Chad Reed just sewed up his first career AMA motocross title with four races to spare at Budds Creek in Maryland. After finishing runner-up to Honda Red Bull’s Davi Millsaps in the first moto, Reed put in a dominant performance in the second race, piloting his Suzuki RM-Z450 past Honda Red Bull’s Tedesco, then proceeding to check out on the rest of the field.
 
At the start of the year many bet against Reed, based on the fact that he hasn’t done any outdoor racing in the last few years, instead focusing his attention on Supercross exclusively. But as the season began he was already close to the front and continued to gain speed at each round. While some of the other top riders bowed out due to injuries (Ryan Villopoto and Mike Alessi), Reed quickly morphed from early underdog to mid-season favorite.
 
There’s no doubt that if the aforementioned riders were still racing the outcome of the championship could have been vastly different. Yet, in the end you’ve got to hand it to Reed. Not only did he avoid any major crashes this summer, he was the most consistent finisher every weekend. Congrats to Chad Reed on his 2009 AMA Pro Motocross Championship.