GEICO Powersports Honda Team Brings a Pack of Bona Fide Winners to Vegas

May 7, 2010, 9:36am

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Windham and the rest of the GEICO Powersports Honda team are having such a good time this year they don't want the Supercross season to end.

But the 2010 Monster Energy AMA Series does wrap up Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium with the final Supercross race of the year as well as a special Shootout Lites race where the top 20 riders in the Lites East and top 20 in the Lites West will battle.

Windham, who broke a two-year winless streak in Seattle then backed it up last week with a second straight victory in Salt Lake City, said the GEICO Powersports Honda team is really operating on a higher level.

"The end of the season has been wonderful," Windham said. "We've been working hard, riding strong, and things have been good. To be honest with you, it's kind of sad to see the season end. Riding the way we are and things going the way they are going, it'd be nice to have four or five races more."

However, Windham said if the season is going to end, there is no better place for it to wrap up than Sin City.

"While all our races carry the same amount of weight, there's just something about being in Vegas," Windham said. "The crowd, the energy, the city -- the whole deal is really special. If you did put a value on them, this would be one of the bigger ones.

"It'll be nice to finish off the season strong and carry it over into the off-season."

GEICO Powersports Honda Lites riders Trey Canard, Justin Barcia, and Blake Wharton finished in contention for the Shootout. Canard has competed in this event before and says it can be an emotional mixed bag sometimes.

"Some people are just over Supercross at this point and are ready to go outdoors," said Canard, third in the Lites West standings. "The champions seem like they have less to prove, so they are in protective mode. Then there are guys that really want to prove something in that race. It's a mix, but everyone gets pretty excited about it once we get there and they see it's a pretty big deal."

Barcia said this weekend's race has almost been an afterthought for him, which he thinks might actually be an advantage for him.

"I'm ready to race some new guys," said Barcia, a runner-up to the Lites East championship this year. "We've really been focusing on getting ready for the outdoor season since it's only a few weeks away.

"There's going to be some bar-banging action in Vegas. My mind is kind of scrambled right now because I'm really thinking about outdoors, so I really think I'm going to be stress-free heading into this race. I feel like I should ride really good."

There might also be some team bragging rights on the line as well. For Canard, a GEICO Powersports sweep of the podium would suit him just fine.

"We're all out there and we're going to give it our best shot," Canard said. "Hopefully we can put all three GEICO Powersports bikes on the podium. Now that would be a classic ending to the season."