Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Stroupe Gets First Win in Houston

Irvine, Calif. (February 19, 2008) – In only his seventh supercross race, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Austin Stroupe stood on the top step of the podium after earning his first career AMA Supercross Lites win. His teammate Brett Metcalfe finished fifth. In the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship main event, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry earned his third straight podium, finishing third at Reliant Stadium. Travis Preston finished 20th.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Under the Tent

Everything is Bigger in Texas
They say everything is “Bigger in Texas” and nothing was bigger on Saturday night than the ride by Stroupe to win his first race as a professional. The 17-year-old rider used a good start to get near the front of the field before taking the lead for good on lap six. The win moves Stroupe to third in the series’ standings just one point ahead of his teammate Metcalfe.

“It feels awesome,” said Stroupe. “When I saw the checkered flag it was great. Near the end of the race I was just trying to get good lap times and stay loose. I felt good coming into the season and it just is awesome to get a win. It has been tough all season and I’m just stoked.”

Three Times a Podium
For the third straight week, Ferry put his Kawasaki KX™450F on the podium. After getting caught in traffic on the first lap, Ferry fought his way through the pack to finish third. Ferry continues to hold down the third spot in the championship standings.

“It was a good night,” said Ferry. “Third was just my spot. It was a good ride and three podiums in a row keeps us up in the points. I had to make some block passes in the corner after the short set of whoops. It was tricky out there. It was rough and bumpy and some of the ruts were down to the concrete floor. The track challenged us and that is good for me.”

Fifth Place Finish
After finishing second in his heat race, Metcalfe carried that momentum in the AMA Supercross Lites main event. Metcalfe never ran lower than third until the last lap when he went down on his own. Metcalfe quickly recovered to finish fifth.

“It’s real disappointing,” said Metcalfe. “It would have been nice to get another podium. My front end washed out and that was it. I was just trying too hard and I tried to get through that turn a little better. Before the last lap the race was going well. After I went down I was able to salvage a fifth but I it could have finished much better.”

Something Spoke
For Preston, a broken spoke ended his night early. While battling in traffic on the fourth lap, Preston and another rider made contact and the foot-peg from the other bike broke a couple of spokes on the front wheel. Preston wasn’t able to continue and finished 20th.

“I got together with someone and their peg broke a couple of my spokes,” said Preston. “Right now I need all the laps I can get so it’s not good to pull off early. I was riding pretty good but I still need to get better starts.”

Weather Warning
With severe weather forecast for the Houston area, the team decided to pull down the tent outside of its trailer. The strong winds and rain wouldn’t affect the race because of Reliant Stadium’s retractable roof but it did change how the team worked on its bikes. The mechanics utilized the larger area inside their new Featherlite Trailer to keep the bikes tuned to perfection.

Big Air
The layout at Reliant Stadium featured one of the biggest finish line jumps in recent memory. Nearly the same length as a big triple, the 65 foot jump launched riders over the start straight and into one of the two big triple jumps on the track.