Kawasaki/Racer X Race Report
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And it was the way he did it that meant the most for this series, because once again Stewart and Carmichael engaged in an awesome battle for every one of the 20 laps in the main. The fans were pumped, the riders had fun, and the TV show on CBS will be another great one. No one knows how the next ten races will play out, but if it keeps going like this, you’ll never forget it.
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Tedesco not only fought back to pass Reed, he was actually pulling a small lead until he crashed. Reed said Karma caught up to him. But by then Stewart had moved to Reed’s rear wheel and then put a brake/check block pass combination move that would have made Jeff Matiasevich and Damon Bradshaw proud. Stewart thought Reed had punted him in turn one. MC got off clean.
Carmichael won his heat and then grabbed the holeshot in the main – his first holeshot in a long time. Stewart quickly got into second and the race was on. 20 laps, mano-e-mano.
Reed got to second fairly quick and looked to chase them duo down. But he couldn’t. Reed’s three-race win streak in San Diego came to an end as Carmichael and Stewart gapped him fairly quickly. McGrath was solid in fourth and Mike LaRocco, riding the gold Samsung Wireless/Sobe No Fear Honda, was fifth.
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Lapped traffic would become a factor as Stewart would lose and then
gain time. The fans were pumped as they played the chess game,
Carmichael protecting his lines and Stewart developing his. Finally, as
the two-lap board came out, Stewart made his move and made it look
easy. He went to the inside in a bowl turn and took control. The white
flag came out and Carmichael stayed right there, ready to pounce as
more lappers loomed. If he could have gotten a few feet closer, he
could have tried the banzaii move in the last two turns, but there was
no room, and Stewart held on for a big win.
Stewart says
his confidence never wavered even after a rough week. He also made some
changes to the bike that seemed to have helped. Carmichael said he had
no regrets and just got beat.
Should be another awesome showdown in St. Louis.
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This puts Short back on top in the series with a two-point lead over Langston heading into the break. Millsaps, Hepler, Hansen and the rest will be racing East Lites next weekend.
As for this weekend, CBS is airing the show tomorrow at 9 a.m.
Pacific and noon Eastern. It’s must-see TV, because this series just
keeps on providing the thrills.