Bench Racing Ammo: Win or Crash
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Anaheim 1
After a horrible start in the main event, James rode patiently through the pack to win the opening round of the Amp’d Mobile Supercross Series.”
Result: 1st place
Points: 25
Phoenix
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Result: 3rd
Points: 20
Anaheim 2
Seemingly dead locked on speed, the Floridians chased each other around Angel Stadium until the 18th lap, when Stewart lost his front end in a corner and crashed, handing the lead and win to Carmichael. Stewart, who still struggles with starting his Kawasaki KX450F, got passed by Yamaha’s Chad Reed and ultimately finished third, with Reed second.
Result: 3rdPoints: 20
San Francisco
“Finally with one lap to go, Stewart got right behind RC and then drew up next to him as they raced down what was supposed to be a rhythm section. They battled and James was able to retake the lead just as the white flag came out. The fans were going nuts. Carmichael would try to make another pass in the same section he took the lead earlier, and they went into the whoops side-by-side. It was wild action, and Stewart managed to chop down from the outside to take Carmichael’s line and take the lead.”
Result: 1stPoints: 25
Anaheim 3
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“From there it got worse. One lap later, James ran it in hard under Jeremy McGrath and took both of them out in a loose corner preceding the sand section. Less than a lap later, he went down again, tipping it over in a corner…. Three crashes in two laps pretty much spelled “meltdown.” James has been cool as ice all season and it was disheartening to see him suffer such a monumental bummer.”
Result: 8th
Points: 13
San Diego
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.”
Result: 1st
Points: 25
St. Louis
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“At first he still had the bike running, but the machine was obviously damaged and when he stalled it, he absolutely could not restart it. The riders swarmed past as Stewart kicked and kicked and kicked. A whole lap passed until finally he got rolling in 19th place.”
Result: 17th
Points: 4
Atlanta
Reed was handed another lead early in the race, as Stewart crashed just outside of the first turn, and Carmichael got another bad start. Stewart, meanwhile, was on a wild charge from nearly last. He would finally make his way up to and past Carmichael’s Makita Suzuki teammate Ivan Tedesco to take over third. That’s three first-turn crashes this year for Stewart, and they are really costing him.”
Result: 3rd
Points: 20
Indianapolis
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“And what a charge it was. Stewart passed nearly half the field in about two laps, and then was bearing down on the podium guys a few laps later.” Result: 2nd
Points: 22
Ironically, in the 250F class, Team Honda’s Davi Millsaps has two wins and one crash; SoBe/Samsung Mobile’s Josh Grant has two crashes and one win. And if you remember, last year Josh Grant was battling Josh Hansen for the win at Daytona before crashing together, resulting in Hansen winning and Grant finishing second. Add all of this up (along with Travis Pastrana’s much-anticipated return to supercross) and Daytona should be an incredibly exciting race. Make sure to tune into Speed Channel at 9:30 p.m. EST for same-day coverage!