Motocross: Stewart Captures His Second Crown
Written by playerpress.com, Thursday May 21 2009
Going into the Monster Energy Supercross finale in Las Vegas all James Stewart needed was a third place finish to top rival Chad Reed and capture the AMA Supercross season standings. Third was all he got, but considering how tough the season was he settled for it and was happy to come out on top.
The final event staged at Sam Boyd Stadium was won by Ryan Villopoto as the Poulsbo, WA native both nailed down his second win of the season and left a calling card that he is a rider to consider next year. Having earned the top podium spot in Seattle, Villopoto is on a season ending streak that he is looking forward to continuing next season. Like many, Las Vegas has been a cruel temptress to Villopoto and to finally master her was as exciting as winning in front of his hometown crowd.
As for Stewart he was happy to see the season end. He labeled it the toughest he has ever had and savored getting around Reed. His four point win over his rival in the final standings simply reaffirmed how difficult the going had been in ’09. A disastrous ride at Anaheim had kept Stewart from building a solid lead and allowed Reed to chase him throughout the season. Strong showings down the stretch kept him with enough breathing space to top the guy that crowded his rearview mirror.
While Stewart’s strategy allowed him a margin of error, Reed knew he had to win the event outright, or surrender the season title to his rival. He rode like he had everything to lose and pushed his way up to the front of the pack. On lap 15 he bumped his way by Stewart who decided that remaining upright and staying in third at worse was better than battling it out with Reed. He backed off the throttle while Reed continued to pour it on only to have to settle for his 12th second place finish of the season and, more importantly, second in the overall standings.
After the race Reed acknowledged he had given it all he had, but Stewart did what was necessary to win the title. Likewise, he acknowledged how hard he fought to wrest the title away and believed that this season simply paved the way toward a strong showing next year. While that can’t be argued, it’s equally hard to ignore Villopoto’s strong finish to the season and wonder what it portends for next year when he could be challenging both Stewart and Reed for the title.
In the AMA Supercross Lites Chris Pourcel mounted a strong push on lap 12 to pass Trey Canard and steal an apparent victory from him. Staring at Pourcel’s back for the remainder of the race left Canard so disoriented that he slipped to third. Ryan Dungey shot by Canard shortly after Pourcel and chased the French rider to the finish line. Hoping for his third straight shootout victory, Dungey came up short by half a bike length.
Photo Credit: Perry Knotts / Icon SMI
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