Daytona SX Win to Reed

Kit Palmer | March 5, 2004

If you remember how they finished last week at the Atlanta Supercross, then you already know how they finished at this years running of the Daytona Supercross by Honda. (Or if you watched it on television.) For the second week in a row, Chad Reed, Kevin Windham, Mike LaRocco and David Vuillemin finished 1-2-3-4 in the AMA THQ Supercross Series.

Held for the first time under the lights on the tri-oval of the famed speedway, the Daytona Supercross started off with a bang but sort of went out with a pop. The night began with an exciting heat-race win by Travis Pastrana, who chased leader Windham the whole race and pressured the Honda rider into making a mistake on the last lap. Reed came from behind to win the second heat race, setting the stage for what many expected would be a thrilling three-way battle for the win in the 250cc main, but it never really materialized.

Reed, on the factory Yamaha YZ250, got the jump in the 20-lap main, right in front of Pastrana, but Windham, on the Amsoil/Chaparral/Factory Connection Honda CR450R, got squeezed out in the first turn and got going in ninth place. Pastrana, who just started riding again about a month ago following a knee injury and other ailments, didn’t have the stamina to hang with the series points leader and eventually dropped way back, and by the time Windham got into second, Reed was long gone. The only drama that remained was when Reed slid out and landed hard on his hip and chest area late in the race. But the Yamaha rider had enough of a cushion, about 25 seconds at the time of the crash, to nurse his sore body and damaged radiator to the finish. Reed slowed considerably at the end to finish 8.742 seconds ahead of Windham.

LaRocco, who admitted that he didn’t feel comfortable on the track all day long, ended up finishing a distant third, followed by Yamaha’s Vuillemin. Suzuki’s Nick Wey finished fifth, while Kawasaki’s Michael Byrne and KTM Red Bull’s Grant Langston rounded out the top seven.

Suzuki’s Pastrana ended up 10th after getting lapped by Reed before it was all over.

The 125cc main had no surprises, as Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki’s James Stewart easily rode off with his fourth win in a row, taking the checkered flag 35 seconds ahead of Team Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps, who held second place for most of the race. Third place went to Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy Racing’s Josh Hansen, while Samsung/Radio Shack/Yamaha’s Michael Blose put in another strong ride to finish fourth.

All of the podium finishers in the 125cc class had never ridden the Daytona Supercross before.

Reed now leads Windham by 29 points, while Stewart has a perfect 100 points to Eric Sorby’s 59. Sorby finished sixth in the Daytona main.

Results:

250: 1. Chad Reed (Yam); 2. Kevin Windham (Hon); 3. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 4. David Vuillemin (Yam); 5. Nick Wey (Suz); 6. Michael Byrne (Kaw); 7. Grant Langston (KTM); 8. Heath Voss (Yam); 9. Nathan Ramsey (Hon); 10. Travis Pastrana (Suz); 11. Andrew Short (Suz); 12. Sean Hamblin (Suz); 13. Jason Thomas (Hon); 14. Craig Anderson (Hon); 15. Joseph Oehlhof (Hon); 16. Tyler Evans (Suz); 17. Ted Campbell (Hon); 18. James Povolny (Hon); 19. Scott Metz (Hon); 20. Keith S. Johnson (Hon).

125: 1. James Stewart (Kaw); 2. David Millsaps (Suz); 3. Josh Hansen (Yam); 4. Michael Blose (Yam); 5. Ryan Mills (Hon); 6. Eric Sorby (Kaw); 7. Danny Smith (Yam); 8. Brett Metcalfe (KTM); 9. Kelly Smith (Yam); 10. Daryl Hurley (Suz); 11. Paul Carpenter (Kaw); 12. Kevin W. Johnson (Yam); 13. Turbo Reif (Hon); 14. Jeff Gibson (Yam); 15. Tiger Lacey (Hon); 16. Doug DeHaan (Hon); 17. Steve Boniface (Suz); 18. Tucker Hibbert (Suz); 19. Tyson Hadsell (Yam); 20. Johnny Aubert (Suz); 21. Eric Nye (Yam); 22. Steve Lamson (Hon).

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.