Bench Racing Ammo: East vs. West

May 8, 2008, 10:35am

RD28

You got to love it when supercross comes to Vegas. Not only is the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship usually decided in the premier class, but you also get to see the top Lites riders duke it out in the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout. There’s no championship or points on the line for these boys, but there is something that is sometimes even more significant: bragging rights. Some riders say they don’t place much importance on this event, but deep inside you know they all want to win this race and prove that they’re the top Lites rider in the land, if only for this one night.

This year’s race was one of the best that I can recall, and in typical fashion, neither champion donning the #1 plate came close to winning. In fact, it was the two runner-ups from each region battling it out, with the West Region’s Ryan Dungey coming out on top aboard his Rockstar/Makita Suzuki. Both riders, who had the championship within their grasp, went into Vegas on missions of redemption.

Ice Trey

For today’s installment of Motosport Outlet’s Bench Racing Ammo, we decided to tally up the points of the riders from each respective region and see which coast won.

Dave Coombs, Sr. East/West Shootout
1. Ryan Dungey   West  25
2. Ryan Villopoto East  22
3. Trey Canard   East  20
4. Dan Reardon   West  18
5. Ryan Morais   East  16
6. Justin Brayton West  15
7. Brett Metcalfe   West  14
8. Kyle Chisholm East  13
9. Broc Hepler   West  12
10. Austin Stroupe West  11
11. Matt Lemoine West  10
12. Robert Kiniry West  9
13. Wil Hahn   West  8
14. Justin Keeney West  7
15. Nico Izzi   East  6
16. Kyle Cunningham West  5
17. Tyler Bowers East  4
18. Matt Boni   East  3
19. Ryan Sipes   East  2
20. Ben Coisy   East  1
21. Matt Goerke   East  0
22. Jason Lawrence West  0

J Law

After some quick calculations, 12 riders in the 22-rider field were from the West, while 10 were from the East. Then we added up the points, and we have the Western Regional riders coming out on top with a total of 134 points, compared to 87 in the East. So let the bragging begin, as this year the West can claim that it was better than the East in this finale. Pretty impressive considering the West Champion, Jason Lawrence, didn’t even finish the race!
But did the West really win? Of the 22 riders, only three of them can actually claim that they’re from the West coast. Check out each riders’ home states below:

1. Ryan Dungey   Minnesota
2. Ryan Villopoto Washington
3. Trey Canard   Oklahoma
4. Dan Reardon   Australia
5. Ryan Morais   California
6. Justin Brayton Iowa
7. Brett Metcalfe   Australia
8. Kyle Chisholm Florida
9. Broc Hepler   Pennsylvania
10. Austin Stroupe North Carolina
11. Matt Lemoine Texas
12. Robert Kiniry New York
13. Wil Hahn   Kansas
14. Justin Keeney California
15. Nico Izzi   Michigan
16. Kyle Cunningham Texas
17. Tyler Bowers Ohio
18. Matt Boni   Florida
19. Ryan Sipes   Kentucky
20. Ben Coisy   France
21. Matt Goerke   Florida
22. Jason Lawrence New Jersey