Star Racing Supercross Round 7 Race Report
San Diego CA. - Over the weekend, AMA Supercross visited Qualcomm stadium in San Diego, California for yet another exciting west coast round. Kyle Cunningham #35 and Nick Paluzzi #72 of DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha showed up knowing this was going to be one of their last shots at some quick success. With the normal day program abbreviated due to the harsh weather, timed qualifying surely showed the team was in contention for strong performances by both riders.
Heat #1 had the Star Racing duo of Cunningham and Paluzzi lined up on the gate, it was Kyle grabbing the holeshot who has honed his starting skills as of late. Paluzzi rounded the first turn in 2nd, and went over the first triple jump nearly side by side with his teammate showing the strength of Star Racing’s motor program. At the end of lap one, with small bobble exiting a slick turn lead to a crash dropping Cunningham back into the thick of the field, while Paluzzi dodged his downed teammate and assumed the role as the race leader. Nick rode with great poise for the entire race, fending off any attempt to overtake the rookie. With three turns to go, the situation unraveled a bit when he and the second place rider collided, causing Nick to slip to 3rd in a quick swoop. Thankfully Cunningham at the end of six laps successfully stayed out of trouble and finished up in 6th.
When the Lites Main Event took to the track, it was Cunningham again getting the best of starts sitting in 5th, while Paluzzi circulated outside the top fifteen. Up front, Cunningham found the pace he needed to maintain, and locked himself into a six way battle which put his Yamaha in a sweet spot with the leaders just in range and with very little pressure from behind. Finding some race rhythm was Paluzzi who had risen up to the 15th position on lap three, but rode tentatively with the compromised track conditions. Lap seven went into the books, and Cunningham was putting the pressure on to take over 6th, and to keep his Yamaha in podium contention. Pulling the trigger, and executing the pass over the finish jump looked positive, but unfortunately in the following turn he was block passed and fell to the ground. Remounting in 11th after being stuck under his bike, Cunningham would go on to finish 10th on the night. Paluzzi pulled through on this occasion in fair fashion, and came away with a 15th.
Star Racing is proudly supported by:
DNA Shred Stix, Yamaha Motor Corp, Scott Sports, N-Fab, FMF, Cosworth, North County Yamaha, DNA Energy Drink, GYTR, Factory Effex, Dunlop, Easton EXP, Enzo, Renegade Fuels, Sunstar, Motion Pro, ARC, ODI Grips, RK Chains, Excel A60 rims, Yamalube, Ride Engineering, Twin Air, LightSpeed, Braking, Vortex Ignitions, ICW, JD Built, Crank Works, Eibach, Met Tec, Tammer MX
