Stanton Feeling Like a Dog as Johnson Wins Fourth Race

Another near miss for Jeff Stanton. And another night in the doghouse.

As expected, El Cajon’s Rick Johnson won the 250cc main event of the Coors Extra Gold Super Challenge Saturday night in front of 35,879 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. It was Johnson’s fourth motocross victory in a row this season and put him in a tie with Bob Hannah for all-time supercross victories with 27.

Stanton is Johnson’s roommate. They have this funny bet where the loser of each race has to spend a night in their doghouse. That makes four tough nights for Stanton, who finished second Saturday.

Johnson started in fourth place and moved to third when Mike Fisher fell on the seventh lap. He passed Damon Bradshaw two laps later and sizzled by Stanton on the 12th lap. After that, he never trailed. Bradshaw was third.

“It motivated when I saw Damon and Jeff up in the front,” Johnson said.

The record probably means more to the fans than it does to Johnson, who said before the race he wasn’t really thinking about it.

“I just want to win,” Johnson said. “I don’t really care about that record.”

The 125cc main event was won by Jeff Matiasevich, his fourth victory in a row this season. He overcame a bout with the flu to take the checkered flag with both fists punched skyward. Michael Craig was second.

“When I get in the 250s, it’ll be a lot tougher,” said Matiasevich, who will compete in his first 250 race of the season next week in Miami.

There was talk of the possibility of muddy conditions during rainy weather early in the week, but the skies were clear and track conditions were perfect.

Only one rider was injured. Todd Mitchell of Spring Valley sustained a broken leg when he bumped another rider and lost control during the “last chance” heat of the 125cc qualifying event.

But the rest of the evening went smoothly, particularly for Johnson. He got a bit of competition in the early going of the 250cc qualifying heat from Mike Fisher, who led for several laps before Johnson surged ahead, serenaded by the cheers of the crowd. Johnson rode a businesslike race until the final few laps, when he waved to fans while flying over the jumps.

In the previous race, Stanton put the El Cajon household on the board with an easy victory over second-place Ronnie Tichenor and Doug Dubach, who finished third.

“I had 10 or 11 seconds on him, so I just cruised for the last two laps,” Stanton said.

Bradshaw, 16, struck a blow for the youth movement in the first heat of the 250cc qualifying round with a 6-second victory over Ron Lechien.

A pileup at the start of the second heat of the 125cc event knocked two riders out of the race and caused heat favorite Mike LaRocco to fall behind the pack. He wound up eighth, which was good enough to qualify for the main event. Michael Craig finished first, Larry Ward second.

The first heat of the 125cc event was won comfortably by Matiasevich, who jumped out early and held off challenges by Tallon Vohland.