Stewart Wins World Supercross GP, Carmichael Collects 5th AMA SX Championship - Dirt Rider Magazine

In what was dubbed the most anticipated race ever, Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael, of Tallahassee, Fla., won his fifth Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series race in front of 39,506 fans at Sam Boyd Stadium. Kawasaki's James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., won tonight's race and his first-ever Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP. Tonight's race aired on SPEED live for the first time in the sport's 34-year history.Heading into tonight's race, Yamaha's Chad Reed, of Dade City, Fla., and Carmichael were tied with 316 points each and Stewart was in third place, five points out from the lead. Stewart earned the $1,500 Progressive Direct Holeshot Award in the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series class and held off Honda's Kevin Windham, of Centerville, Miss., through turn one. Carmichael started in fourth place and moved into second on lap two while Reed held onto third place. The trio rode the in the same order until the checkered flag. Stewart won his eighth race of the season."I kept saying to myself there is no way Chad (Reed) is beating me tonight," said Carmichael. "He beat me last weekend in Seattle heads up, and I was not going to let it happen. This has been a team effort; we had a lot of adversity this season and we over came it. I had a heck of a career, and I wanted to go on top."In a pre-race press conference before the weekend's race, he announced that this would be his last full year of racing."We went through a tough year, and I was down in the dumps, but I came on strong at the end of the season and learned a lot," said Stewart. "Winning this World Supercross GP championship is awesome, and I take my hat off to Ricky for winning his championship."Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., earned the $1,000 Progressive Direct Holeshot Award in the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout with Andrew Short one wheel behind in second place through turn one. KTM's Mike Alessi, of Apple Valley, Calif., moved into the lead as the pack negotiated their way through the rhythm section. Villopoto crashed on lap one and remounted in last place.Short and his Honda teammate, Davi Millsaps, of Cairo, Ga., passed Alessi on lap two and held down the number one and two positions, respectively. On lap eight Millsaps crashed, allowing Short to ride away with his second Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout and won a 2006 Toyota Tundra truck. Alessi finished a season-best second place and Honda's Thomas Hahn, of Decatur, Texas, finished third place, his best finish of the year."My first win in 2003 was pretty good but this one was even better," said Short. "Maybe some of us west coast riders had a little advantage (racing in the outdoor-like stadiums). It was good to race against the riders on the east coast. In was looking forward to racing with my teammate Davi Millsaps but he had some bad luck."A one-hour broadcast of the AMA Supercross Lites racing will air on SPEED on Sunday, May 13, at 8:00 p.m. EST.Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings
1. James Stewart, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 380
2. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 365
3. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 354
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 292
5. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 286
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 259
7. Jason Thomas, Melrose, Fla., Honda, 193
8. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio,, Honda, 188
9. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda, 185
10. Tyler Evans, Corona, Calif., Suzuki, 138Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Las Vegas
1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki
2. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
3. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
4. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
5. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda
6. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda
7. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
8. Josh Demuth, Grapevine, Texas, Honda
9. Brock Sellards, Sherrodsville, Ohio, Honda
10. Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, YamahaAmp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 338
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 336
3. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 336
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 255
5. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 249
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 228
7. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 207
8. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 125
9. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda, 118
10. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda, 108Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout
1. Andrew Short, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
2. Mike Alessi, Apple Valley, Calif., KTM
3. Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
4. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda
5. Ryan Morais, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki
6. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
7. Darcy Lange, San Jacinto, Calif., Kawasaki
8. Bobby Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda
9. Kyle Partridge, Las Vegas, Nev., Yamaha
10. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, IowaAmp'd Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
1. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 119
2. Joshua Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 94
3. Chris Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki, 94
4. Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha, 86
5. Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 62
6. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Honda, 51
7. Robert Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda, 51
8. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 48
9. Michael Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda, 43
10. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki, 39Amp'd Mobile Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
1. Andrew Short, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 118
2. Grant Langston, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 116
3. Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., KTM, 107
4. Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 99
5. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 95
6. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 94
7. Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 91
8. Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Honda, 78
9. Darcy Lange, San Jacinto, Calif., Kawasaki, 55
10. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Honda, 52For more information about the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, please log on to www.supercross.cc.com.Supercross LIVE!, the only place on the planet to catch Amp'd Mobile Supercross live at home, is available for fans at every race, starting at 7:00 p.m. local time at supercross.cc.com. Listen as Supercross LIVE! hosts Jim Holley and Jason Wiegandt capture the live race call, a pre-race show, a post-race show, post-race press conference, on-air industry guests and celebrities, in-depth interviews, promotions, call-ins and more. In 2004-2005, more than a three-quarters-of-million listeners logged on to Supercross LIVE!For more information about the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, please log on to www.supercross.cc.com.About Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP™/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross SeriesAmp'd Mobile World Supercross GP, produced and promoted by Live Nation is a 17-round global off-road motorcycle stadium racing circuit. Riders must compete in the international rounds to be eligible to win the world championship. In 2005-2006, the 17-event Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP will be comprised of two international events and 15 of the 16 events that are conducted in major cities throughout the United States as a part of the Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series. Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series is a 16-event series solely conducted in the United States. The other Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series event held in Daytona Beach, Fla., is independently produced by the International Speedway Corporation and is not a part of the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP. An Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series rider will be crowned as the national champion for the series of events conducted in the United States only.The FIM, Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, is the body that globally governs motorcycle sport at the world level. Among other matters, the FIM groups together 85 affiliated National Federations relating to the sport of motorcycle racing. AMA Pro Racing is the National Federation representative that sanctions motorcycle-racing events in the United States. Dorna Off Road S.L. is an internationally recognized sports management group established in 1988 with an emphasis on major international motor sports events. Dorna is headquartered in Madrid, Spain with branch offices in Barcelona, London and Tokyo. In addition to its involvement with Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP, Dorna manages the rights to MotoGP. For more information on Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/ Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, log on to www.supercross.cc.com.Live Nation is one of the world's largest diversified promoters and producers of, venue operators and sponsorship/advertising for, live entertainment events including music concerts, theatrical performances, and specialized motor sports events. Live Nation owns, operates or has booking rights for 150 venues worldwide including 107 domestic and 43 international venue sites. In 2005, promoted and/or produced over 28,500 events with attendance at venues exceeding 61 million persons.About the FIM
The FIM, Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, is the body that globally governs motorcycle sport at the world level. Among other matters, the FIM groups together 85 affiliated National Federations relating to the sport of motorcycle racing. AMA Pro Racing is the National Federation representative that sanctions motorcycle-racing events in the United States. Dorna Off Road S.L. is an internationally recognized sports management group established in 1988 with an emphasis on major international motor sports events. Dorna is headquartered in Madrid, Spain with branch offices in Barcelona, London and Tokyo. In addition to its involvement with Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP, Dorna manage the rights to MotoGP. For more information on Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/ Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, log on to www.supercross.cc.com.About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.