The moment Ryan Villopoto took the checkered flag to win his heat race on Saturday night, it was obvious that Dallas was all business for #2. Still trying to dig out of the deep hole he made for himself with his first-round DNF, the Lites East contender didn’t waste any time or effort in doing a big whip or even a fist-pump as the pyro went off; he simply landed and rode to the stage. Later, he would emphatically win his second main event in a row, narrowing the points lead on Torco Racing Fuels Honda’s Trey Canard. Unfortunately, he's still 17 points down, with two races to go.
If Villopoto was going to make a real dent in the points, it would have been in Dallas. As the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider was blasting around Texas Stadium in his heat race, Canard was floundering in the signal area, trying to get the #48 bike started after a second-turn crash. The rookie would be forced into the LCQ, which he won, but that also meant an outside pick on the gate for the main. Then he crashed again, this time before he even got to the second turn.
But this kid is resilient, and he proved it by blasting through the pack from near last to fourth—right on the rear fender of fellow LCQ survivor Martin Davalos, who suffered a horrendous crash in the heat race on his MDK/KTM. This was the second come-from-behind ride for Canard in as many races.
Now Trey needs to be patient and wise, because two more fourths will do it for the championship, regardless of where the red-hot Villopoto finishes. Here’s betting Canard has got more than that in him.
Results:
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
2. Josh Grant (Hon)
3. Martin Davalos (KTM)
4. Trey Canard (Hon)
5. Tyler Bowers (Yam)
6. Ryan Morais (Yam)
7. Nico Izzi (Suz)
8. Branden Jesseman (Kaw)
9. Matt Goerke (Yam)
10. Billy Payne (Hon)
11. Gray Davenport (Kaw)
12. Travis Sewell (Suz)
13. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)
14. Justin Sipes (Suz)
15. Robert Castro (Kaw)
16. Jack Carpenter (Hon)
17. Justin Buckelew (Kaw)
18. Zach Ames (Hon)
19. Kyle Keylon (Hon)
20. Sean Hackley (Suz)
21. Jimmy Alberton (Suz)
22. Matt Boni (Hon)
