Supercross titles wide open after Dallas 'fallout'

Yamaha's Chad Reed picked up a pivotal win before a crowd of 45,445 at Texas Stadium, Dallas, on Saturday night - tightening the point standings with two rounds remaining in the 2006 Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross/World Supercross GP championships.

Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael came into the event with a solid points lead in the AMA series, but tied with Kawasaki's James Stewart in the world championship. RC won the Progressive Direct Holeshot Award to start the 20-lap feature up front, but was passed by Stewart on lap 4 - then fell in the whoops, eliminating any chance of victory.

That should have handed the Dallas victory to Stewart, who was pulling away from new second placed man Reed when he too hit the dirt, on lap eight, handing the lead to the Australian! Once out front, Reed cruised to the easy win while Stewart charged back to finish second with Honda privateer Nick Wey third. Carmichael recovered to sixth.

"It was a tough track tonight; you really had to be on your game," said Reed after his second win of the season. "I figured my line out in the whoops before these guys, and I was just sticking to it. Something was telling me it was going to get ugly. At this point I don't even care about the title. I know if I put myself in good positions weekends then a title is possible."

The 'fallout' from Dallas means Carmichael now holds a mere two-point lead over Reed, with Stewart trailing by 10 points in third. However, James has now taken a seven-point lead over Carmichael in the World SX GP standings.

In the AMA Supercross Lites main event, Kawasaki's star rookie Ryan Villopoto won his first ever victory after leading from start to finish. Villopoto shot to the front at turn one and soon began to build a sizable lead as series front runners Grant Langston and Andrew Short were stuck towards the back after poor starts.

Villopoto built an eight-second advantage and held off the late race charge of Short to take the first win of his career. Honda's Short finished second and Langston was third aboard a Kawasaki.

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Dallas:
Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki
Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda
Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda
Josh Demuth, Grapevine, Texas, Honda
Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda

Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings:
Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 296
Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 294
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 286
Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 227
Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 218
Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 213
Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 173
Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 125
Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda, 116
Tim Ferry, Dade City, Fla., Honda, 108

Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings:
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 330
Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 322
Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 312
Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 261
Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 250
Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 243
Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda, 176
Jason Thomas, Melrose, Fla., Honda, 172
Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio,, Honda, 170
Tyler Evans, Corona, Calif., Suzuki, 125

Amp'd Mobile Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Event Results, Dallas:
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
Andrew Short, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
Grant Langston, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM
Ryan Morais, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha
Justin Keeney, Lebanon, Ore., Honda
Ryan Abrigo, Snohomish, Wash., Honda
Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 99
Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Honda, 78

Amp'd Mobile Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings:
Andrew Short, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 140
Grant Langston, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 136
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 119
Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., KTM, 116
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 113
Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 111
Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 98
Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Honda, 89
Darcy Lange, San Jacinto, Calif., Kawasaki, 63
Ryan Morais, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki, 60