Chad's gots the Energy!
By TMX Archives on 7th May 08
AFTER more than a few ups and downs, Yamaha's Chad Reed did what he should have done much earlier in the season and finally claimed the 2008 AMA Supercross championship, his second, after claiming a resounding victory at the series showdown in sin city, Las Vegas, on Saturday night.
Needing just a sixth place finish to wrap up the title over arch rival Kevin Windham on the long, technically demanding Las Vegas track, Reed outclassed the field to take the win over Windham and factory Honda's Andrew Short on the night and wrap up the championship in some style, while Short's third place saw him snatch the final championship podium place from team-mate Davi Millsaps.
With both the Lites championships decided, the Sam Boyd stadium played host to the infamous East/ West Shootout once again and it was the West coast who came out on top on the night as Suzuki's Ryan Dungey ran down Ryan Villopoto to grab an emphatic late win over the defending outdoor champ, while East coast champ Trey Canard got himself on the podium in third place.
With third place in the championship on the line, Davi Millspaps grabbed the holeshot in the Supercross class Main and battled slim title hopeful Windham for three laps until he hit the deck, allowing Windham to take a vital lead and hand Short the championship podium place.
Windham needed to win to even stand a chance of taking the title but Reed was on a charge and worked his way through from sixth to make the pass on Windham for the lead and the win on lap 14, opening up a six-second lead in the final six laps to ensure the title was his by a slender 13 points.
I worked my butt of this year, said Reed. I had a new bike this year, and that made my job a lot easier. It has been a great season. This is very special. It was unfortunate that James Stewart, the defending champion, got hurt, but this was a great year for us.
Coming into the season, I knew I could be strong, and I knew that it was a race between James Stewart and I, and Kevin, but once James went out, the season got really tough. I think I lost focus. Winning became really easy. I felt like I was on a roll, and no one was going to beat me. I just got too content. It was just becoming kind of easy, and I made mistakes.
In the Lites shootout Ryan Dungey claimed the bragging rights for a second year running with a last lap pass on Villopoto after running the Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider down from a five second lead. Moving to within striking distance as the last lap flag came out, Dungay pounced as lapped riders caught Villopoto out and snatched the win, with East Coast champ Trey Canard trailing home in third a massive 40-seconds back on the pair, in front of team-mate Dan Reardon and Ryan Morais.
MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES
Final Rd - Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
SUPERCROSS: 1 Chad Reed (Yam), 2 Kevin Windham (Hon), 3 Andrew Short (Hon), 4 Joshua Hill (Yam), 5 Davi Millsaps (Hon), 6 Nick Wey (KTM), 7 Charles Summey (Yam), 8 Travis Preston (Kaw), 9 Timmy Ferry (Kaw), 10 David Vuillemin (Suz), 11 Heath Voss (Hon), 12 Paul Carpenter (Hon), 13 Jason Thomas (Hon), 14 Kelly Smith (Kaw),15 Ryan Clark (Hon).
Final Series Standings: 1 Reed 365, 2 Windham 352, 3 Short 281, 4 Millsaps 278, 5 Hill 228, 6 Ferry 218, 7 Nathan Ramsey (Yam) 173, 8 Vuillemin 169, 9 Wey 159, 10 Carpenter 145.
Dave Coombs Snr East/ West Lites Shootout: 1 Ryan Dungey (Suz), 2 Ryan Villopoto (Kaw), 3 Trey Canard (Hon), 4 Dan Reardon (Hon), 5 Ryan Morais (Yam), 6 Justin Brayton (KTM), 7 Brett Metcalfe (Kaw), 8 Kyle Chisholm (Kaw), 9 Broc Hepler (Yam), 10 Austin Stroupe (Kaw), 11 Matthew Lemoine (Yam), 12 Robert Kiniry (Hon), 13 Wil Hahn (Yam), 14 Justin Keeney (Hon), 15 Nico Izz (Suz).
For full pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, May 9, 2008