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2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross - Seattle

Monday, 28 April 2008

The sixteenth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross blew into the Pacific Northwest this weekend and was welcomed with surprisingly pleasant weather in Downtown Seattle. The amazing Qwest Field played host to the final battle for the West Coast Regional Lites Championship between Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki's Ryan Dungey and Yamaha of Troy's Jason Lawrence. The drama didn't end there; there is another rivalry coming to a head in the Supercross class between San Manuel/L&M/Yamaha's Chad Reed and Torco Racing Fuels Honda's Kevin Windham; and the Main events of the evening offered some of the best excitement of the entire Supercross season. Not only did Seattle enjoy uncharacteristic weather, they also witnessed the most intense 450 main in quite some time.

SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT ONE

As the grey sky chased the sun away, the gates dropped for the first heat of the night. Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki's Ryan Dungey hopped off the line first, winning the holeshot and staking his claim out in front of the pack. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Brett Metcalfe did not let Dungey get too far out, keeping his front tire locked on Dungey's rear Bridgestone. Fun Center/Suzuki's Chris Blose and MDK/KTM's Justin Brayton made chase, but the real battle was up front with Dungey and Metcalfe. A freshly healed Broc Helper rounded out top five after the first lap aboard his factory Yamaha. As the riders circled around for the second lap, Yamaha of Troy's Zach Osborne did his best to reel in B-Hep, but Hepler held his ground. In the midst of battle, the two Yamaha pilots managed to get around Blose as they entered the third lap. Ryan Dungey, meanwhile, used his first three laps to pull away from Metcalfe, and by lap four it was clear Metty would need a miracle to catch the Suzuki rider. At the conclusion of the six laps, it was Dungey who easily took the checkers with Metcalfe and Brayton rounding out the top three. After the race, Dungey commented, "I just want to ride 100%. Anything less just isn't me."

RESULTS
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Brett Metcalfe
3. Justin Brayton
4. Broc Hepler
5. Zach Osborne
6. Chris Blose
7. Tommy Hahn
8. Eric McCrummen
9. Justin Keeney

SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT TWO

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Austin Stroupe jumped out front for the holeshot in the second Lites heat of the night, with Torco Racing Fuels Honda's Dan Reardon nipping at his heels. Stroupe held his lead, though, and looked to be settling in comfortably up front. Robert Kiniry, Star Racing/Yamaha's Wil Hahn, and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/Honda's Gavin Gracyk rounded out the top five after the first lap. What looked like a comfort zone for Stroupe quickly became an uncontrolled bobble, and the Pro Circuit rookie laid the bike over toward the end of the second lap. Meanwhile, Yamaha of Troy's Jason Lawrence picked his way through the pack after he got off to an undesirable start. He moved into fifth then, almost as quickly, hopped into the fourth place spot by the third lap. Stroupe was able to remount his Kawasaki as swiftly as his ejected from it and clawed through the group to regain ground. J-Law. Clearly focused on his title hopes, J-Law continued to weave through the top spots, catching Kiniry and Hahn before the end of the heat. Austin Stroupe, also focused, jumped up to fifth, caught Wil Hahn, then Bobby Kiniry. When the checkers flew, Dan Reardon took the win, with J-Law and Austin Stroupe rounding out the top three.

RESULTS
1. Dan Reardon
2. Jason Lawrence
3. Austin Stroupe
4. Robert Kiniry
5. Matt Lemoine
6. Wil Hahn
7. Gavin Gracyk
8. Adam Chatfield
9. Shaun Skinner

SUPERCROSS CLASS HEAT ONE

East Coast Lites competitor and Torco Racing Fuels Honda rider Josh Grant decided to try his luck on a 450 and blasted out first for the holeshot in the first Supercross class heat of the night. Red Bull Honda's Davi Millsaps, however, was all over him from the get-go. Grant's elder teammate Kevin Windham joined the party out front as well. Although they were probably happy for Grant's rookie success, Millsaps and K-Dub passed the Lites rider right before the finish line jump at the end of the first lap. Tyler Bright and Monster Energy Kawasaki's Timmy Ferry chased down the Hondas, and in their efforts, Ferry was able to move past Bright for the fourth place spot. Butler Bros./DNA Energy/BTO Sports' Jason Thomas held onto sixth, though Rockstar/Hart & Huntington's Josh Demuth was putting the pressure on him. Out front, Windham and Millsaps gave the Seattle fans a show, battling back and forth, until K-Dub passed Millsaps and made it stick.

