Penalised Carmichael responds with Atlanta win.

Ricky Carmichael has responded to his championship threatening 25-point penalty, imposed on Saturday for having illegal fuel in San Diego, by winning in front of a record 70,133 strong crowd at Atlanta's Georgia Dome.

Yamaha's Chad Reed - the clear AMA Supercross points leader after Carmichael's penalty - won the Progressive Direct Holeshot Award to start the 20-lap feature event at the front, while Carmichael began working his way through the field after a seventh place start. Meanwhile, Kawasaki's James Stewart - now Reed's closest rival - went down in a first-turn pile-up that ultimately cost him a shot at the race win.

With Reed out front, Carmichael began to make his move, and by lap eight he had closed to within a couple bike lengths. On lap 11, Carmichael shot to the inside of Reed in a turn to take the lead. Reed stayed close down the stretch but was unable to get close enough to make a move as Carmichael took the victory, the fourth of his career at the Georgia Dome. Reed finished second and Stewart was third.

"(Chad) hounded me for while out there and I was just sticking to my lines," said Carmichael, referring to the latter part of the race. "As the track wore out it just got harder and I knew that it would be harder for Chad to get by me."

As a result of the penalty, Suzuki's reigning champion is now 12-points behind Stewart and 31-points behind former title winner Reed in the AMA standings. "We got our back against the wall and I'm going to try to win every race from here on out," admitted RC, whose team plan to appeal the penalty.

Interestingly, it appears that the AMA penalty hasn't been carried over to the World Supercross GP standings - even though points for both championships were scored at San Diego (and most other events, due to 'shared' races). The lack of any SX GP points' reduction means that Carmichael is now 6-points clear of Reed in that championship battle.

Meanwhile, in the AMA Supercross Lites East Coast main event, Honda's Joshua Grant, won the Progressive Direct Holeshot Award and held his lead in the early stages - thus avoiding a cluster of crashes that kept series front runners KTM's Josh Hansen and Honda's Davi Millsaps out of contention.

Grant then cruised to the easy victory ahead of Millsaps and Martin Davalos, who finished third for his first career podium.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Atlanta:
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
3. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
5. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda
8. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda
9. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda
10. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings:
1. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 171
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 152
3. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 140
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 126
5. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 118
6. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 117
7. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 110
8. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda, 108
9. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 90
10. Jeremy McGrath, Encinitas, Calif., Honda, 67

Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings:
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 217
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 211
3. James Stewart, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 211
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 173
5. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 164
6. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 163
7. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio,, Honda, 113
8. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda, 112
9. Jason Thomas, Melrose, Fla., Honda, 110
10. Tyler Evans, Corona, Calif., Suzuki, 94

Amp'd Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Event Results, Atlanta:
1. Joshua Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda
2. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda
3. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Honda
4. Branden Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha
5. Matthew Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha
6. Michael Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda
7. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
8. Robert Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda
9. Christopher Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki
10. Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki Amp'd Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings:
1. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 47
2. Branden Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha, 38
3. Chris Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki, 34
4. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 30
5. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki, 27
6. Joshua Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 25
7. Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 25
8. Robert Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda, 25
9. Josh Hansen, Lake Elsinore, Calif., KTM, 23
10. Michael Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda, 20