Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed Duel at Atlanta's Georgia Dome This Weekend - News - Dirt Rider Magazine

Reed and Carmichael Face-Off This Weekend in AtlantaAfter winning five consecutive THQ AMA Supercross Series races, Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael, of Havana, Fla., finished in second place last weekend at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium to Yamaha's Chad Reed. This weekend Carmichael, the winner of three consecutive 250cc races at Atlanta's Georgia Dome, aims to off-seat Reed, who won last year's main event in Atlanta.Carmichael led the first 19 laps of the 250cc main event in San Diego before Reed made the pass on the 11-time AMA national champion."It was a little bit of a rough night, with my get-offs in my heat," said Carmichael. "Then in the main, I made a couple of mistakes in the whoops. When I crashed in the last lap, I was just trying to make a last-ditch effort. I mean, when I got passed, I wasn't just going to roll over and give away the win. But overall, I'm happy with my Makita Suzuki and with the way it turned out, particularly after my little heat race experience."Suzuki's Davi Millsaps, of Cairo, Ga., leads the 125cc Eastern Regional THQ AMA Supercross Series. He opened the season with a big win at Indianapolis' RCA Dome and holds a three-point lead over Kawasaki's Grant Langston.Last year, Reed raced to his sixth THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercross Series victory in front of 59,651 fans at the Georgia Dome. Kawasaki's James Stewart earned his third consecutive 125cc Eastern Regional THQ AMA Supercross Series race, breaking the all-time 125cc win record (13) previously held by Jeremy McGrath.THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercross Series Notes Package
Atlanta, Georgia Dome****250cc laps led:
Ricky Carmichael: 116
Kevin Windham: 8
Chad Reed: 8125cc laps led:
Ivan Tedesco: 23
Nathan Ramsey 17
Billy Laninovich: 16
Broc D. Helper: 15
Davi Millsaps: 13
Andrew Short: 7
Ryan Sipes: 2
Danny Smith: 1
Kelly D. Smith: 1
Grant Langston: 1Race Recap:
Before 53,595 fans at a wet Qualcomm Stadium, Yamaha's Chad Reed, of Dade City, Fla., won his first THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercross Series race of the season. KTM's Nathan Ramsey, who won the opening race of the 125cc season in Anaheim, Calif., won the 125cc Western Regional THQ AMA Supercross Series main event.250cc THQ AMA Supercross Series Event Results
1. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
2. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
3. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda
4. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
5. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
6. Sebastien Tortelli, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki
7. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
8. Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Yamaha
9. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda
10. Jeremy McGrath, Encinitas, Calif., Honda250cc THQ AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 167
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 138
3. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda, 119
4. Kevin Windham, Baton Rouge, La., Honda, 116
5. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 101
6. Sebastien Tortelli, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki, 94
7. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 93
8. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 89
9. Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Yamaha, 81
10. Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 73125cc Eastern Regional THQ AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Suzuki, 25
2. Grant Langston, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 22
3. Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., KTM, 20
4. Brock Sellards, Sherrodsville, Ohio, Yamaha, 18
5. Matt Walker, McDonough, Ga., Kawasaki, 16
6. Joaquim Rodrigues, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 15
7. Brandon Jesseman, De Witt, Iowa, Suzuki, 14
8. Tucker Hibbert, Centerville, Miss., Honda, 13
9. Greg Schnell, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Honda, 12
10. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Yamaha, 11125cc Western Regional THQ AMA Supercross Series Event Results
1. Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., KTM
2. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
3. Andrew Short, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
4. Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda
5. Thomas Hahn, Belpre, Kan., Honda
6. Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Kawasaki
7. Jay Marmont, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
8. Eric McCrummen, Oakley, Calif., Honda
9. Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
10. Justin Keeney, Lebanon, Ore., Kawasaki125cc Western Regional THQ AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 127
2. Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., KTM, 91
3. Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 82
4. Andrew Short, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 79
5. Danny Smith, Middleton, Idaho, Yamaha, 77
6. Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 69
7. Ryan Sipes, Nine Grove, Kan., Suzuki, 67
8. Thomas Hahn, Belpre, Kan., Honda, 65
9. Jay Marmont, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 64
10. Ryan Morais, Canyon Lake, Calif., Suzuki, 53U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Pro Privateer Challenge
1. Nick Wey
2. Tyler Evans
3. Damon HuffmanAsterisk Medic Card
Anaheim 1: Chris Gosselaar
Phoenix: Akira Narita
Anaheim 2: Michael Sleeter
San Francisco: Richie Owens
Anaheim 3: Justin Keeney
Indianapolis: Eric Sorby
San Diego: Richie Owens250cc Butterfinger Holeshot Award
Anaheim 1: Ricky Carmichael
Phoenix: Ricky Carmichael
Anaheim 2: Ricky Carmichael
San Francisco: Chad Reed
Anaheim 3: Michael Byrne
Indianapolis: Eric Vallejo
San Diego: Jeremy McGrath125cc Butterfinger Holeshot Award
Anaheim1: Ivan Tedesco
Phoenix: Ryan Sipes
Anaheim 2: Ryan Sipes
San Francisco: Danny Smith
Anaheim 3: Danny Smith
Indianapolis: Kelly Smith
San Diego: Billy LaninovichMMI Top Tech Award
Anaheim 1: Brent Myron
Phoenix: Brian Kinney
Anaheim2: Scott Bubzynski
San Francisco: John Mitcheff
Anaheim 3: Mike Williamson
Indianapolis: Tony Berlutti
San Diego: Mike GosselaarTHQ AMA Supercross Series Stats, Atlanta

