21-year-old Lawrence won three of the last four races and
finished second in their last contest in Houston. It’s all going to
unfold this Saturday night at Qwest Field.
Last year in Seattle Kawasaki’s James Stewart, of Haines City,
Fla., clinched his first AMA Supercross class championship as he
captured the 12th win of the season.
In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan
Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., capped off his championship season with a
win in front of his hometown crowd. En route to winning the seventh race
of the year, Villopoto charged through the field and on lap six, he
moved into the lead and rode to victory.
Tickets are available at www.SupercrossOnline.com,
the Qwest Field box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at
206-628-0888 in Seattle or 253-627-8497 in Tacoma. and
participating Yamaha dealerships. Club Level seats are $40; Gold Circle
ar $40; Mid-Level seats are $25 for adults and $10 for kids and
Treadhead® seats are just $10. All seats are $2 more on the day of the
race. Practice and qualifying begin at 12:30 and racing begins at 7:00
p.m. The pit party will be open from 12:30-6:00 p.m., and pit passes
will be available at Renton Motorcyles and a participating local
retailer prior to the event.