After the bitter disappointment of another runner-up finish to Team Makita Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael last week in St. Louis, Team Yamaha’s Chad Reed experienced the euphoria of a victory over Carmichael in Carmichael’s home state of Florida and in one of the most prestigious events on the THQ AMA Supercross Series calendar, the Daytona Supercross by Honda, tonight.
Just four days shy of his 23rd birthday, Reed won the 20-lap Daytona Supercross main event under the lights at Daytona International Speedway, beating Carmichael by a 34-second margin of victory that actually belied the turn of events in the race. Reed pulled the holeshot and led every lap of the main event, but the Australian was threatened by Carmichael on several occasions, only to gain back a little breathing room when Carmichael would bobble and lose time. In the end, a major bobble by Carmichael in the whoops on lap 17 saw him rocket off the track and pancake onto the pavement of the fabled Daytona 500 tri-oval. Carmichael got up immediately, but he was slowed by Honda banners dragging in his rear wheel, and there was little that he could to re-close the huge gap that Reed enjoyed then. Amsoil/Chapparal/Factory Connection Honda’s Mike LaRocco put in another solid performance to finish third, some 5.484 seconds behind the detuned Carmichael. Team Yamaha’s David Vuillemin was fourth. Amsoil/Chapparal/Factory Connection Honda’s Kevin Windham was fifth.
The win was somewhat of a milestone for Reed, as it marked his 20th career AMA 250cc Supercross victory. The win also gave him back-to-back Daytona victories. Carmichael still holds a commanding lead in the series standings, however. Carmichael leads Reed, 239-207.
The 125cc Eastern Region main event was an equally wild, unpredictable crashfest that saw several pre-race favorites, including Team Makita Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps and Team Monster/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Matt Walker and Grant Langston all crash, some of them twice. Amsoil/Chapparal Factory Connection’s Josh Grant got the holeshot and led for most of the race before ultimately being caught by Red Bull KTM’s Josh Hansen. The two battled on lap 14 and, incredibly, they collided and crashed just as they took the white flag.. Hansen got up first and managed to get ahead of Grant to earn his second career AMA Supercross victory over Grant. Samsung/Sprint Honda’s Troy Adams was third.
Hansen’s victory, combined with the midsfortunes of Langston and Millsaps, allowed the KTM rider to move into the series lead with three rounds remaining. At least this one’s still close, as Hansen leads Langston, 80-78. Millsaps’ championship hopes may have been iced tonight, as he trails in third place, with 68 points. Here are the main event results and points standings from the Daytona Supercross By Honda:
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Results: January 11, 2005 (Round 10 of 16)
250 MAIN (20 laps): 1. Chad Reed (Yam); 2. Ricky Carmichael (Suz); 3. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 4. David Vuillemin (Yam); 5. Kevin Windham (Hon); 6. Travis Preston (Hon); 7. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon); 8. Andrew Short (Hon); 9. Timmy Ferry (Yam); 10. Sean Hamblin (Kaw); 11. Damon Huffman (Hon); 12. Kyle Lewis (Hon); 13. Tyler Evans (Suz); 14. Jiri Dostal (Hon); 15. Joe Oehlhof (Hon); 16. Erick Vallejo (Yam); 17. Jason Thomas (Hon); 18. Isaiah Johnson (Yam); 19. Damien Plotts (Hon); 20. Sebastien Tortelli (Suz).
Time: 18 min., 49.940 sec.
Margin of victory: 34.002 sec.
THQ AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 10 of 16 rounds): 1. Ricky Carmichael (239/7 wins); 2. Chad Reed (207/2 wins); 3. Kevin Windham (172/1 win); 4. Mike LaRocco (169); 5. David Vuillemin (150); 6. Ernesto Fonseca (137); 7. Sebastien Tortelli (129); 8. Michael Byrne (103); 9. Heath Voss (95); 10. Tyler Evans (81); 11. Damon Huffman (75); 12. Nick Wey (73); 13. Travis Preston (68); 14. Jeremy McGrath (61); 15. Timmy Ferry (52); 16. Jason Thomas (47); 17. Joe Oehlhof (46); 18. Erick Vallejo (39); 19. Kyle Lewis (36); 20. (TIE) Jeff Gibson (34)/Ryan Clark (34).
125 MAIN (15 laps): 1. Josh Hansen (KTM); 2. Josh Grant (Hon); 3. Troy Adams (Hon); 4. Chad Johnson (Yam); 5. Kelly Smith (Yam); 6. Ryan Mills (KTM); 7. Steve Boniface (Hon); 8. Donnie McGourty (Hon); 9. Joaquim Rodrigues (Hon); 10. Justin Buckelew (Hon); 11. Jeff Dement (Suz); 12. Kevin Johnson (Yam); 13. Jacob Saylor (Yam); 14. Tyson Hadsell (Yam); 15. Grant Langston (Kaw); 16. Eric Sorby (Suz); 17. Bradley Ripple (Suz); 18. Davi Millsaps (Suz); 19. Matt Goerke (Suz); 20. Derrick Fisher (Yam); 21. Greg Schnell (Hon); 22. Matt Walker (Kaw). Time: 14 min., 59.700 sec.
Margin of victory: 2.134 sec.
THQ AMA 125cc EASTERN REGION SUPERCROSS SERIES STANDINGS (After 4 of 7 rounds): 1. Josh Hansen (80/1 win); 2. Grant Langston (78/2 wins); 3. Davi Millsaps (68); 4. Kelly Smith (53); 5. Troy Adams (51); 6. Josh Grant (50); 7. Steve Boniface (49); 8. Joaquim Rodrigues (45); 9. Broc Sellards (40); 10. Matt Walker (38); 11. Ryan Mills (37)/Justin Buckelew (37); 13. Chad Johnson (33); 14. Branden Jesseman (30); 15. Greg Schnell (27)/Kevin Johnson (27); 17. Jeff Dement (24); 18. Donnie McGourty (18); 19. Robbie Horton (14); 13. Tucker Hibbert (13).