• Yamaha's Bob Hannah won the first-ever race in Atlanta March 3, 1977 at Fulton County Stadium
• In '92, Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw won the last race at Fulton County Stadium.
• Racing moved to the Georgia Dome in '93, where Bradshaw won again.
• Wins by Brand: Yamaha: 10; Honda: 9; Kawasaki: 5; Suzuki: 2 (Suzuki's last win was in '83).
• First-time winners in Atlanta: Hannah: '77; Chuck Sun: '80; Stanton: '89; Huffman: '97.
• In '89, LaRocco was making his second ever 250cc supercross start. He now has 80 podium finishes. This weekend will be his 214th start.
• Carmichael now has 57 podium finishes - 4th on all time in 250cc supercross podium list.
• Riders to win on a 125 and 250cc: Bradshaw; Carmichael; Reed
• Bradshaw, Carmichael and Hannah have all won three times in Atlanta; McGrath has 5 wins.
• Reed has won back-to-back wins at 6 venues: Anaheim; San Diego; Houston; Dallas; Pontiac; St. Louis. He can add Atlanta this weekend.
• Reed has a history of turning in strong results in the second half of the season. In '03, he won 6 of the last 8 races; In '04, he won 5 of the last 8.
• Reed now has 19 250cc supercross wins on a Yamaha; he is tied Bradshaw and Jeff Ward.
• Only five riders have 20 or more 250cc supercross wins: McGrath; Rick Johnson; Bob Hannah; Carmichael; Jeff Ward. He can join them this week.
• McGrath won 27 250cc supercross races on a Yamaha; Hannah had 20.
• Reed has 36 250cc supercross podiums, placing him 11th on the all-time list; he is tied with Ron Lechien.
• Since Anaheim 1 in '03, there have only been five different winners: Carmichael, Reed, Windham, LaRocco and Lusk.
• For only the 4th time in 250cc supercross history, there have been three different brands to win a supercross.
• LaRocco has been on the podium three times in seven races this season; finished in the top 5, five times.
• LaRocco has raced in Atlanta on four brands: Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda.125cc Eastern Regional THQ AMA Supercross Series

• Eddie Warren won the first 125cc race in Atlanta 20 years ago.
• Only 2 riders from Georgia have won the 125cc championship: Keith Turpin ('86) and Ezra Lusk ('94).
• Wins by Brand: Yamaha: 7; Kawasaki: 5; Honda: 3; Suzuki: 3.
• Kawasaki and Yamaha have controlled this event in recent years. Doug Henry was Honda's last winner ('86); Lusk was Suzuki's last winner ('94).
• This weekend's race will be the 20th anniversary of the 125cc class in Atlanta. Racing didn't take place in Atlanta in `87&'88.
• Carmichael was the last back-to-back winner in Atlanta ('97-'98).
• Yamaha has won the last five of six races in Atlanta.Past Winners in Atlanta****250cc Supercross
February 28, 2004: Chad Reed
February 22, 2003: Ricky Carmichael
February 23, 2002: Ricky Carmichael
February 24, 2001: Ricky Carmichael
February 26, 2000: Jeremy McGrath
February 20, 1999: Jeremy McGrath
February 21, 1998: Jeremy McGrath
February 22, 1997: Damon Huffman
February 24, 1996: Jeremy McGrath
February 25, 1995: Mike LaRocco
February 26, 1994: Jeremy McGrath
February 20, 1993: Damon Bradshaw
February 22, 1992: Damon Bradshaw
February 23, 1991: Damon Bradshaw
February 24, 1990: Jeff Ward
February 25, 1989: Jeff Stanton
February 22, 1986: Rick Johnson
February 23, 1985: Mark Barnett
February 25, 1984: Johnny O' Mara
March 05, 1983: Mark Barnett
February 27, 1982: Bob Hannah
February 28, 1981: Mark Barnett
March 01, 1980: Chuck Sun
March 03, 1979: Bob Hannah
March 04, 1978: Marty Tripes
March 05, 1977: Bob Hannah125cc Supercross
February 28, 2004: James Stewart
February 22, 2003: Brock Sellards
February 23, 2002: Chad Reed
February 24, 2001: Nathan Ramsey
February 26, 2000: Stephane Roncada
February 20, 1999: Ernesto Fonseca
February 21, 1998: Ricky Carmichael
February 22, 1997: Ricky Carmichael
February 24, 1996: John Dowd
February 25, 1995: Mickael Pichon
February 26, 1994: Ezra Lusk
February 20, 1993: Doug Henry
February 22, 1992: Brian Swink
February 23, 1991: Brian Swink
February 24, 1990: Denny Stephenson
February 25, 1989: Damon Bradshaw
February 22, 1986: Keith Turpin