There’s plenty to talk about as the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series moves back to SoCal for Round 3 of the series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim… and it may be a mudder! California has had rain all this week – some of it in biblical proportions – and Dirt Wurx’s Rich Winkler was seen loading animals two-by-two into his rig.

After the opening rounds, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey now holds a relatively healthy points lead (nine points over Ryan Villopoto), James Stewart sits seventh in the standings, and Chad Reed and Josh Grant are out for several weeks due to injuries (six weeks for Reed, four-to-six for Grant). Certainly a different scenario from what most predicted going into the season. Dungey and Stewart have been the clear front-runners when it comes to speed on the track, although Stewart experienced a rough weekend in Phoenix, crashing out of his heat race and then colliding with Reed in the final. It’ll be interesting to see if Stewart is suffering any ill effects from those two crashes. Look for the San Manuel Yamaha rider to throw caution to the wind and try to blitz the next few races like he did after last year’s disastrous ride at A1. However, it’s going to be hard to contain the smooth-riding Dungey, who is on a roll after getting his first 450-class win in Phoenix. Chances are, Dungey will only get faster as the year goes on and he adjusts to the big bike.

“Getting the win in Phoenix was great, but [Roger] DeCoster says you're only as good as your last race,” said Dungey. “We’re just going to keep pushing.”

Monster Energy Kawasaki's Villopoto sits second in points, and he’s hoping for clear weather tomorrow. “I hope it isn’t a mud race,” said Villopoto. “When it is muddy a lot of things change and anything can happen. Mud races are almost always won by the guys who can avoid the most trouble.”

Villopoto’s teammate, Reed, underwent surgery to repair his broken hand on Monday and it is expected he will return before the end of the series.

In the Lites division, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer is sitting pretty after winning the opening two rounds of the series and he’s looking to add to his points lead at A2.

“Angel Stadium is a good place for me,” said Weimer. “Everything is going good for the team right now and our goal is to win the championship. The best way to do that is to keep winning races.”

Weimer holds an eight-point lead over Rockstar Suzuki Canidae Motosports’ Ryan Morias, 50 to 42. Meanwhile, GEICO Powerports Honda teammates Blake Wharton and Trey Canard sit third and fourth in the order with 38 and 36 points, respectively.