RESULTS
1.   Kevin Windham
2.   Davi Millsaps
3.   Josh Grant
4.   Timmy Ferry
5.   Tyler Bright
6.   Jason Thomas
7.   Josh Demuth
8.   Charles Summey
9.   Ryan Clark

SUPERCROSS CLASS HEAT TWO

After the battle of the Hondas in the first Supercross class heat race, every fan in the stadium sat at the edge of their seat hungry for more action. And sure enough, the second 450 heat offered plenty. When the gates dropped, MDK/KTM's Nick Wey shot out aboard his 450SX-F out for the holeshot. Wey, however didn't get far before Red Bull Honda's Andrew Short and San Manuel Yamaha's Chad Reed reeled him in him and quickly passed him. Wey soon found himself in third with Monster Kawasaki's Travis Preston all over him. Up front, Shorty and Reed gave their best impression of the first heat battling back and forth, until Reed got the best of Short in a straighaway on the fourth lap. From there, Reed quickly pulled away from the Honda rider and rode easily onto victory.

RESULTS
1.   Chad Reed
2.   Andrew Short
3.   Travis Preston
4.   Nick Wey
5.   Josh Hill
6.   Jeff Gibson
7.   Bryan Johnson
8.   Heath Voss
9.   Manuel Rivas

SUPERCROSS LITES LCQ

All American KTM Fire Police's Carlos Gonzalez jumped out and grabbed the holeshot of the Last Chance Qualifier for the 250F pilots. Kyle Beaton, aboard a YZ250F, quickly reeled in Gonzalez, with Tiger Lacey following suit. Michael Willard joined the battle, eventually taking over second place. Butler Bros./DNA Energy/BTO Sports' Kyle Cunningham chopped through the group to finish third, with holeshot winner Carlos Gonzalez in fourth.

RESULTS
1.   Kyle Beaton
2.   Michael Willard
3.   Kyle Cunningham
4.   Carlos Gonzalez

SUPERCROSS CLASS LCQ
With just two gates left up for grabs, the 450s blasted out into the track and Dusty Klatt snuck into position and won the holeshot. Chris Gosselaar moved into second after first lap as David Vuillemin clawed his way into fourth. Jake Marsack held DV12 at bay, while the Paul Carpenter, crippled from illness, rode in fifth. Pauly, though, set his symptoms aside and did his best to grab a qualifying spot. He gobbled up Vuillemin then put a pass on Marsack in a turn after finish line jump. Unfortunately, Atomic Racing rider was forced off track while battling with Gosselaar and his night ended there.

RESULTS
1.   Dusty Klatt
2.   Chris Gosselaar

SUPERCROSS LITES MAIN EVENT

The West Coast Lites Regional Series was finally settled after quite a hiatus. It all came down to the final race in Seattle… And when the gates dropped, it was Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki's Ryan Dungey who got the best start. Bobby Kiniry and Justin Brayton fell in right behind the Suzuki rider, and Jason Lawrence nipped at Brayton's heels. As the group entered the second turn, only the top six or so actually exited the turn successfully. A huge pile-up left nearly half of the field scrambling for their bikes. Factory Yamaha's Broc Hepler and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Brett Metcalfe put their best efforts toward reeling in J-Law, who was trying to catch Justin Brayton.

Meanwhile, Brayton worked his magic and dipped past Kiniry. Up front, Ryan Dungey had already signed all of the necessary paperwork to check out. He was clearly in a groove and rode flawlessly. On lap three, J-Law made his move on Brayton while Metcalfe did the same on Hepler. Behind Hepler, Tommy Hahn and Austin Stroupe got into the spirit, reeling in B-Hep while battling themselves.
By lap five, Ryan Dungey was into the lapper traffic; he was not letting anyone near him.
With Dungey so far out in front, Metcalfe, Brayton, and Hepler gave the fans a small battle.
Dungey easily took the checkers, but his body language told us everything. He won the race, but not the war. His win was not enough to steal the championship from Lawrence. J-law only had to finish third or better… and he crossed the line in second and clinched the West Coast Lites Regional Series.

