Four Former Winners Set to do Battle in Dallas Supercross
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 18, 2006) -- Round 14 of the 16-race Amp’d
Mobile AMA Supercross Series is coming to Texas Stadium, in the Dallas
suburb of Irving, on April 22. One could easily pick any of the past
winners of the race to win this Saturday and not make a bad choice.
James Stewart, Chad Reed, Ricky Carmichael and Kevin Windham are all
past victors of the Dallas Supercross and the four are expected to be
the leading contenders this year.
The series is coming off a two-week break and the riders should be
rejuvenated and ready to get back to racing as the series winds down
with the final three events.
Makita Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael holds a 12-point lead over Yamaha’s
Chad Reed coming into Texas Stadium. Kawasaki’s top rider James Stewart
is still a close third, so the Dallas Supercross could have a major
influence on how this year’s series turns out.
Carmichael seems to be in championship protection mode coming into the
Dallas race. He built a solid lead in the series by mid-March and since
then has settled for three straight runner-up finishes. Carmichael
needs only to finish second in the final three rounds and he’ll have
the 2006 title in the bag, regardless of what Stewart or Reed do in the
remaining rounds.
Carmichael denies that he’s intentionally taking seconds as a path to the championship.
“The championship is by far the most important and I’m not going
to jeopardize that, but I still want to win some races before it’s all
said and done,” said Carmichael, who has six wins on the season and is
the second leading all-time AMA Supercross race winner.
Reed has preserved his second-place standings in the series in spite of
riding with an injured shoulder since the Daytona round. The grit
showed by the Australian has paid off and kept him in the championship
hunt with three races to go.
“I’m hoping the time off before Dallas gives my shoulder a chance to
get better,” Reed said after the last round in Houston on April 1. “It
was important for me to keep racing through the injury because you
never know in racing when even just a single point can make a major
difference.”
With Carmichael preserving his lead and Reed riding hurt, no one has
been able to match the pace of Stewart in the last three rounds. The
defending Dallas Supercross winner is running a three-race winning
streak and tied Carmichael on the season with six AMA Supercross wins
after taking victory in Houston. With the AMA title a long shot,
Stewart looks to close out the season continuing on his current hot
streak.
“I’m just focusing on one race at a time,” Stewart said. “If I can keep
winning I’ll be happy. I haven’t given up on winning the AMA
championship, but I can only take care of what’s under my control and
if I keep winning then I’ll be satisfied with that.”
Honda’s Kevin Windham seems to get stronger each week after returning
from pre-season injury last month. Windham is the fourth former Dallas
Supercross winner and he would love to at least be able to have a
victory to point to when the 2006 Supercross season is complete.
The AMA Supercross Lites West Series resumes in Dallas after a
two-month break. Similar to the main Supercross class the Lites West
division is essentially a three-rider race going into the last two
rounds. Just two points separate Honda’s Andrew Short and Pro Circuit
Kawasaki’s Grant Langston coming into Dallas. Red Bull KTM’s Nate
Ramsey is also very much in the championship picture. Langston and
Ramsey may have a leg up on Short in Dallas since both are former
winners of the race.
Tickets for the Dallas Supercross are available at all Ticketmaster
outlets, all participating Yamaha Dealers, at the Texas Stadium Box
Office, or charge by phone at 214-373-8000 or 972-647-5700. A special
Family Section is also available for non-alcoholic family fun. When
ordering tickets through Ticketmaster, request the Family Section for
an alcohol-free atmosphere. Gates open at 12:30 and fans are invited to
come early for the Pit Party where they have a chance to meet and get
autographs from their favorite riders.
The Dallas round will receive next-day coverage on SPEED, on Sunday, April 23 at 6:00 pm EST.