Chad Reed kicked off the 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series with an impressive performance at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, tonight, topping Kawasaki teammates James Stewart and Tim Ferry for the win on a rutted and slippery track.

A steady rain on Friday left the Anaheim course extremely wet and in poor condition despite the fact that it had been covered until mid-day today, and when the gate dropped in the 20-lap final the track was still quite slippery and deeply rutted.

At the start of the main event, Yamaha's Grant Langston emerged from the first turn with the lead, while Reed followed just behind. Meanwhile, Stewart lost his front wheel heading into the turn, starting a chain reaction that also collected Honda riders Kevin Windham and Ivan Tedesco.

By the end of the opening lap, Reed had moved his L&M Yamaha around Langston, as the two led Suzuki's Mike Alessi, Ferry and KTM's Nick Wey through the opening lap.

Reed gave the lead right back to Langston on lap two, however, when he stalled his bike while trying to remove a tear-off. But the Aussi quickly rejoined the action, retaking the lead on lap four with an impressive pass on Langston.

In the meantime, Stewart quickly and methodically work his way through traffic, moving into the runner-up position by the halfway point of the race, however by that time Reed had pulled to a 12 second advantage over the field.

Reed extended his lead to 21 seconds over Stewart by the finish, easily taking his fourth Anaheim victory, while Stewart finished second ahead of Ferry and Langston.

"I have been thinking about this race since last May," said Reed. "I knew I needed a good start tonight and had to fight. I have been working really hard, and this win shows that hard work pays off."

Windham, who won the 2005 Anaheim opener under similar conditions, battled back from his first lap crash to finish fifth, with Alessi in sixth and Honda riders Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short finishing seventh and eighth.

In the Lites division, Suzuki's Ryan Dungey out-dueled Yamaha's Jason Lawrence to take the win in an exciting 15-lap final.

Lawrence took the early lead after passing holeshotter Daniel Reardon (Torco Honda) on lap five. Reardon, Lawrence, Dungey and KTM's Justin Brayton jockeyed for the lead during the first half of the race, with Dungey taking over on the seventh lap with an aggressive pass on Lawrence over the triple jump. Lawrence followed Dungey closely until he crashed on lap nine, at which point Dungey pulled clear of the pack to finish with an eight second margin over Lawrence while Brayton coasted home for an impressive third.

"This is awesome," said Dungey. "Coming from Minnesota, this is a huge win for me. I could not do this without my entire family. It was a great race, and we will see who comes out on top at the end of the season."


Angel Stadium
Anaheim, California
Results: January 5, 2008 (Round 1 of 17)

SX HEAT 1 (8 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Chad Reed (Yam); 2. Josh Hill (Yam); 3. Tim Ferry (Kaw); 4. Jeff Gibson (Kaw); 5. Grant Langston (Yam); 6. Troy Adams (Hon); 7. Nick Wey (KTM); 8. Josh Hansen (Yam); 9. Nathan Ramsey (Yam); 10. Ryan Clark (Hon); 11. Antonio Balbi (Hon); 12. Kyle Mace (Kaw); 13. Mike Alessi (Suz); 14. Chris Barrett (Hon); 15. Ryan Abrigo (Yam); 16. Cole Siebler (Hon); 17. Charles Summey (Yam); 18. Isaiah Johnson (Yam).
Race Time: 8 min., 26.27 sec

SX HEAT 2 (8 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. James Stewart (Kaw); 2. Kevin Windham (Hon); 3. Ivan Tedesco (Hon); 4. Andrew Short (Hon); 5. Eric Sorby (Hon); 6. David Vuillemin (Suz); 7. Bryan Johnson (Hon); 8. Davi Millsaps (Hon); 9. Jeff Alessi (Hon); 10. Jiri Dostal (Kaw); 11. Heath Voss (Hon); 12. Jacob Marsack (Hon); 13. Jason Thomas (Hon); 14. Manuel Rivas Gomez (Kaw); 15. Michael Sleeter (KTM); 16. Chris Hay (Hon); 17. Chad Robbins (Yam); 18. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 19. Tyler Evans (Hon).
Race Time: 8 min., 01.570 sec.

SX LCQ (6 laps, 1-2 transfer): 1. Mike Alessi (Suz); 2. Jason Thomas (Hon); 3. Heath Voss (Hon); 4. Cole Siebler (Hon); 5. Manuel Rivas Gomez (Kaw); 6. Antonio Balbi (Hon); 7. Jiri Dostal (Kaw); 8. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 9. Ryan Abrigo (Yam); 10. Michael Sleeter (KTM); 11. Ryan Clark (Hon); 12. Charles Summey (Yam); 13. Jacob Marsack (Hon); 14. Chris Barrett (Hon); 15. Chris Hay (Hon); 16. Chad Robbins (Yam); 17. Kyle Mace (Kaw); 18. Isaiah Johnson (Yam); 19. Tyler Evans (Hon).
Race Time: 6 min., 25.630 sec.

SX FINAL (20 laps): 1. Chad Reed (Yam); 2. James Stewart (Kaw); 3. Tim Ferry (Kaw); 4. Grant Langston (Yam); 5. Kevin Windham (Hon); 6. Mike Alessi (Suz); 7. Davi Millsaps (Hon); 8. Andrew Short (Hon); 9. Nick Wey (KTM); 10. David Vuillemin (Suz); 11. Nathan Ramsey (Yam); 12. Eric Sorby (Hon); 13. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 14. Heath Voss (Hon); 15. Ivan Tedesco (Hon); 16. Josh Hill (Yam); 17. Jeff Alessi (Hon); 18. Bryan Johnson (Hon); 19. Troy Adams (Hon); 20. Josh Hansen (Yam); 21. Jeff Gibson (Kaw); 22. Jason Thomas (Hon).
Race Time: 19 min, 19.680 sec.

MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 1 of 17 rounds): 1. Chad Reed (25); 2. James Stewart (22); 3. Tim Ferry (20); 4. Grant Langston (18); 5. Kevin Windham (16); 6. Mike Alessi (15); 7. Davi Millsaps (14); 8. Andrew Short (13); 9. Nick Wey (12); 10. David Vuillemin (11); 11. Nathan Ramsey (10); 12. Eric Sorby (9); 13. Paul Carpenter (8); 14. Heath Voss (7); 15. Ivan Tedesco (6); 16. Josh Hill (5); 17. Jeff Alessi (4); 18. Bryan Johnson (3); 19. Troy Adams (2); 20. Josh Hansen (1).


Angel Stadium
Anaheim, California
Results: January 5, 2008 (Round 1 of 8)

SX LITES HEAT 1 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Ryan Dungey (Suz); 2. Justin Brayton (KTM); 3. Chris Blose (Suz); 4. Gavin Gracyk (Hon); 5. Broc Hepler (Yam); 6. Michael Lapaglia (Suz); 7. Dan Reardon (Hon); 8. Shaun Skinner (Hon); 9. Kyle Cunningham (Hon); 10. Bradley Graham (KTM); 11. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 12. Andrew McFarlane (Kaw); 13. Kevin Urquhart (Hon); 14. Davide Esposti (Suz); 15. Jimmy Hazel (Hon); 16. Matty Dowell (Yam); 17. Daniel Blair (Yam); 18. Jake Weimer (Hon); 19. Charlie Morrison (Hon); 20. Christopher Gosselaar (Hon).
Race Time: 6 min., 13.38 sec.

SX LITES HEAT 2 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Jason Lawrence (Yam); 2. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw); 3. Matt Lemoine (Yam); 4. Zach Osborne (Yam); 5. Austin Stroupe (Kaw); 6. Michael Willard (Hon); 7. Adam Chatfield (Suz); 8. Michael Blose (Suz); 9. Jeff Northrop (Hon); 10. Robert Kiniry (Hon); 11. Ryan Grantom (Hon); 12. Carlos Gonzales (KTM); 13. Justin Keeney (Hon); 14. Ramon Guzman (Kaw); 15. Tommy Hahn (Kaw); 16. Wil Hahn (Yam); 17. Tyler Keefe (Hon); 18. Billy Laninovich (KTM); 19. Logan Darien (Hon); 20. Drew Gosselaar (KTM).
Race Time: 6 min., 7.36 sec.

SX LITES LCQ (4 laps, 1-4 transfer): 1. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 2. Andrew McFarlane (Kaw); 3. Tommy Hahn (Kaw); 4. Wil Hahn (Yam); 5. Ryan Grantom (Hon); 6. Carlos Gonzalez (KTM); 7. Kevin Urquhart (Hon); 8. Justin Kenney (Hon); 9. Davide Esposti (Suz); 10. Matty Dowell (Yam); 11. Drew Gosselaar (KTM); 12. Billy Laninovich (KTM); 13. Jimmy Hazel (Hon); 14. Tyler Keefe (Hon); 15. Bradley Graham (KTM); 16. Daniel Blair (Yam); 17. Jake Weimer (Hon); 18. Ramon Guzman (Kaw); 19. Robert Kiniry (Hon); 20. Logan Darien (Hon); 21. Charlie Morrison (Hon); 22. Chris Gosselaar (Hon).
Race Time: 4 min., 12.65 sec.

SX LITES MAIN (15 laps): 1. Ryan Dungey (Suz); 2. Jason Lawrence (Yam); 3. Justin Brayton (KTM); 4. Dan Reardon (Hon); 5. Austin Stroupe (Kaw); 6. Tommy Hahn (Kaw); 7. Gavin Gracyk (Hon); 8. Andrew McFarlane (Kaw); 9. Chris Blose (Suz); 10. Wil Hahn (Yam); 11. Broc Hepler (Yam); 12. Jeff Northrop (Hon); 13. Michael Lapaglia (Suz); 14. Michael Blose (Suz); 15. Michael Willard (Hon); 16. Adam Chatfield (Suz); 17. Kyle Cunningham (Hon); 18. Matt Lemoine (Yam); 19. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw); 20. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 21. Shaun Skinner (Hon); 22. Zach Osborne (Yam).
Race Time: 14 min., 59.64 sec.

WESTERN REGIONAL MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS LITES SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 1 of 8 rounds): 1. Ryan Dungey (25/1 win); 2. Jason Lawrence (22); 3. Justin Brayton (20); 4. Daniel Reardon (18); 5. Austin Stroupe (16); 6. Tommy Hahn (15); 7. Gavin Gracyk (14); 8. Andrew McFarlane (13); 9. Chris Blose (12); 10. Wil Hahn (11); 11. Broc Hepler (10); 12. Jeff Northrop (9); 13. Michael Lapaglia (8); 14. Michael Blose (7); 15. Michael Willard (6); 16. Adam Chatfield (5); 17. Kyle Cunningham (4); 18. Matt Lemoine (3); 19. Brett Metcalfe (2); 20. Eric McCrummen (1).