RESULTS
1.   Ryan Dungey
2.   Jason Lawrence
3.   Broc Hepler
4.   Austin Stroupe
5.   Tommy Hahn
6.   Justin Brayton
7.   Brett Metcalfe
8.   Kyle Cunningham
9.   Michael Willard
10.   Justin Keeney
11.   Chris Blose
12.   Adam Chatfield
13.   Shaun Skinner
14.   Gavin Gracyk
15.   Zach Osborne
16.   Matt Lemoine
17.   Will Hahn
18.   Kyle Beaton
19.   Carlos Gonzalez
20.   Bobby Kiniry
21.   Eric McCrummen
22.   Dan Reardon

SUPERCROSS CLASS MAIN EVENT
And so it all came to this... The stage was set for quite a main event. And the Supercross gods descended down onto the Pacific Northwest fans and gave them the gift of the most exciting Supercross race of the season, of not the most intense race of recent memory. The excitement kicked off Chad Reed getting caught in a first turn pile-up, leaving Andrew Short, Kevin Windham, and Davi Millsaps to duke it out for the top positions. With Reed in the very back of the pack, Windham took over the lead, with Short and Millsaps in tow. Timmy Ferry kept the green machines in the hunt in fourth place and upstart Josh Grant nipped at the veteran's heels.

Just after the first lap, tragedy struck as Josh Demuth wadded hard just past the finish line jump and did not leave the track on his own power. The Asterisk crew attended to the H&H pilot who was just recovering from another injury (we will keep you posted on Josh's condition).
The excitement only escalated from there – just as we thought K-Dub was settling into a comfortable lead, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda rider's bike sucked a track banner up into the chain forcing Windham to dismount his Honda and remove the obstructing banner. In the midst of the commotion, he lost five positions, all the while Chad Reed was picking other riders in the field off like a man on a mission. With K-Dub recovering from the evil track banner, Andrew Short assumed the lead
At the end of six laps, Andrew Short held a strong lead, while Reed had already managed to get back up to ninth place.
Soon after, Windham passed his young teammate, Josh Grant, which gave him the fourth place position. Reed continued his campaign through the field, catching back up to seventh place after eight laps. The fans rose to their feet, shouting at the top of their lungs as the race to the front ensued between Windham and Reed. When K-Dub gained a position, so did Reed. K-Dub took Millsaps as the lapper traffic started to slow everyone down. Reed, meanwhile, took Ferry.

On lap 18, Windham finally had the lead, and Reed was in third. When the white flag came out, Shorty did his best to hold Reed off, but the Red Bull Honda rider could not hold on for that second place podium spot. When the checkers flew, Windham took the win with Reed holding on for second. Both were clearly excited about their efforts. After the race, Reed commented, "I just tried to be smart. It's gonna be fun in Vegas. I know what it's going to take in Vegas. There's another race, another opportunity." He alluded to the Honda rider in the front of the pack saying, "There's tactics and then there's dirty riding, but there's another race." Windham, on the other hand, said of Reed, "He has done a lot of talking, but his riding speaks for itself. He rode great tonight. This has been the biggest series of my career, and next week will hold probably the biggest race of my career."

RESULTS
1.   Kevin Windham
2.   Chad Reed
3.   Andrew Short
4.   Davi Millsaps
5.   Timmy Ferry
6.   Josh Grant
7.   Josh Hill
8.   Nick Wey
9.   David Vuillemin
10.   Heath Voss
11.   Charles Summey
12.   Ryan Clark
13.   Jeff Gibson
14.   Jason Thomas
15.   Manuel Rivas
16.   Chris Gosselaar
17.   Tyler Bright
18.   Travis Preston
19.   Dusty Klatt
20.   B. Johnson
21.   Josh Demuth

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