Coming into Round 2 of the 2008 Monster Energy AMA/FIM Supercross Championship, there were two things learned last weekend in Anaheim. First, the time-off San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Yamaha rider Chad Reed spent over the summer...er, should I say Australia's winter, did him well. Reed appears to have gained some serious speed during the off-season and looked much faster aboard his factory YZ450F. Second, Monster Kawasaki's James Stewart proved that he has healed up and is back on the gas.

Supercross

In Saturday's 20-lap Supercross main, it looked like it was again going to be a battle between Yamaha rider Chad Reed and Kawasaki's James Stewart after both riders won their respective heat races by more than 4-second margins. They didn't let anyone down either.

Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Mike Alessi nabbed the holeshot going into the first corner, but Stewart made a pass on the inside and moved up to the front moments later. Chasing last year's Supercross champ was Reed, Alessi, Honda Red Bull Racing's Davi Millsaps, and Stewart's Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Tim Ferry.

Reed shadowed Stewart early on, trying to get within striking distance of the Kawasaki pilot. On Lap 2, Alessi fell while battling with Millsaps. He quickly remounted but was pushed out of the top-five.

Reed continued to try and put pressure on Stewart, but could never seem to make any ground on the fast, slippery track. By Lap 7, Stewart had opened up an extremely small 3-second gap over Reed. Torco Racing Fuels/Honda's Kevin Windham, and Honda Red Bull Racing's Andrew Short battled in the pack behind the leaders with Windham coming out on top.

"It was a good race, and I had fun out there," said Reed, who is now tied for teh championship lead with Stewart after two races. "It was a typical Phoenix track; slick and dry."

Stewart went on to win by a margin of just under 2 seconds over last weekend's winner, Chad Reed. Rounding out the top-five was the Honda trio of Windham, Short, and Tedesco, all of whom crossed the finish line over 30-seconds behind Stewart.

"I had a good start and we made it past where we did last weekend so that was a plus," said Stewart after his 25th career AMA Supercross win. "I was definitely pumped going into that first corner and I knew I didn't want to tip over. I knew Chad (Reed) was going to make a charge, that's what he does and I just let the race come to me. I think he almost made a pass on me, but I wasn't too worried, it is a long race and a long season and we have to be smart about it. I rode as hard as the track would let me. Every race, every lap it gets tougher and tougher, but I'm not worried about my endurance. I feel good, I'm super stoked. I'm happy for everybody at Monster Energy Kawasaki, this is our first win for Kawasaki in a while and for me it is satisfying. It's good to get a solid race under our belt and also a win, it definitely feels good."

Supercross Results:
1. James Stewart, Kaw
2. Chad Reed, Yam
3. Kevin Windham, Hon
4. Andrew Short, Hon
5. Ivan Tedesco, Hon
6. Mike Alessi, Suz
7. Nathan Ramsey, Yam
8. Joshua Hansen, Yam
9. Charles Summey, Yam
10. Tim Ferry, Kaw

AMA Supercross Class Season Standings
1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 47
2. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 47
3. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda, 36
4. Tim Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 31
5. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 31

Supercross Lites

In the Lites class, it looked to be a head-to-head battle between last weekend's winner, Ryan Dungey on his Rockstar/Makita Suzuki backed RM-Z250 and Yamaha of Troy's Jason Lawrence, who both crossed the finish line first in their respective heat races.

When the gates dropped for the 15-lap final, however, it was Torco Racing Fuels/Honda's Jake Weimer with the Progressive holeshot, followed by Dungey, Yamaha's Broc Hepler, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Bret Metcalfe, and last weekend's third place finisher, MDK/KTM's Justin Brayton.

Dungey was anxious to get to the front and passed Weimer for the lead on the second lap. A six-bike freight train hounded Dungey through the initial stages of the race before Hepler made a move past Dungey on Lap 4. Dungey quickly caught back up to Hepler and the two battled side-by-side for the next few laps.

Hepler bobbled slightly, relegating himself back to fifth-place by Lap 11, with Dungey again up front. The remaining laps were a battle between Weimer's Honda CRF250R and Dungey's Suzuki, with the rider from Idaho narrowly edging Dungey on the final lap.

"I was happy with practice today, I was about a half-second faster than everybody else," explained 18-year old AMA West Lites championship points leader Ryan Dungey. I felt good in the races, too, though I had a hard time putting the track together. It got really slick, but I did my best to try and make it work. I made a couple of mistakes, and I think those kept me from winning. But I'm going to work on that and try to not make those mistakes again. The race itself was a great show and it was good to give the fans such an exciting race. It was a dogfight, we were back and forth and everybody was going at it. Overall, it was good to walk away with the points lead. Now, we'll just take it one race at a time and come back stronger next week."

Weimer's win Saturday night was his first-ever in the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites series.

"I got the holeshot for the first time in my life, so that made it easy to stay up front," said an elated Weimer. "I just stayed smart out there, and I was able to take advantage when I needed to."

Brett Metcalfe rounded out the podium in third place after a por performance in the season opener.

"I am glad we were in the battle this week," said Monster Kawasaki's Metcalfe. "Unlike last week, I kept it together, made the triples and kept it on two wheels. We have six races to go and it helps a lot to get up on the podium. I know everything is there and I've got to put it together and I was able to do that. I've got that feeling in me. Now I just need to maintain it for the rest of the year."

Supercross Lites Results:
1. Jake Weimer, Hon
2. Ryan Dungey, Suz
3. Brett Metcalfe, Kaw
4. Broc Hepler, Yam
5. Jason Lawrence, Hon
6. Justin Brayton, KTM
7. Wil Hahn, Yam
8. Daniel Reardon, Hon
9. Kyle Cunningham, Hon
10. Billy Laniovich, KTM

Western Supercross Lites Standings:
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 47
2. Jason Lawrence, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha, 38
3. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 35
4. Dan Reardon, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 31
5. Broc Hepler, Kittanning, Pa., Yamaha, 28

Supercross racing returns to Southern California next weekend for the second of three Anaheim races held at Angel's Stadium. 

Come on, let's talk Supercross in the MotoUSA Forum.