James Stewart banks career Supercross win number 47 in Texas.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart celebrated the extension of his factory contract by extending his career win tally to 47 at round seven of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at At&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Saturday night.
The 28-year-old two-time Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion from Florida appeared to be even stronger tonight than he did when he collected his first win of the season at the San Diego Supercross one week ago. Stewart got an excellent start in the 22-rider, 20-lap main event to run second to Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey. Stewart then passed Dungey in a left-hand corner just before the finish line on lap three Stewart was particularly fast through a rhythm section right after the finish line, where triple-jumping the start of the section to gain a big advantage over Dungey early in the race.
Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha’s Justin Brayton ran third early in the race, just ahead of a snarling pack of factory riders, including Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Brayton, Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto. Roczen cut under Barcia in a left-hand turn on lap seven to briefly take fourth place, but Barcia fought right back through the next whoop section and retook the position–the two nearly making contact when Barcia whipped his motorcycle over one of the AT&T Stadium jumps. Barcia passed Brayton for third place on the same lap, while Roczen and Villopoto picked up the pace, making for a tight, three-rider battle with Brayton for fourth place.
Brayton would lose two postions, to Villopoto and Roczen, when he mis-timed a rhythm section on lap 13, thus cementing the top five positions through the checkered flag.
Out front, Stewart maintained a 2.5-second gap over Dungey, the Suzuki rider having no issues with lapped traffic as he cruised to victory. Dungey was equally unchallenged for second place, with Barcia finishing third to claim his first podium finish of 2014.
With his second win in as many weeks, Stewart may have given his competition something to think about.
“It’s like I’ve said, we’ve been riding good all year,” Stewart said. “We went back and made a couple changes after the heat race, and that’s what it was. Man, “I’m just so happy. I don’t want to get all crazy like I was last weekend, but I appreciate my whole team out there and my fans. It was great racing with Ryan [Dungey]. I just had to put in consistent laps out there.”
The win moves him to within one victory of tying Ricky Carmichael for second on the all-time Monster Energy AMA Supercross win list, although Stewart said that milestone doesn’t mean too much to him.
“What means more to me is having fun,” Stewart said. “Last year I won one supercross all year. The last couple weeks, I’ve won back to back. So, I’m having fun.”
It was a great night to be a Floridian racing Supercross, as 17-year-old Supercross rookie Adam Cianciarulo claimed the opening round win of the AMA 250cc Eastern Region Supercross Series. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider pulled the holeshot in the 15-lap main event, ahead of teammates Martin Davalos and Blake Baggett. Davalos was aggressive early in the race, and he shot to the lead after Cianciarulo came up short on a jump, losing 1.5 seconds to Davalos. Davalos then crashed on lap four, handing the lead back to Cianciarulo, with Baggett moving to second.
Cianciarulo began to carve out a lead of nearly one second by the halfway point in the race, but Baggett quickly caught Cianciarulo and took the lead briefly on lap eight. Cianciarulo fought right back and regained the point just one turn later, and he rode like a veteran for the rest of the race to claim his first career AMA Supercross win over Baggett and Davalos, who manage to salvage a podium finish after crashing twice in the race.
Cianciarulo couldn’t hide his emotions on the podium.
“It has been unbelievable,” Cianciarulo said. “Last summer I came into the outdoor series sick, and I didn’t have the best results. But my team stuck behind me. They believed in me. My whole family sacrificed everything for me, growing up, to get to this point. It means so much to me.”
Both Ryan Villopoto and Ken Roczen came to the podium celebration to congratulate Cianciarulo just before the start of their own main event.
“We train together,” Cianciarulo said. “They’ve been there, pushing me through the good days and the bad. They’ve seen the struggle that I’ve had to come through to get to this point. I am bummed for my teammate, Martin, who was out front and was pulling away. He had the race won for sure, but he made a little mistake. But I couldn’t be more pumped for myself, my whole family and just everybody behind me. They’ve believed in me, and without their support I would never be in this position.”
It is also worth noting that TwoTwo Motorsports/Discount Tire’s Chad Reed attempted to ride in the 450cc class at Arlington tonight, but the injuries he suffered at last week’s San Diego Supercross proved to be too painful to overcome, and Reed parked his Kawasaki after the first practice session.
“Went to go for a time and the shoulder either popped out or the coracoid process pulled of, which is what we were concerned about,” Reed tweeted afterward.
AT&T Stadium
Arlington Texas
Results: February 15, 2014 (round 7 of 17)
450cc Main
1. James Stewart-Suz
2. Ryan Dungey-KTM
3. Justin Barcia-Hon
4. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw
5. Justin Brayton-Yam
6. Ken Roczen-KTM
7. Broc Tickle-Suz
8. Wil Hahn-Hon
9. josh Hill-Suz
10. Andrew Short-KTM
11. Eli Tomac-Hon
12. Ivan Tedesco-KTM
13. Kyle Chishol-Yam
14. Nick Wey-Kaw
15. Matt Goerke-KTM
16. Justin Sipes=Kaw
17. Chris Blose-Hon
18. Jimmy Albertson-Hon
19. Mike Alessie-Suz
20. Weston Peick-Suz
21. Teddy Parks-Suz
22. Phil Nicoletti-Yam
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (After 7 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto-144/2 wins
2. Ken Roczen-132/1 win
3. James Stewart-130/2 wins
4. Ryan Dungey-116
5. Justin Brayton-114
6. Chad Reed-111/2 wins
7. Justin Barcia-109
8. Andrew Short-83
9. Wil Hahn-65
10. Broc Tickle-63
250cc Main
1. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw
2. Blake Baggett-Kaw
3. Martin Davalos-Kaw
4. vince Friese-Hon
5. Justin Bogle-Hon
6. Cole Thompson-KTM
7. Blake Wharton-Hon
8. Kyle Cunningham-Hon
9. Alex Martin-Yam
10. Mitchell Oldnburg-Hon
11. Kyle Peters-Hon
12. Levi Kilbarger-Hon
13. AJ Catanzaro=Hon
14. Jesse Wentland-Hon
15. Jimmy Decotis-Hon
16. Gannon Audette-Kaw
17. Jackson Richardson-Hon
18. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
19. Matt Bisceglia-Hon
20. Gavin Faith-Hon
21. Matt Lemoine-Kaw
22. Anthony Rodriguez-Yam
AMA 250cc Eastern Region Supercross Points Standings (After 1 of 8 rounds)
1. Adam Cianciarulo-25/1 win
2. Blake Baggett-22
3. Martin Davalos-20
4. vince Friese-18
5. Justin Bogle-16
6. Cole Thompson-15
7. Blake Wharton-14
8. Kyle Cunningham-13
9. Alex Martin-12
10. Mitchell Oldnburg-11
Your Privacy Choices