Reigning AMA Outdoor champion and runaway 2004 points leader Ricky Carmichael has become the first rider to take 100th AMA victories, after continuing his unbeaten run at Budds Creek on Sunday.
Last year Carmichael eclipsed Jeremy McGrath, who won 89 combined AMA Motocross and Supercross races during his 14-year career, and will now go down in AMA history (the AMA was founded in 1924) as the first rider to reach the 100 mark.
Honda hero Ricky dominated round four as he has the previous outings; by winning both motos, but had things far from his own way after stalling in the first outing and briefly losing the lead to Supercross champ Chad Reed in the second.
"This is simply incredible," smiled the 24-year-old afterwards. "I never dreamed that one day I would win 100 races. It’s almost too hard to believe. A lot of people helped me along the way.
"Missing the Supercross season was really good for me," he added, referring to his knee surgery. "It showed me how much I missed it. It’s great to be back and I’m enjoying racing more than ever."
Yamaha team-mates Reed and David Vuillemin finished second and third respectively in each moto, for second and third overall, while pre-season contender Kevin Windham was again off the pace – finishing 4-5 on his semi-works Honda.
Carmichael now leads the championship standings by 32 points over Reed with eight of the twelve rounds remaining.
Meanwhile, Carmichael’s fellow Floridian – and future premier-class rival – James 'Bubba' Stewart continued his own domination of the 125cc class by claiming four wins from the four starts this season.
The Kawasaki star beat Yamaha’s Mike Brown in moto one, then the fellow KX250F of Ivan Tedesco in the second to claim his 20th career victory. Brown’s 2-12 finishes put the former champion third overall, while Suzuki’s Broc Hepler would take second on the podium after consistent 3-3 results.
