Chad Reed came into a packed Sam Boyd Stadium with a comfortable 10-point lead and a guaranteed Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship with just a sixth-place or better finish. He could walk in like a gimp or roll out like a pimp, and Reed chose the latter, proving exactly why he deserved the title. Rising to the challenge and passing his way into the lead the San Manuel Yamaha rider capped his 2008 campaign in stylish fashion.
Chad Reed capped his 2008 title campaign in dominant fashion, choosing to go out swinging rather than play it safe.
Geico Motorsports Honda's Kevin Windham, however remote, was the challenger coming into Round 16 at Las Vegas. K-Dub was riding the momentum of a two-race win streak and needed desperately to make it a hat trick if he wanted any chance at stealing Reed's imminent crown. Refusing to back down to the 2004 champ, Windham held off Reed in a crowd-pleasing battle in Heat 2 for the early win. Reed showed he was willing to back it down a notch and concede the victory in order to stay safe and consistent. It looked as though that might be the case again in the main event when Reed circulated in fourth behind the top-three qualifying Hondas of Windham and Red Bull Honda teammates, Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short.
Millsaps took the Progressive Direct Holeshot award and was hanging onto the lead though his fellow Honda rider was pushing hard behind him. Reed worked his way into fourth after a sixth-place start and seemed content to watch the drama unfold before him. Millsaps gave him just what he wanted when he spun out in a left-hander and dropped deep into the top-10. Now in third, it seemed common sense that Reed would take an easy championship, but instead the YZ-F rider pushed his way past Short in a clean block-pass before the finish line on Lap 10. From there he had the final half of the race to work on Windham who couldn't sustain the pace. Reed moved by cleanly on Lap 14 and motored away for an impressive win.
Windham tried valiantly, but it wasn't enough to claim his first Supercross title. The good news is that he isn't retiring just yet.
"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 for me this year. This is very special. It was unfortunate that James Stewart, the defending champion, got hurt, but this was a great year for us."
Millsaps recovered for fifth while Yamaha's Josh Hill, who qualified through the LCQ, snagged fourth after a dismal start. Short held on for third and managed to bump Millsaps in the championship standings for third.
Supercross Results:
1. Chad Reed, Yam
2. Kevin Windham, Hon
3. Andrew Short, Hon
4. Josh Hill, Yam
5. Davi Millsaps, Hon
6. Nick Wey, KTM
7. Josh Summey, Yam
8. Travis Preston, Kaw
9. Tim Ferry, Kaw
10. David Vuillemin, Suz
Supercross Overall Standings:
1. Reed, 365
2. Windham, 352
3. Short, 281
4. Millsaps, 278
5. Hill, 228
Supercross Lites
A showdown of young talent, experienced vets and pure unbridled speed clashed in the annual Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout. As he did last year, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey shocked the capacity crowd with a stellar ride to top the best from both coasts.
Ryan Dungey won the East/West shootout for the second consecutive year picking up another new Toyota pickup in the process.
"To win this race two years in a row is huge for me," said Dungey. "It was a very special win for me because I came from behind and rode smart. I lost some time in the beginning of the race, and I was able to find my grove as the race progressed."
As amazing as Dungey's charge through the pack was, it was truly a case of good teammate/bad teammate that determined the outcome. Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto busted out to the holeshot lead and looked to be well on his way to redeeming his disappointing East Coast title run. RV was clicking off ridiculously fast laps on the hardpack circuit, but late in the race he ran into trouble with back-markers.
The blue and yellow flag flew for the slower riders as RV tried to minimize the bobbles in the waning laps. Instead of holding a line and continuing to race, RV's teammate, Austin Stroupe, pulled over and practically stopped allowing Dungey to pass without even an ounce of roost to protect his KX brethren. However, as Dungey pulled onto RV's rear tire through the final whoop section, his RM-Z teammate, Nico Izzi, held up Villopoto and forced the Kawasaki pilot to single and seat bounce to the finish line jump while Dungey went unimpeded and was able to use the much faster step on/step off combo to take the white flag. He only led one lap, but it was the one that mattered, and Dungey sprinted away from Villopoto in the final minute.
"That was one of the fastest starts I have ever raced on at a Supercross race," said Villopoto. "The lappers played a big part in the race, but Ryan (Dungey) was riding great. I made some mistakes, and he capitalized on them."
East Coast champion, Trey Canard, landed on the podium while West Coast champ, Jason Lawrence, pulled out of the race around the midway point.
East Coat champion, Trey Canard, took third after a relatively uneventful ride while his teammate, Dan Reardon, finished fourth.
Dave Coombs Sr. East/West 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
